The Methodist Church And Taiwan Social Change (1953-2008)

The Methodist Episcopal Church was brought to China by Methodist Episcopal Mission, the Methodist Episcopal Church-South, and the Methodist Protestant Church in the mid-19th century. Over a span of more than a hundred year, in addition to developing its churches in China, it also devoted itself to the fields of education, publication, and medical services which, coincidentally, brought social changes to China and contributed significantly to her modernization. When the People's Republic of China was established in 1949, the Methodist Church had no intention of discontinuing its missions in China. However, because of the outbreak of the Korean War and the subsequent anti-Christian sentiments, the Methodist Church withdrew from the China mainland in 1951 and continued its mission to the Chinese by establishing churches in Taiwan in 1953.When the Board of Missions of the Methodist Episcopal Church started its work in Taiwan, it applied its China experiences to Taiwan by first building churches and establishing a system of churches, and, then, launching its services in the fields of education and social charities. It also cooperated with the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan and signed the comity agreement in demarcation of mission fields to witness the ecumenical spirit of Christianity. The end of the Mission Boards'work in Taiwan in 1972 unfolded a period with the President of self-governance as the leader in the church system. However, the church system has been gradually eroded by political influence. Especially the concept of Dynamic Grace of Wesleyans had been overpowered by political power which dominated the development line of the church. Under this situation, the earlier services had become stagnant and the Methodist Church in Taiwan had remained immobile for more than twenty years. It was not until 1998 that the church structure was reorganized in restoring the bishop system and the church regained its vitality in the services of mission, education, and social welfare.From the perspective of contextualization, the Methodist Church has also been profoundly influenced by the five factors of social change: politics, economy, urbanization, population, and family system. Among them, politics in Taiwan apparently had the widest impact on the church. Looking from another angle, the social change in Taiwan cultivated new changes in the Methodist Church to stimulate the religious self-consciousness and to offer the opportunity of renewal for church development.In general, the development of the Methodist Church in Taiwan has closely related with the life of Taiwan and in some way illustrated the interaction between the church and social change. A study on this interaction will help us better understand the rich value of the Mandarin churches in Taiwan. Furthermore, this study should be able to serve as an instrument in evaluating the church development in Taiwan, and also in enlightening the church in its mission strategies in the future.