Some saints have said that the work in Taiwan has not developed in recent years because I spend most of my time in the United States. This word is not correct. We cannot continue the work in the United States if I am required to spend half of my time in Taiwan. The work in Taiwan has been going on for twenty-one years, from the second half of 1949 until now. The foundation for many aspects of the work has been laid in Taiwan, but the work in the United States is altogether in the initial stage. If we do not labor in the United States, no fruit will come forth. The work will advance only as far as we labor. There is a good foundation in Taiwan, but it is regrettable that we have not developed it. The condition of Taiwan’s society is far more advantageous to the Lord’s work than it was twenty years ago. The living conditions in Taiwan are stable because of a prosperous economy and a well-developed education system. We must make use of these provisions. When Western missionaries went to China to preach the gospel, they had to establish schools, because education helps the spread of the gospel. Today there is no need for us to establish schools in Taiwan. There are schools established by the government everywhere. This is an excellent provision. In addition, the environment in Taiwan is safe and secure, and the government grants people freedom of religion. As long as a person does not violate the law, no one will interfere in his religious activities. All of these are excellent provisions, but we have not utilized them.
The United States has a similar situation. The environment there is suitable, but we have not yet laid a solid foundation for the work. The work is only in the initial stage. Hence, if we do not continue to labor, the work will suffer, but if we labor, the work will spread. If I spend six months in the United States and the other six months in Taiwan, the work will not develop in the United States. In order for the work to develop, I must spend more time there. We must have a broader view concerning the work in the United States. Although there are many local churches in Taiwan, and there are many saints fellowshipping in the churches, the impact and potential spread of the work in Taiwan cannot be compared to the United States. For example, The Ministry of the Word magazine has been in publication for twenty years, but there are only approximately three thousand eight hundred readers. However, The Stream magazine, which is in English, has ten thousand readers. This means that there are less than four thousand Chinese readers, but there are close to ten thousand English-speaking readers. Although the number of local churches in the United States and the number of saints in fellowship with us are few, the number of people who receive help from this work is not small.
In the United States there are close to a hundred million Christians, of which forty million are Catholics and sixty million are Protestants. If the work influences only one percent of the sixty million Protestants, this would be six hundred thousand people. If we lower the percentage to only one-tenth of one percent, we would still reach sixty thousand people. Hence, it is worthwhile to labor in the United States. Furthermore, in addition to the believers in the United States, believers in places such as India, Australia, New Zealand, and West Germany are also influenced by this ministry. As far as the numbers are concerned, the work in the United States cannot be compared to the work in Taiwan; however, as far as impact is concerned, the work in Taiwan cannot compare to the work in the United States. The influence of the work here is mostly in East Asia, and it is limited to the Chinese-speaking world. Outside of the Chinese-speaking world, the influence is limited. Therefore, if we have a broader view, a global view, the importance of the work in Taiwan cannot be compared to the importance of the work in the United States. If we reduce the labor in the United States by half, we may not be able to compensate for the loss. Without the work in the United States, I could spend all my energy in Taiwan, and there would be much work here. However, the work must spread in the United States. For this reason I hope that you will labor diligently to spread the work here in my absence.
Concerning the propagation work overseas, Taiwan has rendered some help. However, there are many local churches and a good number of saints in Taiwan, so we should be able to render substantial help by sending more saints out. The work needs to be developed in Japan, South Korea, and many other countries. Saints need to be sent to these places. Three or four co-workers are not enough to begin the work in Indonesia. We must be willing to send saints. The work must advance in Taiwan, but we must also supply other places. The brothers should endeavor to go forward.