True Jesus Church in Taiwan
Encyclopedia
The True Jesus Church
is a nontrinitarian Christian denomination began in China
, growing out of the Pentecostal movement. Since its foundation it has spread to other countries including Taiwan
.
During the Japanese occupation period
, several Taiwanese
Christians accepted the True Jesus Church gospel in Fujian
province, China
and quickly decided to preach the good news back in Taiwan
before it was too late . Hence in the autumn of 1925, the Chinese TJC members Barnabas Zhang
, Thomas Kuo, Luke Gao, Yuan-qian Chen along with Taiwanese TJC members Daoyuan Wu, Qinglong Wang, Elisha and Gideon Huang boarded boarded a ship from Xiamen
to Taiwan
.
When the ship reached the port of Keelung
harbour, the coast guards came to inspect the ship and, hearing that they were TJC members, they were very glad. There were also journalists who arrived to inquire of their planned schedules. They also visited the Office of the Governor-General of Taiwan
to explain the essential teachings and the origins of the TJC . They replied,
Then they boarded a train and headed south where the party decided split into two groups with one heading to Changhua and the other heading to Tainan
.
and Taichung
, the church evangelists moved out into the countryside and into the towns and villages. Many of the converts that were made during these years were members of the Presbyterian church
.
At Wenzi
, the first evangelical service was held. Some Japanese bureaucrats also attended and were quite moved by the sermons. At Xianxi
Public school grounds, four hundred people came to listen. A Hemei police officer was also present and was deeply moved. The evangelising reached Hemei where an audience of several hundred attended. The evangelists took turns at preaching and gained the audience's praise. A Taichung Presbyterian church Elder named Philemon Guo was baptised during this time. He later established the Philemon Trust to further advance the gospel.
Daniel Huang went to Tainan
, lodged at an English hostel and invited Wu Dao-yuan to attend a meeting and the usual Taiwanese Presbyterian church members came to listen to the sermons. One of them took out a thesis which had been produced by Pastor Gao Jin-sheng titled "Discussion regarding the True Jesus Church" which contained content that slandered the TJC. Nevertheless there would often be presbyterian members coming to hall to listen to what they needed to say.
On 2 March 1926 Wu Daoyuan and Luke Gao held an evangelistic service in Changli resulting in sixty two people being baptised, in Niutiaowan - twenty-seven baptised and in Qingshui - eleven baptised.
When Elder Kuo and four others arrived in Niutiaowan to evangelise, students from the Taiwanese Presbyterian Theological College and the ordinary church members would often listen to the preaching. During one session, a their preacher inquired, "Did you come here to destroy the church in Taiwan, or to establish the church in Taiwan?". The TJC's Elder Kuo responded,
Another student from the Theological College asked, "Please tell us the differences between us and you." Hence Elder Kuo informed them on the various aspects of the Presbyterian church which were not in accordance with the Bible, and after having pointed them out one-by one, they had nothing to say to that.
Then a Taiwanese Presbyterian member told the TJC evangelists, saying
He then took out a sheet of letter printed in Romanised Taiwanese which read,
An English
pastor named Rev. Duncan MacLeod used fabricated words to criticise the TJC saying, "In overseas countries during every century, there would always be false prophets and false christs who come to deceive people. No long after they were all destroyed, so the True Jesus Church should not be seen as anything strange, so do not fear." He said further,
One day, Rev. Duncan Macleod and ten others went to the hotel to listen to the TJC evangelists. One of the TJC Elders explained to them,
28 October 1926: Taichung
True Jesus Church
established where Philemon Guo and Joel Tsai were elected as committee members. The church in China sent Abe Guomei to continue the growth and development in Taiwan.
1927: Tainan, Chiayi
, Dalin
churches founded after many miracles were performed.
1929: Church in Erlin Township founded.
1935: Taipei
TJC church founded.
