ACEM 2008 Missions Conference 30th Anniversary Edition

ACEM 2008 Missions Conference
30th Anniversary Edition
Content
The ACEM 30th Missions Conference
2 To Every Generation
Victor Lee
3
4
5
5
6
Goals of 30th Missions Conference
Joint Meetings
Children’s Missions Programs
Missions Sundays
Our Speakers
Snapshots of Our Past and Present
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
30-year ACEM Missions Conferences Review
15-year Short Term Missions Teams Supported by ACEM
15-year Seminary Students Supported by ACEM
10-year First-time Commitments
15-year Missions Offering and Disbursement
Our Missionaries, 2008
Our Para-Church Organization-Workers, 2008
Co-workers of Missions Departments
Missions Articles
10 When Should We Begin World Missions?
John Kao
13 Should I Not Be Concerned?
Kinson Leung
14 ACEM’s Partnership With Us On The Missions Field
Randall Mah
15 Photo Album
SAM FOK
19 Pre-discipleship: The Forgotten Aspect of Evangelism
Kai Mark
20 Sharpen Our Vision for God’s Missions
Vincent Lee
20 Enjoy God’s Presence
Daniel Leung
21 “Prayer and the Word of God” in Missions
Fred Tham
22 Teaching English in Sichuan, China
Quang Nguyen
23 A Peace Trip
Ming Lam
24 Don’t Say That You Are Too Young
Sunny Wong
ACEM 30th Missions Conference 1
To Every Generation
Victor Lee
It is such an honour, joy and privilege to celebrate
ACEM’s 30th Anniversary Missions Conference this
year. From its very humble beginnings under the
founding pastor, Rev. Dr. John Kao and a few families
in 1975, God has blessed ACEM’s growth to include
11 churches to date. One of the major reasons for this
incredible growth is ACEM’s emphasis on its five core
values:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
To be a community of unity and love
To be a community for discipleship training
To be a community of church planting
To be a community of world missions
To be a community of social concern
As we celebrate our 30th Anniversary Missions
Conference, we must thank God for how each local
church has maintained a high commitment to core
values #3 and #4, to be a community of church
planting and world missions. Having been in ACEM
since 1988, I have had the privilege to learn that
evangelism (here at home and overseas) has to be the
priority of every church and every Christian in every
generation.
In my opinion, keeping evangelism as one of
our highest priorities today is truly a challenge. It’s
just so easy to be distracted by the million issues that
surround us today in the church and in the home. But
the calling of Jesus upon our lives is to keep evangelism
as a pervasive priority and pattern in the church and in
every generation. This is our biblical priority and this
can be seen in the following passages:
Gen 12:2-3 … “and all peoples on earth will be
blessed through you” This pivotal passage is the Great
Commission of the OT
Matt 28:19ff … “go and make disciples of all
nations”
Mark 16:15 … “go into all the world and preach the
good news to all creation.”
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to every generation
Luke 24:47 … “and repentance and forgiveness of sins
will be preached in his name to all nations”
John 20:21 … “As the father has sent me, I am sending
you”
Acts 1:8 … “And you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem,
and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the
earth”
As you can see, the Great Commission is
unavoidably the primary responsibility of every church
in every generation. And this evangelistic priority
really flows from a right understanding of revelation,
a right understanding of God, a right understanding
of sin, a right understanding of salvation and a right
understanding of why we exist.
This year, for the ACEM English ministries,
we have developed a 3-fold vision for this 30th
Anniversary. We are aiming at …
1.Celebrating (the world-wide impact of missions
for 30 years)
2.Challenging (all attendees to get involved at home
or overseas)
3.Connecting (mobilizing human and financial
resources for missions)
We are also doing our best to empower all the
ACEM English congregations to attend this landmark
event in the history of our organization. In fact, we
have planned to have 2 satellite locations in 2 different
regions to encourage higher participation than in
previous years. The satellite locations will take place
at the Richmond Hill Chinese Community Church
(9670 Bayview Ave, Richmond Hill) and the Toronto
Chinese Community Church (100 Acadia Ave,
Markham). All the English congregations in ACEM
can choose to join the satellite location that is most
suitable for them.
RHCCC will have a great Missions program on Friday
Oct 24 that features a Missionsfeast meal for the adults
followed by the Christian recording artists “Krystaal”.
This special group of brothers have dynamic testimony
of how they were saved and reunited because of
missionaries who dared to care for them. TCCC will
also have “Krystaal” on Friday Oct 17 and on Friday
Oct 24. They will have Rev. Dr. Nicanor Tamang as
their featured missions speaker.
During this 30th Anniversary Missions
Conference, may all of us in ACEM put our best
foot forward to reach this generation and the next
… and the next … and for many more years until
Jesus returns.
We shall truly be blessed to have Krystaal and
Rev. Dr. Nicanor Tamang as our guests to help us to
achieve our 3-fold vision to celebrate…to challenge
and to connect our people for the sake of missions and
to reach our generation with the gospel.
(Rev. Victor Lee is the English Committee
Chairman of the ACEM 30th Missions
Conference, pastor of Toronto ­Mandarin
Chinese ­Community Church.)
The Goals of ACEM 30th Missions Conference
• 47 people decide for the 1st time to attend Bible College/Seminary in preparation for future ministry.
• 28 people decide for the 1st time to participate in church planting ministry.
• 46 people decide for the 1st time to serve God full-time in churches or Christian organizations.
• 393 people decide for the 1st time to participate in local missions.
• 285 people decide for the 1st time to participate in short-term missions trips.
• 28 people decide for the 1st time to serve God as full-time missionaries/ tentmakers.
• Reach faith-promise offering of $1,575,850.00
• Number of Faith-commitment cards – 1,800
• Number of commitments to pray for individual missionaries – 11,300
ACEM 30th Missions Conference 3
Richmond Hill Chinese Community Church*
9670 Bayview Avenue, Richmond Hill
Toronto Chinese Community Church*
100 Acadia Avenue, Markham
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to every generation
Children’s MISSIONS Program
(2-4 yrs old)
Oct 26, 2008 (Sun)
7:30-9:30 p.m.
RHCCC Basement
Registration starts at 7:15 p.m.
Contents: Facts about different countries of the world, classroom
decorating, jeopardy game, musical presentation, Gospel craft and
taste of cultural food.
MISSIONs SundayS
Date
OCT 19
TCCC
RHCCC
OCT 26
Rev. Mark Cassidy
Rev. Dr. Nicanor Tamang
Mr. Fraser Churchill
English
Rev. Dr. Nicanor Tamang
Doxa
Mr. Charles Mulli
Mr. Henry Chung
SPLAT
Mr. Charles Mulli
Mr. Henry Chung
Milliken
Rev. Vincent Lee
Rev. Peter Chan
Markham
Rev. Mark Cassidy
Ms. Pearl Shum
NYCCC
Rev. Michael Sandström
Rev. Michael Sandström
TMCCC
Rev. Michael Sandström
Rev. Martyn Hartley
WTCCC
Mrs. Nora Wu
Dr. William Tsui
UCCC
Mr. Henry Chung
Mr. Marty Frisk
Missions Conference Promotional Items
• Souvenir Coaster
• Missions Video/Photo Contest
• Missions Calendar
• 30th Anniversary Edition
• Prayer Guide
• Faith Offering Commitment Card
• Prayer Commitment Card
ACEM 30th Missions Conference 5
Joint Meeting Speakers
Krystaal is an award
winning,
multi-talented
group of three brothers who
excel in various genres of
music including R&B/Pop,
Gospel, Urban and World
(African). They are characterized by their tight vocal harmonies
and an ability to fit any audience anywhere in the world. The
group’s founders, brothers Michel, Fabian and Aliston Lwamba,
came to Canada from Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of
Congo) having experienced many trials and hardships under a
corrupt dictatorship. After forming the music group “Krystaal”
in Canada, the Lwambas have become ambassadors for peace
and forgiveness, performing all over Canada, the States, Africa
and Europe.
Under the leadership of Rev. Dr.
Nicanor Tamang and his wife Elizabeth,
International Nepal began in 1974 with
the emphasis on church planting. In 1988
the ministry was expanded to the Nepali
speaking people in North India (estimated
8 million) with Dehradun as centre.
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to every generation
Rev. Dr. Thomas Wang was brought
up from a third-generation Christian
family. He has lived in Hong Kong,
Taiwan and Europe. In 1953, Rev.
Wang began to serve as a full-time
minister. He migrated to North America
in 1958. In 1961 he was called by the
Lord to found the Chinese Christian Mission and in 1976
the Chinese Coordination Center for World Evangelism. He
served in 1987 as an International Director of the Lausanne
Committee for World Evangelization, and then in 1989
as an International Chairman of the AD2000 and Beyond
Movement. He is currently serving as missionary of the Great
Commission Center International. In addition to the above
mentioned global ministries, God has laid upon his heart a
genuine burden and love for his second homeland, America.
