Church A: Our situation is somewhat desolate. There is no focus in the work. Because of our special geographic location and the great mobility of people, there is a great need for the preaching of the gospel. However, the gospel is greatly hindered because of our immaturity. Moreover, those who have been added to the coordination in the church service are lacking in both quality and quantity. There are problems in other areas as well. For example, we are limited by the size of the meeting hall, and it is not so convenient for the saints to meet because most are poor. The whole church has been praying and fellowshipping, hoping to strengthen the meetings in the homes, but in the end, it is difficult to spread. However, we must confess that the main hindrance is that there is too much of the human element and too little of the element of Christ. Among us there is too much room for the self; it is not easy to deal with the flesh, and it is difficult to see our self in our fellowship with the Lord. We repent before the Lord and hope that in the fellowship we may be able to see the naturalness and complexity of our self.
Church B: Our work is divided into two aspects. On one hand, many saints have just begun meeting with us and cannot function properly, so our meeting is not like meeting and our singing is not like singing. The focus of our work, therefore, is on edification. On the other hand, we mainly focus on the elderly ones and the young ones in regard to shepherding the saints. Although our locality is small, there are four high schools, a teachers’ college, and three elementary schools; we have young brothers and sisters in all of them. Thus, we have a young people’s meeting once a week.
Our lack is in the inadequate number of serving ones and the high mobility of people. This makes the work extremely difficult. Moreover, since we are in the eastern part of the island, which is a relatively poor region, it is difficult for the saints to be trained because they have to take care of their livelihood. Sometimes it is difficult even to arrange the chairs. Moreover, we are very immature spiritually because the church carried some flavor of Christianity when it first began. Concerning myself, I am a person with a little soul and a small capacity; I truly fall short before the Lord.
Church C: Overall, we pay much attention to ministering the word, but we do not have much action because the saints are not able to keep up. The focus of the work is on the preaching of the gospel, but the saints do not have much of a heart for the gospel. Among the saints, most are military personnel, and a few are students and teachers. We do not have meetings in Taiwanese for the saints who are in their forties and fifties. There are few experienced brothers, and there are fewer experienced sisters. Hence, the work of visitation is very poor, and I personally have not touched the key to visitation. As far as service is concerned, it is difficult to bring in serving ones. There are a few who come to the meetings, and it is even more difficult to bring them into service. This is our big problem. I personally feel that the most difficult thing is that our capacity is insufficient and that we often act in our flesh. There have even been quarrels in the responsible brothers’ meetings.
Church D: The focus of our work in the past was on preaching the gospel, but the gospel has not yet been widely spread. At the beginning we gained several Taiwanese saints, but because we do not have a Taiwanese brother to lead them, they were all lost. In the aspect of life, we hoped to have a living of morning watch, but eventually, it did not succeed. There is a great lack of useful people; there are a little over forty saints meeting here. There also is a lack of leading on the sisters’ side. Because the location of the meeting hall is not so accessible, it is not easy for people to gather together. Furthermore, the four responsible brothers of the church are not open to one another.
Church E: At present there are about twenty brothers and sisters having prayer meetings in three homes, but the church has not yet been established.
Church F: The condition of the church here is rather weak and poor. As far as meetings are concerned, there are fifty to sixty who meet during the week and over a hundred who meet on the Lord’s Day. The total number of saints is two hundred and sixty-six. The sisters’ meetings are comparatively strong. There are meetings at four different places per week, but the work is rather fragmentary. We pay attention to the reading of spiritual publications, and there are brothers specifically responsible for leading the saints in this study; consequently, there has been some result. We have been hoping to lead the saints into the aspect of life, but no one dares because no one has been manifested to be more advanced and able to take the lead. Most of the time we lead the brothers and sisters in groups and work with them through the fellowship meeting.
Church G: There are about thirty saints here. Two months ago the Holy Spirit was working so strongly that some brothers and sisters, upon receiving the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, went out to preach the gospel and visit people, regardless of rain or shine. Some people, however, attacked us, especially the sisters, by saying that it was the work of Satan. This misunderstanding caused much damage. Although the church has been recovered, we are still in a battle. We rent our meeting hall, but because the landlord is quite unreasonable, the saints find it difficult to bear. At the same time, few saints have the feeling that the church is their home.
Church H: There are thirty-two brothers and sisters in our locality. The condition of the church is good, and we can afford the rent of our meeting hall by ourselves. There are seven to eight saints who specifically give themselves to the Lord, so the Lord has some spread here. During the past two conferences, several brothers from a surrounding locality came to perfect us. There are seven to eight brothers in that church who are able to minister the word. Thank the Lord, all the brothers and sisters are able to serve God faithfully. My biggest shortcoming is my looseness. Yesterday when I was fellowshipping with my roommate, he also said that I am a loose person. This kind of looseness causes the church to suffer. Although my heart is eager, I have truly missed much grace. Looseness is my greatest shortcoming, and next is my habit of accommodating; hence, my demands on myself and on the brothers and sisters are not so strict and absolute.