wfn.org | Taiwan's Aboriginal Churches Face Clergy Shortage

["pctpress" <pctpress@ms1.hinet.net>]

Taiwan Church News 2725, 17 through 23 May 2004
Reported by:Yang Shu-hao.  Translated and Rewritten by David Alexander

Who will go for me?  A clergy undersupply has Taiwan's churches "anemic".
Only one of the most recent five years (2000) saw the number of graduates
from
the theological colleges and seminaries of the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan
(PCT) sufficient to match the requests of local presbyteries and districts
for
ministers. (In the PCT a seminary graduate must serve one or two years of
internship as an "evangelist" before becoming eligible for ordination to the
pastorate. These years are served in a place assigned, rather than in a place
chosen by the graduate himself/herself.)  With the exception of 2000 there
has
been a shortage of about 10 new ministers each year. The problem is
especially
serious in Aboriginal districts.

Dr. Chen Nan-chou, vice president of Yushan Theological College, which
specializes in training Aboriginal clergy, said, "Except for within the Bunun
tribe, which has sufficient clergy, Aboriginal presbyteries and districts
face
serious clergy shortages.  The Eastern Amis Presbytery itself has more than
twenty congregations that function without benefit of clergy."

Facing this situation, Dr. Chen said that his college has put greater energy
into student recruitment this year in the hope that the problem might soon be
solved.  He called on local churches to encourage more of their faithful
young
people to study theology. "If churches go on for the long term without clergy
they lose strength and will gradually disappear."

The Rev. Chen Fu-chun, pastor of Ciwkangan Presbyterian Church in Taitung
County and General Secretary of the Eastern Amis Presbytery, said the
shortage
of clergy could be laid to the context of the churches.  Remoteness, aging
congregations and the generation gap between new clergy and their parishoners
all make graduates unwilling to come to Eastern Amis.  The 44 congregations
in
the presbytery are served by only 19 clergy.  Many of these churches are weak
and in special need of care, and some are heading for real trouble.

Rev. Chen sees the aging of congregations as an unavoidable situation linked
to demographics, but he sees in it the potential for focused ministries to
the
elderly and to the very young.	He asserts that many churches still have a
lot
of life and that rural areas are repositories of many cultural traditions and
treasures where mother tongues are still in use.  Therefore he invites
theological college graduates to take advantage of their youth and vigor and
come to the villages to be better trained and refined by living out the
spirit
of Jesus in service the least of His brothers and sisters.  He believes that
blessing is found in such a choice.

The Rev. Sing O'lamu, PCT General Assembly Secretary for Aboriginal Mission,
says that rural churches seriously lack ministers who stay for the long term.
New graduates accept the initial assignments but do not remain.  He suggests
that churches enter into cooperative arrangements whereby one evangelist
could
serve more than one village or that congregations located near to each other
jointly seek and call a minister.

He calls on one and all to care for the daily needs of rural Aboriginal
clergy
so that they can give themselves wholeheartedly to their ministries.  The
Aboriginal Mission Committee at the General Assembly has done an assessment
of
low-income clergy and seeks plains (non-aboriginal) congregations to partner
with Aboriginal churches. There is no shortage of Aboriginal churches wishing
to participate in such a plan, what is lacking is more plains churches.

For More Information: Chen Fu-chun  acon@ms2.hinet.net
		      Sing O'lamu  sing@mail.pct.org.tw
		      Chen Nan-chou lamchiu34@yahoo.com.tw
Taiwan Church News is published weekly in Taiwan's local languages.
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