The Introduction of

Bread of Life Christian Church in Taipei

台北靈糧堂簡介

September, 2002

Ⅰ. Brief History of Bread of Life Christian Church in Taipei

The Ling Leung Worldwide Evangelistic Mission was founded by the Chinese evangelist, Rev. Timothy Zhao, in Shanghai, China in 1947. Before that, Rev. Timothy Zhao established the first *Ling Leung Tang (*Bread of Life Christian Church) there in 1942. It is a self-sufficient, self-nurturing and self-propagating institution. Rev. Zhao responded to God’s calling to share the Gospel. His footprints have been to all over the world. He preached God’s salvation to Chinese everywhere and witnessed the gospel of Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Bread of Life Christian Church in Taipei inherited this mission and was founded in 1954. God gives the church the vision to establish a glorious church to have worldwide mission. Presently, the number of Sunday service attendants, including adults and children, is about 7000. Since 1988, it started to plant churches and has planted 41 local branch churches in Taiwan and 62 branch churches overseas (Please refer to the attached maps). God uses this church to bring revival in many Chinese churches of the world.

*Note A：“Ling Leung Tang” is the Chinese pronunciation of the church’s name.

*Note B：“Bread of Life Christian Church” is the English traslation of “Ling Leung Tang”.

*Note C： is the logo of Bread of Life Christian Church in Taipei.

Ⅱ.Our Statement of Faith

  1. We believe all Scripture is inspired by Holy Spirit and infallible and is the highest authority and guideline for Christian faith and life. (2Ti3:16; 1Co2:13)
  2. We believe in “I Am,” the one true God, who manifests Himself as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the triune God, the Lord who created everything and redeemed all people. (Mt28:19; 2Co13:14)
  3. We believe that Jesus Christ is God’s only begotten Son, conceived by the Holy Spirit, born to the virgin Mary, and that He is fully God and fully man. (Lk1:26-35; Jn1:14-18; Isa7:14; 9:6)
  4. We believe that Jesus Christ died for our sins and was raised from the dead three days after He was buried, that He ascended to heaven, and that He will come again, according to His promise. (1Co15:1-4; Ro4:25; Jn14:2-3; 1Th4:13-18)
  5. We believe that the Holy Spirit and the Father and the Son have the same essence, authority, honor, and glory; that He causes believers to be born again and sanctified, and gives every kind of spiritual gifts, which still exist today. (Jn3:5-8; Ro8:9-13; 1Co12:1-11; Ro12:6-8; Eph4:4-16)
  6. We believe that men are created in God’s image, and because they disobeyed God, fell into sin and became totally corrupt, unable to save themselves; and that they need God’s salvation. (Ge1:26-27; 3:1-7; Ro5:12,18)
  7. We believe men are saved by God’s grace, and also because of their repentance and belief in the work of salvation that Jesus accomplished on the cross. (Eph2:8-9; Heb9:12,22)
  8. We believe that believers should continue to be filled by the Holy Spirit and live a holy life, set apart from the world to bear spiritual fruit and to receive power to serve God effectively. (Eph5:18; 2Co6:14; 7:1; Gal5:22; Ac1:8)
  9. We believe that the purpose of the Church is to equip the saints to live the testimony of Jesus Christ, to share the gospel of the Kingdom, and to fulfill the Lord’s Great Commission. (Mt5:13-16; 28:18-20; Eph4:11-16; Php2:14-16)
  10. We believe that the Church is the body of Christ, and that a true universal church consists of born-again believers, and that this universal church consists of local churches in different areas. (Eph4:4,12; 1Co12:13; Ac15:22; Mt16:18; 18:15-20)
  11. We believe that baptism by total immersion is the primary way for the church to baptize born-again people, but we also respect and accept other ways of baptism. (Mt28:19; Ac2:38; 19:1-6)
  12. We believe that children are a heritage from God, and that dedicating our children to Him is pleasing to God, and that parents should take on the responsibility to spiritually educate their children and raise godly descendants. (Ps127:3; 1Sa1:21-28; Lk2:21-23; Pr3:1-4; 13:24)
  13. We believe that all born-again and baptized people may take the Lord’s Supper, and that when we take the Lord’s Supper, we must examine our deeds, lest we eat and drink judgment on ourselves. (1Co11:28-32; Mt26:26-28)
  14. We believe that the devil is a real spiritual entity, and that he and his angels have already been judged and will be thrown into the lake of fire in the end times. (Mt. 25:41; Rev20:10)
  15. We believe that in the end times, Christ will come again to judge the living and the dead, and that those who do not believe will be resurrected and suffer eternal punishment, and that those who do believe will be resurrected and have eternal life, and will reign with Christ forever. (Mk9:43-48; 2Th1:9; Rev20:10-15; 22:5)

