Joel (back row on right) gives a short talk in Taiwanese at the annual Taiwan Prison Fellowship ministry coworkers' luncheon -- December 13, 2008
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The Taipei bilingual church plant - New Hope Christian Fellowship held its first ordination service on December 14, 2008. Representatives from the presbytery of the Reformed Presbyterian Church in Taiwan as well as Presbyterian Church in America ordained teaching elders all participated in the ordination of New Hope's first three ruling elders.
Church planter Rev. Joel Linton instituted formal membership in 2007, and then after the members nominated elder-candidates, Joel spent several months training them. Three elders were elected in June of 2008 and then they went through more training and then took the ruling elder exam administered by the presbytery in October of this year.
In attendance -- from the Reformed Presbyterian Church in Taiwan: Rev. Harry Chang, Rev. Huang and Rev. Daniel Tsai; from the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan: Ruling Elder Moses Tsai; from the Presbyterian Church in America: Rev. Dennis Brown, Rev. Jim Gray, Rev. Joel H. Linton, Rev. Dr. Andrew McCafferty, Rev. Dr. Tim Yates, and [Pastor Tim]
Joel and Judy (back left) at Christ's College faculty and staff retreat . Joel was their main speaker and gave a two part message on how the Gospel applies to their own lives and in their ministry with coworkers, students and their families, and churches in Taiwan. At I-Lan County's Shangrila Hotel - October 2008
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New Hope started a new Mandarin-language home fellowship group in downtown Taipei led by Taiwanese pastoral intern Caleb Tian. (August 2008)
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Joel baptizes the Wang family. The husband is an architect; the wife works at Taiwan's Department of Health. Both make professions of faith and join New Hope. On the left stands a psychiatrist who also made a profession of faith that day. July 27, 2008
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Reunion with Judy's extended family deep in the high mountains of central Taiwan. Summer 2008 (Please pray for Judy's family as the majority are not Christians yet.)
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New Hope holds a Cafe-Gallery Night outreach event near National Taiwan University in Taipei -- July 2008
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Meinung Township, Kaohsiung County, southern Taiwan: This Hakka farming region needs church planters and evangelists.
Daniel Cohee and Joel Linton visiting a traditional Hakka family in Meinung (Within the family some worship at temples of Buddhist, Taoist and syncretistic I-Guan-Tao religions.) June 2008
Daniel Cohee and Joel Linton visiting a traditional Taiwanese family in Pingtung County, southern Taiwan. (This taxi driver is a retired fireman and also Amway salesman. He and his family are not yet Christians. They worship at a local Taiwanese Taoist temple.) June 2008
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At the newly named - "Liberty Square" in Taipei in December 2007
When I see this arch, I am reminded of John 8:36 and also the name of our fourth child - Saorsa.
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