Sabbath morning, December 11, 2004, bus loads of Seventh-day Adventists and friends began the celebration of achieving Conference status. This milestone was reached after 52 years of hard work. Dr. Robert S. Folkenberg, Jr., President, presided over the celebrations.

The Seventh-day Adventist work began in April 1948 in Taiwan. Through the years growth has been slow. However the vision has never been lost that the Taiwanese wanted to not only be self-sustaining, but contributing to the world work as Dr. Jairyong Lee, Northern Asia-Pacific Division President remarked as he presented a plaque to commemorate the occasion.

During the past several years there has been special emphasis given toward accomplishing this goal. The leadership of Dr. Folkenberg, Jr. has encouraged the leaders and members to the final push toward this high day. Also the focus of the Chinese Union Mission - Healthy Church - has helped members and leaders alike to a commitment to a lifestyle that promotes church growth in all its aspects.

Dr. Folkenberg presented the Pioneer Mission Movement Pastors and wives to the congregation during the session. The PMM's are Korean pastors who spend a year in language study prior to spending 5 years in the field raising up new churches.

Because of the distance, some churches arrived Friday evening so they would not be late for this celebration. All nine districts were well represented.

During the Sabbath School time John Huang chaired an exciting time during which the different departments of the church gave reports of the growth in their respective areas.

The worship hour had several memorable events. John Huang presented a brief history of the Taiwan Mission with pictures of different highlights. Dr. Jairyong Lee presented the plaque to Dr. Folkenberg, Jr., to mark the growth of the Taiwan church from mission to Conference. Dr. Lee presented the morning sermon, reminding the congregation that even though there seemed to be giants in the land, the Lord was their strength.

After lunch, each church district gave a report of the work in their area and included one or more musical selections. Some districts featured their youth who all had tee shirts with the Adventist Logo to identify them, while others were in the traditional costume of their area.

There was an electricity in the air as these reports were given. Rejoicing was the order of the day.