Christ’s College Taipei/Christ’s College (hereafter referred to as Christ’s College) endured the turmoil of a possible sudden school closure from May to July 2023. The key question of the controversy is: has this 64-year-old religious institution completed its historical task? Should we adapt to the threat of a declining birthrate and bow out ahead of schedule? In these debates about whether or not to close the school, a core question arises—"What is the meaning and value of the existence of Christ’s College?" First, if there had never been a Christ’s College, would Taiwan’s society be different? Second, in this day and age, is there still a need for this college to exist?
In the 1960’s, many foreign mission institutions that had withdrawn from the Chinese mainland began to re-establish Chinese Christian higher education in Taiwan, a treasure island of freedom and democracy. American missionary Dr. James Graham, whose father had preached the gospel in China for 50 years, dedicated his life to Chinese mission work, and did not return to the United States until World War II. After the cross-strait split, he was encouraged by his student Dr. Billy Graham to continue Chinese mission work in Taiwan. He first participated in the establishment of ChungYuan University, but then they could neither require Bible courses nor insist on an all-Christian faculty.
Therefore, he single-handedly traveled throughout the United States to raise funds, and in 1959 on the outskirts of Taipei he established an American-style Christian liberal arts college – Christ's College. Dr. Graham invited many foreign missionaries and excellent Christian scholars in Taiwan to teach, paying great attention to language learning and Bible education. All students were required to live on campus for four years; they attended chapel services six days a week and led morning and night devotions. They also had at least 20 credits from Bible courses. Teachers had the responsibility of caring for students' homework, daily life, and faith; This special Christian college persisted for 53 years outside the national education system for the sake of faith. Finally, in 2012, after the law changed to allow religious colleges, Taiwan’s Ministry of Education recognized Christ’s College Taipei, making it unique in Taiwan's education system.
Throughout the past 64 years, Christ’s College Taipei/ Christ’s College has cultivated more than 6,000 alumni from all walks of life, including well-known and influential people. However, for the Kingdom of God, the most important thing is to train young students with professional service ability to minister the gospel in churches and vocations around the world, to bear witness to the Lord, and bless and change the outlook of Taiwan's rural villages through our Gospel Associations. If Christ’s College had never existed, there would be LanEn Cultural and Educational Foundation (started by graduate David Lin), no Bunun Tribal Leisure Farm in Taitung (begun by Jerry and Janis Bai), and certainly no Simangus in the mountains above Hsinchu (cared for by Norman Chung).
Today, Taiwan's higher education system is oversupplied, and many universities are drowning in the low tide of declining birthrates, but by God’s grace, Christ’s College Taipei /Christ’s College still has two pillars that cannot be replaced. First, it is one of the very few institutions of higher education in the global Chinese community that integrates faith and profession with Christian truth as the core. It is different from ordinary universities, and it is also different from seminaries that train clergy; it is the best school for cultivating "Christian soldiers." Second, it provides a safe and loving residential campus, a school where God is freely worshiped, an environment in which students learn and build on each other. In this age of extremely broken hearts, the testimony of students' whose lives are being healed and transformed at the college amaze us every day. Although we walk through the valley of tears, we can feel that "the Spirit and power of God are still running on this campus"! This truth and love of Christ is the value of a Christ's College education, and the reason why the College cannot be extinguished in this crooked and rebellious generation!