Why Taiwan? Join in the Conversation

I was really excited about the trip to Italy and France with Upstream. While I didn’t know those guys yet, I knew Ed and loved the vision for what Upstream is trying to do. The trip was great from first to last. As with any international trip we had some changes in schedule, but they were all handled very well to keep the team moving and ‘on-task’. I took three of my church members with me that I was hoping to use as leaders on trips and within LifePoint for missional work. I could not have planned or hoped for a greater response from them. They were totally stoked from the trip. One has been sending me e-mails since he returned with insights for mission that the Lord is giving to him and his own convictions about being a missionary at home. He led a guy to the Lord for the first time yesterday through his work! Being able to ‘see the field’, interact in the culture and personalize the labor was invaluable for us and ultimately for LifePoint. We are now praying, dialoguing and planning what it looks like for LifePoint to engage in international, Gospel-centered church planting in these areas. We were never interested in just a couple of trips to ‘see what was going on’. From the start we wanted to participate in the labor. We know God is leading us in this as we obey his call. I’m thankful for Upstream and the path they are helping us to build to the international field. I know they will be a vital part in preparing LifePoint to engage in global church planting.

Let's try and get this ball rolling. Larry has asked me to comment on the following: "What does an Upstream vision trip look like? What do we do?" and "How can going on one of these trips benefit your church?"

I had the privilege of traveling to Rome, Italy and Marseilles, France with Larry, Caleb, Ed, and others a couple of months ago. We toured the cities, met the missionaries who live and work there, discussed mission challenges, strategies, and the prevailing worldview of Europeans. However, I also smelled the air. I tasted the food (even had Indian food in France). I met Italian and French people who had become friends of those we worked with. I saw with my own eyes the spiritual emptiness of a Sunday morning service in Rome that had become a tourist attraction more than anything.

These are the things a person needs to catch a vision for global mission. Because until you smell the air, taste the food, and shake people's hands can the vision become "real." Our church plant had said from day one that we need to discover what God is doing not only where he has sent us to plant this particular church, but also around the world. And until I went on the vision tour did that vision of Matthew's Table engaging in God's global mission become a reality. That is to say, we now have focus in a world full of distractions as well as opportunity. A focus, that I believe, is a direct result of participating in this trip.

Furthermore, we are in the beginning stages of creating a partnership in Rome. We recently had one of the guys we worked with in Rome share his story and the work they are involved with via a skype video call in a Sunday service.

This particular Sunday, we all shared in an Italian feast, (chicken marsala - we eat together every Sunday) listened, asked questions, and prayed together with our new friend in Rome. This experience brought home another piece of the reality of God's global mission into the minds and lives of our community of faith. We all have now committed together to partner with the work in Rome.

So, I said all of that to say, if you are looking for a way to connect with God's global mission in Asia, then here is your chance to do just that.

Lane, Michael,
Thanks for sharing about your experiences. The Rome/Marseille trip was pretty awesome.

Our vision with the Upstream Collective is to help churches find where they can be effectively involved in mission. Lots of churches already do a lot in mission, but when a church is going a hundred different directions, it can be hard to be unified and purposeful.

We try to make Jet Set trips (like the upcoming one to Asia) an equal balance of education, connection, dreaming, research, and worship experience. The trip isn't the end, though- it's the beginning of an ongoing relationship with a Collective of like-minded churches and missionaries.

If you have not seen this video of Ed interviewing Michael in Rome you need to take a look at it.

http://blog.theupstreamcollective.org/2009/05/25/video-ed-stetzer-interviews-michael-carpenter-in-rome/

It is really cool to see these pastors continue their global journey with their churches once they return home. Thanks for sharing Michael and Lane.

Is this trip/project something just for Southern Baptist churches? Or other churches from other denominations welcome to partner and participate?

My question for Pastor Larry is: "How can a young church plant be involved in world missions/Upstream considering there is very limited funds to work with and very young, but establishing church members?

We have a desire, can you offer some direction?

Steve,

The Upstream Collective is missional network that works with various denominations. We also work with various sending mission organizations/ networks. We have had people from these churches or networks coming on trips each time we have had one.

So yes we would be very open to your participation and partnership. If you want to work with us and our partners in Taiwan, and you are a Great Commission Christian, you are welcome!

Thanks for asking. Send me an email if you are interested and we can talk more.

Some longtime friends of my parents (I know them, too) are missionaries in Taiwan. They are currently retired but who really retires in the ministry?? They live in SC but are currently back in Taiwan working/ministering while some other missionaries are on furlough.

Tim,
I'd point you to some of the "practical ideas" outlined on the Upstream Collective blog. We relay what some innovative churches are doing despite their limited resources.

Also, Michael would be a good person to talk to about this. Matthew's Table is a small church plant with global vision.

We're seeing a lot of churches "send" people through job transfers and business trips. We're also seeing a rise in "reverse mission trips," where churches intentionally host exchange students from unreached people groups with the goal of engaging that group with the gospel.

Anyone else want to share some ideas?

I think every church can be involved in some say-- and probably more than they realize. Caleb led a helpful discussion of that in Rome-- and will probably do the same in Taiwan.

