Pastor Tong Liu (刘彤) shared his reflection on attending the 70th anniversary celebration of the Bread of Life Christian Church in Taipei (台北灵粮堂, BOLCC Taipei). He pointed out that it is important to present the congregation with a big picture of the economic and religious development in the world and in China and to encourage the believers to participate in missions to the best of their ability.
Ministering to the River of Life Christian Church in Silicon Valley (矽谷生命河灵粮堂), Pastor Liu began by recalling that he returned to Taipei last week with his wife to attend the BOLCC Taipei’s 70th anniversary celebration. The opening ceremony attracted over 5,000 people, with pastors from home and abroad and local guests gathering to witness God's glorious presence. As a longtime member who grew up in the Bread of Life Christian Church, Pastor Liu returned with extraordinarily mixed feelings of gratitude and reverence. Sixty years ago, Pastor Liu Tong was baptized at BOLCC Taipei. Today, seeing the church's global church planting mission and its great impact on the community, he was deeply impressed by God's greatness.
Passing on the Mission: The DNA of the BOLCC
Pastor Liu shared with the congregation that at the 70th-anniversary celebration of the BOLCC Taipei, Pastor Nathaniel Chow (周神助) made special mention of the founding pastor, Pastor Timothy Dzao (赵世光), who is passionate about evangelism. Every congregation of the Bread of Life Christian Church hangs a map of the world, and underneath the map is the scripture from Mark 16:15: “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.” He told the congregation that this is the DNA of the BOLCC and its mission is to preach the gospel to all nations.
Chinese churches should rise up for the Lord
Chinese churches should rise up for the Lord because they do not have the historical baggage of the Western world and are more readily accepted by the Third World. Pastor Liu encouraged. “Although the times are full of crises, it is the time for God to rise up and work, and we should seize the opportunity to be channels of God's grace,” he said. He said.
Throughout the history of the church, the gospel has spread westward from Jerusalem to Europe, to the Americas, and eventually to Asia. In 1946, China's Northwest Spiritual Ministries received a vision to take the Gospel back to Jerusalem along the Silk Road. God's plan is unstoppable, and even through hardship, the Kingdom of God continues to expand.
China's religious policies are becoming more and more restrictive. Many churches have canceled public meetings and missionary work has almost come to a standstill. Many countries around the world are also locked down and missionaries are unable to enter. Europe is facing the rise of Muslim forces, and if the Chinese churches do not seize the opportunity, they will miss an important time for evangelization.
He pointed out that in the last forty years, the Gospel has expanded rapidly in South America and Africa; African villagers are receiving the Gospel faster than any other country. In 1910, only 9% of the population in sub-Saharan Africa was Christian, but by 2015 it had reached 63%, and is expected to reach half of the world's Christians by 2050.
“Chinese churches need to rise to the occasion and seize the God-given opportunity to be channels of God's grace,” he said.