Ⅲ. Church Vision

To Fulfill the Great Commission
To Evangelize through God’s Power
To Live out the Bible
To March towards God’s Glory
  1. Establish a ministry integrating evangelism, discipleship, and community service in the Taipei metropolitan area.
  2. Establish a central, energetic, and continually growing cell group church in the Taipei metropolitan area.
  3. Support the branch churches in establishing energetic, and continually growing cell group churches.
  4. Help some of the Chinese churches (local and overseas) in renewal, transformation and growth.
  5. Send evangelistic teams to unreached to share the gospel places (in Taiwan and overseas) and establish cell group churches.

Ⅳ. Church Strategy

1. Use the Sunday worship and sermons to establish lively and energetic celebration meetings.

2. Use structured division of labor and proper combination of each co-worker’s gifts to ensure that the ministry is as effective as possible.

3. Establish a one-on-one cell group discipleship and edification channel to help believers to grow in every aspect.

4. Use a progressive leader training system to equip lay leaders in the church for effective ministry.

5. Establish a full-range social services center and relevant facilities, and develop a professional social service ministry in order for the church to reach out.

6. Establish Christian families as the solid foundation of the church to show Christ’s love and share the gospel with the local communities.

7. Use the Church Planting Division and the Pastoral Zones to help plant churches in Taiwan and overseas, and to establish glorious cell group churches.

8. Use the Kingdom Service Center Ministry to support churches in need.

9. Give church missionaries full support to fulfill the Great Commission by training, equipping and sending them out.

10. Use mass media to reach out and share the gospel with unreached people.

Ⅴ. Brief Introduction to the Cell Group Church

Welcome to Bread of Life Christian Church in Taipei. It is a cell group church; to understand what a cell group church is, please refer to the comparison chart below：

A Cell Group Church
DOES NOT / A Cell Group Church
IS
Deny the importance of big programs and activities / A Strategy
people-centered, group-based, relationship-oriented
Lack the function of departments and ministries / A Structure
developing a cell group system through the assistance of all departments
Just have cell groups / A System
consisted of district cell groups, regional congregations, and Sunday Celebrations
Equal a group of small, independent home churches / A Movement
A group of people who live in “Basic Christian Groups” edifying one another with the purpose to win their communities for Christ

A cell group church is not only biblical, but it also has at least five strengths：

  1. It uses open responding meetings in groups to truly change personal values.
  2. It is a system of one-on-one accountability and edification results in true discipleship.
  3. It equips cell group members so that they can each be directly involved in service.
  4. The learning and practicing in cell groups provide the best platform for the Holy Spirit to display His mighty power and gifts.
  5. Group evangelism is the most effective gospel ministry.

These are the reasons why we want to be a cell group church. Presently, you might be merely one of the members in a cell group, but a cell group church provides a growing environment for each individual; therefore, you may learn to be an intern of a cell group leader, and then you may serve all group members just like what your group leader is doing now.

Group leaders are pastured and supported by zone leaders, and above them are full-time ministers, including zone pastors, the head of zone pastors, the director of the Pastoral Division and the senior pastor. All of them are the co-workers of the church who have direct relationship with the cell groups, and whose responsibilities are to pasture you and prepare you for works of service.