For over 30 years, Dr. Wang has been waging a letter-writing
campaign for a spiritual renewal of America through his annual
correspondences to leaders of this nation. Recently, he is led to
edit and publish the book, America, Return to God. More than
400,000 copies of this book have been sent to American leaders
of all levels and professions.
Missions Sunday Speakers
Rev. Mark Cassidy: The Lord used
participation in a prayer group and a
short-term ministry trip to East Asia to
lead Mark and Anita Cassidy back there
to serve from 1983-1993. They speak an
oriental dialect. With the goal to serve
overseas, he graduated from Tyndale
College in 1977, and then went on to Dallas for further
studies. As a consultant for SIM, Mark spends much of his time
helping Chinese churches in Toronto. He enjoys preaching and
coaching young people in short-term service. He takes teams
overseas and assists churches in sending out their own shortterm teams through Team Leader’s training seminars and their
new book, “A Mission Team handbook: Servant Formation.”
Rev. Peter Chan has been involved
in church planting, pastoring, and
pioneering hospital chaplaincy ministries
in Hong Kong. In 1988, his family of
four was sent by his mother church, as
missionaries through OMF, to Sapporo
Hokkaido, Japan for church planting. A
Japanese Christian church was established during his 10 years
of ministry there. In 1998, having completed two missionary
terms he returned to serve in his mother church in Hong Kong.
In June 2000, Rev. Chan joined Gospel Operation International
for Chinese Christians as Director of Canada Office where he
applied his enriched missionary experiences to promote vision
for missions, encourage missions education, and recruit and
care for missionaries. He also served as the Mandarin Ministry
Consulting Pastor at Scarborough Chinese Baptist Church.
Mr. Henry Chung was saved through a
sports ministry (CCSA) and served in
various lay-ministries at RHCCC, he
pursued further spiritual growth and
education through Tyndale Bible College.
During his studies, he went on a mission
trip to northern Alberta and met his
future bride Amy. Upon graduating in 2000, Henry has since
been serving as a youth worker on the Grand Portage Native
Reservation in northern Minnesota. With his wife, they have
developed a youth ministry working with teens and young
adults. In the seven years serving in Grand Portage, Henry has
helped in building a new church building, leading the youth and
children’s ministry, volunteered with the local EMS Ambulance
service and helped fight fires as a Wildland Firefighter. Henry,
Amy and their two children have returned from ministry and
are now seeking God’s will for a new direction in ministry.
Mr. Fraser Churchill became a Christian
in 1980 at the age of 27. From 1981
to 1984, he was challenged by his
local church to consider using in his
management skills in fulltime ministry.
He then closed his business and joined the
Operation Mobilization ship, Mv. Logos,
in South America in the summer of 1985 and began training
in evangelism, open air preaching and conference ministry.
In December 1986, he was blessed to marry Sherry and they
served together in ministry with the second OM ship, Doulos
in Southeast Asia for two years doing evangelism outreach and
planning for the ship. In 1991 they joined the OM Canada
team. Fraser became the Director of Development. They now
have three teenaged children – Jordan, Jessica & Kristen.
ACEM 30th Missions Conference 7
Mr. Marty Frisk ministered in Turkey
with Christar as a tentmaker while part of
a church-planting team. He has served the
last 10 years as the Director of Christar
(Canada). He is a popular teacher in the
Perspectives program. His heart’s desire is
to see churches come into being among
least-reached Muslims, Hindus, and Buddhists.
Rev. Martyn Hartley came to Canada from
England in 1966, married Jill and they
both became Christians in 1972. After 27
years in business, Martyn resigned as Vice
President of an insurance company to go
into missions ministry in 1990. Since
joining SEND he has served as Director
of Donor Relations and involved in Chinese ministries in
USA, Canada, Hong Kong and Taiwan and has led short term
missions teams to many parts of the world. In 1997 Martyn
and Jill moved to Sichuan, China where they taught modern
day sheep farming to the Yi minority and taught English.
Since 1999 God has entrusted them with a unique ministry to
evangelize Chinese in Russia and Eastern Europe.
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to every generation
Mr. Charles Mulli is the founder and
CEO of Mully Children’s Family Home
in Kenya.
At the age of six, Charles woke up to
discover his family gone. Abandoned.
Left without food, shelter and protection,
the young boy was forced to face the dangers of the street
alone. By the time he was in his early teens, he had lost all
hope and believed he was better off dead. Through the grace
of God, Charles was invited to a tent revival meeting. He heard
the Gospel and gave his life to Christ that night. His hope
was restored! Charles worked odd jobs and eventually started
a small business, which turned into a million-dollar empire.
While his future looked bright, his past remained clouded with
memories of fear, hunger and destitution. He saw himself in
the orphaned, abused and abandoned children of Kenya and
sensed God calling him to make a difference. Charles sold
everything he owned and dedicated his life to rescuing street
children from the dangers. Mully Children’s Family (MCF)
home was founded by Charles and Esther Mulli in 1989 to
care for these children.
Rev. Michael Sandström was an officer in
the Swedish Airforce. After completing his
M.B.A., he was recruited by an investment
banker firm as VP of Corporate Finance.
He moved to Hong Kong to start his own
business and met his wife Man in 1988.
Three years later, he accepted Christ as
his saviour in a summer camp. In 1994, Michael was called at
Richmond Hill Chinese Community Church to serve the Lord
full time. He responded by closing his business and moving his
family to Toronto to begin theological training. Michael, Man
and their two children were members of RHCCC. They are
presently serving the Lord with Northern Canada Evangelical
Mission among the native tribes in Northern Alberta. Michael
is also the founder of CIAM Radio, a Christian radio station
broadcasting the Good News to people in Northern Alberta.
Dr. William Tsui accepted Christ in 1975.
After working as an engineer for two years
and in response to God’s calling, William
returned to Toronto for theological
training at Tyndale Theological Seminary.
After having pastored a church for two
years, he joined CCI of Canada in 1989.
He is presently the General Secretary of CCIC. His primary
duties are China ministry and Christian Education ministry.
Every year, he goes to China to visit churches and train the
church workers there. In 2007, William obtained the Doctor
of Ministry degree from Fuller Theological Seminary. In the
past years, William was the seminar speaker on China in
Missionsfest. He has written books including “Is this Life
Longer than Eternity?” and “Senses for Growth—Path for
Christian Growth”. William is presently the advisor for
“Search” quarterly and ACM Canada.
Miss Pearl Shum was born and raised in
Hong Kong. She completed her nursing
program from the Hong Kong Elizabeth
Hospital School of Nursing in 1986.
She came to Canada in 1988 for further
education and career advancement. She
accepted Christ and was actively serving
at her local church. After having received her Bachelor’s degree
in Health Management in 1998, Pearl was called to full-time
ministry with a passion in missions. She graduated from
Tyndale Seminary in 2003 and served for 1 year at ACEM as
Missions Intern. She then joined a missions sending agency,
serving a 2-year term in Bosnia in years 2005 and 2006. In
January 2007, Pearl was sent by ACEM to Bosnia as ACEM’s
missionary.
ACEM 30th Missions Conference 9
When Should We Begin World Missions?
John Kao
Ever since the first Christian missionary, Rev. Robert
Morrison, arrived in China in 1807, many missionaries from
Europe and North America began to swarm into the country,
spreading the gospel and planting churches all over China. In
over a hundred years, Chinese Christians gladly embraced the
blessings of the gospel, but failed to grasp the truth that ‘it is
more blessed to give than to receive’. They did not spread the
gospel to other countries as foreign missionaries once did for
China. Maybe western missionaries thought that, being young
and immature, the Chinese churches were unable to take on
such an immense responsibility. They waited patiently for the
churches to grow, but the long wait lasted for over a hundred
years. Such procrastination and irresponsibility are a betrayal of
the truth and an ungrateful response to the grace and blessings
of the Lord!
The Theological Base for Missions
Our Lord Jesus Christ taught His disciples that
church planting and world missions should be carried out
simultaneously. In His Great Commission, ‘baptizing’ and
‘teaching’ are important tasks of church planting whereas ‘go
and make disciples of all nations’ is the main focus of world
missions (Mt 28:19-20). Before the establishment of the
early church, Jesus Christ already gave this assignment to His
disciples: “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit
comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and
in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)
In fact, the whole book of Acts bears witness to the significant
dual roles of ‘church planting’ and ‘world missions.’
With this in mind, how long should we wait before we
begin the ministry of world missions in a new church? The
answer is obvious: we must begin soon after the church is
established. Even though we have limited abilities and resources,
we can still strive to do our best and take part in missions.
