3147 Edition
June 18-24, 2012
Church Ministry News

Reported by Chen Yi-hsuan

Written by Lydia Ma

To celebrate the 147th anniversary of the PCT, which began when Rev. James Laidlaw Maxwell came to Tainan, and its 95th anniversary, Khoa-Sai-Ke Presbyterian Church held a joint thanksgiving service with its 5 daughter churches on June 17, 2012 at Sie-Jin Elementary School. The 5 daughter churches located in various regions of Tainan are Tatung Village, Zion, Hu-Mei, Lin-An, and Hai-Tien Presbyterian churches. Various fun activities were held at the school in the aftermath of the worship service.

When Rev. James Maxwell arrived to Taiwan from UK in 1865 as a medical missionary, he began his ministry in the city of Tainan. He found a house on Khoa-Sai-Ke (a.k.a. Kanhsi) Street which he converted into a chapel and a clinic. The clinic was at the front end of house and the chapel was at the back. There, Maxwell used his medical skills as a means to treat people’s diseases and tell them about Jesus.

At one point, Maxwell was attacked by local residents who were jealous of him, which prompted him and he relocated to Chihou near Kaohsiung. He later returned to Tainan in 1868 and founded the Thai-Peng-Keng Maxwell Memorial Church, the first church in Tainan, in 1903. A meeting place affiliated with this church was established in 1917 on Kanhsi Street and it later became Khoa-Sai-Ke Presbyterian Church.

During this 95th anniversary celebration, Khoa-Sai-Ke senior pastor, Rev. Liu Po-chao, delivered a sermon entitled “The characteristics of Kingdom citizens” and underscored that Christians ought to nurture personal qualities that are distinct from the rest of the world. He added that though Christians belong to different churches and denominations, all of them ultimately belong to Christ and should therefore be of one mind, have fellowship with one another, and proclaim the Gospel with all their strength.

Sports and outdoor activities followed immediately after the thanksgiving service. These fun activities included Praise Dance, relay races, tug of war, 100-meter races for seniors, cheerleading performances and more. Churches had an opportunity to learn from one another and encourage one another during these games. They also made a point to invite people from their local communities to celebrate this occasion with them as a means of reaching out to non-Christians and helping them get acquainted with Christian churches.