According to the available records, Brother Witness Lee ministered in Taiwan during the first half of 1956. In July he was in the Philippines. In August he traveled to Hong Kong, and he ministered there until early October before returning to the Philippines, where he remained until the end of January 1957. The contents of the ministry of Brother Witness Lee in 1956 are divided into three volumes. The first two volumes consist of his speaking in Taipei, Taiwan, in the first half of the year. The third volume is composed of his speaking in Taipei, his speaking in Hong Kong from August 15 to the first part of October, and his speaking in the Philippines until the end of January 1957. The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1956, volume 1, contains messages given by Brother Witness Lee in February through May 1956. Historical information concerning Brother Lee's travels and the content of his ministry in 1956 can be found in the general preface that appears at the beginning of this volume. The contents of this volume are divided into two sections, as follows: 1. Twenty-one messages given in Taipei, Taiwan, in February. These messages were previously published in a book entitled The Church as the Body of Christ and are included in this volume under the same title. 2. Thirty-nine messages given in Taipei, Taiwan, in March through May. These messages are included in this volume under the title Revelations in the Books of Poetry: Seeing the Experiences of God's Holy People.