The D6 Family Conference was held online on 30 and 31 July 2021 with the theme “NEXT: Next Steps, Next Level & Next Generation”, dedicated to equipping the Church, leaders, ministers, volunteers, families, grandparents and parents with practical next steps and next level strategies for discipling the next generation.
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.” (Deut 6:4–7)
The D6 Family ministry movement, which was started by Randall House,1 is premised on applying the principles of Deuteronomy 6 (hence D6) and urges the church and home to work together to implement generational discipleship within the churches, homes and families and to pass on a spiritual legacy for future generations.
The D6 movement has been active in Singapore since 2016. The D6 Family Conference is led by The Bible Society of Singapore and supported by the Board of Children Ministry (Trinity Annual Conference of The Methodist Church in Singapore), Faith Methodist Church and The Evangelical Alliance of Singapore. The 2021 conference planning committee was co-chaired by Dr Cheah Fung Fong (TRAC Vice-President) and Ps Eric Chan, and assisted by committee members Rev Carrie Chan, Rev David Chee, Ps Simon Say, Ps Elaine Kwok, Christina Ong, Carol Loi, Anne Soh, Jason Goh, Joyder Ng, Sarah Chok and Celestine Tan.
The conference began with energetic greetings to more than 400 participants led by Christina Ong, an opening prayer by Rev Reuben Ng, Pastor-in-Charge of Faith Methodist Church, and an uplifting time of worship led by Elvin and Esther Foong, founders of The Treasure Box SG. This was followed by an opening welcome message by Dr Ron Hunter Jr., co-founder of D6, during which he exhorted participants to do church and home differently during this COVID-19 pandemic by forming new habits of intentionality such as finding daily teachable moments and connecting across generations through worship, studying Scripture and creating heart-to-heart conversations.
Tim Goodyear, COO, HomePointe and Discipleship Pastor of Valley View Bible Church, led in the first plenary session: “Creating a Culture of Intentional Families”. He challenged participants to redefine their views on “parenting success” and to recognise that their primary parenting purpose is for their children to have a heart oriented towards glorifying God. He then reminded us of the command to act as God’s agents of authority in the lives of our children by means of instruction and discipline. If we only influence our children to strive for “better” lives instead of living for God’s glory and purpose, then we are turning them away from God.
After a short tea-break, the conference participants returned for the first Panel Session, a Worldview Conversation with Jason Wong and Jillian Lee, and moderated by Ps Eric Chan. Jason shared that a Christian worldview protects us from a sick culture and prepares us to shape culture; he encouraged us to not only ground our philosophy in Christ but to know how to respond to the arguments of other worldviews by offering better arguments. Jillian talked about integrating faith and life at home and in church, and the need to renew our minds, reclaim conversations, recover space and time for solitude, as well as to remain in community.
The second day began with worship led by Samat Jaimon and family before an opening welcome message by Rev Ezekiel Tan, General Secretary of The Bible Society of Singapore. Tim Goodyear continued with the second plenary session: “Creating a Culture of Intentional Marriages”. He spoke of how most believers are called to worship God through the intimacy of marriage and the blessing of children, and to show Christ by reflecting the marriage between God and His people, raise believers by inspiring and nurturing next generation faith, and to be Jesus to attract and point our neighbours and the next generation to Christ.
The second panel session, “Raising Resilient Kids in a Post-Pandemic World” by A/Prof Daniel Fung and Peter Tan, was moderated by Dr Cheah Fung Fong. Daniel shared that faith in God is foundational to allowing for perseverance in trials, which would ultimately lead to the strengthening of the child. Relationships are also crucial to developing resilient children; parents must enable children to learn competence and empower them to develop responsibility. From Proverbs 22:6 (“Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it”), Peter highlighted the importance of influencing children’s spiritual development by filling the vessel; feeding the body, soul and spirit; focusing on friendships and family; and having faith in God. He also extracted findings from scientific research to underscore the need to establish systems and structures to build resilience.
Both afternoons of the conference were reserved for parallel breakout sessions:
- “Confident Parenting and Family Discipleship in an Age of Unprecedented Digitalisation” by Chong Ee Jay
- “Marriage and Communication” by Ps Simon Say
- “Biblical Sexuality: Building a home as the safest space for conversations on God’s design for love, sex and gender” by Carol Loi and Nicole Soh
- “Raising Missional Families by Job and Anne Tan
- “Family Faith Journey” by Ps Elaine Kwok and Dorcas Li
- “The Joy of Grandparenting: A Vision for the Generations” by Dr Andrew Goh
- “Next Steps in Your Family Ministry Pursuit” by Ps Matthew Ling
- “How to Raise Mentally Tough Children in this New Normal” by Edgar Tham
From the numerous testimonies and positive feedback received, we give praise and thanks to God for enabling the 2021 D6 Family Conference to guide participants to communicate better, especially to the NEXT generation, and to be equipped with practical strategies for effective family discipleship and ministry in these uncertain times. Sign up today for the 2022 D6 Family Conference: RECALIBRATE @ www.d6family.sg.
1 www.randellhouse.com
Dr Morgan Zhou is the Chairperson of the TRAC Board of Children Ministry and the Children Ministry Coordinator at Fairfield Methodist Church. / Screenshots courtesy of the D6 Family Conference