For years I have been closely watching what others have been doing. Within the last fifteen years the Lord has done many works apart from us. In Seoul, South Korea, a so-called church increased in number from a few thousand to about five hundred thousand in two decades. In Indonesia, a Christian group doubled from fifty thousand to a hundred thousand in three years.
In Singapore the percentage of Christians in the total population is about ten percent. One group among them meets in only a rented auditorium. Yet every Sunday they have eight sessions, each with eight hundred in attendance.
In addition, six years ago a twenty-three year old missionary began working in Manila. Their number increased from four thousand to four sessions of over two thousand each. I am giving you all these examples to show you that within the last fifteen years the Lord has moved on tremendously all over the world. In South Korea, the Philippines, Singapore, and Manila the same things are happening. I have lived in the United States for twenty-three years. I have often traveled from place to place. This is the real situation everywhere. The young people in the West now, especially the university students, are very receptive to the gospel. They want the truth. Everywhere the Lord is moving quickly. I have studied very much to find the reason for this. All these places that are increasing at a phenomenal rate have one thing in common: they are all practicing the home meetings.
When we began our work in Taiwan, the number reached such a peak because we practiced the home meetings. Later, we dropped the home meetings. For this reason, the Lord’s move among us in the past twenty years has been comparatively slow. Throughout the years, the saints have developed a habit of listening to messages. All the people just gather in the twenty-one meeting halls on Sunday to listen to a message. Last year when I came back I made a turn. But this does not mean that I am abandoning the big meetings. I have said before that the big meetings and the home meetings are like two wings. Praise the Lord, on the whole the brothers and sisters responded quite well. But forgive me for saying that the Chinese disposition is very deliberate. In everything they wait and watch. That being the case, I could only hold back my words. But tonight I am taking the opportunity to express to you some of my frustration. I called this urgent meeting because I want all of you to see the way the Lord is taking, and to respond to it.
Now that we have been practicing the home meetings for a year, I am encouraged because I have seen some progress in this area. A few days ago I went to a home meeting. When the time came to start the meeting, no one showed up. I had to help set up the chairs. After the chairs were all set, still no one showed up. I did not say anything, but within myself I was quite agitated. Gradually, I became encouraged because the people began to come. They were all out of breath because they had gone out to bring people to the home meeting. This was a good sign. During the meeting a sister prayed so well that her expression, wording, and tone were just like music. After I asked around, I found out that she had been saved for less than a year. This reminded me not to judge by outward appearance. Now I can see that the saints here either do not make a move at all, or if they do, they make a move that surprises me.
In the churches in Taiwan there are two excellent imports: one is the “brothers’ houses” and the other is the “one-on-one.” The night before last, I attended the prayer meeting here in Hall One. After the meeting I talked with the saints and found out that there are six full-time sisters and two full-time brothers here. I asked where they all lived. One told me that he stays in the Cheng Kung High School brothers’ house. Another said she stays in the First Girls’ High School sisters’ house. I asked how many brothers’ and sisters’ houses there are. They told me that there are seven. Then I asked how many stay in each house, and they answered that the average is ten. After I heard this, I realized that this is quite a large number. The brothers’ houses were invented in America twenty years ago. I strongly recommend them. They are very useful in perfecting the young people.
The second imported item is the one-on-one. This means to speak the word of the Lord on a one-to-one basis. In this way, others receive the supply, and we ourselves are perfected. Formerly our meetings were like restaurants. But these restaurants were only open for half an hour each week during the home meetings. If you did not come at that time, you would remain hungry. But now, if you cannot come to the home meeting, I will deliver the food to your home. It is all right if you cannot make the meeting. I will deliver the food to your house. I will feed you at a time convenient to you. Through the home meetings, the brothers and sisters will all receive nourishment from the Lord’s word, and the word of the Lord will spread everywhere.
In the past we centered too much on the meetings. A home meeting may have eight people who attend a particular meeting, but there may be over a dozen who do not attend. Every one of the eight brothers and sisters who attended the meeting should pick up the burden to visit the other twelve one-on-one. They should bring to them the riches of the home meeting and supply them at their homes. In this way not only will the one who is visited be fed, but also those with him at his home will be supplied. We can also sell the one-on-one to those saints who have a heart to serve, telling them how much we enjoy practicing the one-on-one. The key is to render some supply every week to specific people, using definite materials, and at a definite time and place.
Remember, one-on-one does not mean that others meet you at the meeting hall. It means that you go to visit them at their homes. We have to make home deliveries for them. Twenty years ago I saw people riding on bicycles with signboards saying, “Injections given at your home.” The patients did not need to go to the hospital. Instead, these people would come to the patients’ homes to give them the injections. They would come in the morning or in the evening. They would give the injections to the patients while they chatted with them for a minute or two. This is the way we should practice our one-on-one. We should minister Christ by going right into peoples’ homes. Before we go, it is best if we first practice our speaking with our wife or husband at home.