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Church Planting in Taiwan · Reformed Thinking

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Welcome to Reformed Thinking. We're the show that dives into
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stacks of information and tries to pull out the really practical
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stuff for you. That's the goal.
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Today we're getting into the nitty gritty of Christian
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missions. Like what does it actually look
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like on the ground? Yeah, not just the theory, but
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the reality. Our focus is on the hard won
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lessons from someone right there in the thick of it, a missionary
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named Mark Kuo. We're going to look at what he
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learned setting up a church in Taiwan, mainly from his first
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intense year and a half. Right.
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And this comes straight from his own detailed accounts.
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So it's very much grounded, very candid.
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You get a real sense of the challenges and the dynamics
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involved, not the airbrushed version.
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Exactly. So if you've ever wondered about
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global outreach, or maybe you're even thinking about ministry or
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missions yourself? Or maybe you just want to
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understand better how your prayers, your support, actually
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fits into God's bigger picture. Then this is for you.
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These aren't just stories from far away.
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They're principles that apply to living faithfully, You know,
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wherever you are. We've got quite a bit to unpack.
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Let's start with Mark Ku himself.
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How did he end up doing this? His path is actually pretty
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interesting. It starts right there in Taiwan.
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Born and raised. Yeah, born and raised in Taiwan
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and his own conversion, his coming to faith, happened when
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he was in college there. It was through the ministry of
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Campus Crusade for Christ. Which is fascinating, isn't it?
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God raising someone up from the culture to eventually reach back
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into that same culture? Totally.
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And after college, he didn't just, you know, move on.
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He and his wife Jen join the full time staff of Campus
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Crusade right there in Taiwan. And stayed for quite a while 8.
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Years. Eight years.
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Yeah, mostly college ministry. And this wasn't just like
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occasional volunteering. It was intense stuff.
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Teaching the Bible, discipling students, actively sharing the
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gospel. That must have built a real
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foundation. Oh, definitely.
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Almost a decade of that kind of hands on ministry work, it
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really grounds you. And it was during that time,
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those eight years with Campus Crusade, that he started feeling
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hold towards something different, specifically pastoral
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ministry, which is a. Significant shift moving from a
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parachurch organization to thinking about leading a local
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church. That sense of calling as well.
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It's the crucial first step. But it wasn't just a feeling,
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right? What happened next shows there's
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a real process involved. Right.
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It wasn't just OK, I feel called, I'm going.
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In 2018, after sensing this call, he and his family actually
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moved. They left Taiwan and came to the
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US. Why the move?
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For training, he went to Greenville Presbyterian
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Theological Seminary and the goal was very clear from the
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start. Get the theological grounding
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needed and then head back to Taiwan specifically for church
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planting. So seminary was preparation for
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that specific mission. Exactly.
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He finished up in 2022, graduated, and then just a
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couple of months later he went through the whole process,
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ordination, getting formally sent out by his presbytery,
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Calgary Presbytery in the PCA, sent as a pastor for evangelism
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and church planting back in Taiwan.
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It really highlights that sending someone out isn't
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casual. There's a structure a a process.
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There really is, and it's biblical.
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You know, it starts with that internal sense of calling, sure.
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But then it has to be tested, evaluated by the church leaders,
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the elders, the pastors. They look at character.
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Maturity. All of it.
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Spiritual character, maturity. Teaching gifts, how they handle
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the Word. Is this person really equipped
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for this kind of frankly difficult spiritual work?
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Then comes the theological training, the seminary piece to
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make sure they're doctrinally sound.
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And then ordination. Right ordination as a minister
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and finally being officially sent by the church or the
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presbytery. In this case, it reflects that
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pattern of qualification and proper authority.
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It ensures the people sent out can actually shepherd, preach
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faithfully, and establish churches that last.
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Some mission work in this sense is pretty specific.
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Very specific. It's the local church sending
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qualified, ordained men to plant churches, especially across
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cultural or language barriers. It keeps the focus clear.
