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Let us now fellowship further regarding the schedule and budget needed to practically implement the new way. First, concerning the full-timers, we need to realize that they must be trained. Whether or not one has passed through the training makes a great difference. However, we must avoid the ways of a public school. We are not operating a seminary; rather, we are being trained in various matters, such as being equipped in the truth, growing in life, carrying out the Lord’s work, leading the meetings, establishing churches in different cities, and shepherding the saints.
In the past the move of propagation was mainly the result of the migration of brothers and sisters, who were led by the Lord to move to different cities for their jobs. In these new cities they brought some of their relatives and friends to be saved and started a meeting. Later other saints joined them to strengthen the testimony. This is how churches in different localities were established. This way is spontaneous but slow. Now the Lord is leading us to take a new way, which will enable us to achieve maximum results with less effort. There will be one thousand full-timers grouped into one hundred teams and sent to one hundred towns to establish one hundred churches in a month. This, however, will require much training and adequate preparation on the part of the full-timers. At present there are approximately two hundred sixty full-time trainees, which is seven hundred short of our target of one thousand. Perhaps more people will come to the training this coming year. This will be a great help to them.
For this reason I have paid much attention to the training. We cannot merely gather a group of people who do not have much knowledge, learning, or experience and send them to visit people in the towns. If we do this, they will not know what to say when people open their door to them. They will not know how to take someone on if he believes in the Lord. These matters require the teaching and practice given in the training. In the future all the trainees may need to wear “uniforms.” This does not mean that they will wear official or distinctive outfits; they will wear something ordinary and uniform in style. In this way people will know that there is a group of Christians who are rich in life, clear in truth, thorough in expounding the Bible, weighty in speaking, noble in character, and neat and elegant in attire. Then they will spontaneously respect us, and they will welcome us when we go to visit them. This matter is of great importance.
Today many big companies in the world, especially in the United States, spend much money to hire fashion designers to design uniforms for their staff. The uniforms are neither extravagant nor military-looking but ordinary, yet elegant, solemn, and modest. No one would choose to go to a bank where the staff is dressed casually and behaves loosely. I hope that the co-workers and full-timers will pay attention to this aspect. Even though we are ordinarily dressed, we gain people’s respect by being orderly, graceful, and dignified in our attire. Moreover, from now on, the books, pamphlets, and tracts we publish should be noble and attractive in appearance. In this way the gospel and truth will have a way to go out, and our elegance and gravity will accompany our publications.
To meet the demands of the change in our system, the elders should pick up the burden to fellowship with the brothers and sisters to be properly attired when they come to the meetings; they should not dress sloppily or fancifully but be modest and proper. Furthermore, the furnishings of the meeting halls should be changed. The meeting halls do not need to be extravagant or magnificent in appearance but elegant, tidy, and clean, not giving the impression of being poor and cheap.
In the early 1950s Brother Nee brought in a revival in the church in Hong Kong. At that time I was starting the Lord’s work in Taiwan. Brother Nee asked me to go to Hong Kong. As soon as I arrived, he brought me to the service meeting and asked me to make arrangements for all the services of the co-workers, the elders, and the deacons in the church according to the authority of the Lord. Brother Nee then returned to mainland China. After picking up the burden of taking the lead in the service in the church in Hong Kong, I first asked the elders to change the appearance of the meeting hall. At that time the meeting hall was on the second floor of an apartment building. In front of the door hung a lead wire with a drum hammer, which was used to knock on the door. Hong Kong is a world-renowned, first-class city, and people commonly install electric doorbells. Yet the meeting hall used this kind of “doorbell.” Some saints furnished and decorated their living rooms with expensive items and had pianos in their homes. The meeting hall, however, looked like a meeting place for the poor. The mirror on the wall seemed as if it had not been dusted since the day it was hung, and everything in the room was topsy-turvy. No one was responsible. Furthermore, the meeting hall had only an old, dilapidated organ that had been donated to the church by a Western missionary who had worked in the interior of China. I severely rebuked the serving brothers in Hong Kong regarding this matter. Thank the Lord, the saints were submissive, and the appearance of the meeting hall was changed that same day. After speaking to them in the morning, an electric doorbell was installed, the mirror was removed, and the dilapidated organ was replaced with a grand piano by the evening.