In 1941 the Second world war
broke out in the Pacific region and the TJC Taiwanese coordination board was made by Japanese
officials to change their name to "Japanese True Jesus Church" but by 1948 the name was renamed to "True Jesus Church of Taiwan province".
. Beginning in the mid-1930s, the church tried to reach out to these non-Chinese people.
There was one formidable obstacle - the Japanese Colonial government. During the Japan
ese occupation period, the indigenous Taiwanese aborigines
had no religious freedom. Its officials tried to keep the Chinese and mountain people apart , going so far as to set up zones or reservations for the tribal people and erecting a long fence of electrified barbed wire to separate the two populations .
The True Jesus evangelists settled for working with those mountain people who had already been Sinified and lived among the plains people .
Hualien district
The first convert they made was a man named Tian Sando. He had been in a sanatorium
, suffering from the effects of tuberculosis
. The doctors were unable to find a remedy and declined to give him surgical treatment so Tian Sando had no choice but to return back home and rest. He then came into contact with church evangelists. A certain TJC member from port of Hualien named Wu Shi-lian testified to him about Jesus, telling him that the power of God was with the TJC, that illnesses could be cured and demons could be cast out, and there was also the ability to bring people from death to life. Tian Sando listened intently and felt very happy in his heart – he immediately believed. Aided by his wife, Sando secretly came to the TJC at Hualien harbour to hear the sermons. However he was discovered by the Japanese police and this constituted a breach of the laws so he was arrested. However while he was placed in custody, his tuberculosis was miraculously healed, and he showed gratitude towards God's mercy. After his release, Tian Sando spread the word regarding his recent experiences to his family and kin and, as a result, many of them believed.
Not long afterwards, the Japanese discovered that they refused to abandon their faith in Jesus, so a group of Japanese policemen started using brutal methods by forcing a group of Fushi village brethren to place themselves in cold water during the winter season. They also persecuted the church members on Sanli Mountain, threatening them with swords and guns, telling them not to believe in Jesus. Some presbyterian members became timid and left the faith whereas the TJC members chose to resist such instructions and would rather die than discard the faith. They constantly prayed and sang hymns.
The Japanese policemen, seeing that they still held on to the faith, started losing their patience and began using unscrupulous methods such as the confiscation of their cooking pots, bowls and other items so that they were no longer able to cook. So they chose to undertake fasting
sessions and continued resisting pressures on them to deny the faith.
Tian Sando also began spreading the gospel regarding salvation to other mountain villages and testifying to them. One a certain day, while he and three other mountain people secretly crept in to the TJC in Hualien to attend a church service, they were discovered by the police and so the four of them including four Taiwanese members were arrested, and placed in detention under supervision. There they suffered beatings and other methods of torture inflicted upon them; nevertheless they did not bear any grudge at all. Once they were released, they continued to secretly spread the gospel to other mountain villages, accompanied by a Taiwanese evangelist named Liu Rong-shu .
Later on, the Preachers Sheng-Gong Chen and John Yang would often secretly enter the mountains and hold church services in the midst of night to avoid persecution from authorities. This continued until the end of World War II
.
Taitung
district
After the Retrocession of Taiwan
, the Taiwanese aborigines were now subject to the Nationalist Government
's laws and statutes which also applied to their Taiwanese compatriots. Therefore they now gained Freedom of religion
.
The TJC brethren preached to the Mei
and Ami tribe youth. The coordination board sent Yong-Sheng Wang Yu-Lin Wang, Jian-Xin Zhu and Sheng-Ming Tsai to pastor and take care of the believers.
However the TJC Ami brethren were persecuted by their own tribesfolk since they no longer participated the annual harvest dance in order to appease their gods.
But through patience, long-suffering and forbearance they eventually won over the hearts of their tribesmen through doing what is good and not tolerating evil, by keeping a firm and deeply rooted faith, changing their behaviour, following the Lord's teachings. Many miraculous events occurred and the church their prospered.