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OK. So fully equipped and sent Mark
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and his family land in Ilan County, northeastern Taiwan.
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This was February of the year before he gave this talk, so
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about a year and a half in when he shared these lessons.
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And he's not alone, right? He's working with a Co worker.
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Yeah, another PCA missionary. They're planting this church
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together. And the vision isn't just for
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this one church. It's bigger.
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Multiplication. Exactly.
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Grow this church plant so it becomes healthy enough to plant
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other churches in that region down the line.
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It's a long, long term view. And we should mention his family
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too. He and Jen have six kids.
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Wow, 6 that's a full house. Yeah, their youngest, Jonathan,
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was just a month old when Mark was speaking.
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Too young to travel. And John's not just passively
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there, she's involved in teaching and caring for people,
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too. That partnership is so key in
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ministry. And here's something really
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interesting he shared kind of an unexpected ministry tool.
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Their kids behavior. How so?
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He said their children's obedience, just how they act in
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public, often sparks conversations.
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People notice they're well behaved and ask about it.
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It becomes a natural way to start talking about their faith.
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That's fantastic, a living example right there in the
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family. It shows the faith isn't just
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preached, it's lived out and people see the difference.
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OK, let's dig into the first major lesson Mark learned.
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And this one's foundational really understanding what
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mission work is. Getting the definition right
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from the start, yeah. He argues that it's absolutely
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fundamental, and for him, mission work has to be centered
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on preaching and teaching God's Word, specifically within the
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context of planting and building up the local church.
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He roots that in Scripture, doesn't he?
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Directly Matthew 28, the Great Commission, Jesus tells the
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apostles who are ordained set apart for this to make
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disciples. How?
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By baptizing them and teaching them everything Jesus commanded.
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And he connects baptism to church planting.
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He makes a really sharp point there.
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He says baptizing implies church planting because baptism is how
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you publicly join the church, the visible body of Christ.
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So missions, at its core is the church sending out qualified
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ministers to start new churches, bringing people into that body
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through Word and sacrament. That's a very clear focus
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definition and it sets up a distinction he makes right
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between that and, say, Mercy Ministries.
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Exactly. This is crucial, he says.
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Things like, you know, distributing food, medical
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clinics, teaching English, that those are good things.
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They can be supportive of mission work, but they aren't
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mission work itself. Not according to the Bible
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definition. Why draw that line so sharply?
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His reasoning is pretty direct, he says.
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If you blur that line, if you equate charity work with the
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core mission, then the idea of Christian mission kind of loses
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its unique meaning, because lots of groups do good works, other
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religions, secular charities. What makes Christian mission
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distinct? It's not just about meeting
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physical needs then. Right.
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He points to Jesus in Luke 4. Jesus healed people, yes, but he
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constantly said his main purpose, the reason he was sent,
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was to preach the good news of the Kingdom.
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The core argument is that the deepest human need isn't
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physical, it's spiritual. Forgiveness, Reconciliation with
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God, Freedom from sin. That's it.
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People need to be reconciled to God, forgiven, set free from
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sins, grip, and learn to live holy lives through Christ.
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And mission work primarily addresses that spiritual need
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through proclaiming the Gospel message.
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That clarifies things a lot. It also explains something else
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he mentioned, opposition. Yes, he points out.
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If the church only did mercy ministry, if it only met
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physical needs, nobody would really object, would they?
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There'd be no persecution. But that's not the historical
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reality. Not at all.
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It's the preaching of the gospel, the call to repent,
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believe in Christ alone, turn from idols and sin.
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That's what stirs up opposition. It highlights the spiritual
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battle that's inherent in true mission work.
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Did he share any examples of that?
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He did actually a really tough one.
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There was a woman attending their church plant.
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They had to lovingly confront her about some ongoing
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unrepentant sin in her life and she left the church.
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Oh, that's hard. Sounds like a failure almost.
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You'd think so, but here's the twist.
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Weeks later, she texted Jen, Mark's wife.
