Taiwan Church Growth Report 2015

In 2014 a One Challenge worker and a Taiwanese church leader gained broader vision when they participated in a Global Church Planting Network (www.GCPN.info) gathering of regional teams near Budapest Hungary. In March of 2015, the One Challenge’s Global Research Team was asked to prepare maps of Taiwan for a meeting of church leaders to be held in September 2015 to show where the church has been making disciples effectively and where greater focus is needed.

Data provided to the Global Research Team from the "Taiwan Church Report 2013" by Rev. John S. T. Chu of the Christian Resource Center was used by permission for analysis and mapping. The provided data gives a longitudinal perspective of the growth of the church in Taiwan from 1989 until 2013 as well as a more in depth data about the 2011-2013 time period.

In September 2015 a gathering of about 80 Chinese denominational and agency leaders was convened on the 150th anniversary of the arrival of protestant missionaries to the island. At this time some of the maps and analysis from this report were shared. Later it was deemed beneficial to present the material developed for Taiwan in a single document with accompanying explanations. The Taiwan Church Growth Report 2015 in the attached file is a summary of our work. This report contains two infographics, eight data tables, nine graphs and eight maps generated from the data provided. Suggestions for further study and implications for ministry strategy are presented in the comment sections.

In our study, we were pleased to find that after 150 years from the arrival of Protestant missionaries in Taiwan, that the statement “the word of the Lord continued to grow and to be multiplied” (Acts 12:24) is just as true of the Taiwan Church as it was of the Early Church.

It is our prayer that the Taiwan Church Growth Report 2015 will inform, inspire as well as challenge those who read it.