STAY Connected. That is the theme for this year’s Chinese Annual Conference (CAC) Retreat, and that is the message to all CAC members.
The annual retreat, to be held at Sengkang Methodist Church at Anchorvale Road on May 1 from 9 am to 1 pm, will cover six workshops on a wide range of subjects catering to the young as well as the old.
The keynote address will be given by the Rev Tie King Tai, Director of Field Works of the Methodist Theological School in East Malaysia, and Chairman of the Board of Missions and Communications of the Chinese Annual Conference, Sarawak, East Malaysia.
The six workshops are on “Powerful Preaching” to be conducted by the Rev Tie, “Ageing” by the Rev Dr Lee Chong Kai, “Tentmaking Ministry” by Dr Stanley Ling, “Wesleyan Revival and Tradition” by the Rev Malcolm Tan, “Covenant Discipleship” by the Rev Khoo Cheng Hoot, the CAC President, and “Parenting Teenage Children” by Mrs Belinda Khor. There will be translations in English and Mandarin.
The Rev Dr Lee, who is the Chaplain of Trinity Theological College, will talk about the peace and joy of the elderly, and how they can be a source of blessing to their families, churches and neighbours. He is an elder of the Presbyterian Church.
Dr Ling, Chairman of the Board of Missions of the CAC, will outline the work of “tentmaking” and share insights on how to start a “tentmaking” ministry and how to be an effective “tentmaker”.
The Rev Tan, Pastor-in-Charge of Barker Road Methodist Church, will touch on “The Great Awakenings and the Evangelical Revival of the 18th Century”, “The People Called Methodists and the way they changed the World”, “The Formation of the Wesleyan Tradition”, “The Methodist Roots of Modern Pentecostalism”, and “John Wesley, John Sung and the 21st Century”.
The Rev Khoo’s session will define Covenant Discipleship and cover Christian environment and Christian witness, and santification, grace and class meetings.
Mrs Khor, a professional counsellor specialising in children and youth psychological counselling and family therapy, will probe into the generation gap between parents and children. She will discuss the cause of parent-children conflict, the growth process of youth, the emotional swing of puberty, and the right attitude of parents.
The Rev Khoo said: “The retreat is not only for CAC pastors and church leaders. It is organised for all our church members, and that is why the workshops are targeted at the young as well as the old.”
About 600 people are expected to attend the retreat.