By: Pamela L.

Strong Church Hong Kong shifted gears on Day 2, the first full day of our conference. Today, the pastors and leaders were given an insider’s look at some of our ministries, received spiritual wisdom on faithfulness and leadership from Pastor Garrett and our first generation of leaders. They were also reignited with a stirring message at Pastor Lia’s evening session, “Origin of Generations”.

It was a day that showcased our church’s strength and genuine heart for building young people.

To quote one of the testimonies shared during the Q&A, Gilbert, an adult from our Family Zones shared:

“What do I love about Heart of God Church? Helping to build a home for the next generation. I may not see the highest point of church in my lifetime, but I will continue to believe in the next generation.”

Follow the journey of Day 2

8:30 An early start to the full day ahead, soundcheck begins at Southorn Stadium.

11.00 The missions teams assembled at the stadium for their respective duties.

13.00 Three simultaneous workshops on different ministries (worship, events and testimony) took place in various locations.

Worship: At the Stadium, our senior leaders Daniel and Dominic shared the principles of worship in our church. Their session focused on two out of three requirements for every worship leader on the team– Anointing and Character. Daniel urged people to ask God for the anointing, as it is only through His Spirit that we are able to lead others into His presence. Dominic taught about the importance of character, for as Pastor Lia has said, “We cannot be in public, who we are not in private.”

Testimony: Megan, head of the testimony ministry, gave delegates a glimpse of the workings behind every Testimony in our church. She talked about the power of a person’s testimony, practical tips for writing one, and even included interactive, hands-on exercises that allowed everyone to practise the principles taught. In that hour, there was also an actual testimony shared, to show them what exactly a good testimony sounds like.

Events: At the same time, at the Events Workshop, Evonne and Pavan from the Events Department brought the pastors and leaders through the principles of running a great service.

15.00
Everyone gathers back at the stadium for the next session with Pastor Garrett.

15.30
Right after praise and worship, Pastor How came on stage to teach the Hong Kong delegates about the importance of building a faith-filled atmosphere during services. The clever analogy of playing tennis showed what a lively exchange is like when the congregation supports and encourages the preacher.

In doing this, he also sets the stage and personally introduced Pastor Garrett.

15.45
Pastor Garrett takes the stage, sharing that he is evidence that young people can build God a strong church, an encouragement to all churches in Hong Kong.

He then preached a message on “Faithfulness”, sharing biblical insights on what it means to be faithful, based on the Parable of the Talents. He challenged the pastors and leaders to move from a passive to an active faith.

17.00
Leadership Q&A — Daniel, Dominic, Fifi, Jian Ming and Pastor Garrett answered questions from the ground. Questions were collected from the conference-goers the day before, through a specially set-up online portal. The leaders answered with much heart, wisdom and humor. At the same time as they addressed a wide set of topics, from raising youth to have vision to building culture and teamwork in church.

17.20
A 19-year old from the Events Team, Chu Ting, shared her testimony boldly. She shared about having a vision from God and being trained in church. With that, she grew from the timid girl she was to becoming a leader herself.

18.00
A question came up about whether there were any older adults in our church. With this, a powerful story from Gilbert represented the older people in our church that builds, respects and empowers younger generations.
Many in the audience were in awe of his convictions, showing that at any age, we can choose to love and serve God and others. One comment from a conference-goer sums it up “And we thought Heart of God Church was strong only because of the youth.”

Truly, the same DNA runs through every church builder, no matter the age or stage of life.

20.00
Day 2’s night session began with our own song “All the Lights” for an electrifying start to our praise and worship.

20.50
Pastor Lia gamely warms up the crowd with her Cantonese spiel, plus her own version of a classic Canto song!

21.00
The highlight of the night– Pastor Lia preaches the prequel to her life message, “Origins of Generations”.

22.30
At the last altar call, hundreds of delegates came to the front and committed to building generations of young people in their churches.

Pastor Lia echoed Pastor How’s message of hope spurring on the Hong Kong pastors and leaders to look far ahead and build with hope for the future revivals.

23:30
Well past midnight and even into the wee hours of the morning, the different ministry and missions teams went into their group debriefing sessions to reflect and share on the day that was.

23:45
Our nightly Events Meeting starts. This time we’re going through the details of the final day.

5:00
The Videos Team calls it a night after editing the daily vlogs.