Ilan district
After religious freedom was allowed, the mountain tribesmen began spreading the gospel to the villages in Ilan area. John Yang held evangelical services.
However, the village chiefs and portions of the youths in Nan-ao
and Xingang, Jiali, and Doulan had already been deeply indoctrinated with Japanese customs, values and religious practices. They disregarded the new laws of the Guomindang
and continued following the examples of the previous Japanese authorities by not allowing their fellow villagers to have freedom of faith. They repeatedly beat up and expelled the missionaries and believers. The new local Police of the Guomindang turned a blind eye to these unlawful acts committed by those people and some of them even joined in the persecution and placed some converts in prison.
In December 1945 at Nan-ao
village, around twenty to thirty local youths, who claimed that they supported the Three Principles Doctrine
, surrounded the brethren and beat them up several times. The Bibles and hymn book were incinerated. Although some families were expelled from their homes several times, they did not retaliate and instead prayed for their persecutors.
The evangelists also faced opposition from the Thao tribe.
In August 1947, a village chief and policemen severely beat up the TJC members, forced them to perform hard labour, and locked them up in prison until August 19. Amongst them were two female church members, one with the name of Fu Tian-jing whose head had been seriously bruised during the beatings and passed away three days after her release from prison. In this way, she waas the first martyr
of the TJC in Taiwan.
It was not until 1951 when law and order was finally restored to the area in which they could truly obtain religious freedom and hold services in peace. During this period, many tribesfolk who had illnesses were miraculously healed during their prayers so the number of believers grew.
1950 - Shanli church established.
1953 - Nantou
and Chiayi County
churches formed.
1955 - Hsinchu
district church founded.
1959 - Taoyuan district church formed.
1961 - Pingtung County
church established.
1962 - Kaohsiung
region church formed.
had successfully taken control of China and communication was totally broken. The churches in Taiwan and elsewhere were now on their own. So Taiwan now became the main center for the True Jesus Church global evangelisation network.
1950 - The church started Youth Spiritual Convocations and religious education which were followed by student spiritual gatherings. These became important aspects for the advancement of the Divine work in which the aim was to cultivate the knowledge of the faith to the younger generations.
In 1959 The first Theological
classes were held and by 1962, formal Theological seminars were commenced. The main goal was to train full time preachers that could be sent worldwide for missionary work.
1956 - The coordination board was renamed, "The Taiwanese General Assembly of the True Jesus Church
" which is the present name today.
To date (2005), there are 238 churches, 32 prayer houses, and 51,952 believers.
True Jesus Church
The True Jesus Church is a non-denominational Christian church that originated in Beijing, China, in 1917. The current elected chairman of the TJC International Assembly is Preacher Yong-Ji Lin. Today, there are approximately 2.5 million members in fifty three countries and six continents...
is a nontrinitarian Christian denomination began in China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, growing out of the Pentecostal movement. Since its foundation it has spread to other countries including Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
.
During the Japanese occupation period
Taiwan under Japanese rule
Between 1895 and 1945, Taiwan was a dependency of the Empire of Japan. The expansion into Taiwan was a part of Imperial Japan's general policy of southward expansion during the late 19th century....
, several Taiwanese
Taiwanese people
Taiwanese people may refer to individuals who either claim or are imputed cultural identity focused on the island of Taiwan and/or Taiwan Area which have been governed by the Republic of China since 1945...
Christians accepted the True Jesus Church gospel in Fujian
Fujian
' , formerly romanised as Fukien or Huguing or Foukien, is a province on the southeast coast of mainland China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, and Guangdong to the south. Taiwan lies to the east, across the Taiwan Strait...
province, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
and quickly decided to preach the good news back in Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
before it was too late . Hence in the autumn of 1925, the Chinese TJC members Barnabas Zhang
Barnabas Zhang
Barnabas Zhang , was an early preacher for the True Jesus Church in China, an indigenous Chinese church. Born in Wei County, Shandong Province, Zhang's former name was Diàn-Jǚ . His mother died when he was four years old and when his father remarried, Diàn-Jǚ often fled to distant locations...