Ed

Tim. Matthew's Table was less than one year old and had just received approval for funding and had yet to receive our first check from the good folks at the Tennessee Baptist Convention when I went on the vision tour to Rome/Marseilles. When I first connected with The Upstream Collective we were literally 2 weeks old. I say that to say, money should not be a hindrance to your plant becoming engaged in God's global mission. Believe me, I understand the anxiety felt when it comes to thinking about international missions. I don't receive a salary. Our offering every week is minimal at best (most of our members are unemployed or under-employed). The coffee shop our community of faith owns has been struggling through this economy and the summer months, but God's mission is NEVER hindered by money (at least it shouldn't be). Get connected, pray, ask, seek, and knock on every door you can find that may have a dollar bill to spot you. Even if you cannot go on this trip, follow it virtually through twitter, this blog, or The Upstream's blog. It sounds trite, but make it known to your community that you all will be engaged globally and just see what God will do.

If you want an idea for raising funds, check out the initiative we have started here.

I praise God for your comments and counsel. Looking into Matthew's Table and the "practical ideas" blog has been an excellent start.

Thanks so much!

I have been asked to speak a little about Taiwan and Taipei. Taiwan is a Tobacco Leaf shaped island 60 kilometers off the coast of China. 22 million people call the island home. There are over 6 million people who make the city of Taipei home. The city of Taipei is a safe and comfortable city where people of all ages can move about and be involved in all sorts of activities to share the gospel. Though there have been missionaries and churches here for many years many people have never heard to the gospel in a way that is easy for them to accept.
Taipei is a modern city that is technologically advanced. Technology is the primary element of the economy of Taiwan and Taipei. Taipei is the home of Taipei 101, a 101 story office building which at is the tallest building in the world. While in Taipei we will be able to visit this building and see the views.
In 1950 5% of the population of Taiwan was Christian, today 2% of the population is Christian. The opportunities for ministry is endless.
The average size of churches is 25 - 35 people. In recent years the responsiveness of people to the gospel has grown.
The local religion is a combination of Buddhism, Taoism, local fold religion which could best be called animism. In the past many people would want to take Jesus and place him on their god shelf with all their other idols. Many times people are very willing to talk about issues of faith. In many ways these people are still pre-modern. We will take the participants of this trip to visit at least one temple while on this trip.
I believe that this will an exciting opportunity for North American believers to experience a new and challenging way of ministry and church planting.

I grew up (at least part of the time) in Taiwan - my parents were missionaries there. It would really be cool to go back sometime.

I hear it has changed so much since we moved back to the States in 1973.

One thing that's especially exciting about this trip is that you'll be able to follow along even if you're not able to come with us to Taiwan.

We're going to post interviews with Ed, photos of the sights, video of the teaching sessions, and info on the groups and church planters we meet along the way.

We'll use Twitter to keep you up-to-date, (@edstetzer and @theupstreamc) and we're going to experiment with some live webcasts as well. (Of course, with the time difference, you'll be sleeping during most of the action...)

You'll be able to follow along here at edstetzer.com or at theupstreamcollective.org.

By the way, there are some spots still open for this trip. If you're interested, let us know soon!

One thing that's especially exciting about this trip is that you'll be able to follow along even if you're not able to come with us to Taiwan.

We're going to post interviews with Ed, photos of the sights, video of the teaching sessions, and info on the groups and church planters we meet along the way.

We'll use Twitter to keep you up-to-date, (@edstetzer and @theupstreamc) and we're going to experiment with some live webcasts as well. (Of course, with the time difference, you'll be sleeping during most of the action...)

You'll be able to follow along here at edstetzer.com or at theupstreamcollective.org.

By the way, there are some spots still open for this trip. If you're interested, let us know soon!

I'm very excited that the Upstream Collective is going to Taiwan, I'll definitely be following along on the website and praying for everyone. This is what I know of Taiwan, I left there in 94 and went back for a visit in 05. Things have really changed!

Taiwanese people highly value cultivating relationships. Most families still maintain a very traditional setup whereby 3 generations live under the same roof. And you can find people getting together with friends and going shopping until 1am and then going to the night market or a restaurant to eat and chat until 3am or even later. It's all about food and friendships.

They're also very open to discuss almost anything. Topics that many westerners feel is "private" are usually brought up casually, including "how much do you make?" Very friendly people, especially to foreigners, and especially foreigners who speak english and are caucasian.

They highly value, or I suppose, their idols are good education, hard work, and making money (as partly evidenced by the shops that open pass midnight 7 days a week). They value money, but not nice properties and big houses. You may see many dilapidated looking houses, but the people who live there can actually be quite rich. But they can also be quite poor, it's hard to tell sometimes.

The big cities are a lot like Tokyo, very fast paced, all about hard work, shopping, and food. But the smaller towns too, are all about hard work, shopping, and food.

Taiwan is fairly westernized and I would say the same for its churches. I don't remember any special contextualizing of the gospel or worship services. But I was only 10 when I left so perhaps I just didn't know. But when I came to the west and attended churches here, things were pretty much the same.

As in any other country, people here attend church for various reasons, curiosity, friendships, politics, Jesus. The pastors that I have met have a deep, quiet passion about them. They seem very serious, but they definitely know how to laugh and have fun.

So this is the short version of what I know about my people. I probably gave the impression that they are extremely materialistic, but I'm just stating what I have observed and experienced. If anyone even takes just a few minutes to chat with them though, there's a lot of stuff underneath that's dying to get out.

That sound really interesting and would love to keep up with your posts about Taiwan. My brother-in-law is a church planter there in a beach town outside of Taipei. He has planted a church on the grounds of Buddhist temple and is in the process of planting a church in the business district of Taipei and in the middle of Taiwan I think he would be interested in hearing about the Upstream.