03 Jun Glimpses of Hong Kong Conference

Rev. Yiu Kin Keung giving his report about the work of Hong Kong Conference during the past three years.

Rev. Yiu Kin Keung became superintendent of Hong Kong Conference in 2012. The previous superintendent, Rev. Ajiax Wo, stepped aside when he acquired a part-time teaching position. Rev. Wo continues part-time as pastor of the Yan Tze church, which he has been serving for almost 20 years.

Here are tidbits from the written and verbal reports given by Rev. Yiu to the 2013 General Conference meeting in Kitchener, Ontario, May 29-31. The report covers the years since the previous General Conference in January 2010.

The Churches

• The Hong Kong churches are fairly small. The largest church, Zion, has about 100 people. Most of the churches are located in large highrise buildings—one of them on the 27th floor. There may be several other evangelical churches in the same building.
• “We have not planted any new church in the past three years.”
• A few churches have shown a slight increase in attendance during the past three years, “but overall we are shrinking in size gradually.”
• Four churches, seeing the downtrend, reorganized with a cell group structure, but “all of them failed to make any significant growth in terms of size.”
• In 2011, Hong Kong Conference instituted a mandatory training program for deacons which includes two half-day seminars—the first on governing structure, core values, and United Brethren distinctives, the second on the dynamics of serving effectively as a team with pastors and fellow deacons.
• “We now have 12 fulltime pastors, 4 part-time pastors, and 2 retired pastors….Five of the fulltime and two of the part-time pastors were employed within the past three years.”
• “Most of our churches are not experiencing satisfying growth. The instability of pastoral staff is one of the major reasons. Nine fulltime pastors left us in the past three years. It is difficult to maintain a healthy church without a stable team of pastoral staff.”
• All of the Hong Kong churches are small churches established many years ago—some over 40 years old. Rev. Yiu pointed out that their small size means limited resources. Since these churches include people of diverse backgrounds and diverse ages—from babies through the elderly–it’s difficult shepherding them all on limited resources. “It is impossible to satisfy all the needs with the limited resources of a small church.”
• The pastors are discussing ways to combine their efforts, organizing joint functions and joint ministries between two or more congregations. “This would be a possible way to solve the problem of limited resources in small churches.”

Missions
During the past 25 years, they ministered in such places as Macau, Poland, Myanmar, Thailand, Nepal, and China. But for the near future, they decided to concentrate their resources in two places: Macau and Thailand.

• Macau: They are focusing efforts on helping the Living Stone church in Macau, which has struggled over the years. The Hong Kong pastors are helping to build up their ministry, organize a management committee, and guide the pastor and leaders to set vision, objectives, and strategies. Hong Kong Conference has arranged a mission trip to Macau for September 2013 “to support the worship and music ministry of Living Stone.”
• Thailand: “We have been invited by the Second District of the Church of Christ Thailand to start a new mission project in Chiang Rai City. The scope of work would probably include three areas: organizing English/Mandarin language learning program, training nursing staff at the Overbrook Hospital, and providing theological education and training.” The project will be a join effort of Hong Kong and Global Ministries (the US and Canada).

In addition, Hong Kong and Global Ministries signed a new “Memo of Understanding” in 2012 which clarifies their roles regarding Macau.

02 Jun June 1: Canadian Missions Conference

The General Conference delegates lined up at the front of the Stanley Park UB church in Kitchen, Ontario.

Canada’s missions leader, Paul Plato (right) and other during lunch at Stanley Park.

Former Sierra Leone missionaries Kathy Jones (right) and Audrey Federlein registering for the conference.

The missions conference at Stanley Park church in Kitchener, Ontario.

General Conference actually ended on May 31. But on Saturday, June 1, the Canadian conference held a missions conference at the Stanley Park UB church in Kitchener, Ontario. All of the national leaders had a chance to speak. It was a unique opportunity for the UBs of Canada to hear from such  wide range of United Brethren leaders from around the world–probably a once-in-a-lifetime thing.

The conference started at 10am Saturday morning and concluded around 3 pm, with the church serving lunch. Paul Plato, Canada’s missions chairman, led the conference and kept things moving, with one person after another speaking.

Up to that point, all of the General Conference delegates had been staying at Emmanuel Bible College in Kitchener. But now, the group split up, with some of the delegates–those from Central America, Mexico, Jamaica, and Haiti– going home with missions conference attendees to their churches, where they would speak on Sunday morning. That left only the Hong Kong and US delegates spending the night at Emmanuel Bible College.