Later, the church in Hong Kong formed a building group to purchase a piece of land for the building of a meeting hall. They found a field in Tsim Sha Tsui belonging to the Catholic Church, which cost HK$22 (approximately US$3) per square foot. They asked me how large a property they should purchase, and I told them to purchase at least two acres. This was twelve thousand square feet and would cost over HK$250,000 (approximately US$36,000). It was an enormous sum of money thirty-six years ago, so they asked me about reducing the purchase by one half. I replied, “This is your business. You can buy however much you want, but I must say that Tsim Sha Tsui is the main ferry station. Once you cross the harbor, you get to Hong Kong Island. Now since Hong Kong Island has undergone much development, any further development will be on the Kowloon side, where Tsim Sha Tsui is. Because Tsim Sha Tsui will be the center of both Hong Kong and Kowloon sides, you must purchase this piece of land as soon as possible.”
While they were considering this, Brother Nee heard the news and charged them, saying, “Concerning the purchase of the land for the building of the meeting hall, just do what Brother Witness told you.” They accepted it and planned to buy six thousand square feet, but when they were ready to purchase the land, the price had increased by one dollar per square foot. This meant they would need to pay six thousand dollars more than they intended. Then I said, “You must buy it no matter how expensive it is. If you do not buy it now, the land price will continue to rise. Later when you have the blueprint of the meeting hall and find that six thousand square feet is not enough, you will not be able to buy more land.” After these words they reluctantly bought three thousand more square feet and built the meeting hall. Now this piece of land is worth ten million U.S. dollars. The change of meeting halls resulted in an increase in the number of saints in the church. When I went there to hold conferences and trainings in 1954, the meeting hall was filled with more than one thousand people.
Concerning the church in Kaohsiung, a co-worker took me to see a piece of land that was originally a paddy field, for the building of a meeting hall. The land was about forty-six hundred square feet, at about NT$8 (approximately US$0.20) per square foot, and was located at the center of Kaohsiung. When I saw it, I was clear that later there would be much development in Kaohsiung. As a result, I told the brothers to purchase the land as soon as possible. A brother from Kaohsiung came, and I gave him the money from my ministry and charged him to be careful not to lose it on the way. Today that piece of land has a five-thousandfold increase in value.
We are not trying to attract people through outward, material things; however, in the twentieth century, everything has reached international standards, especially in Taiwan. Yet our meeting halls remain shabby and uncomely. This does not match our God and the gospel that we preach. Since God is holy and glorious, and our coming to the meetings is like coming to the “Holy Land,” we must have the attitude to dress properly. Otherwise, when people look at us they will wonder what kind of God we have, and what kind of persons we are; they will question why do we not have an attitude of fear and respect toward our God. We are not imposing outward regulations, but we hope the brothers and sisters will have a clear realization and receive a proper leading.
In this way we will have a shining testimony showing that we are a group of noble people. Today people with achievements, whether in the educational, industrial, or commercial fields, have proper and decent homes. We believers should be the same. This kind of testimony is very persuasive and can bring in the increase. Mormonism is one of the two groups commonly identified by Christianity as heretical; it has, however, been able to spread widely because of its outward appearance. Mormons are very attractive in their family and personal lives, as well as in their conduct, behavior, and appearance. They are honest, reliable, punctual, and proper. Hence, they are respected by others. In a previous chapter I mentioned a heretical group in the Philippines. They claim that Jesus Christ is not God but merely a noble and outstanding man and that they learn from His conduct. They are obviously heretical, but because they are honest, reliable, and well-behaved, they have spread in a prevailing way. Thirty years ago they had one million members, but now they have four million, many of whom are upper-class people, such as lawyers and doctors.
We have the truth, life, and the gospel as real diamonds, but we should not wrap them with tissue paper and sell them to people. Even though we may have the real diamonds, if we wrap them with tissue paper, no one will believe they are real diamonds. Hence, the outward adornment is important. For this reason there is a class in the full-time training that teaches the trainees to dress in a proper, neat, and tidy way. If we dress strangely, wear our tie sloppily, and leave our hair unkempt, even though we speak the truth, no one will listen to us.
There was a brother who in my eyes was simply “a little brother.” One day he testified that he had finished reading all the Life-studies. I was very surprised because he looked unimpressive. Today, however, he is entirely changed. He dresses appropriately, without anything strange in his appearance. We cannot overlook our appearance. A diplomat must be particular in three matters: facial features, manner, and clothing. One’s facial features are inborn and cannot be altered. One’s manner of speaking, speech, and demeanor, however, can be trained. One’s clothing can also be cultivated. Only when a person has proper facial features, good manners, and neat clothing can he appropriately represent his country. We, as representatives of the gospel and ambassadors of God, should have a dignified appearance.
We have included some language classes in the full-time training. This is for the preparation of the gospelization of Taiwan and the whole earth. After we have gospelized the island of Taiwan, some full-timers will be sent abroad, in particular to South America, Africa, Australasia, Japan, and Korea. Hence, they will need to learn the respective languages. Moreover, for the purpose of understanding the Bible and reading the reference materials, they will need to learn Greek. We have invited teachers from different places to come so that, on the one hand, they can teach the trainees different languages, and on the other hand, they can live the church life here. This is “killing two birds with one stone.”
