Adventist Crossroads
October - December 1999

Renewal, Training, Resourcing and Networking
Held 20 to 25, October, 1999 at San Diego, California, USA
John K E Tan

The Singapore Mission sent a team of youth leaders to learn first hand the latest techniques in youth work from the people with the know-how. The delegation, comprising youth ministry coordinator John Tan, Jurong English youth advisor Kuah Kah Eng, Jurong Chinese youth leader Aileen Koh, Balestier youth leader June Poh, SDA Community Church youth leader Faith Toh and representative Shimona Kee, together with Adelyn Tan of the CARE Program, visited San Diego, California to attend the National Youth Workers’ Convention. This annual event is organized by Youth Specialties, Inc, a 30-year old veteran of youth ministry resources, and usually draws around 4000 youth leaders and youth workers from all over the world. The convention’s objective is to provide opportunities for renewal, training, resourcing and networking.
The 5-day convention featured 15 8-hour seminars run simultaneously and over 80 elective seminars. Presented by experienced youth ministry practitioners, the workshops provided cutting edge information as well as time-proven youth ministry skills. There were also seven general sessions which gathered all 4000 participants together and featured internationally renowned speakers, musical and drama talent.
The Singapore team split itself up in order to soak in the wide variety of issues related to youth ministry. A sampling of the seminar titles include, “How to Recruit an Adult Volunteer Team”; “Starting the First 2 Years of Youth Ministry Right”; “The World of the Post- Modern”; “How to Inculcate Spirituality in Youth Groups”; “Effective Ways of Doing Junior- High Ministry.” There were even seminars for those inclined in computer technology and music as they pertain to youth ministry. Team members attended seminars that they were attracted to and met twice during the convention to exchange notes and experiences with one another. Team leader John Tan then compiled all the materials gleaned from the seminars for future use.
The team prepared itself by coming together for three meetings prior to the convention. This was not only to facilitate administrative planning but more importantly to strategize for maximum impact. They were instructed to intentionally make friends and establish networks for future cooperation. They were also told to absorb as much learning as possible. The team’s most immediate task upon their return to Singapore is to assist in the planning and running of youth events for the year 2000. Two upcoming events where their knowledge gained would be disseminated are Camp 40 in February and the Youth Camp in April.
Asked if the expenses involved in funding the team’s participation were worth it, team leader John Tan remarked “Anything worth doing well requires some form of investment. In this case, we are investing in a bunch of young people who would use the skills they acquire to directly impact their youth groups. Anyway, the experience at the convention alone, I believe, has life-changing potential for our team members.”

In Memoriam
Pastor James Wang Ho Chun

Pastor Chong Yun Foh was a firm believer of Jesus. He chose for himself a biblical name, Joshua, because he wanted to emulate the aspiration of Joshua of the Bible. He was born in Guangdong, China on 11 April, 1911. On 1 March, 1938 he was married to Chuo Ching Chen. Some time later, he brought his wife to Southeast Asia and started to teach Bible in the Church school at Kuching, Sarawak. During the Japanese Occupation Pastor Chong worked under very difficult and dangerous circumstances until the war was over.
After the victory of the allied forces, Pastor Chong was called to Peninsular Malaysia, and finally settled down in Singapore. He visited many places in Southeast Asia in his effort to preach the Gospel. However, the major part of his ministry was done in Singapore and Malaysia. His travel took him also to America and many countries in Europe.
One of his contemporaries, Pastor Doyle Barnett, called him Pastor Eternal Flame because of his zeal and also because his name in Chinese sounded like “forever burning flame”.
Pastor Chong was known for his meekness and earnestness. It was his habit to pray with and for the believers. He led many people to Christ in his lifetime. He was always concerned about His grand daughter Yi Ann, his mother, children and his siblings who were living in various parts of the world. His youngest sister, Pik Yee, was particularly close to him. Pik Yee’s husband Elder Ding Xin Wu (an old classmate of his in China) was his next-door neighbour during his retirement years in the US.