Bishop Phil Whipple would speak Sunday morning at Mill Crossing in nearby Cambridge, and Yiu Kin Keung would speak at Stanley Park. Jeff Bleijerveld was lined up to speak at the Stevensville UB church in the Niagara area.

Many more photos are posted on the United Brethren Facebook page.

01 Jun Facebook Galleries of National Conference

Photo galleries from each day of General Conference have been posted on the United Brethren Facebook page.

• Day 1 – Wednesday, May 29
• Day 2 – Thursday, May 30
• Day 3 – Friday, May 31
• Day 4 – Saturday, June 1

We’re talkin’ several hundred photos, all with captions. Take a look.

01 Jun The 2013 General Conference Delegates

2013 General Conference delegates (click to enlarge)

Each national conference is eligible to send two voting delegates to General Conference. The international bylaws call for “the bishop or equivalent and his or her designee.” National conferences are responsible for the expenses of their own delegates.

Each of the ten national conferences named two delegates. However, three national conferences sent no delegates, and two sent only one delegate. Here’s the entire list of delegates. The ones who didn’t attend are in italics (the issues primarily involved problems getting visas to Canada).

Canada
Rev. Brian Magnus, bishop
Mr. Paul Plato, missions team leader

Guatemala
Rev. Francisco Najera, superintendent
Mrs. Trinidad Gonzalez de Najera

Honduras
Rev. Mrs. Juanita Chavez, superintendent
Ms. Damaris Canales

Hong Kong
Rev. Yiu Kin Keung, superintendent
Mr. Daniel Ko

Jamaica
Rev. Isaac Nugent, bishop
Rev. Winston Smith, pastor

Mexico
Rev. Denis Casco, bishop
Rev. Guadalupe Vazquez

Nicaragua
Rev. Juan Pavon, superintendent
Mr. Sergio Canda Garcia

Philippines
Rev. Prudencio Lim, superintendent
Mr. Aaron Lim

Sierra Leone
Rev. John Pessima, bishop
Mr. Sahr Kobio Foyoh

United States
Rev. Phillip Whipple, bishop
Rev. Jeffrey Bleijerveld, Global Ministries director

Mrs. Donna Hollopeter, associate director of Global Ministries, served as secretary of the General Conference. Mr. Jorge Botero provided Spanish/English translation.

Also attending were the leaders of two mission districts. A mission district consists of United Brethren churches in a country which are not yet organized as a national conference, and are under the supervision of an existing national conference.

• El Salvador: Rev. Gonzalo Alas, superintendent
• Haiti: Rev. Oliam Richard

We have several other mission districts which were not represented at General Conference:

• Thailand and Macau: under the supervision of Hong Kong.
• Costa Rica: under the supervision of Nicaragua.
• India: under the supervision of the United States.
• Germany: under the supervision of Sierra Leone.

In addition:

• Mexico Conference oversees about ten Hispanic churches in the United States (Los Angeles; El Paso, Texas; Santa Fe, New Mexico; Chicago; and Miami.
• Hong Kong oversees a church in Poland.
• Hong Kong oversees a ministry in Myanmar.
• Mexico has started a ministry in Belize.

31 May Final Day of General Conference

Interpreter Jorge Botero (left) and Gonzalo Alas, superintendent of the work in El Salvador, during the prayer for the El Salvador churches.

The close of the General Conference meeting.

The Mill Crossing worship team.

During the Mill Crossing service.

Juanita Chavez, superintendent of Honduras Conference, preached at Mill Crossing.

Liz Cudney, co-pastor of Mill Crossing, having some fun.

The 2013 General Conference is the 51st edition, going back to 1815. For most of that time, it was held every four years. And always in the United States. The only exception was the 1925 General Conference, which convened in Kitchener, Ontario–the site of the 2013 edition. (The 2010 General Conference, of course, was held in Honduras.)

Day 3 of General Conference began with more reports about national conference missions efforts. By noon, they adjourned. Rev. Martin Magnus, a retired minister in Ontario who has been a voting delegate to various General Conferences over the years (and is the father of Canadian bishop Brian Magnus), closed the conference in prayer.

The conference then moved into executive session, which consisted of the highest leader from each national conference (in other words, about half of the delegates).

After lunch, the delegates took an afternoon excursion to a local Christian media company and then to CH Global, the organization with which we partner in various ways in Jamaica.

The evening service was held in nearby Cambridge at the Mill Crossing United Brethren church. This church began in 2005 as a daughter church of Parkwood Gardens UB church in Guelph. Neil and Liz Cudney co-pastor this church.