, Thomas Kuo, Luke Gao, Yuan-qian Chen along with Taiwanese TJC members Daoyuan Wu, Qinglong Wang, Elisha and Gideon Huang boarded boarded a ship from Xiamen
Xiamen
Xiamen , also known as Amoy , is a major city on the southeast coast of the People's Republic of China. It is administered as a sub-provincial city of Fujian province with an area of and population of 3.53 million...
to Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
.
When the ship reached the port of Keelung
Keelung
Keelung City is a major port city situated in the northeastern part of Taiwan. It borders New Taipei and forms the Taipei–Keelung metropolitan area, along with the Taipei and New Taipei. Nicknamed the Rainy Port for its frequent rain and maritime role, the city is Taiwan's second largest seaport...
harbour, the coast guards came to inspect the ship and, hearing that they were TJC members, they were very glad. There were also journalists who arrived to inquire of their planned schedules. They also visited the Office of the Governor-General of Taiwan
Governor-General of Taiwan
The position of Governor-General of Taiwan existed when Taiwan and the Pescadores were part of the Empire of Japan, from 1895 to 1945.The Japanese Governors-General were members of the Diet, civilian officials, Japanese nobles or generals...
to explain the essential teachings and the origins of the TJC . They replied,
Then they boarded a train and headed south where the party decided split into two groups with one heading to Changhua and the other heading to Tainan
Tainan
Tainan City is a city in southern Taiwan. It is the fifth largest after New Taipei, Kaohsiung, Taichung, and Taipei. It was formerly a provincial city, and in 2010, the provincial city merged with the adjacent Tainan County to form a single special municipality. Tainan faces the Taiwan Strait in...
.
Evangelising the Southern regions
From TainanTainan
Tainan City is a city in southern Taiwan. It is the fifth largest after New Taipei, Kaohsiung, Taichung, and Taipei. It was formerly a provincial city, and in 2010, the provincial city merged with the adjacent Tainan County to form a single special municipality. Tainan faces the Taiwan Strait in...
and Taichung
Taichung
-Demographics:Taichung’s population was an estimated 1,040,725 in August 2006. There are slightly more females in the city than males.24.32% of residents are children, while 16.63% are young people, 52.68% are middle-age, and 6.73% are elderly....
, the church evangelists moved out into the countryside and into the towns and villages. Many of the converts that were made during these years were members of the Presbyterian church
Presbyterian Church in Taiwan
The Presbyterian Church in Taiwan was planted in Taiwan in the 19th century by Dr James Laidlaw Maxwell Snr of the Presbyterian Church of England and Dr George Leslie Mackay of the Presbyterian Church in Canada....
.
At Wenzi
Wenzi
The Wenzi , or Tongxuan zhenjing , is a controversial Daoist classic allegedly written by a disciple of Laozi. Although generations of Chinese scholars have dismissed the Wenzi as a plagiarism or forgery, in 1973 archeologists excavating a 55 BCE tomb discovered a Wenzi copied on bamboo...
, the first evangelical service was held. Some Japanese bureaucrats also attended and were quite moved by the sermons. At Xianxi
Xianxi, Changhua
Xianxi Township is a rural township in Changhua County, Taiwan. It has a population total of 17,071 and an area of 18.0856 square kilometres.-External links:*...
Public school grounds, four hundred people came to listen. A Hemei police officer was also present and was deeply moved. The evangelising reached Hemei where an audience of several hundred attended. The evangelists took turns at preaching and gained the audience's praise. A Taichung Presbyterian church Elder named Philemon Guo was baptised during this time. He later established the Philemon Trust to further advance the gospel.
