TAIWAN — The Taoyuan Christian Youth Basketball Championships brought together youth from different churches for some friendly competition and lots of fun. This year, several churches and pastors joined for the very first time. They also joined together and organized singing competitions and a praise music festival to provide a platform for Christian youth to showcase their talents outside the church throughout the years. These events also helped them to build relationships with the youth.

The event involved over 700 people and took much planning and hard work to put on. The team behind the event is an interdenominational group of young pastors. They used to work alone in their respective churches. But when Pastor Huang Chi-Han of Pinjhen Baptist Church invited them to a special conference, they immediately became good friends.

Pastor Huang Chi-Han, Pinjhen Baptist Church

The previous generation of pastors worked really hard to promote unity, and it’s bearing fruit now. I think this team grew really close when we shared our struggles as pastors with each other. We realized we needed a support group. We needed friends. Pastors need to connect with each other, not for the purpose of ministry, but for building supportive relationships.

The group understood that churches need each other, so they started having meals together and playing basketball. In 2018, they organized an urban youth prayer meeting to pray for the referendum on same sex marriage. The prayer meeting brought together nearly 300 hundred people from 30 different churches. They also joined together and organized singing competitions and a praise music festival to provide a platform for Christian youth to showcase their talents outside the church. These events also helped them to build relationships with the youth.

Pastor He Shu-Ya, Chongli Good News Church

I see the youth playing ball at church. As a pastor, I rarely get to play with them. This competition with other churches gave us the chance to play together. It’s pretty special.

Pastor Joshua Su, Shekinah City Church

When our youth see other church youth, they feel encouraged, and they learn from each other. It’s a great motivation, Their eyes are opened to new possibilities of serving God.

During the past 3 years, they’ve experienced many challenges but also God’s abundant blessings. They firmly believe it’s the love of God that brought them together in unity. May He continue to grow this spiritual family, add to their numbers, and strengthen them with His love.

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