Asia Conference First Opening Night!

City Harvest Church opened its doors this November 19 to almost 20,000 delegates representing 37 countries all over the world for the inaugural Asia Conference with the theme Touching Asia, Transforming the World at the Singapore  Expo. 

With an exciting line-up of electives, speakers and powerful praise and worship this much awaited conference is the event for Christian churches all over Asia for 2008. On the first night of the Asia Conference, both Singapore Halls 8 and 10 were fully packed with people hungry for a mighty move of God and revelation. The CHC band led the people to a wonderful time of  praise and worship into the presence of God. Conference delegates were then given a spectacular display of the Ministry Parade, a showcase of all the ministries in City Harvest Church. This included the Drama Ministry, JAMS Church, Children’s Church, Usher Ministry, Chinese Church and Dialect Church, and the Marketplace Ministry. Aside from the colorful floats, each ministry performed a short skit, or a song or a dance item to the delight of the audience. The Marketplace Ministry also introduced their members who have gained awards for emerging as the top movers and shakers in their industry.  

Pastor Kong in his message, urged church leaders and lay members that it’s time to step out of the First Space – the Church to impact the Second Space known as the Marketplace. Jesus has sent us to be the salt of the earth to prevent decay, as light of the world to shine brightest in the darkness and as sheep among wolves in the Marketplace. It’s in the Marketplace, the areas of Business, Education, Government, Mass Media, Arts and Entertainment that we spend the majority of our time in. We must not be afraid to engage the Marketplace and through upward mobility enter into the realm of the Third Space, the place where we as Christians earn the right to be heard.  Through this sermon, Pastor Kong casted the vision and the purpose of the Asia Conference – that churches in Asia will not be limited by old mindsets and traditional thinking but obey the voice of God which is the definition of true holiness.  

During the offering message, Pastor Kong showed a video of the various community work and humanitarian relief efforts that City Harvest Church has been involved with both locally and overseas. Many were moved by the plight Pastor Kong challenged the people to rise up and give unseflishly to the less fortunate and needy even if the world is in the middle of an economic recession.

The first night of the Asia Conference was truly a momentous night not just for City Harvest Church but for all churches represented by the foreign delegates. The Asia Conference marks the new beginning of the churches in Asia to rise up and move from the four corners of the Church to the transform the World. 

Few would expect to see a droolworthy display of well-toned bods and gorgeous faces strutting their stuff in a church setting, but City Harvest Church put that traditional mindset to rest once and for all by holding a Manhunt and Beauty Pageant during their Emerge! Conference in 2007. Following the immense success of that event, the search has now begun for the next king and queen of good looks to be crowned at the upcoming Asia Conference 2008 this November.

The preliminaries were held on 2 October at the Research University for Leadership auditorium at The Riverwalk. Due to an overwhelming response, this round took more than four hours to wrap up. Contestants were put through a gruelling series of tests, consisting of a catwalk parade, self introduction and a Q&A session.

One of the judges, Pastor Audrey Ng explained that the judging criteria included physique, confidence, eloquence and overall appearance.

Many of the contestants had never walked a catwalk in their lives, much less take part in a pageant. But despite nerves, most maintained their poise throughout the competition. Some were even bold enough to throw in a few slick moves – this was certainly the perfect time to put to good use Pastor Kong Hee’s life motto of “zo lang ai zai” (Hokkien, meaning “be cool”).

When it came to the self introduction and public speaking segment, some of the non-Singaporean contestants faced a language barrier as English was not native to them. However, most came well-prepared and delivered their answers confidently.

PHOTOS: Daniel Poh

More than just a chance to win the coveted title, this competition is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. “The Manhunt and Beauty Pageant is a platform for our members to display their talents in front of an audience, to step out in faith and do something they may not have dared to do previously,” says Pastor Audrey.

Contestant Desmond Tan echoes his views. “I wanted to invest in the talents God has given to me, to use those talents to glorify God,” he shares.

Another contestant, Michele Tan says that win or lose, she is here for the experience. “I just have fun out there,” she says.

The finals for the Manhunt and Beauty Pageant will be held during the Asia Conference 2008, which takes place from 19-23 November at Singapore Expo Hall 8.

Article taken from CityNews – http://www.chc.org.sg/citynews
URL to article: http://www.chc.org.sg/citynews/?p=339

Super Finalists In Superband

Posted By Elaine Ng On 8 November 2008 (12:45 am) In Marketplace

Many viewers tuned in to popular talent-search competition, Superband, on Channel U, week after week. However, unknown to many is the fact that eight of the finalists are members of City Harvest Church (CHC).

Janet Liu (one half of Er Zuo Ju), Estella Sia and Joanne Koh (two members of Da Fong Cui), Eric Wong, Careen Tham, Derrick Lim, Ryan Wong and Janice Chan (all from Dream Factory) all shared a common reason for participating in the Superband competition: They saw it as a challenge, to do something different on a nationwide level. And they did their supporters proud by making it to the finals.

Estella, Derrick and Ryan are music teachers, while the rest come from various other industries.

Estella and Joanne’s band made it to the top two. “It was a real honor,” says Estella. “To us, we see it as a beginning of great things to come. The experience of going through the whole journey, and learning so much is better than winning the competition itself. We give all glory to God.”

The band is planning to cut their own album, and they will be undertaking the entire project by themselves, from writing the songs to producing the album. They have also received several invitations to perform at events.

For Careen, Eric, Derrick, Ryan and Janice whose band is formed entirely of CHC members, their venture into the media and the arts continue as they plan to write songs together and cut their own CD.

All the participants agreed firstly, that the support of family and friends is crucial. Eric and Careen, husband and wife, and parents to 10-month-old Jordan, say that through this competition, they realized that their support for each other is paramount in achieving their dreams.

Another fact that all seven members agree on, is that a precious thing they take away from this experience is the relationships they have formed with each other, the other participants and media personnel they have come to know.

These ordinary folk with a streak of creativity took up the challenge and went into the world of media and entertainment as ambassadors for Christ. As Janet, half of Er Zuo Ju, puts it, “One of my most memorable moments is being able to thank God on national TV.”

These eight Super finalists are engaging culture in an unprecedented way!

Article taken from CityNews – http://www.chc.org.sg/citynews
URL to article: http://www.chc.org.sg/citynews/?p=3153

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