The Beginning of My Ministry in Missions
The first ACEM church was established on January 12,
1975. In that summer, brothers and sisters already began gospel
work outside this church. It was by God’s grace that when I first
started church planting, I firmly believed in Christ’s wonderful
promise that “it is more blessed to give than to receive.” Where
did this vision of world missions come from?
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to every generation
In the one and a half centuries after Morrison brought
Christianity to China, there was no formal curriculum on
world missions in Chinese churches, seminaries or Bible
colleges. When I received my theological education in the early
1950s, no such training was offered to seminary students. There
were only sporadic reports of Chinese evangelists spreading the
gospel outside the country.
When I received my Master’s degree from the Biblical
Seminary in New York in 1963, I received invitation to pastor a
church in Central Canada. However, our Heavenly Father sent
Rev. Dr. B. Allen Finley, the president of CNEC (now known as
Partners International) who made a special trip from Califonia
to New York to ask me to serve in their missions organization
and teach Bible and theological courses in Hong Kong. From
then onwards, God has given me numerous opportunities to
mobilize people to serve in missions.
The Growth of My Ministry in Missions
After having served in the Hong Kong Bible College for
six years, I looked for an opportunity to imigrate to Canada
with my family. It was my hope to pastor a church, as well as to
further my theological studies. In January 1969, we arrived in
Vancouver where I met Rev. Dr. Allen Finley who came from
California and extended his sincere invitation for me to join
the team of CNEC, a North American missions organization.
Rev. Finley told me that many pastors in S.E. Asia needed the
financial support of affluent countries in North America. He
hoped that I could be the spokesperson for my colleagues in
the Third World, preaching in North American churches on
their behalf and raising funds in support of their ministries.
Burdened by the needs of the pastors in the missions fields and
encouraged by my father and Rev. Andrew Song, I could not
decline his kind invitation. After earnest praying with my wife,
I took a step of faith and began my new ministry in raising
funds for missions.
Instead of sending missionaries from North America to
other countries, the missions strategy of CNEC was to support
local pastors financially in spreading the gospel and planting
churches for the native people. Local pastors with a good
understanding of indigenous cultures and languages could
effectively communicate the gospel message. Unlike foreign
missionaries, they did not have to deal with issues such as the
language barrier, education for their children or adaptation
to the local environment. Foreign missionaries eventually
must leave the country whereas local pastors can stay on.
Furthermore, the required financial support would be much
less than that of foreign missionaries. Most importantly, local
pastors could establish churches that can take root in the local
communities and become self sufficient in future.
After two months’ training in the California headquarters
of Partners International and passing my driving test, I began
my journey in April 1969, traveling all over the U.S.A. and
Canada. I shared my faith testimony, advocated the strategy of
supporting local pastors in missions fields and enlisted regular
prayer and financial support from Christians and churches.
I thank the Lord for His grace because He gave me ample
opportunities to visit many thriving churches. Besides preaching
and sharing my testimony at missions conferences, I had the
opportunity to learn valuable lessons from the teachings and
personal witness of missionaries. Due to my inquisitive nature,
I also learned a lot about church growth from many pastors,
deacons and believers. In later years, these lessons became very
valuable to my pastoral ministry.
I enjoyed a blessed and effective ministry at CNEC. After
six years of being a missions representative, I reflected on my
calling to be a pastor. Rather than fund raising, my calling had
been to spread the gospel and plant churches. My dream was
to see the lost being saved and young believers being trained. It
was then that I connected with six families and on January 12,
1975, we took the initiative to plant a church in Toronto.
The Fulfillment of My Conviction in
Missions
With this conviction, our newly established church, in its
first year, invited two S.E. Asian missionaries, Rev. Paul Chang
and Rev. Daniel Tan, to give an account of their ministries. On
that Sunday, we also collected special offerings for the youth
gospel ministry in Malaysia. From then on, ACEM churches
have offered support to world missions in many ways:
1. Participation in Gospel Meetings In the winter
of 1974, I accepted the invitation of Rev. Thomas Wang,
General Secretary of CCCOWE, to be the Chairperson of
the Eastern Chapter of Canada. In 1976, we organized a team
of thirty-four church leaders (five from ACEM churches)
to attend the First Congress of CCCOWE in Hong Kong.
From then onwards, we have diligently sent representatives
to other CCCOWE annual congresses in North America,
Brazil, Netherlands, Lausanne, Philippines, Korea, Thailand,
offering our support and resources. With the full support of
ACEM, I served as the General Secretary of CCCOWE from
2001 to 2006, traveling all over the world and promoting our
conviction of “Chinese churches in one accord, proclaiming
the gospel until Christ’s return.”
2. Support for Missions Organizations Each
year, ACEM churches provide funding in support of missions
organizations, including Partners International, Gospel
Operation International for Chinese Christians, Chinese
Christian Mission, CCCOWE, Great Commission Centre
International, Campus Crusade For Christ etc. We also offer
long-term financial support to missionaries and missionscentered undertakings.
3. Sending out Missionaries ACEM churches also
send out many short-term missions teams led by ACEM
pastors, giving much needed encouragement to local pastors.
It is our hope that disciple training will be made available to
more theological students who will serve the local people and
meet the needs of local evangelistic activities. At the same time,
participants of short-term missions often experience spiritual
revival and rekindle the passion of spreading the gospel in
their home churches. We also send long-term missionaries to
Africa, the Caribbeans, S.E. Asia, China, Eastern Europe and
Northern Canada. It is our sincere hope that more brothers
and sisters will participate in long-term missions in future.
4. Support for Theological Education In order
to build up more Kingdom workers, ACEM churches allocate
considerable funds to support seminaries, subsidize tuition
fees and offer summer and one-year internships to seminary
students. Whether it is planting churches, pastoring local
churches or serving in missions fields, we try our best to offer
training opportunities for Kingdom builders.
Dr. Paul Smith (left) from The Peoples Church, Toronto, was our former
c­ onference speaker for four years. He and his father Dr. Oswald Smith (right)
were officiating ministers at ACEM’s early ordination services. All took photo
with Rev. Dr. John Kao (middle).
ACEM 30th Missions Conference 11
5. Assistance to the Needy From the very beginning,
ACEM churches have been well aware of the needs in our
communities. Our social concern activities include donations
of clothing and food, financial assistance for the Vietnamese
‘boat people’ and donations to the victims of earthquake,
cyclone or flood. In the early days of our church in 1976,
we collected benevolence and missions offerings on the Holy
Communion Sunday of each month. In recent years, brothers
and sisters generously make special donations to help the
victims of natural disasters.
6. Organizing Missions Conferences As early as
1978 we started to organize annual Missions Conferences. Each
year, we set an annual theme and budget, plan programs and
special activities as well as invite speakers. Before the conference,
we promote the event with posters, publish prayer guides and
encourage believers to pledge to pray for our missionaries as
well as to make faith promise offerings in support of their
ministries. We also encourage believers to dedicate their lives
to serve God in short-term or long-term missions. Brothers
and sisters are often spiritually revived and come to grow in
passion to spread the gospel. Missions conferences thus become
opportunities for church growth and blessings to many.
7. Enhancement of Missions Organizations In
order to promote the ministry of missions, the organizational
structure of churches has to be strengthened. This includes
nominating persons-in-charge for missions in fellowship
committees, executive church boards, pastoral teams and
the ACEM council (with missions representatives from
member churches). The ACEM Missions Department also
has budget sub-committees, evaluation committees for
subsidies to theological students and short term missions, as
well as planning committee for missions conference, etc. In
Dr. Kao had missions trip to Africa in 1998.
12
to every generation
conclusion, missions have always been on the top priority of
our churches. In response to the saving grace of our Lord, we
always try our best, pooling our wisdom and resources together
to love and care for the lost in this world.
The Breakthrough of Missions
Holding on to the Jesus’ promise that ‘It is more blessed
to give than to receive’, ACEM churches have organized annual
Missions Conferences for the past 30 years. Indeed many
families of ACEM churches have been greatly blessed, but our
gracious Lord wants us to look far and beyond, as well as to
expand our horizons. There are still millions of lost sheep to be
saved and plenty of unreached territories. I earnestly hope that
many more brothers and sisters will dedicate their lives to crosscultural and local missions in addition to church planting. May
the gospel be spread far and wide, and upon the return of our
Saviour, He will reward His faithful servants!
* translated by Esther Tsui
(Rev. Dr. John Kao is the Founding Pastor
and Adviser of ACEM.)
When should a church begin its
ministry of world missions? When
should a new believer begin to serve
in world missions? As the ­founding
pastor who planted the first ACEM
church, my understanding of Jesus
Christ’s teaching in the Bible, as
well as my personal experience in
­missions ­organizations lead me
to believe that a church should
start its ministry in world missions
­immediately after it is formed.