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She said Mark's preaching had actually helped her understand
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the gospel for the first time and she was still watching their
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services online. Wow, so even in the leaving the
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word had an effect. It shows that faithful
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preaching, even when it leads to difficult situations, isn't
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wasted. The seed is sown.
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And that firm line between mission proper and mercy
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ministry, it really resonates with reformed thinking doesn't.
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It how so? Well, it upholds the sufficiency
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of Scripture, the idea that the Bible is enough for salvation
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and all of godly living, and it highlights the Holy Spirit's
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unique work through that Word. God changes hearts primarily
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through His Word being preached and taught, not just through,
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say, social programs. It keeps the focus on God's
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action, not just human effort. Right.
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It protects the gospel from being watered down into just
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social improvement. OK, so if mission is word
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centered and church focused, what else is absolutely
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critical? Mark's second lesson hits this
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hard. Prayer.
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Can't do it without prayer. He basically says it's non
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negotiable, not just helpful but necessary.
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He believes God actually ordains our prayers, uses them as a real
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means to push back Satan's influence and build up Christ's
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Kingdom. He appoints to Paul, right?
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Yeah, Paul in Ephesians 6, Colossians 4, begging the
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churches to pray for him, pray for boldness, pray for open
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doors for the gospel, pray for clarity in his preaching.
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And Mark's point is simple, if the Apostle Paul needed that
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kind of prayer support. How much more do regular
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missionaries need it today? Exactly, especially facing
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similar spiritual opposition. And Mark felt this personally
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the effect. Oh, absolutely, he said.
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Knowing that churches and individuals back in the US were
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consistently praying for them was one of his biggest sources
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of strength. He described this almost like
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tangible feeling of relief after sending out prayer updates.
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Like a weight lifted. Yeah, and he didn't just chalk
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it up to getting things off his chest.
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He attributed it directly to God hearing and answering those
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prayers from their supporters. He felt it helped him cope with
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the stress, the fear, the spiritual attacks that are just
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part of the job. Did he see specific answers to
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prayer? Did he talked about seeing God
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soften hearts that had been closed off for years, even
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decades, and times when he felt God delivered them from really
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intense periods of stress or what felt like direct attacks
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from the enemy? It wasn't theoretical for him,
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it was real time help. That's powerful.
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It shows prayer isn't just a, you know, spiritual exercise.
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It's engaging in the battle. It really is.
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So the message for you listening is clear.
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Don't ever think your prayers don't count.
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Mark says it straight. Your prayers do really matter,
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even if you can't go to the mission field yourself.
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Everyone can pray. Everyone can and should pray for
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those who are there. And his advice is pray
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specifically. Don't just say bless the
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missionaries. Pray for concrete needs for
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specific people. They're reaching for strength
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against particular challenges. Your prayers are part of how God
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works in the world. All right, So we need a clear
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definition of mission, and we need prayer.
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What's next? Mark's third principle is about
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faithfulness in the small things.
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Not despising the day of small beginnings kind of thing.
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Pretty much, he says God doesn't look down on small, seemingly
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insignificant acts of faithfulness.
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In fact, he calls us to be faithful right there in the
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little details. And this is key for church
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planting, where things often start small.
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Yeah, you don't usually start with a.
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Exactly, and he shared a story that really illustrates this.
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It was about an older man, late 60s, from a strong Buddhist
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background. Additionally, this guy was
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really hard to teach. He kept trying to mix his
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Buddhism with Christianity, like creating his own blend made it
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tough for him to grasp the gospel clearly.
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That syncretism is a common challenge.
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Right. But Mark and one of the church
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elders just kept showing up. Consistent, patient, gentle,
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loving care. They'd visit him, talk with him,
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even when he seemed kind of resistant or didn't fully get
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it. Just steady faithfulness.
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Yeah, and then came a really testing moment.
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The man's mother died and Mark decided he needed to go to her
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funeral, which was a traditional Pagan service.
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Wow, that's culturally tricky. How did he handle that?