Our church geographically divides the Taipei metropolitan area into six pastoral zones：

The Middle Zone： / Da-An west district (west of Fu-Shing S. Rd.) and Yong-Heh
The East Zone： / Da-An east district (east of Fu-Shing S. Rd.) and Shing-Yi district
The South East Zone： / Wen-Shang, Shing-Dien, Nan-Gang, Shi-Ding and Shen-Ken
The North Zone： / Chung-Shan, Shung-Shan, Nai-Hu, Shi-Zi, Dan-Shui, Pei-Tou, Shih-Lin and Tao-Yuan
The West Zone： / Chung-Zheng, Ta-Tong, Wen-Hua, Shang-Chung, Lu-Zow, Wu-Ku, Shin-Zhuang, Tai-Shan and Lin-Kou.
The South West Zone： / Chung-Heh, Ban-Chiao, Tu-Cheng, Shu-Lin, Kuei-Shan and Shan-Xia

Besides the six pastoral zones, there are four other special pastoral zones：

Children’s Zone： / Caring for children from 2 to 12 years old
Youth’s Zone： / Caring for students from junior high school to university
Elders’ Zone： / Caring for people aged above 60 years old
Languages’ Zone： / Caring for people who speak Taiwanese, English, Indonesian, Tagalog and Korean

Welcome you again to join the cell group church－Bread of Life Christian Church in Taipei. We hop you are all edified in your cell group, and enabled to serve other group members and share the gospel with the people around you.

VI. Service

  1. Becoming a Member of Bread of Life Christian Church in Taipei
  1. Basic principles

(1)All those who have been attending a cell group of our church for at least 6 months and are willing to become church members may apply.

(2)All those who get baptized at our church shall automatically become church members.

(3)Those who have attended the Spiritual Construction Weekend, or listened to the audio-tape and been interviewed by the zone pastor.

  1. How to apply

(1)Apply to a zone pastor.

(2)The procedure : Fill in the application form => go for an interview => accepted (every zone has its own acceptance standard) => receive the certificate (from the Missions Division)

  1. Principles for Baptism
  1. Principles

Those who are older than ten years old, born again and have a clear idea about salvation may apply.

Catholics who have been willingly converted into Christianitymay apply.

Acandidate needs to attend the Seekers’ Class and finish all courses before the baptism.

A hospitalized ailing patient who believes in Christ and willing to be baptized,can be baptized in his/her hospital bed, and this shall betaken as a solemn baptism.

  1. Application

You can either :

Go to the Mission Division and apply for baptism or

Goto the teacher of the Seekers’ Class for application or

Apply to your zone pastor

  1. Procedure

Apply for baptism ＝＞Fill in the application form ＝＞Go for an interview＝＞Get baptized

  1. Principles for the Child Dedication
  1. The purpose of child dedication:

The ultimate purpose of the dedication service is to set the God-given child apart for God as well as to claim the blessingsand promises of God in his/her life. The child’s parents and the body of Christ should commit themselves to raise the child up in the fear of God and help him/her to consciously accept Jesus Christ as his/her Lord and completely live out God’s plan for his/her life.

  1. The significance of child dedication
  1. Children are a heritage（present）from the Lord. (Ps.127:3-5)
  2. With godly methods and in the fear of God, parents are responsible for training their children in the way he/she should go. (Pro. 22:6; Eph. 6:4)
  3. Children of Christian parents are sanctified and set apart for the Lord. (1Cor.7:14)
  4. Christian parents have a privilege to bless their children. (Gen.27:4, 27-29; 28:1-4)
  1. Qualifications for child dedication
  1. In principle, both parents should be Christians.

The "child dedication service" has a permanent effect on the child’s spiritual life. Parents who have not believed in Christ are unable to take up the responsibility for their children's spiritual training.

This qualification does not apply to single-parent households.

  1. At least one parent mustbe a member of Bread of Life Christian Church in Taipei.

If both parents have regularly attended a cell group meeting but have not yet become church members, they should first apply for membership. Both parents may be newly born again believers through the ministry of the cell groups.