Should I Not Be Concerned?
Kinson Leung
As we celebrate our 30th Missions Conference, allow me
to express my deepest congratulations to the ACEM family for
their faithful commitment in keeping Missions at the forefront
of their ministry and priorities. This is indeed a precious vision
and legacy in which Rev. Dr. John Kao has passed on down
to our generation. In an age where it is so easy for churches
to remain selfishly focused, we have been empowered to look
beyond ourselves and compassionately engage with the issues
and needs of the world. Praise God that for 30 years now (and
certainly more to come), ACEM has truly engaged the many
parts of the world with the purpose of fulfilling Christ’s Great
Commission.
Over the years, I have continued to marvel at how God
powerfully moves behind the scenes to call His servants out
onto the mission field. In fact, during the course of the year,
my fondest memories have always been those where I stand
proudly with my team of pastors and deacons to commission
individuals, couples, families and entire teams to go out and
shape the world. Through each of these lives, I am thankful for
the stories that were shared, prayers that were prayed, struggles
that were fought, victories that were provided, and lessons that
were learned. Ultimately, not only did God impact the world
through them, but through the missions’ experience, God was
able to impact each of these lives.
Personally, it has been exactly 20 years since
God led me to my first missions’ experience. Having
attended Urbana ’87 (in which the theme was
Should I Not Be Concerned?), I was confronted by
God to let go of my own plans and priorities, my
fears and doubt, my pride and arrogance. Instead, I
was challenged by God to embrace His desires and
passion, to follow His direction and guidance for my
life, and to simply be concerned for the things that
touch His heart.
I realized that the God of the universe was so much bigger
than what I had envisioned when I simply worshipped Him
in my local church. Not surprisingly, those two short weeks
changed the entire course of my life. I am able to stand here
today as a minister of the gospel in large part because of what
God revealed to me 20 years ago.
So as we celebrate this wonderful milestone in ACEM’s
history, may we be able to ask ourselves, “Should We Not
Be Concerned?” As God challenged Jonah to look outside of
himself and to embrace Nineveh in a way that reflected His
own grace and compassion, may we too be challenged to
embrace the Ninevehs in which God has called us to. May we
ultimately be concerned for the very things that concern the
heart of our great God!
(Rev. Dr. Kinson Leung is an English pastor of TCCC.)
Short term missions
in Virton.
That following summer of 1988, I consequently
set out to experience this God whom I was called
to trust and obey. For two weeks, I served with Operation
Mobilization by ministering to a small town in Belgium
called Virton. Through that experience, I came to discern just
how sovereign, faithful, loving and merciful God really was.
ACEM 30th Missions Conference 13
ACEM’s Partnership With Us on The Mission Field
Randall Mah
When I first came to Toronto in 1990, I had no idea that
ACEM existed. My first encounter happened when Rev. Kao
was the keynote speaker at a missions conference in the English
service at Toronto Chinese Gospel Church. I had not heard
a Chinese Senior Pastor speak so passionately about missions
before and was really impressed with his passion and knowledge
of missions.
Not long after that, I met Rev. Victor Lee through hockey,
and I mentioned my interest in a summer pastoral internship.
He introduced me to Pastor Sam Chan and he invited me to
intern at RHCCC.
During the next few years, I learned more about ACEM
through the summer camps, Missions Conferences, and joint
ministerial meetings. I quickly discovered that ACEM was very
missions minded and on the leading edge of Chinese churches.
A prime example of this is how pastoral staff are encouraged to
participate and lead short term missions (in which I have had
the opportunity to go to Jamaica twice and South Africa).
for Randall’s D.Min. education. They made us feel welcome
through meals, retreats, celebrations, and opportunity for our
kids to have their pictures taken on a horse during a photo
session at ACEM office.
Upon our return to Toronto, I was allotted some space at
the ACEM office where I was able to complete a substantial
amount of my Doctor of Ministry work and in 2006 I was
invited back on staff of RHCCC as their Missions Pastor,
which gave me the privilege to also become part of the ACEM
Missions Committee.
ACEM has had a rich missions experience over the past
30 years and my hope is that for the next 30 years that ACEM
continues to send more of our own home grown missionaries,
and continues to learn to take more of an active role in
mobilizing and empowering our missionaries.
(Dr. Randall Mah is a Missions Pastor of RHCCC.)
After having completed seminary, I joined RHCCC with
the understanding that Rita and I were seriously considering
serving on the mission field. After attending Urbana in 1993,
we made a decision to seek service with Africa Inland Mission
in 1994. When RHCCC and ACEM became aware of our
intentions, they immediately threw their hats into the
ring to partner with us through prayer and financial
commitment.
We served in Lesotho from 1995-2003, and
during that time, ACEM would hold us up in prayer
through the pledges made by those who committed to
pray for us at the annual missions conferences, through
the use of the prayer guides, and formed an emergency
prayer chain when Jairus was close to death in the
hospital ICU. We had also been blessed by some of the
gifts and treats sent to us, and the provision of finances for our
vehicles and a 4x4 for the ministry of Scripture Union Lesotho.
We also were greatly blessed by the visitation by Pastors Simon
Wong and Ruby Chan, and sister Patricia Chan.
ACEM also invested in us through sending us to the
CCOWE conferences in 1996 and 2001, by providing funding
14
to every generation
The 4x4 and staff. (Top)
My daughter with her friend. (right)
Road trip in Africa. (bottom)
Pre-discipleship: The Forgotten Aspect of Evangelism
Kai Mark
I always have a desire to see people come to Christ. I have
been actively involved in teaching, preaching, and witnessing
in many attempts to bring the lost to Christ. Over the years, I
can say that I have brought directly and indirectly hundreds of
people to the Lord. However, many of my evangelistic efforts
have left me empty and dissatisfied. Even though hundreds
have prayed to receive Christ, there are only a handful of them
who truly follow Jesus. It is wrong to claim to have produced so
much fruit when in fact much of it has rotted away. I discovered
that I am not the only one who wrestles with this problem
in evangelism. We may be successful in getting a big crowd,
organizing an enjoyable program, and even getting people to
pray a sinner’s prayer; but the reality is that we are not very
effective in making disciples.
they were not circumcised. The majority of Gentiles who came
to Christ also underwent a pre-discipleship process with a
foundational understanding of Scripture before they became
believers.
My involvement in missions and evangelism with ACEM
over the years has resulted in the study and development of the
theology and practice of pre-discipleship. Pre-discipleship is a
process of evangelism that engages a seeker of God to study
the Word of God before they become a child of God. This was
the case of the Ethiopian eunuch and the Bereans in the book
of Acts. This was also the practice in the early church with
the catechumenate and with John Wesley in church history.
The pre-discipleship process has been left out in many of our
evangelistic approaches today resulting in little fruit.
Consider the way people became believers in the New
This past March a team of us went down to Uruguay on
Testament. The Jews grew up in Jesus’ day with Bet Sefer, and
a
short
term mission. We went there to pray and minister to
Bet Talmud. Bet Sefer (house of the book) was the educational
people.
We also went there to teach pastors and leaders about
system in Jesus’ day where children five to ten years old learned
the Torah, the books of the law in the Old Testament. It would pre-discipleship. The leaders received us and our message
not be surprising to find a young ten-year-old boy then who warmly. When we came home, someone asked us how many
have memorized the first five books of the Old Testament. Bet people we lead to Christ. Even though that was not our purpose,
Talmud (house of learning) is the next level of education in I was disappointed that the answer was none. However, months
which students studied the rest of the Jewish Bible, or the Old later, after the pre-discipleship process had time to settle, we
Testament. It would not be unusual to find a young man of about began to hear of people coming to Christ as a result. It is fun
fourteen years of age who have memorized the Old Testament. to fish, however, it is even more enjoyable teaching people how
to fish!
Those who want to pursue further studies would
follow a rabbi like the apostle Paul who studied
(Rev. Dr. Kai Mark is a pastor of Unionville
­Christian Community Church.)
under Gamaliel. By the time that Jesus called the
fishermen to follow Him, they already had some
kind of grounding in Bet Sefer and maybe even
Bet Talmud. The truth is that every Jewish believer
who embraced Jesus in the New Testament had a
foundational understanding of the Scripture and
went through a pre-discipleship process before
Ministry in Uruguay
becoming a disciple of Christ.