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Very carefully, he made it clear he wasn't participating in the
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rituals, he was just present. He offered comfort and at a
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suitable moment he actually prayed publicly for the family.
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And in the prayer he clearly stated Christian truths.
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God as the only true God, Jesus the only Savior.
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Bold move in that context. Very Amidst all the traditional
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rites, he was just there, a quiet but distinct Christian
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presence. Not arguing, not disrupting,
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just being faithfully present and speaking truth.
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When he prayed, it wasn't a big dramatic event, just
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faithfulness in a difficult small moment.
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And they didn't make a difference.
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It seemed to be a turning point. Mark believes the Holy Spirit
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used that consistent, quiet faithfulness, even in that
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uncomfortable setting, to soften the man's heart.
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Slowly, the resistance faded. Really.
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Yeah. He started coming to their
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weekly men's Bible study, which he hadn't done before.
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He began asking real searching questions, started to understand
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the difference between truth and error, and gradually began
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showing signs of genuine faith. That's amazing.
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It shows how those small, consistent acts can be more
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impactful than we think. It really does.
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And Mark connects this directly to church planting.
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Often you start with just a few people.
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Maybe they're immature in their faith.
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Maybe they don't have a huge appetite for deep teaching yet.
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It can feel discouraging sometimes.
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Right. But Mark stresses that every
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single one of those people is precious to God.
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They are worthy of our absolute best, most faithful effort.
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Even in the smallest details, the goal isn't hitting big
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numbers or getting applause. It's glorifying Christ through
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faithful work. Work that God sees, even if no
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one else does. Exactly.
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God knows it, and He uses it for people's eternal good.
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So the challenge for us, for you listening, is to think about
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where God calls you to be faithful in small things.
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Maybe it's showing patience to someone difficult, or offering a
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word of biblical comfort, or speaking truth lovingly when
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it's awkward. Practicing faithfulness now
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prepares you for whatever God has next.
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Right. Whether that's overseas or right
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in your own neighborhood. OK, moving on to Mark's fourth
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principle, this one's about evangelism specifically.
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It needs to be intentional, personal and loving.
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Not just waiting for people to show up.
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No, definitely proactive. He gave an example.
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A new guy came to their church service one Sunday.
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Former firefighter dealing with some serious depression because
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of issues with government bureaucracy.
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Mark saw him and felt this immediate sense.
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I need to talk to this man, make sure he hears the gospel before
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he leaves. That's real intentionality,
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taking initiatives. Yeah, and his approach wasn't
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just to dump information. It was personal.
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How so? He started by listening.
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He let the man share his story, his frustrations, asked
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questions to really understand what he was going through.
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Then he connected the man's desire for justice and
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righteousness, the very thing he felt was lacking, to God, the
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ultimate source of righteousness.
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Finding that point of connection.
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Exactly. And from that connection, he
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transitioned to the core gospel message.
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Our sin, God's holiness, Christ's solution.
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Mark learned that effective evangelism isn't just about
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getting the doctrine right, although that's essential.
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It's about making it personal. Showing how the Gospel addresses
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their specific situation, their deepest needs.
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Right. He compared it to Jesus with the
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woman at the well in John 4. Jesus started with her everyday
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life, her thirst, but moved quickly to her spiritual need,
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showing her how He was the answer.
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It's about that personal connection leading to spiritual
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realization. And it wasn't just a one off
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conversation, was it? No, that's the loving
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persistence part. Mark kept visiting the man at
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his home. He even mentioned sitting and
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talking about the gospel under the family idol shrine in the
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man's house. Twice.
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Wow. Meeting people where they are.
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Literally, Yeah. And Mark said this consistent,
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genuine care made the man feel truly cared for.
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He since Mark wasn't just trying to score a convert, but actually
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cared about him as a person. And that made him more and more
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open to hearing the message. So intentional, personal and
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loving. All three work together.
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They have to reach out intentionally, connect
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personally, and demonstrate genuine love and care throughout
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the process. Now here's a really challenging
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1 marks 5th lesson dealing with culture specifically, evaluating
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it biblically, and knowing when not to compromise.