The beautifully renovated part of an old industrial building. It has the feel of a coffeehouse–very intimate and relaxed.

The Mill Crossing music team led in worship, and did so superbly (with Pastor Neil playing mandolin and banjo). Each of the General Conference delegates were given the chance to introduce themselves and say something to the congregation (which included people from several area United Brethren churches). Then Mill Crossing gave each person a gift, and prayed for them.

Juanita Chavez, superintendent of Honduras Conference, preached, with the help of interpreter Jorge Botero. She sang a song in Spanish toward the beginning, and then concluded by leaping into the deep to sing “Shout to the Lord” in English. She did well, and was helped by the congregation joining her.

Ice cream cake was served afterwards.

On Saturday, a missions conference for all of the Canadian UB churches will be held in the morning and afternoon at Stanley Park UB church in Kitchener. Most of the General Conference delegates will have the chance to speak. Should be a fun day.

31 May General Conference: Day 2 Report (May 30)

Bishop Phil Whipple reporting on the work of the US National Conference.

At the falls (l-r): Daniel Ko (Hong Kong), John Pessima (Sierra Leone), Winston Smith (Jamaica), Isaac Nugent (Jamaica), Phil Whipple (USA).

Bishop Brian Magnus with delegates at the front of the Grace church.

Denis Casco (right) and his translator, Jorge.

Day 2 of General Conference began with the final country report–the United States (they went in alphabetical order). Bishop Phil Whipple touched on these areas:

• How the cluster system has evolved since being instituted in 2005.
• How they station pastors.
• US church plants (he mentioned 7 churches).
• Changes at Huntington University.
• Leadership development effort – the UB history course, other courses, and summits for youth, worship ministers, and associate passtors.
• The 26 proposals for revising the Discipline, coming before this summer’s national conference.
• Pastoral licensing changes.

Brian Magnus, chairman of the General Conference, then led the delegates in discussing the only major decision to come before the delegates. It involved the UB National Conference in the Philippines. Unanimous action was taken. More will be said about this later.

Brian Magnus then turned to national conference reports about mission efforts. Canada and Honduras reported on what they were doing. Rev. Oliam Richard, superintendent of the UB churches in Haiti, had arrived the night before. He told about the work in Haiti as part of the report of Canada, which oversees the Haiti mission district. Honduras also reported. And then it was time for lunch.

After lunch, the delegates climbed aboard a luxury tour bus and headed to Niagara Fall, about two hours away. The foreign visitors could not be allowed to get this close to the falls, one of North America’s premier natural wonders, and not see it. The trip included a ride aboard the Maid of the Mist, a boat which approaches very close to the Canadian horseshoe falls. The wind and dense spray left everyone quite wet.

Four of the UB churches in Canada are in the Niagara area (or at least on that end of Ontario). The bus took everyone to the Grace UB church in Sherkston, where a delicious meal awaited. Then the evening service was held there. Persons came from all four of the nearby churches.

Grace has been a strong missions-minded church over the years, producing a number of missionaries (Olive Weaver, Shirley Fretz, Ruth Benner, and others) and faithfully supporting the work of United Brethren missions. In that respect, Grace has few peers in the denomination. Pastor Dan Nickless said they view themselves as a sending church, having raised up so many missionaries and pastors since the church began in 1897.

The Grace worship team led the congregation in singing a number of the great hymns–“Amazing Grace,” “It is Well,” and others. As he did the previous night in Guelph, Bishop Magnus introduced all of the General Conference delegates, bringing them to the platform for everyone to see. The Grace missions team then joined them and prayed over the delegates.

Denis Casco, bishop of the Mexico National Conference, spoke. The conference’s intrepid translator, Jorge, got quite a workout. Denis and Jorge are both kidders, with wonderful senses of humor, and they are probably not good for each other. Denis switched back and forth between English and Spanish, seemingly trying to catch him off guard, and the audience loved it. A lot of laughter occurred during this service.

But it was also a powerful message. Bishop Casco spoke on the simple topic of “Love,” which he had found to be one of the most difficult topics to preach on. Throughout the message he referenced Archie Cameron, a Canadian whose love for a distant people caused him to spend his life in Honduras, where his influence led numerous people to Christ–including Denis Casco himself.

After the service, the delegates boarded the bus for the trip back to Kitcheer, arriving at Emmanuel Bible College around 11 pm. It was a long day, but a good one.