It is interesting to note that the
majority of the Gentiles who came
to Christ in the New Testament were
described as God-fearers or worshippers
of God. God-fearers were Gentiles who
studied and embraced Judaism except
Teaching Ministry in India
ACEM 30th Missions Conference 19
Sharpen Our Vision for
God’s Missions
Enjoy God’s Presence
Mission is the Great Commission from God to every
generation of His children. ACEM is started with a vision from
God and is characterized by mission mindedness and church
planting. This year marks the 30th Anniversary of ACEM
Missions Conference. Its continued mission is to expand
beyond our comfort zone and current boundaries. Our mission
target groups have grown from just Chinese to many other
ethnic nationalities. The mission fields of the missionaries that
we support have grown to cover all the major continents of this
world. ACEM is no longer a finance sending organization, but
our churches are now sending missionaries and church planters
to fulfill our Lord’s Kingdom purposes.
According to my live map, I’m currently writing this from
an altitude of 41,514 feet, traveling at a tremendous rate of 448
mph. I’m on a plane to the town of Longlac, where I’ve been
going on a missions trip for the past 4 years. Our mission is to
love the town of Longlac with Christ’s love.
Daniel Leung
Vincent Lee
This year, we pray that our 30th Anniversary ACEM
Missions Conference will expand and sharpen our vision for
God’s mission, a well as rekindle our passion for His Kingdom
agenda. God is doing a wonderful work on each of our local
churches and His servants. As the world encountered economic,
ecological and food supply crisis, we stand as the hope and
guiding light to this and every generation.
As one of the past ACEM Missions Conference
Coordinators and ACEM Missions Department chairpersons, I
am thrilled and delighted to be part of this growing partnership
and participation in missions. As we have received this vision
for missions from those who planted this ministry, we must
pass it on to the future generations, so that His church will
be built up. As English pastors, it is His call for us to build up
the disciples in the local churches so that they might partner
with Christ in community evangelism and world missions. We
praise God that our English congregations, together with other
congregations in the local churches, have been consistently
involved in short term missions and community outreach.
God willing, we look forward to another 30 years of service
in His Kingdom, and we pray that our Lord will call all who
participated “good and faithful stewards”.
What struck me as I got on the plane is how one’s mindset
changes. As a husband, father, pastor… there is so often a
swirl of thoughts and lists of to-do’s in my mind. But as the
plane took off, I began to think “What if life didn’t need to
be like that?” What if life could simply be about listening for
where God is leading and living that out? Something about this
thought resonated deep within me.
Brother Lawrence in his book “The Practice of the
Presence of God” writes this about staying in God’s presence “I
worshipped Him the oftenest I could, keeping my mind in His
holy presence, and recalling it as often as I found it wandered
from Him.” In his experience, as this became his common
practice, he found that he became aware of God’s presence all
the time; no matter where he was or what he was doing.
Missions work is never easy. But there is something to
be said for devoting an extended period of time to immerse
yourself in God’s work; keeping your mind on God and
listening for how He will lead. Learning to simply enjoy God’s
presence moment by moment and so learn to be God’s presence
to others.
I’ve found that the simplicity of this practice stays with
me and renews my passion for the pursuit of God. I hope the
same for you as you listen for God’s leading in your life.
(Rev. Daniel Leung is an English pastor of TCCC.)
(Rev. Vincent Lee is the English Pastor of
­ illiken Chinese Community Church.)
M
Missions trip in Longlac (Top)
Meditation in Urbana.
20
to every generation
“Prayer and the Word of God” in Missions
Fred Tham
“… we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the
ministry of the word.” (Acts 6:4)
Congratulations to the Association of Chinese Evangelical
Ministries! Now that we have over 3 decades of ministry history,
we can look back and see the wonderful hand of the Master
Weaver who has been creating the tapestry of ministries and
missions that we call “ACEM”. We can also look ahead and
marvel at what the Divine Creator has prepared for us!
In a published interview, Senior Pastor Rick Warren (of
Saddleback Community Church) spoke to the former Senior
VP of Overseas Operations at the International Mission Board,
Avery Willis:
and many short-term mission experiences have led me to the
conclusion that, in order to prepare for the future, we need
to be grounded in the truth of the past – the foundation of
Scripture. The Gospel is desperately needed to be proclaimed
today - the Resurrection (1 Cor. 15:3-4), the Identity of Jesus
(John 20:31) and the Grace of God (John 3:16).
So let us join hands and hearts to once again proclaim that,
at the core of our Missions Strategy “… we will give ourselves
continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.”!
(Rev. Fred Tham is an English pastor of Richmond Hill Chinese Community
Church.)
*Remark: “The Changing Face of Missions: an interview with Avery Willis”,
Rick Warren, Pastor’s Toolbox, 2007.
Rick: Of the top common denominators that you
find in rapidly exploding, exponentially growing
church planting movements – a dozen or so – what
are the most important 2 or 3 you think that lead to
a movement?
Avery: The number one is prayer. None of
them start without prayer. We cannot start church
planting movements. Only God can start church
planting movements. So get the church to pray.
Second, abundant gospel sowing. If you want to
reap abundantly, you have to sow widely. You have
to touch a lot of people and get the opportunity
to come to know Jesus out there. Get it out to the
crowd. Immediately begin to train and work with the
persons so that from the beginning they’re going out
and telling their story.*
I think this reflects the adage that, “The more things
change, the more they stay the same”! Even though it is exciting
to see new generations that are creating different structures and
revolutionary forms of expressing missions, our core purpose
and “mission” has remained solid: to Glorify God and Reach
the Lost.
I am a pastor who focuses primarily on young adults. This
group gives me energy and great anticipation for the future.
My current work with this age group; experience pastoring
in several churches; involvement in Missions organizations;
Missions team to Bangladesh
ACEM 30th Missions Conference 21
Teaching English in S
­ ichuan, China
Quang Nguyen
A group of 17 people from the ACEM churches went
to Sichuan, China in August 2006 to teach English for two
weeks. In spite of the daily 40 degree temperature, it was a
wonderful experience for myself and my wife Cathy, and all
of us I believe.
The students ranged in ages from about 12 to 18. They
were divided into 12 classes, with class 1 being the beginners
and class 12 being the most advanced. Cathy and I taught the
classes 11 and 12. They were excellent students eager to learn
and practice their English.
Some students were very open to hearing about God.
Two students in particular that I spent time asked me many
questions about God. Here is a typical conversation:
As you can see, they can still use some work on
diplomacy.
Many of these students were interested in careers that
would make a lot of money. We tried to steer them towards
developing a caring heart and learning to serve other people.
Most of all we hope to have left them with the knowledge of a
God that loves them and sent his Son to die for them.
If you are a Canadian born or Canadian raised and have
been speaking English for most of your life, then you can teach
English. Please consider going next year and be prepared to
have your life changed!
(Quang Nguyen is an English pastor of Richmond Hill Chinese Community
Church.)
Student: So why do you have to go to church to pray?
Teacher: Well you can pray anywhere. We believe God is
everywhere.
Student: Then, can you pray when you’re in the
bathroom?
Sometimes, they did have more serious questions such
as “If God is in heaven, and God then came down to earth,
is there 2 Gods?” Try explaining the Trinity to someone who
has a different mother tongue! After a long conversation, they
finally asked me, “So do you want to be a pastor?!” I had not
told them that I was already a pastor.
It was a tearful farewell when we left. I do not know
who benefited more, them or us. How can 2 weeks make a
difference? Well, here is a typical response that we got from the
students:
I miss you very much although I have seen you 2 days ago. I
also very miss you after you went back that night. We couldn’t help
crying although we just stay for 2 weeks. I think I deeply like you.
You’re so kind to me. You are a kind -hearted woman and so is
Quang…thanks for teaching us in this summer camp. You are so
warm and helpful to us. I hope you have a happy time with us in
this summer camp…I think you really look younger than your age.
Keep it, it’s really very cool. I think Cathy can become more and
more beautiful and Quang can become thinner, hehheh…
22
to every generation
Short term missions trip
to Sichuan, China.
A Peace Trip
Ming Lam
Last year I went to China on a “Peace Trip” to teach an
English ESL Camp. On the last day, we went to the school to
say goodbye, took pictures and gave out the souvenir to the
students. It was supposed to last for an hour but teachers and
students kept lingering on. And finally we had to force the
teachers onto the coach because it was
getting very late. It was very moving
and emotional. I could still remember
vividly the red and teary eyes of both
the students and the teachers. On the
way, it was so quiet on the coach, not a
sound other than the humming noise of
the engine. Everyone was absorbed by
this emotion of leaving and immersed
into this sentiment of goodbye.
opportunity to serve others through these “Peace Trips” in the
coming future, it can be a journey of spiritual maturity and
your opportunity of spiritual awakening.
(Ming Lam is an English pastor of Richmond Hill Chinese Community
Church)
Someone said to me, Pastor Ming,
could you pray for the team and the
students? As I finished my first line and
moved onto the second, I discovered my
tear started to flow from the tear gland, an organ that
had not been working for a long time. My voice started
cracking. I had to try very hard to hold my tear back in
order to finish my prayer. It was a short prayer but it
seemed to take forever to finish it. At that moment, this
verse came to my mind. Ezekiel 36: 26 “A new heart also
will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you;
and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and
I will give you a heart of flesh.” It was one of the many
triggering moments of my life that God has given me.