Daniel Huang went to Tainan
Tainan
Tainan City is a city in southern Taiwan. It is the fifth largest after New Taipei, Kaohsiung, Taichung, and Taipei. It was formerly a provincial city, and in 2010, the provincial city merged with the adjacent Tainan County to form a single special municipality. Tainan faces the Taiwan Strait in...
, lodged at an English hostel and invited Wu Dao-yuan to attend a meeting and the usual Taiwanese Presbyterian church members came to listen to the sermons. One of them took out a thesis which had been produced by Pastor Gao Jin-sheng titled "Discussion regarding the True Jesus Church" which contained content that slandered the TJC. Nevertheless there would often be presbyterian members coming to hall to listen to what they needed to say.
On 2 March 1926 Wu Daoyuan and Luke Gao held an evangelistic service in Changli resulting in sixty two people being baptised, in Niutiaowan - twenty-seven baptised and in Qingshui - eleven baptised.
When Elder Kuo and four others arrived in Niutiaowan to evangelise, students from the Taiwanese Presbyterian Theological College and the ordinary church members would often listen to the preaching. During one session, a their preacher inquired, "Did you come here to destroy the church in Taiwan, or to establish the church in Taiwan?". The TJC's Elder Kuo responded,
Another student from the Theological College asked, "Please tell us the differences between us and you." Hence Elder Kuo informed them on the various aspects of the Presbyterian church which were not in accordance with the Bible, and after having pointed them out one-by one, they had nothing to say to that.
Then a Taiwanese Presbyterian member told the TJC evangelists, saying
He then took out a sheet of letter printed in Romanised Taiwanese which read,
An English
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
pastor named Rev. Duncan MacLeod used fabricated words to criticise the TJC saying, "In overseas countries during every century, there would always be false prophets and false christs who come to deceive people. No long after they were all destroyed, so the True Jesus Church should not be seen as anything strange, so do not fear." He said further,
One day, Rev. Duncan Macleod and ten others went to the hotel to listen to the TJC evangelists. One of the TJC Elders explained to them,
28 October 1926: Taichung
Taichung
-Demographics:Taichung’s population was an estimated 1,040,725 in August 2006. There are slightly more females in the city than males.24.32% of residents are children, while 16.63% are young people, 52.68% are middle-age, and 6.73% are elderly....
True Jesus Church
True Jesus Church
The True Jesus Church is a non-denominational Christian church that originated in Beijing, China, in 1917. The current elected chairman of the TJC International Assembly is Preacher Yong-Ji Lin. Today, there are approximately 2.5 million members in fifty three countries and six continents...
established where Philemon Guo and Joel Tsai were elected as committee members. The church in China sent Abe Guomei to continue the growth and development in Taiwan.
1927: Tainan, Chiayi
Chiayi
-Administration:-City attractions:*Chiayi Park*Sun Shooting Tower *Lantan *Historic Archives Building of Chiayi City*University of Chiayi*Chiayi Museum...
, Dalin
Dalin
Dalin is a Swedish surname. The name may also appear as Dahlin. Both surnames are derived from the Swedish word dal meaning valley. Dalin may refer to:* Olof von Dalin , Swedish poet.* Liu Dalin , Chinese sexologist....
churches founded after many miracles were performed.
1929: Church in Erlin Township founded.
Evangelising the Northern regions
1934: Hualien presbyterian church member Huolu Hong is converted to TJC and founds a church.1935: Taipei
Taipei
Taipei City is the capital of the Republic of China and the central city of the largest metropolitan area of Taiwan. Situated at the northern tip of the island, Taipei is located on the Tamsui River, and is about 25 km southwest of Keelung, its port on the Pacific Ocean...
TJC church founded.
In 1941 the Second world war
War In The Pacific
War in the Pacific is a 2004 two-player turn-based computer war game published by Matrix games. It is a very large, complex, and detailed simulation of the Pacific Theatre of World War II, at both the operational and strategic level....
broke out in the Pacific region and the TJC Taiwanese coordination board was made by Japanese
Japanese people
The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...
officials to change their name to "Japanese True Jesus Church" but by 1948 the name was renamed to "True Jesus Church of Taiwan province".