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This is where the rubber meets the road in cross cultural
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ministry isn't? It it really is, missionaries
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have to figure out how to relate to the local culture without
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adopting its sinful aspects. It's a balancing act, but some
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lines can't be crossed. Did he have an example of this
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too? A very vivid 1A family,
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neighbors of someone in the church asked for a Christian
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funeral for their father. But the mother, who wasn't a
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believer, was really pressuring her two daughters, who professed
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faith to also participate in traditional Pagan rites
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alongside the Christian service. Ah, that pressure to conform is
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intense in many cultures. And Mark said there's this
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common idea in Taiwan, even among some Christians, that it's
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OK to outwardly participate in Pagan stuff as long as in your
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heart you're still worshipping God.
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Like your internal state negates your external actions.
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Yeah, yeah. But Mark showed them from the
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Bible, like First Corinthians 10, that this is just wrong.
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Paul says flee idolatry. You can't drink the cup of the
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lore and the cup of demons. It's about allegiance worship.
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So what did he advise the daughters?
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He lovingly but firmly told them they needed to abstain from the
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Pagan ceremonies, full stop. But he didn't just leave it
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there. He coached them on how they
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could still show honor to their father in ways that were
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biblically acceptable. Maybe holding flowers, sharing
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positive memories, things like that.
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Ways that didn't compromise their witness.
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It takes courage both for him to say it and for them to do it.
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How did it turn out? Amazingly well, actually.
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The daughters listened to the council.
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They stood firm, refused to participate in the Pagan rites,
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and Mark said their own faith seemed to get stronger through
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taking that stand. And the funeral itself.
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Because they made that clear distinction, it created an
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opportunity. They were able to have a clear
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Christian service where the gospel was presented plainly to
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at least 10 unbelieving family members who were there.
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If they had blended the ceremonies, that clarity would
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have been lost. It really highlights the
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difference between faithful contextualization and unfaithful
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compromise. Exactly.
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Mark defined true contextualization as removing
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unnecessary cultural barriers, like Paul circumcising Timothy
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to reach Jews or changing his preaching style for the Greeks,
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making the gospel understandable.
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But not changing the gospel's demands.
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Right. Unfaithful compromise is when
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you distort or ignore biblical commands just to make things
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easier or more acceptable to unbelievers, Mark insists.
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Cultures aren't neutral. Sinful elements need to be
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identified and rejected based on Scripture.
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You can't teach people to be Christians while letting them
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live like non Christian. Precisely, he said, compromising
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truth ultimately destroys the purpose of evangelism.
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It ties back to Romans 12.2. Do not be conformed to this
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world. And again, it comes back to the
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sufficiency of God's Word. It applies everywhere the Spirit
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uses that word. We don't need to dilute it with
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cultural compromises or clever gimmicks.
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Our job is to preach it faithfully and clearly.
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Trusting the Spirit to do the work through the Word.
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OK. Principle number six from Mark
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Kuo focuses on something maybe less obvious but really vital
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for church growth, Shepherding the family.
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Seeing the family unit is key, yeah.
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He points out that God builds his church not just through
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converting individual adults one by one, but also through
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Christian families where parents raise their children in the
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faith. It's a generational aspect of
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church life. And that's deeply biblical,
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isn't it? Thinking covenantally.
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Absolutely, he mentioned Acts 2.39.
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The promise is for you and for your children.
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Ephesians talking about God dealing with people within
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family structures. It's woven into Scripture.
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Does he have a story for this one too?
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He does. A family started visiting their
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church plant and it was pretty clear the kids were out of
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control, rebellious, undisciplined.
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Mark saw it stemmed from the parents not really knowing how
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to biblically discipline or guide them.
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That's a sensitive area to step into.
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Very. But Mark and his team didn't
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ignore it. They gently but directly started
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teaching the parents biblical principles for raising their
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kids. Not just behavior modification,
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but shepherding their hearts towards Christ.
