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Grace Baptist Church
is a historic church that is well known in many countries. Here is
just a little information to give you a
perspective of the past and help you to see to where we hope the
church will go in the future.
The church began in the late 1940's
under the leadership of missionaries Inabelle Coleman, Ola Lea, and
Josephine Ward. All three had left Mainland China in 1949.
After accepting positions as
university teachers in Taiwan, they began student ministries in
their home. Although they began with just six students, the group
soon grew, and Dr. Carl Hunker was asked to lead the English worship
service.
Soon evening Chinese worship
services were added, and it was called the University Baptist
Center.
By 1951, the Center had over 100
members and was renamed Grace Baptist Church. By 1954, the church
had grown until they needed a new location.
After much searching, Miss Coleman
found the current location. With a loan from the Southern Baptist
Convention in the US and sacrificial giving from church members and
others, sufficient funds became available for the building project.
The new building opened on June 5, 1954.
Dr. Chow Lien-Hua became pastor in
September of that same year. Through his fervent leadership and the
evangelistic thrust of the membership, many unbelievers accepted
Christ and joined the effort to expand God's kingdom.
As pastor, Dr. Chow gathered a
strong ministerial team to continue the growth of the church.
Miss Coleman died on October 15,
1959. The student center was renamed "Coleman Hall" in her honor.
Miss Lillian Lu, who had faithfully served as music and youth
director and had translated hundreds of hymns into Chinese, died of
cancer on June 5, 1976.
As time progressed, the Chinese
ministries became predominate. However, the English congregation
still continued to flourish. This was due to the effective
ministries of the Sunday School, Training Union, Women's Missionary
Union, the Baptist Brotherhood, and student ministries.
Over the following thirty years, the
congregation continued to grow in membership, frequency of meetings,
and activities until a lack of space hindered further growth.
When the Chinese congregation passed
one thousand in membership, it became obvious that the church was
outgrowing its building. So, in 1983, the church decided to rebuild
on the same site.
The architectural planning group
decided that the new building should be in harmony with Chinese
culture. The new building was completed and dedicated to the Lord on
December 2, 1984.
Soon afterward, Dr. Chow retired
with honor at the age of seventy. Other pastors later led the
church, including Kuo Yun-Han, Evan Shu, Leroy Hogue, Stephen Lee,
and David Brown.
In addition, the church has had the
blessing of many faithful ministers.
Due to the faithfulness of its staff
and membership, the church continued to grow and needed another
expansion of its facilities. In 2003, twenty years after the
previous expansion, the facilities went through another renovation
that left the Chinese facade intact, while including a more spacious
interior and more comfortable rooms.
Our prayer is that God will continue
to use Grace Baptist Church, both the Chinese and English
congregations, as a lighthouse in Taipei, in Taiwan, and to the rest
of the world.
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