Evangelising the Eastern and Central Mountain regions
There was one major population that had not yet been reached by True Jesus evangelists - the mountain peopleTaiwanese aborigines
Taiwanese aborigines is the term commonly applied in reference to the indigenous peoples of Taiwan. Although Taiwanese indigenous groups hold a variety of creation myths, recent research suggests their ancestors may have been living on the islands for approximately 8,000 years before major Han...
. Beginning in the mid-1930s, the church tried to reach out to these non-Chinese people.
There was one formidable obstacle - the Japanese Colonial government. During the Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese occupation period, the indigenous Taiwanese aborigines
Taiwanese aborigines
Taiwanese aborigines is the term commonly applied in reference to the indigenous peoples of Taiwan. Although Taiwanese indigenous groups hold a variety of creation myths, recent research suggests their ancestors may have been living on the islands for approximately 8,000 years before major Han...
had no religious freedom. Its officials tried to keep the Chinese and mountain people apart , going so far as to set up zones or reservations for the tribal people and erecting a long fence of electrified barbed wire to separate the two populations .
The True Jesus evangelists settled for working with those mountain people who had already been Sinified and lived among the plains people .
Hualien district
The first convert they made was a man named Tian Sando. He had been in a sanatorium
Sanatorium
A sanatorium is a medical facility for long-term illness, most typically associated with treatment of tuberculosis before antibiotics...
, suffering from the effects of tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
. The doctors were unable to find a remedy and declined to give him surgical treatment so Tian Sando had no choice but to return back home and rest. He then came into contact with church evangelists. A certain TJC member from port of Hualien named Wu Shi-lian testified to him about Jesus, telling him that the power of God was with the TJC, that illnesses could be cured and demons could be cast out, and there was also the ability to bring people from death to life. Tian Sando listened intently and felt very happy in his heart – he immediately believed. Aided by his wife, Sando secretly came to the TJC at Hualien harbour to hear the sermons. However he was discovered by the Japanese police and this constituted a breach of the laws so he was arrested. However while he was placed in custody, his tuberculosis was miraculously healed, and he showed gratitude towards God's mercy. After his release, Tian Sando spread the word regarding his recent experiences to his family and kin and, as a result, many of them believed.
Not long afterwards, the Japanese discovered that they refused to abandon their faith in Jesus, so a group of Japanese policemen started using brutal methods by forcing a group of Fushi village brethren to place themselves in cold water during the winter season. They also persecuted the church members on Sanli Mountain, threatening them with swords and guns, telling them not to believe in Jesus. Some presbyterian members became timid and left the faith whereas the TJC members chose to resist such instructions and would rather die than discard the faith. They constantly prayed and sang hymns.
The Japanese policemen, seeing that they still held on to the faith, started losing their patience and began using unscrupulous methods such as the confiscation of their cooking pots, bowls and other items so that they were no longer able to cook. So they chose to undertake fasting
Fasting
Fasting is primarily the act of willingly abstaining from some or all food, drink, or both, for a period of time. An absolute fast is normally defined as abstinence from all food and liquid for a defined period, usually a single day , or several days. Other fasts may be only partially restrictive,...
sessions and continued resisting pressures on them to deny the faith.
Tian Sando also began spreading the gospel regarding salvation to other mountain villages and testifying to them. One a certain day, while he and three other mountain people secretly crept in to the TJC in Hualien to attend a church service, they were discovered by the police and so the four of them including four Taiwanese members were arrested, and placed in detention under supervision. There they suffered beatings and other methods of torture inflicted upon them; nevertheless they did not bear any grudge at all. Once they were released, they continued to secretly spread the gospel to other mountain villages, accompanied by a Taiwanese evangelist named Liu Rong-shu .
