All for the Sake of Jesus
Written by Winston Wen, Pastor of the Louisville Taiwanese Presbyterian Church, Louisville, KY   
Wednesday, 31 March 2010 17:45
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In September 1980, two Taiwanese families decided to begin a Sunday Bible study in their mother language in a borrowed room at a church in New Albany, Indiana.  They had discovered that many Taiwanese people living in the area had never heard the Good News of Jesus Christ.

Two years later, a pastor from Taiwan, the Reverend Chi Han-Run, came to study at Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary.  By that time, the group had grown to about ten families who were meeting once a month in the House of Wen, a local Chinese restaurant owned and operated by one of the founding families.  Under the leadership of the Reverend Chi, they enjoyed fellowship in the Taiwanese language, shared a Chinese dinner, and sang folk songs.  They also discussed practical issues like how to live out their Christian faith, how to connect with other immigrants, and how to survive in this new land, all in the context of the promise of Jesus Christ.

Four years later, in 1986, the fellowship moved, first to the home of a family in Louisville and then to Calvin Presbyterian Church. The Calvin congregation offered space for worship, fellowship, and study, treated the Taiwanese fellowship like family, and provided a scholarship for the leader. The group soon gathered weekly.  They became an on-site mission for Calvin and, as people accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, they became members of Calvin, still keeping their special identity with the Taiwanese fellowship.

God sent five more Taiwanese pastors to the seminary: The Reverends Shinter Hsy, Joseph Shr, Stenley Wu, John Ko, and Paul Wang.  There was still no full time pastor for the Louisville Taiwanese fellowship, but there was shared leadership.  The Fellowship was officially organized as a new church development in 1994, and through strong visionary leadership from visiting Taiwanese pastors Hsien-Chang Lai and Hsiau-Shen Chuang forty-two people were baptized in the next four years.

Throughout this time, Winston Wen, one of the original organizers, felt the work of God's grace in his heart.  In 1995, this Taiwanese social worker turned American restaurateur surrendered to the call to ministry.  He sold the restaurant where the fellowship first had met to begin his studies at Louisville Presbyterian Seminary.  He was ordained at Calvin with great celebration in 1999.  In October 2009, with much singing, prayer, and joy, they were officially chartered as an independent congregation.

What makes this congregation unique, however, is not as much their story as their mission.  Many colleges and universities in the Louisville area offer degrees in engineering, medicine, and other professions that, combined with a low cost of living, make the Kentuckiana region attractive to Asian people wishing to study in the United States.

From its inception as a Bible study, the Taiwanese fellowship has worked tirelessly to be "home away from home" for Taiwanese people.  New immigrants, students, and their families are met at the airport and welcomed to the city.  Members of the congregation help them find and establish housing, introduce them to American supermarkets, and help them establish residency as they learn to navigate around the area.  In addition to offering a weekly home-cooked meal and fellowship after worship, this small congregation hosts special dinners at all the important Chinese and American holidays, often feeding and entertaining over 100 Chinese and Taiwanese people.

The faith dynamics of this congregation are also unique.  Of the people in worship on any given Sunday, 30-50% of them are not Christians.  They come for the opportunity to converse in their mother language, to share food and culture.  Many meet Jesus through his loving ambassadors.  The congregation, for their part, sees their mission continue to be, as it has always been, to share their deep passion for the simple Good News of Jesus Christ, introducing people to Jesus, and embodying his love in all they do.

The Louisville Taiwanese Presbyterian Church still meets in a simple room at Calvin Church.  They still sing Taiwanese Christian songs with great joy and deep faith.  They still push back the chairs and set up the tables each week after worship for fellowship and an amazing meal.  Above all, they pray passionately, ceaselessly, lovingly, and inconveniently.  The main spiritual power of the congregation centers on a time of prayer and preparation every Saturday morning that begins at 7:00 and can sometimes extend into the early afternoon!

And they see God’s mission at work.  In the past twenty-five years, over 300 people who have come to Louisville to study in their professional calling, have found their way to the Louisville Taiwanese Presbyterian Fellowship/Congregation, have met Jesus there, and have returned to Taiwan as believers; missionaries of the Good News who connect with congregations all over the Island and are ready to invite others to meet Jesus.  All of this happens because two families started a Bible study and surrendered their lives to follow joyfully where God was leading.


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