Through this trip to China, God gave me a new
heart; he took away an old, dusty and stony heart that was
not sensing, not feeling, not connecting and not functioning
very well. In that two weeks through the interaction with
the students, and living together with the team of a hundred
Christians, and once I could sense, I could feel, and I could
connect and identify with my own emotion and also with
the emotions of others. I missed the time spending with the
brothers and sisters from different parts of world, I missed the
student, I cared about their future, I had concerns about their
purpose of life. This feeling was wonderful. I urge you all to
spend time to think about this, to pray about your unique
“A Peace Trip” to teach English in China.
ACEM 30th Missions Conference 23
Don’t say that you are too young!
Sunny Wong
In 2006, I graduated from Tyndale Seminary and joined
NYCCC immediately as an assistant pastor. Since then, I was
offered the opportunity to represent NYCCC to serve in the
ACEM mission department, where I can understand how our
ACEM churches support a number of missionary projects and
missionaries around the world. More importantly, I have the
chance to share their passion for mission. This is a wonderful
and valuable experience for me.
Surprisingly, I discovered that the ACEM churches have
been supporting so many ministers serving people of different
parts of the world. Their love for Christ and their passion for
the people run deep into my heart. Each minister courageously
and faithfully proclaims the word of God to the people and to
the nation. Why is it that they obey God so faithfully?
I believe all of them share the similar experience of
Jeremiah. The Bible says:
“But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am only a child.’
You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I
command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you
and will rescue you,” declares the Lord” (Jeremiah 1:7-8)
We may be afraid when God calls us. We are not sure
what to say and what to do. But God never leaves us alone in
His ministry no matter what it is and where it is. For Jeremiah
or anyone who willingly listens to God, He is ultimate. He is
always in charge. Let us get hold of this belief. Everyone can be
called. Everyone can be appointed to touch the lives of some
people. Everyone can go.
ACEM Missions Conference has 30 years of history. Over
the years, it has been raising much money to support various
missions projects. These really show us the sufficiency of God’s
providence. More importantly, we see an increasing number
of ACEM church members get involved in different kinds of
missions. This is a very encouraging and touching picture. We
not only enjoy looking at the picture but also we should be part
of the picture. Come and join us. How wonderful it is when all
of our brothers and sisters in Christ are walking on the same
path to experience both the hardship and joy of responding to
God’s calling together!
(Sunny Wong is an English pastor of North York Chinese Community Church)
24
to every generation
Brothers and sisters led a VBS with
First Nation children in James Bay,
Northern Quebec.
30-year ACEM Missions Conferences Review
Year
Theme
Speaker
1979
1
Rev. Mark Cheng
1980
2
1981
3
The Cry of Millions
Dr. Stephen Hsu, Rev. Peter Mah
1982
4
New Life in Christ
Dr. Paul B. Smith
1983
5
Pray the Lord of the Harvest
Dr. Paul B. Smith, Dr. James Wetherall
1984
6
Use Me O Lord
Dr. Paul B. Smith
1985
7
Extend My Vision
Dr. Paul B. Smith, Rev. Galo Vasquez
1986
8
Go Ye Therefore
Rev. Grover Crosby, Dr. Mariano DiGangi, Dr. Virgil L. Gingrich,
Rev. Caesar Molobatsi, Rev. Leander Rempel
1987
9
The Cry of Millions
Dr. Chris Marantika, Rev. Hay-Chun Maak
1988
10
Step Out in Faith
Rev. Fred Cheung
1989
11
For an Opportunity Such As This
Mr. Harry Lee, Dr. Chris Marantika, Ms. Susan Chang
1990
12
For the Sake of Our Kinsmen
Rev. Kenneth Lo, Rev. Galo Vasquez
1991
13
Across the Street, Across the Ocean
Rev. Thomas Wang, Rev. Cyrus Lam, Rev. Joseph Wong
1992
14
His Love Compelled
Rev. Fred Cheung, Rev. Cyrus Lam, Rev. Prince Mntambo,
Rev. Arthur Gee, Rev. Paul Chang, Dr. Luis Bush, Dr. Ian Rennie
1993
15
So Send I You
Rev. Fong Chan, Rev. Thomas Wang, Rev. Samuel Chu,
Rev. Hay-Chun Maak, Rev. Petrus Maryono, Rev. Galo Vasquez,
Dr. Dennis Ngien, Dr. Paul Szeto, Ms. Esther Wang
1994
16
Here Am I , Send Me
Rev. Fred Cheung, Rev. Paul Chang, Mr. Stephen Hawkins,
Rev. Simon Lee, Mr. Kan-Chor Lam
1995
17
All Heaven Declares
Dr. Dieumeme Noelliste, Rev. Daniel Lau, Dr. David Michell,
Rev. Joseph Wong, Rev. Gabriel Tsang
1996
18
Reaching the World Through Prayer
Dr. James H. Taylor III
1997
19
Before the End Shall Come
Dr. Hoover Wong, Rev. Kenneth Lo
1998
20
Captured by Eternity, Liberated for Missions
Dr. John Haggai
1999
21
His Last Command, Our First Concern
Dr. Robert Coleman
2000
22
Eternity in Their Hearts
Dr. Don Richardson, Rev. Morley Lee, Rev. David Cheung
2001
23
Going Glocal
Rev. Paul Estabrooks
2002
24
Missions in the 21st Century
Mr. Geoff Tunnicliffe, Dr. Ben Sia, Dr. B.E.Vijayam, Rev. Paul Chang
2003
25
For the Sake of God’s Kingdom
Rev. Stephen Hawkins
2004
26
Lord of the Universe, Hope of the World
Dr. James H. Taylor III, Rev. Paul Johnson, Dr. Patrick Fung
2005
27
The Universal Power of God’s Love
Rev. Hay-Chun Maak, Ms. Patience Vormawor, Ms. Mercy Senahe,
Rev. Gary Quequish
2006
28
Go into the World, Start from My Backyard
Rev. Jamie Taylor, Rev. Michael Sandström and Man, Mr. Ray Barnett,
Terry & Pat Hall
2007
29
Touching Lives, where It Counts
Mr. Ray Barnett, Rev. Colin McCartney
2008
30
To Every Generation
Rev. Dr. Nicanor Tamang, Krystal, Rev. Dr. Thomas Wong
Dr. Chris Marantika
ACEM 30th Missions Conference 25
15-year Short-term Missions Teams Supported by ACEM (1994-2008)
Year
# of Team
Destination
1994
10
France, Venezuela, Moscow, Nepal, Canada
1995
7
Indonesia, India, Europe, Hungary, Dominican Republic, Canada
1996
8
Hong Kong, Mexico, Caribbean, Canada
1997
12
Cameroon, Venezuela, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Michigan, Dominican Republic, Ethiopia, Canada
1998
15
Costa Rica, Chile, Michigan, Kazakhstan, Europe, Ethiopia, W. Europe, Columbia, Mexico, Jamaica, Canada
1999
10
Bangladesh, Honduras, Vietnam, Belize, Michigan, England, East Asia, Canada
2000
12
Russia, North Thailand, Myanmar, Venezuela, England, East Asia, Canada
2001
26
Bolivia, S. Africa, N. Carolina, Haiti, Malaysia, Peru, Mexico, Finland, Jamaica, Myanmar, Cambodia, England,
East Asia, Canada
2002
24
Cost Rica, England, Romania, W. Africa, S. Africa, Persian Gulf, Cuba, Jamaica, Brazil, Thailand, N. Thailand, East Asia
2003
15
Peru, Guatemala, India, Jamaica, Brazil, C/S America, Bosnia, East Asia, Canada
2004
31
S. Korea, Nicaragua, Bosnia, Guatemala, Russia, Panama, Brazil, Venezuela, Istanbul, Tokyo, Mexico, India,
Myanmar, Thailand, Romania, East Asia, Canada
2005
30
Panama, Nicaragua, S. Korea, Venezuela, Bolivia, Finland, Dubai, Thailand, Mexico, Brazil, Bosnia, Cambodia,
East Asia, Canada
2006
40
Dubai, Bolivia, Panama, S. Korea, Brazil, Venezuela, N. Africa, Thailand, Mexico, Amazon, Ecuador, Belize,
Bulgaria, East Asia, Canada
2007
44
Venezuela, Panama, S. Korea, Bosnia, Nicaragua, Haiti, Jamaica, Belize, Liberia, Nigeria, Mexico, Dubai, Brazil,
East Asia, Canada
2008
50
Scotland, Uruguay, Guatemala, Panama, S. Africa, Japan, Russia, Belize, Venezuela, Benin, Bosnia,
Cambodia, Nicaragua, Mexico, Amazon, East Asia, Canada
Short term missions is one of the many means through which
ACEM members can get involved directly in missions work. We
have seen quite significant developments in terms of the number
of short term missions teams and the number of countries we are serving in.