Concerning the furnishing of the training center, everything should be simple, dignified, and harmonious. There must be some who would specifically manage affairs and finance. Since we will have the full-time training every year, we must set up a standard. If the Lord wills, after the meeting hall in Linkou is completed, we will move the training center there, and it will be on a larger scale. We must now establish a good foundation so that there will be no difficulties in the future.
I hope that all the churches will try their best to encourage the young people to join the full-time training and help in handling the applications. I do not insist on my own view. If you want to have a full-time training in your own locality, you may do so, but I would rather that you do it together with some other localities. In this way the teaching staff and the content of the classes will be enriched and strengthened. This also saves much energy. There are two terms of training in a year, with each term lasting four months. For the remaining months in the year, the trainees can return to their respective localities to help and strengthen the churches, or they may stay in Taipei to propagate in the communities. This will further strengthen the steps we take for the propagation.
All the churches must bear the burden to share the expenses for the training. In principle, one full-timer should be produced out of twenty people. Owing to different circumstances, some churches may not have suitable young people to send to the full-time training, but they should still be faithful in the matter of financial support. In contrast, some churches or halls may have many students that can be produced as full-timers but have some difficulties in the matter of support; other churches and halls should make up this lack. If all the churches in Taiwan are one and all the saints endeavor together in one accord, producing as many full-timers as possible and giving as much as possible, the Lord’s grace will enable us to reach our goal of having one thousand full-timers to evangelize Taiwan in five years.
We are producing a model in Taipei for spreading the gospel to the entire island of Taiwan. Our basic principle is to build up the church in the believers’ homes so that the preaching of the gospel, the teaching of the truth, and the edifying of the saints are in the homes. However, Christians still need big meetings, because the atmosphere of the big meetings can never be replaced by small meetings. For this reason we need a big meeting hall that can afford us a place for corporate meetings once a month and can be used on a regular basis for the long-term training. Once the meeting hall in Linkou is completed, it will have an occupancy of fifteen thousand so that saints from various localities can take turns to come and have corporate meetings.
According to the principle in the Old Testament, God ordained that His people gather in Jerusalem three times a year. This was very helpful to the establishment and unity of the nation of Israel. If the church is built up only in the homes, the building will be scattered, and the saints as a whole will not be able to join and blend with one another. Hence, there is the need for a big meeting to join and blend the saints together. Moreover, some high-peak truths cannot be released from house to house through the ministry; rather, they need to be released in the big meetings. The release of the high-peak truths in the big meetings will become the truth lessons for the saints to mutually teach and ask questions in the homes. Furthermore, international conferences and trainings can also be held in Linkou. This will blend the churches on the earth into one Body. Hence, the meeting hall in Linkou is not merely for the need in Taiwan but for the entire earth.
All that we are doing is beneficial to our country. Our effort to bring the gospel and truth to the homes to gospelize, truthize, and churchize Taiwan is the real reformation of the people’s heart. This will have a far-reaching influence on people’s morality and conduct. After the meeting hall in Linkou is finished, it will be used as the training center. Like a factory, the training will be very profitable for the building up of our nation. Therefore, all the saints should pray much that the government will have the foresight to approve our request to build.
The budget for the construction of the meeting hall in Linkou is around NT$400 million (approximately US$13 million). The need for the full-time training and propagation is about the same amount. It will be too heavy for the churches in Taiwan to bear the entire burden. I hope that the saints from overseas, especially the churches in the United States, will share this burden. This requires much prayer. In terms of priority, the full-time training and propagation should be given priority. The move of gospelizing Taiwan will begin in January of 1988, but the construction of the meeting hall in Linkou depends on the approval of the government and the giving of the saints; thus, it may take some time.
I hope that when the co-workers and elders go back to their localities, they will fellowship with the saints regarding these three great schedules, plans, and needs: first, there is the support and quota for the full-timers and the financial need; second, there is the expenses of the full-time training and propagation; and third, there is the need for the construction of the meeting hall in Linkou. Although the full-time training is in Taipei, the full-time trainees come from all over Taiwan. After they are trained, they will be for the whole earth. Hence, this financial burden should be shared by all the churches in Taiwan and not borne exclusively by the church in Taipei. I hope the brothers will encourage the saints to rise up to respond to these three matters. If we succeed in these three matters, the Lord’s recovery will have a broad way on the earth, and the prospect of the Lord’s recovery will surpass our expectation.
