Please note: some names are left out because of the safety of people who live in countries where the gospel is not readily accepted.
This summer, seven members from Citylight’s Salt Company college ministry spent two months in Taiwan partnering with a local church to share the gospel with university students. More than 150,000 students live in the city they served, yet only 3% of the population identifies as evangelical Christian, a number that continues to decline. The Salt team spent their summer building friendships with Taiwanese students, inviting them to study the Bible, and learning the language and culture. Here are a few of their stories and celebrations from the summer.
J* was one of closest friends to the Salt Taiwan team. They hung out every day on campus. J* thought they were Mormons at first…until they drank coffee together and J* realized they weren’t because Mormons can’t have coffee! They grabbed food together, and one of the first things J* said was “What is the difference between Mormonism and Christianity?” The team didn’t know too much about Mormonism, but they knew that adding any other book to the Bible contradicted the Bible, so they said that the Book of Mormon was bad and wrong as a result. They shared the gospel and heard more about J*’s background. J* shared as the oldest brother he is forced to worship gods at home as a model for his younger siblings.
J* spotted two of his friends, L* being one of them. J* invited his friends over. Once again, these two asked if the team was Mormon (becoming some sort of weird theme here). The team cleared the air once again, attempting to explain for the second time the difference between the two to the confused Taiwanese students. However, the team was speaking it in English, and J*'s friends were not good with English, so J* decided to translate everything into their language and explain how the Book of Mormon was bad and that the only real source of truth was the Bible. Then J* explained the gospel he heard from the team to L*! He literally just heard the gospel a few minutes prior and was now explaining the whole story to his friends.
L* then invited the boys to go play badminton. After playing, L* learned that the boys were missionaries, and his eyes lit up, almost in a fearful way. The boys offered a chance to hangout and talk about religion and Jesus, but L* said “No, I just want to hang out for fun.” A few days later, the team had a Bible study, inviting everyone they could to it, but since L* had already denied the opportunity to learn about Jesus, he had, in the teams’ mind, a low chance of responding to the invitation. To their surprise, L* accepted the invite to come to the Bible study!
The guys got food with L* and then brought him to Bible study. They read the Parable of the Lost Son together. L* asked a bunch of questions. He was super curious. He was very expressive that he liked it throughout the study. He called the Bible beautiful and said he loved the story they read.
J*, by the end of the summer, said he believed in Jesus, though he said he sees him as another one of the gods he worships at home. The team sat him down for a hard conversation, telling him Jesus is the only God, and you can only worship Jesus; J* received the harsh rebuke and wrestled with what he heard. He had to be the older brother who modeled worshipping the other gods to his siblings.
The team prayed that J* and L* would continue to come around and visit the long-term missionary team in Taiwan. They prayed that he would continue to hear the gospel and one day accept Jesus for himself. Seeds were planted to many students like J* and L*. The Salt team asks you to pray alongside them that over the future the seeds bear fruit of salvation! There are other students like Ja* and W* that got close with the team during their time there. The Salt team prays that one day they become Christians.
Bailey, one of the Salt students who served in Taiwan, said
“God was on the move this summer! Not only among Taiwan, although absolutely yes, but also among my team’s heart and my heart. The Lord used this summer to reveal many things to me that will forever change my walk with Him and the way I pursue others … The Lord revealed to me that my purpose in life is to MAKE HIM KNOWN! And with that, He grew my affections for Him and His worthiness to be known by all peoples, in all places, in any and all circumstances. This revelation seems simple but let me tell ya -- it’s life changing!”
Another Salt team member, Deborah, said
“Being back in the U.S., one thing is so clear to me: I cannot ignore the call to the nations. Jesus must be made known to every dark corner of the earth, and we must be obedient to that call!”
The six students (Bailey, Cooper, Obadiah, Landen, Tyler, and Deborah) and one staff (Maddie) were all deeply influenced by their summer overseas. The team was radically changed by their experience ministering to the nations, and many of them agreed that their heart for the nations is forever changed.
One of the coolest things happened early on in their trip: an immediate answer to prayer with a new friend. E* was the Taiwan team’s language teacher. His dad was a Christian, which is rare in Taiwan, but E* did not believe for himself. He merely taught language and didn’t mind working with the church to teach the missionaries.
E* started to open up and get close to the guys on the team. He started coming to Bible studies, and in one of the Bible studies, Deborah asked E* “What is holding you back from going all in with Jesus?” He went home and wrestled with this question for weeks. Towards the end of the summer, E* went all in with Jesus and gave his life to Christ. E* was baptized in a kiddy pool.
E* was night and day different after giving his life for Jesus. He literally acted differently. He was willing to lose friends for the gospel. He spent the rest of the summer with the team, and he was so sad when they left because he did not have many Christian friends in Taiwan.
When the team signed up to go to the nations, there was no promise that God would bear fruit in their short time there, but the team got to experience a miracle. E* not only became a Christian but is now growing in the gospel; he will surely be a light on the dark college campus in Taiwan. Citylight Church, please join us in praying that God uses E*’s life to lead others to faith in Jesus.
Cooper, one of the guys on the Salt Taiwan team, said
“The amount of prayers that were answered in our day-to-day life reinforced my faith and grew deeper my awe of His power and majesty! Most importantly my heart has been renewed and am excited to continue ministry in the United States and have gained good experience sharing the gospel with people.”
What started as two months in Taiwan became an opportunity to see God at work through simple faithfulness. Through friendships, Bible studies, language classes, and everyday conversations, the Salt team shared the hope of the gospel with students who may have never heard it before. God even answered one of their prayers by allowing them to see a student become a Christian while they were there. Now home, the six students and leader are eager to see God continue answering prayers as they serve in Omaha, where each will lead a City Group this fall. We celebrate what God did in Taiwan and pray that the seeds planted there will continue to grow, and that their ministry in Omaha will be fruitful and blessed as more people come to know and follow Jesus.
Serve on a short-term global team >> luke@citylightomaha.org