In 1994, ACEM missions department only supported 10 short term missions
teams. By 2008, the number has grown 5-fold to 50.
We also witness a geographical expansion in terms of destinations of our
short term missions teams. In the early 90’s, our short term missions teams
only served in less than five countries. By 2008, ACEM short term missions
teams are serving 17 countries across Europe, Asia, Africa, Central America,
South America and North America. The most important destination of short
term missions is Canada itself. This indicates that we have not forgotten
the biblical missions strategy of spreading the Gospel first in Jerusalem,
Samaria, the whole of Judea and then to the ends of the world. This also
reminds us that there are a large number of ethnic groups and communities
in Canada that desperately need the Gospel message. Another important
field for our short term missions teams is Central and South America. Since
2004, there has been a rapid increase in the number of Central and South
American countries served by our short term missions teams. These include
Panama, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Haiti, Jamaica, Belize and Mexico in Central
26
to every generation
America, and Venezuela, Uruguay, Amazon and Brazil in South America.
Meanwhile, short term missions teams to Europe have been decreasing over
the years with the exception of Bosnia and Russia. There are no more teams
going to Western Europe.
Our short term missions teams have not forgotten the gospel needs of Asia,
especially countries in East Asia and South East Asia. Since 1999, we have
short term missions teams serving in East Asia and the number of missions
and service teams are increasing rapidly. Meanwhile, the trend in Africa
is worth noting. We have short term missions teams going to Africa since
1990. However, there are few repeated and consistent visits to any one of
the African countries. Perhaps this reveals the difficulties of cross-cultural
missions work. Generally speaking, brothers and sisters in ACEM churches
have embraced the goal of taking the whole world as their missions field.
We need to strengthen what we have accomplished in the past 30 years
and open up new missions fields so that we can bring the gospel to all
unreached peoples.
* Footnote by Anthony Lo
15-year Seminary Students Supported by ACEM (1994-2008)
ACEM members
Chan, Edmund
Law, Wing Fat
Non-ACEM members
Tham, Fred
Ang, Chun Heng
Chan, Florence
Lee, Clement
Tham, Ted
Dai, Pei-Kang
Chan, Samuel
Lee, David Kin Kwok
To, Edward
Tam, Dorothy
Chan, Una
Lee, Queendy
Tsang, Iva
Tam, Francis
Chau, Patrick
Lee, Shu-Ling
Tsang, Lan-Ying
Ting, Daniel
Chen, Joanna
Lee, Victor
Tse, Dominic
Vijitrakul, Boonprasert
Zhang, Jing
Cheng, Florence
Leung, Catherine
Tsui, Ho Ming
Cheung, Agatha
Leung, Daniel
Tu, Stephen
Cheung, John
Leung, Lucy
Wai, Albert
Chiang, Paul
Leung, Sue
Wang, Ada
Chow, Keith
Leung, Wilson
Wen, Xiaolu
Chu, Eric
Li, Sylvia
Wilson, Jonathan
Chu, So Ying
Lim, Abraham
Wong, Julia
Chu, Wilburn
Lim, Celeste
Wong, Mary
Chung, Henry
Lim, Roscoe
Wong, Philip
Deng, Zhi Ning
Lo, Ping
Wong, Sunny
Folts, Steven
Lo, Chan Chuen
Wu, Edmund
Ho, Jeffrey
Lui, Christina
Wu, Li Fung
Ho, Joseph
Lum, Elsa
Wu, Neon
Ho, Simon
Mok, Bill
Yan, Kelly
Huen, Wayne
Mui, Bronf
Yao, Jushua
Joslin, Weston
Mylabathula, Reka
Yaung, Alice
Ko, Peter
Pang, Hilda
Yeung, Helen
Kwok, Elsa
Seto, Danny
Yu, Bin
Kwok, Samuel
Shum, Pearl
Yu, Jie
Lai, Albert
So, Man Keung
Yuen, Jack
Lam, Freddy
Sun, Jia Xin
Yuki, Naoto
Lam, Margaret
Tang, Elsie
Zhang, Qian
Lam, Ming
Tao, Jeremy
An important component of ACEM’s missions budget is funding
the training of future Christian workers. Every year, a ­significant
amount of money has been allocated to provide financial
­assistance to ACEM members (and one non-ACEM member)
who enroll full time in Bible college or seminary. In the past 15 years since
1994, we have sponsored 94 students who completed their theological
training. Among these 94 students, 60 percent are brothers and 40 percent
are sisters. ACEM is very open-minded as to where these candidates will
serve after their graduation. They are encouraged to get involved in God’s
kingdom wherever they are called. At present, 35 of the candidates are
working as full time pastors, 5 of them are missionaries and 5 are pastoral
interns. Among the 35 full time pastors, all except 13 are serving in ACEM
churches. This demonstrates that our missions offering has provided
Christian workers not only for the ACEM churches, but also other churches
in Toronto. We have also helped to provide ­workers in the missions field. We
hope that in the future, we can bring in more ­theological students preparing
themselves for the missions field.
* Footnote by Anthony Lo
ACEM 30th Missions Conference 27
10-year First Time Commitments During Missions Conference (1998-2007)
Year
Attend Bible
College
Church
Planting
Ministry
Full-Time
Serve God
Local
Missions
Short-Term
Missions Trip
Full-Time
Missionary
1998
30
/
24
/
105
16
1999
22
23
14
/
105
15
2000
18
25
14
/
83
13
2001
22
4
6
/
98
9
2002
40
19
25
/
125
31
2003
48
35
25
/
100
21
2004
42
27
24
141
91
24
2005
43
21
18
189
80
19
2006
28
13
18
131
60
17
2007
24
6
15
108
93
7
Every year during ACEM missions conference, participants
are encouraged to respond to the message and visions cast
by the speakers through making various commitments. Such
commitments only represent the intention of the persons who made them.
There is still a long way before people actually take concrete actions to
receive theological training or go out to the missions field. However, we can
still see some trends through the figures concerning such commitments.
Take for example in the past 10 years (1998-2007), the highest number of
commitment is for taking part in local evangelistic outreach missions. The
number of first time commitment for local missions is the highest (over
100) since 2004 and this trend has been very consistent. This is easy to
understand because it is easier for an average ACEM church member to get
involved in this aspect of missions work.
The more challenging commitments are those for theological training,
working full time in churches or Christian organizations, and becoming
overseas missionaries or tent makers. Praise the Lord, we have a total of
317 people who made their first time commitment to receive theological
training in the past 10 years. However, in the same period, only 87 ACEM
members received financial assistance from the Missions Department
of ACEM for full time theological training. This means that we have to
continue praying for the rest of the more than 200 brothers and sisters who
have made the commitment for theological training. ACEM churches should
also consider how they can support and encourage members who have the
calling and heart for full time ministry. One significant point to note from
the figures is that while all the ACEM churches are expanding, the number
of people making commitment to become full time Christian workers,
missionaries or church planters is declining. Let us pray that the Lord will
call more workers to respond to the tremendous needs of the harvest field.
* Footnote by Anthony Lo
28
to every generation
Year
15-year Missions Offering and Disbursement (1993 - 2007)
Total Actual
Offering
Total Actual
Disbursement
Total Offering and Disbursement (in $’000)
Missions offering is a form of involvement in missions work that
every ACEM member can participate. Praise the Lord, we have
seen steady growth in missions offering in the past 30 years. Take
for example the missions offering in the past 15 years, we are very thankful
to the Lord for the amount we have received from brothers and sisters.
In 1993, the total annual missions offering was only $400,000; this has
increased to $1.43 million in 2007 which represents an increase of 350 %!
Meanwhile, there is a corresponding growth in missions disbursement. In
the period from 1993-2007, the total missions disbursement was $13.41
million. Just imagine what significant impact this amount of money has
brought to God’s kingdom and missions work.
The rising trend of missions offering fully illustrates ACEM members’ support
for missions work. Missions offering doubled every 7 years in the past.
For instance, in 1999, the gross income of missions offering was $830,000
which has more than doubled that of $400,000 in 1993. The total offering
for 2006 was $1.47 million which is 1.7 times that of 1999. Although the
rate of growth in recent years has slowed down a bit, it is not difficult to
double the 1999 offering of $830,000 if we put some extra effort on the
occasion of the 30th anniversary of our missions conference.