Later on, the Preachers Sheng-Gong Chen and John Yang would often secretly enter the mountains and hold church services in the midst of night to avoid persecution from authorities. This continued until the end of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Taitung
Taitung City
Taitung City is the county seat of Taitung County, Taiwan. It lies on the southeast coast of Taiwan facing the Pacific Ocean.The city is served by Taitung Airport. Taitung is a gateway to Green Island and Orchid Island, both of which are very popular among Taiwanese tourists.-History:Taitung...
district
After the Retrocession of Taiwan
Retrocession Day
Retrocession Day is an annual observance in the Republic of China to commemorate the end of 50 years of Japanese colonial rule of Taiwan on October 25, 1945.-Background:...
, the Taiwanese aborigines were now subject to the Nationalist Government
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang of China , sometimes romanized as Guomindang via the Pinyin transcription system or GMD for short, and translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party is a founding and ruling political party of the Republic of China . Its guiding ideology is the Three Principles of the People, espoused...
's laws and statutes which also applied to their Taiwanese compatriots. Therefore they now gained Freedom of religion
Freedom of religion in Taiwan
Freedom of religion in Taiwan is provided for by the Constitution of the Republic of China, which is in force on Taiwan. The Government on Taiwan general respects freedom of religion in practise, with government policies continuing to contribute to the generally free practise of religion.-Religious...
.
The TJC brethren preached to the Mei
Mei
-Abbreviations:In education:* MEI Academy, international school* MEI , examination board affiliated with the OCR examination board....
and Ami tribe youth. The coordination board sent Yong-Sheng Wang Yu-Lin Wang, Jian-Xin Zhu and Sheng-Ming Tsai to pastor and take care of the believers.
However the TJC Ami brethren were persecuted by their own tribesfolk since they no longer participated the annual harvest dance in order to appease their gods.
But through patience, long-suffering and forbearance they eventually won over the hearts of their tribesmen through doing what is good and not tolerating evil, by keeping a firm and deeply rooted faith, changing their behaviour, following the Lord's teachings. Many miraculous events occurred and the church their prospered.
Ilan district
After religious freedom was allowed, the mountain tribesmen began spreading the gospel to the villages in Ilan area. John Yang held evangelical services.
However, the village chiefs and portions of the youths in Nan-ao
Nan-ao, Yilan
Nan-ao is a rural township in the southern part of Yilan County, Taiwan. It has a significant population of Atayal aborigines. The township was the site of the Sayun incident during Japanese rule, made famous through the movie Sayon's Bell....
and Xingang, Jiali, and Doulan had already been deeply indoctrinated with Japanese customs, values and religious practices. They disregarded the new laws of the Guomindang
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang of China , sometimes romanized as Guomindang via the Pinyin transcription system or GMD for short, and translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party is a founding and ruling political party of the Republic of China . Its guiding ideology is the Three Principles of the People, espoused...
and continued following the examples of the previous Japanese authorities by not allowing their fellow villagers to have freedom of faith. They repeatedly beat up and expelled the missionaries and believers. The new local Police of the Guomindang turned a blind eye to these unlawful acts committed by those people and some of them even joined in the persecution and placed some converts in prison.
In December 1945 at Nan-ao
Nan-ao, Yilan
Nan-ao is a rural township in the southern part of Yilan County, Taiwan. It has a significant population of Atayal aborigines. The township was the site of the Sayun incident during Japanese rule, made famous through the movie Sayon's Bell....
village, around twenty to thirty local youths, who claimed that they supported the Three Principles Doctrine
Three Principles of the People
The Three Principles of the People, also translated as Three People's Principles, or collectively San-min Doctrine, is a political philosophy developed by Sun Yat-sen as part of a philosophy to make China a free, prosperous, and powerful nation...
, surrounded the brethren and beat them up several times. The Bibles and hymn book were incinerated. Although some families were expelled from their homes several times, they did not retaliate and instead prayed for their persecutors.