  1. The unbelieving spouse/parent will need to sign a letter of consent.
  1. The procedure of child dedication
  2. Read the specified materials or complete the multimedia training to fill in the questionnaire.
  3. Fill in the application form; meet with the zone pastor for an interview; transfer the material to the Pastoral Caring Department for certificate preparing ; attend the public dedication service.
  4. "Child Dedication" Services are regularly held twice a year in April and December (Easter & Christmas).
  1. Guidelines for Premarital Counseling

A. The major premise of premarital counseling:

Prevention is better than cure : The first step toward a happy, harmonious and successful marriage.

  1. It guards against entering into marriage in an inherently flawed condition.
  2. The couple’s relationship is unstable (or uncertain);
  3. Multiple factors - both objective and subjective - make entering into marriage unsuitable;
  4. It can therefore lower the percentage of hurting marriage and divorce cases.
  5. Preparation needed for marriage: before getting married, the proper preparation will include the following aspects:
  6. Physical: individual health, plans for having children, etc;
  7. Emotional: the many adjustments that come with the change of marital status;
  8. Lifestyle: through questionnaires and activities, they practically discuss all possibilities that could occur in the marriage;
  9. Faith: the family worship time.

B. The purpose of premarital counseling:

  1. Confirmation – To make sure whether they are really suited to enter into a marriage relationship, or it is better for them to break up;
  2. Preparation – Toactively help themget emotionally ready for the marriage;
  3. Information and Resources Providing – To plan for the wedding, etc;
  4. Clarification of Expectations and Thought Patterns – The counseling sessions help to rectify the seemingly correct but actually incorrect ideas and expectations;
  5. Support giving – by establishing a deep relationship with the couple, a counselor can become their help in the days ahead;
  6. To promote growth in the couple’s spiritual life.

C. Who needs premarital counseling ?

  1. Engaged couples;
  2. Those who have discussed marriage but have not yet set the date;
  3. Those who have entered the conflict period of a relationship (those who have been courting for at least eight months, and taken each other as boyfriend and girlfriend)

D. Other important relevant conditions :

  1. The most opportune timing for premarital counseling is between six and nine months before marriage.
  2. The number of sessions and frequency needed ：once a week, 2.5 hrs per session, total 9 sessions (weeks), not including the 15 hours spent in the Communication Camp.
  3. Topic :
  1. The Definition of Marriage
  2. Biblical Concept About Marriage
  3. Get Prepared for Wedding Day
  4. Understanding Your Own Personalities & Characteristics
  5. Communication Camp：（It is advisable to attend this camp and simultaneously take the premarital counseling course, the Family & Marriage Ministry Department is in charge of the said Camp which will take place in March, July and November each year）
  6. Family Altar
  7. Family Budgeting
  8. Original Family
  9. A husband's and a wife's role
  10. Sexual Life

.

  1. Principles for Marrying a Couple
  1. Principles for marrying a couple at Bread of Life Christian Church in Taipei
  1. Both individuals must be born again, baptized Christians;
  2. In principal, parents of both individuals should agree with the match;
  3. The couple is willing to establish a Christian family together, and is willing to fulfill their responsibility as husband and wife;
  4. The couple must inform the zone pastor of their intention to get married at least six months prior to the wedding. Please do not set the date before talking to the zone pastor. Those who have not yet attended a cell group should contact the Family Ministry Department. (The earlier you inform related staff in the church the better);
  5. Those couples who have received premarital counseling (the counselor has to sign for the couple) and met with the zone pastor for the premarital interview.
  1. Principles for delaying a couple’s marriage at Bread of Life Christian Church in Taipei

The marriage will/can be delayed when :

  1. either one party is unwilling to accept the Christian faith or is unwilling to be baptized;
  2. either or both parties is/are unwilling to accept the Scriptural teaching and found a Christian family, or is/are unwilling to fulfill his/her responsibility as husband or wife;
  3. the premarital counselor believes that it is not appropriate for the couple to be married shortly.
  4. they have not yet completed the required premarital counseling courses or been interviewed.

VII. Location of Branch Churches