The Chinese Union Mission (CHUM) held its 2014 Annual Council on December 2 and 3 at Hong Kong Adventist College. More than 50 people attended the meetings, including six delegates from the Northern Asia Pacific Division (NSD) and two pastors from the UT (Unorganized Territory).
Dr. Jairyong Lee, president of NSD, motivated the crowd to continue the challenging task of city evangelism. He referred to the biblical story of Jonah, a missionary directly appointed by God to work in “the great city of Nineveh” (Jonah 1:2). Dr. Lee stated, “God cares for the multitude living in the world’s big cities. God Himself promotes evangelism in the cities. We need to follow His direction to continue our work in the cities.”
Elder Ken Osborn, treasurer of NSD, emphasized an important quality of a successful missionary. He remarked, “A true missionary will empty himself/herself before God and serve Him humbly. The keyword is ‘to serve,’ not ‘to be served.’ And Jesus Christ is our best role model in service.”
Following previously set policy for the years from 2013 to 2015, CHUM will continue to focus on its Kingdom Growth initiative, striving to achieve goals for spiritual growth, functional growth and numerical growth of its vast number of churches.
Delegates shared their ministry reports, challenges and future plans. The city of Hong Kong in recent months has experienced unprecedented civic movement which was spearheaded by college students. In order to harness their youthful power for Christ, Hong Kong-Macau Conference (HKMC) plans to focus its evangelistic efforts more on young professionals and college students. The HKMC Executive Committee decided to increase the budget for the plan and to organize a pilot team to lead the implementation process.
The churches in UT face the challenges posed by secularism and materialism. The number of baptisms has been in decline. CHUM realizes that it needs to pray more and work harder to combat the social trend. May God lead His faithful workers to a greater success in 2015!