The evangelists also faced opposition from the Thao tribe.
In August 1947, a village chief and policemen severely beat up the TJC members, forced them to perform hard labour, and locked them up in prison until August 19. Amongst them were two female church members, one with the name of Fu Tian-jing whose head had been seriously bruised during the beatings and passed away three days after her release from prison. In this way, she waas the first martyr
Martyr
A martyr is somebody who suffers persecution and death for refusing to renounce, or accept, a belief or cause, usually religious.-Meaning:...
of the TJC in Taiwan.
It was not until 1951 when law and order was finally restored to the area in which they could truly obtain religious freedom and hold services in peace. During this period, many tribesfolk who had illnesses were miraculously healed during their prayers so the number of believers grew.
1950 - Shanli church established.
1953 - Nantou
Nantou County
Nantou County is the second largest county of Taiwan. It is also the only landlocked county in Taiwan. Its name derives from the Hoanya Taiwanese aboriginal word Ramtau. Nantou County is officially administered as a county of Taiwan....
and Chiayi County
Chiayi County
Chiayi County is a county in southwestern Taiwan surrounding but not including Chiayi City. Its historical name in Taiwanese Hokkien derives from Tsirosen in the Formosan languages...
churches formed.
1955 - Hsinchu
Hsinchu County
Hsinchu County is a county in north-western Taiwan. The population of the county is mainly Hakka; there is a Taiwanese aboriginal minority in the southeastern part of the county. Zhubei is the capital of Hsinchu, where the government office and county office is located...
district church founded.
1959 - Taoyuan district church formed.
1961 - Pingtung County
Pingtung County
Pingtung County is a county in Southern Taiwan. Pingtung County is officially administered as a county of the Republic of China . The oldest national park in Taiwan, Kenting National Park, was established in Pingtung County in 1984...
church established.
1962 - Kaohsiung
Kaohsiung
Kaohsiung is a city located in southwestern Taiwan, facing the Taiwan Strait on the west. Kaohsiung, officially named Kaohsiung City, is divided into thirty-eight districts. The city is one of five special municipalities of the Republic of China...
region church formed.
Developments from the 1950s to the Present day
In 1949 the CommunistsPeople's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
had successfully taken control of China and communication was totally broken. The churches in Taiwan and elsewhere were now on their own. So Taiwan now became the main center for the True Jesus Church global evangelisation network.
1950 - The church started Youth Spiritual Convocations and religious education which were followed by student spiritual gatherings. These became important aspects for the advancement of the Divine work in which the aim was to cultivate the knowledge of the faith to the younger generations.
In 1959 The first Theological
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
classes were held and by 1962, formal Theological seminars were commenced. The main goal was to train full time preachers that could be sent worldwide for missionary work.
1956 - The coordination board was renamed, "The Taiwanese General Assembly of the True Jesus Church
True Jesus Church
The True Jesus Church is a non-denominational Christian church that originated in Beijing, China, in 1917. The current elected chairman of the TJC International Assembly is Preacher Yong-Ji Lin. Today, there are approximately 2.5 million members in fifty three countries and six continents...
" which is the present name today.
To date (2005), there are 238 churches, 32 prayer houses, and 51,952 believers.
See also
- Christianity in TaiwanChristianity in TaiwanTaiwan was seized by the Dutch in 1624. It is a densely populated, mountainous island, about long, lying off the China coast, between Japan and the Philippines.-Dutch Protestant missions :...
- True Jesus Church in ChinaTrue Jesus Church in ChinaThe True Jesus Church in China is a non-denominational church that was established in Beijing, China, in 1917 and continues today in the People's Republic of China...
- True Jesus Church in JapanTrue Jesus Church in JapanThe True Jesus Church in Japan was first established in Tokyo in 1946 by the Japanese Preachers Suda and Murata along with forty-four other Japanese church members who were repatriated from Taiwan to Japan.-Introduction: The Pentecostal movement in Japan:...
.