We have confidence in God’s faithfulness and the whole-hearted
c­ ommitment of our brothers and sisters. In fact, there are only a couple
of years (1995, 2002, 2004 and 2005) when we have a minor reduction
in missions offering. On the contrary, we see many years of significant
increase; for instance, in 1999 (increase of $60,000), 2000 (increase of
$150,000), 2003 (increase of $200,000) and 2006 (increase of $160,000).
All these increases are more than enough to make up for the short falls
in previous years. As we move forward in a new year of our missions
conference, let us carry forward our excellent tradition of whole-hearted
support for missions work and break new grounds in our missions offering,
all for the glory of God and for His kingdom.
* Footnote by Anthony Lo
ACEM 30th Missions Conference 29
Our Missionaries, 2008
Japan
Larry & Bella Mori (EFCM)
Scott & Kyoko Nelson (TEAM)
S. Korea
Stephen & Jenny Ho (GO International)
Mary Goh (GO International)
Hong Kong
Samuel Chiang (International Orality Network)
Samuel Chu (Bible Seminary of Hong Kong)
James & Leone Taylor III (MSI)
Thailand
Boonsong Ho & Ma Siu Wan
(Chinese Christian Mission)
Boonprasert & Boon Har Vijitrakul (CNEC)
Nellie Tham (OMF International)
Singapore
Patrick & Jennie Fung (OMF International)
Paul Chang (CNEC)
James Lai (CNEC)
Grace Lau (CNEC)
Alice Lee (CNEC)
Indonesia
Petrus Maryono (Partners International)
Immanuel Rajiono (Partners International)
Myanmar
Tan Yone & Susan Cha (CNEC)
Phua & Khuang Duma (CNEC)
Keith & Mei Yee Lee (GO International)
Cambodia
Thomas & Sarah Chan
(GO International )
Australia
Samuel Chan (Partners International)
Central Asia
Ray & Marilyn Barnett (Country Network)
Ethiopia
Joseph Chu (SIM)
30
to every generation
Dubai
Joseph & Winnie Sze (GO International)
Brazil
Caleb & Josephine Hua (GO International)
Marcio Garcia (Partners International)
Mexico City
John & Karen Loh (GO International)
Lima
Jamie Mo (GO International)
Bosina
Pearl Shum (ACEM)
S. Africa
Prince Mntambo (Partners International)
Don & Rachel Sayers
(Emmanuel International Canada)
Senegal
Andrew & Mary Lee (WEC International)
Canada, Ontario
Neil Bulloch (International Teams)
Henry & Amy Chung (International Teams)
Wilfred Rusibira (International Teams)
Mark & Anita Cassidy (SIM)
Peter & Rhonda Koropatwa (SIM)
Brent Mitchell (Partners International)
Stephen & Esther Hawkins (Operation Mobilization)
Pak Loh (Canadian Baptist Ministries)
Peter Chan (GO International)
Yvonne Mui (GO International)
William Ho (World Team)
Albert Wai (SEND International of Canada)
Canada, Alberta
Phil & Rhonda Peters (Northern Canada Evangelical Mission)
Michael & Man Sandstrom
(Northern Canada Evangelical Mission)
U.S.A. Cyrus & Pearl Lam (GO International)
Gideon & Mabel Wu (GO International)
Our Para-Church Organization Workers, 2008
Hong Kong
Elson Chow
(CCCOWE International)
Philip Wong
(CCCOWE International)
Milton Wan
(Christian Excellence Mission)
Taiwan
Simon Lau
(Operation Dawn)
Canada, Ontario Gabriel Chan
(AFC in Canada)
Kelvin Fung
(AFC in Canada)
Paula Tom
(AFC in Canada)
Monica Chan
(Yee Hong Centre for Geriatric Care)
Tina Chan
(Christian Communications (Canada))
Bruce Luo
(Christian Communications (Canada))
Timothy Tsui
(Christian Communications (Canada))
Kitty Yip
(Christian Communications (Canada))
Vivian Chan
(Toronto Reconciliation Mission Centre)
Nancy Cheung
(Showers of Blessing Evangelistic Ministry)
Prisca Kwok
(Showers of Blessing Evangelistic Ministry)
Jim Tam
(Showers of Blessing Evangelistic Ministry)
Steve Chu
(The Toronto City Mission)
John Fung
(Far East Broadcasting Associates of Canada )
Joseph Gray
(Chosen People Ministries)
Gilman & Mimi Ho
(Urban Promise)
Colin McCartney
(Urban Promise)
Wing Hung Lam
(Tyndale Seminary)
Randall Li
(Grace To Chinese International)
Billy Pang
(Chinese Gospel Broadcasting Centre )
James Pang
(Toronto Chinese Christian Short Term Mission Training
Centre)
Eva Sham
(Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship of Canada )
Paul Theophilus
(ABS Centre of Canada)
Brad & Sylvia Thompson
(Campus Crusade For Christ)
Graham & Jen Watt
(Campus Crusade For Christ)
Silas Wong
(Campus Crusade For Christ)
Bella Tse
(CCIC )
William Tsui
(CCIC )
Geoff Tunnicliffe
(World Evangelical Alliance)
Grace Wang
(CEF of Canada)
Joy Wang
(CEF of Canada)
Nicole Wong (Across U-hub)
Canada, Vancouver
Lillian Kwok
(Campus Crusade For Christ)
Thomas Leung
(Culture Regeneration Research Society)
Tony Luk
(Chinese Family For Christ)
Alan Yu
(AFC in Canada)
U.S.A.
Michael Bussen
(Open Air Campaigners)
Sharon Chan
(Great Commission Center International)
Thomas Wang
(Great Commission Center International)
Esther Fan (Crossroads Publications)
D. John Richard (Action International Ministries)
Moses Tey
(Campus Crusade For Christ)
Cecilia Yau
(Chinese Christian Mission)
ACEM 30th Missions Conference 31
Co-workers of ACEM Missions Departments
Organization of Missions Department (2008)
Founder & Adviser : John Kao
ACEM 30th Missions Conference Planning Committee
Co-Chair (Chinese) : Sam Fok
Co-Chair (English) : Victor Lee
Coordinators : Simon Wong, Daniel Chan
Members:
TCCC – George Chan, Ian Arienda-Jose, David Lee,
Ken Ma
RHCCC –Simon Wong, Kin-Wah Ho, Randall Mah,
Walter Chu
Milliken – Jackie Ngai
Markham – Clement Cheng, Carol Yip
NYCCC – Sunny Wong, David Siu
TMCCC – Daniel Chan, Bruce Luo
CCCC – Jenny Chang
WTCCC –Stevenson So
UCCC – Kai Mark
NRCCC – Eliza Fok
ACEM Representatives : Sam Fok, Isabella Wong
ACEM Missions Committees in Local Churches (2008)
TCCC – George Chan, Flora Ho, David Lee, Ken Ma,
Helena Tai
RHCCC – Sam Chan, Simon Wong, Grover Crosby, ­
Kin-Wah Ho, Randall Mah, Linda Shum,
Tessa Chan, Nancy Cheung, Walter Chu,
Brent Evernden, Maymie Lau, Raymond Leung,
Tim Li, Jordan Lim
Milliken –Jackie Ngai, Luke Goh, Vincent Lee,
Brian Wong, Shumei Chang, Leemarc Lao,
Isabella Wong, Joseph Wong
Markham – Clement Cheng, Carol Yip
NYCCC – Sunny Wong
TMCCC – Daniel Chan
CCCC – Jenny Chang
WTCCC –Stevenson So
UCCC – Kai Mark
NRCCC – Eliza Fok
32
to every generation
Members : Daniel Chan. George Chan, Shumei Chang,
Eliza Fok, Flora Ho, Kin-Wah Ho, Lilian
Kwok, Jason Lao, Anthony Lo, Bill Mok,
Jackie Ngai, David Siu, Helena Tai, Irene Tsui,
Isabella Wong, Sunny Wong, Thomson Yip
Children’s Missions Program Coordinators :
Wesley Lim, Irene Cheung, Teresa Tong,
Margaret Lam,Rebecca Lee, Elsa Lum, Grace Cheng,
Susanna Chu, Esther Lai, Ellen Lo
Promotion Committee
Sunny Wong, Wendy Cheung, Joseph Lee, Dickson Mak,
Isabella Wong, Thomson Yip, Tim Li, Matthew Fung
Missions Banquet Committee
Lilian Kwok, Christine Cheung, Sam Fok, Jason Lao,
Helena Tai, Irene Tsui
Prayer Guide Editorial Committee
Victor Lee, Isabella Wong, Sam Fok, Christine Cheung,
Susanna Tsui, Heidi Cheung, Kim Tsui
Special Publication
Wendy Cheung, Victor Lee, Daniel Chan, Sam Fok,
Anthony Lo, Isabella Wong, Emery Lee
Publisher: Association of Chinese Evangelical Ministries (Canada)
All Right Reserved. 2008