Albert and Elaine
Lorne and Kathy-Lu
Albert and Elaine Lu are the Team Leaders of our Taiwan international worker team from Canada.
Lorne and Kathy-Lu are working in Baozhong Township, located in the western part of Yunlin County. This location was chosen because there are very few churches to share the good news about Jesus. In July 2017, Pastor Joshua Lee (李聿揚傳道) joined the church work. Pastor Joshua is the lead pastor of the church.
Lorne and Kathy-Lu’s focus is to follow God’s leading and partner with others to build up the church in Baozhong Township. The goal is for the church to have a lasting relationship with the community, helping more people discover the abundant life offered by Christ Jesus.
In addition to Sunday Services, Prayer Meetings, and Bible Studies, we are involved in some community service projects–Telling stories and teaching English in schools, sponsoring children and youth camps, planning community events, etc. This involvement in our town lets us contribute to the community and allows residents to become better acquainted with us.
By Taiwan standards Baozhong Township is a small community. It is 4.2 kilometres east to west, and 8.823 kilometres north to south, for a total of area 37.052 square kilometres.
The 11,901 residents live in 9 villages. Although some people operate small businesses, most rely on farming for at least part of their livelihood.
The area is still experiencing an economic downturn, so many students and young workers leave town and spend most of their time in one of Taiwan’s larger cities. The result is that the population is both decreasing and aging.
Currently there are 15 registered temples (14 Taoist and 1 Buddhist). There are an additional 15 unregistered temples. There are many more shrines and house temples that are not included in this count.
There are three church groups in town. The Roman Catholic Church has been here for many years. The other two groups are churches being started. They include the Baozhong Alliance Church and the Village Gospel Mission Gospel Center.
Our desire for the Baozhong Alliance Church is to see it located near the township center where it will be easily accessible for the majority of area residents. We want people to experience the transforming power of Christ in their personal and family life.