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Did they talk to the kids to? Yes, they even carefully
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admonished the children themselves, calling them to
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repent of their disrespect and rebellion.
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Obviously in a way they could understand.
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Wow, that takes guts. What happened?
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It worked. The kids actually started to
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change. They responded positively to the
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loving correction and guidance, Mark said.
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They even seemed to appreciate it.
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And the whole family felt drawn to the church because they were
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receiving practical biblical help for their family life,
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something they hadn't found elsewhere.
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It shows that addressing the whole family system matters.
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It really does. And again, Mark circles back to
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his own family that anecdote about their kids obedience
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opening doors for the gospel. It stems from him and Jen
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actively trying to practice these principles of biblical
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child rearing themselves. The fruit is visible.
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Yeah. So he puts the question to us,
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to you listening. If you have kids, are you
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shepherding them intentionally, disciplining consistently,
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quickly, lovingly, according to God, the Word?
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He suggests that learning to do this well is huge, especially if
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you're considering missions, because it's both a blessing to
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your own family and a powerful testimony.
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Which brings us to the final principle.
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Mark's 7th lesson, And this one kind of ties everything
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together. Ultimately, you have to trust
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Christ to build His church. It's not all in the missionary
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shoulders. Not at all.
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Despite all the gifts, training, experience a missionary might
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have, Mark emphasizes that it's Jesus himself who is the
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Builder. He builds His church through His
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Word, by His Spirit, for His Father's glory.
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That must be a relief in a way, takes the pressure off.
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He admitted feeling that pressure, that self doubt
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sometimes, especially when teaching people older or, you
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know, seemingly more experienced than him, he'd think, who am I
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to be telling them these things? But the confidence isn't in
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himself, it's in Christ and His Word.
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Exactly. He shared how encouraged he gets
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when church members tell him I'm finally learning how to apply
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the Bible to my life or I'm getting answers from Scripture
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to questions I've had for years. Seeing the word actually work in
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people's lives, yeah. Or the young men in his Roman
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study starting to see how God's truth connects to their personal
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struggles and growing in holiness because of it.
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It just reinforces that God's Word is sufficient.
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It works across cultures. The Spirit uses it.
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You don't need the fancy extras. The missionary's job isn't to be
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an entertainer or a cultural compromiser.
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It's to preach and teach God's Word faithfully, clearly, and to
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pray like crazy for the Spirit to make it effective, to bring
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people to faith and build them up.
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Trusting Christ to do the building.
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Trusting Christ and Mark finished with a pretty sobering
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reminder. In many places, like Taiwan, the
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gospel is still hardly heard. People are like sheep without a
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shepherd. It just brings home the ongoing
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need for this work and the need to rely wholly on Christ to
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accomplish it. So looking back, it's quite a
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picture Mark Kuo paints understanding the mission, the
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centrality of the Word, and church planting.
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The absolute necessity of prayer.
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Faithfulness and small things. Intentional and loving
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evangelism. Evaluating culture biblically.
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Refusing compromise. Shepherding families and finally
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trusting Christ to build his own church.
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These seven things really cover the bases.
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Don't. They they provide a solid
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framework and it's not just for people overseas, it's for us
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too, for those supporting missions.
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Absolutely. They inform how we pray, how we
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give, how we think about God's work globally.
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And maybe as we wrap up, there are a couple things for you to
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think about. If you're a man listening, maybe
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take some time to seriously, prayerfully ask.
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Could God be calling you to this kind of work to be an ordained
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minister, maybe even a missionary?
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A challenging question. It is, and for everyone
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listening, whether you feel called to go or to stay, would
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you ask the Lord to help you pray more faithfully, more
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specifically? For mission.
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Work around the world, really believe that your prayers
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matter, that God uses them. Maybe just ponder this in your
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own life, right where you are. How can you start living out
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these same principles? Faithfulness in the day-to-day,
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intentional conversations about your faith?
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Relying completely on God's Word to help build His church.
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All. For the glory of Christ.