I Learned the Meaning of Forgiveness
Amy Ng, Balestier Seventh-day Adventist Church

The theme of the Mission-wide Revival Camp held at Hotel Sofitel, Johor, from 26 to 29 November, 1999, was “Inner Healing of Jesus.” We enjoyed the great fellowship with the royal family of God from our sister churches in Singapore. The accommodation was comfortable and the food was good. An eight-course dinner in the hotel ballroom was served on the last night of our stay.
This camp was significant for me because I was baptized by Pastor Chan Shee Wai on the Sabbath of 27 November in the hotel’s swimming pool.
Spending the weekend and Sabbath in a beautiful resort with God gave me great joy. I particularly enjoyed the thought-provoking spiritual food from the speaker, Dr. Bruce Bauer.
He took us through a journey that started and ended with the importance of forgiveness in our lives. I discovered that forgiveness is having no more anger against the other party, having new understanding, experiencing healing, having broken relationships strengthened, being loving and accepting the faults of others.
Firstly, I learned that forgiveness breaks and ends the cycle of our pain and blaming others in our lives. Secondly, it breaks the stranglehold of guilt which cripples us. Thirdly, it offers the possibility for new beginnings and changes in our lives even as we forgive others and receive and accept God’s forgiveness.
Forgiveness originates from God. Jesus has paid the penalty of our sins at Calvary; a demonstration of His great love for us.
When we confess our sin to God, He writes PARDON on it: FORGIVEN. He looks at us as if we have never sinned. To God we are forgiven sinners; for He has already forgiven our past sins, and will never henceforth hold it against us.
As God forgives, we also need to forgive. Forgiveness, though an unnatural act to our human flesh is the key that sets us free. As we forgive, we can learn to live with people in a new way.
I have learnt some meaningful catch phrases like: “Love the sinner, but hate the sin.” “Praise with positive affirmation is vital to let others know that they are loved.” “We love people because we choose to do so.” “We need to choose to act, not react to what has happened to us.” “We choose how we are going to live life, even as we make the conscious effort to learn and use new habits in our words and in our relationships with others.” “We need to be in partnership with God.” “We need to give our desire for revenge over to God.” “He is the one who can make things right, for the responsibility for vengeance and justice is the Lord’s.”
We were challenged to make our local churches healing centres where people can come for help, even as we encourage people and uplift them so that they can find wholeness in Christ.
I am overjoyed to realise that God wants us to know who we are in Christ, and our authority in Christ as a believer! We are part of God’s royal family! We have great standing in the kingdom of God. Christ is our older brother. God is our Father. We are loved, accepted, forgiven and important to God!

In Short . . .

* Pastor Chan Shee Wai graduated with a Master of Ministry degree from the Adventist International Institute of Advanced Studies, Philippines, on 10 October, 1999.

* The World Church’s Annual Council reports: End of 1998 : 44,888 churches in 205 countries around the world as well as 44,298 church groups; World membership was 10,163,414, and the total joining the Church in 1998 was 818,754.

* Singapore Churches combined worship on 9 October, 1999, at the Anglo Chinese School saw 700 in attendance. Keavin Hayden, a lay-evangelist and director of Evangelism at the Southwestern Michigan Institute for Lay Evangelism spoke on the theme, “Look Up, Your Redemption Draweth Nigh.” A lunch fellowship at the school cafeteria wrapped up the morning’s meeting. A “Discipling New Converts” training session was held at the Jurong SDA Church on the same afternoon.

* Seventeen from Singapore joined 450 other Adventists from the USA, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Mongolia, Philippines, Indonesia and Guam-Micronesia at the bi-division family ministries convention in Beijing, China from 13 to 18 October, 1999. The main speakers were Ron and Karen Flowers from the GC. Parallel and plenary sessions dealt with topics such as: Celebrating Our Differences, Creating and Maintaining Strong Marital Bonds, Parenting Teenagers, Ministry to Single Adults, Mid-life Crisis, Teaching Sexuality to Children, Developing Moral Values in Children, Languages of Love, Life With the Non-Christian Spouse, and Ministering to Single-parent Families.