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Dear Friends,
Every healthy, established church exists today because someone, at some point, chose to plant it. Someone looked ahead. Someone invested when there was no guarantee of success. Someone believed future generations needed a place to hear the gospel, even if they themselves might never see the full fruit.
Many of you are part of churches like that. Churches that were once small, uncertain, and new - but faithful people stepped out in trust, they gave generously and they sacrificed so that we and many future generations would benefit from the Gospel's power.
That same conviction is what drives Mission Taiwan.
We don’t plant churches because existing churches are failing. We plant churches because the gospel always needs to be carried forward into new places, new cultures, and new generations. Church planting is one of the primary ways God has done that throughout history - and it remains just as necessary today.
We are in a drive to not just plant new churches, but to plant churches that will plant churches. And this is going to require a unique kind of pastor/shepherd.
God has been so good to bring some really incredible people into our path. This Saturday evening, my good friend Derek Hall is bringing his pastor, Greg Gibson from Living Hope, Memphis, TN and his friend Elliott Grudem (that's Wayne Grudem's son, the Systematic Theology guy) to help our team work on our pastoral health paradigm. These guys are some of the best and we are really humbled that they would take some of their time to come and spend with us.
Please pray that we would take full advantage of the few days we have together. We have a lot to share with them about the Taiwanese culture and things that we are dealing with here so that they can take their knowledge and help us create effective Biblical frameworks to really help our pastoral candidates.
Here's a story that will help you understand why this is so important. Just this week I received a message from one of our first church planters. He’s finishing an internship at a traditional church and will officially begin with us in June.
The church held a children’s winter camp where about half of the volunteers were not believers. They were kind, capable, and committed. But throughout the entire camp, almost no gospel was shared. The goal was character development and good behavior rather than helping children know God.
He told me plainly, “Without knowing God, these things alone cannot bring true salvation.”
What also troubled him was how the non-believing young people were treated. They were told they didn't fit in with the church youth. Rather than being welcomed, they were pushed to the margins.
Friends, this is why we plant churches.
- We plant churches because the Gospel is the first thing, not one of many things.
- We plant churches because people who don’t yet know Christ should experience God's love and grace.
- We plant churches because teaching people to behave better is not the same thing as introducing them to Jesus.
New churches play a unique role in God’s mission. By nature, they are built to reach people who aren’t already connected to church. From the beginning, they organize around the gospel and the people they hope to reach - not traditions, programs, or assumptions formed in another season. That outward focus doesn’t just help new people encounter Christ; it also brings renewal and clarity to the wider church.
I want you to know that your partnership is making a real difference. You are helping us plant churches where the gospel is clear, where outsiders are genuinely welcomed, and where faithfulness matters more than comfort.
Thank you for praying. Thank you for giving. And thank you for standing with us as we keep planting churches for the sake of the gospel here in Taiwan.
Grateful for you,
Todd
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