By: Pamela L.
Day 1 of Strong Church Hong Kong Conference officially started Wednesday evening with an 8 pm service, where Pastor How preached. Well before the opening of the gates, Southorn Stadium was abuzz with excitement as the Heart of God Church team came ready to welcome over 800 delegates!
Teamwork was on full display across departments. Many were deployed to help out in ministries requiring extra manpower. Whether serving on a ministry or supporting those running the sessions, each one had a role to play.
As Pastor How shared, Strong Church conference is not mainly about the preaching or the sessions, but it is really about the people, how they serve and love God and others.
Follow our timeline below for the events of Day 1…
The Timeline
8.30 The day began with breakfast at the hotel, giving everyone a chance to get to know other team members.
For most people, it was their first time to meet and work with each other.
10.30 Even after the long hours the day before, the worship team and service operations team (media team) were already at the Southorn Stadium for rehearsals.
The different teams headed out to the stadium.
A group also went out to buy flowers to serve as decor for sprucing up the venue.
11.30 Members of the missions team prayed over every chair in the stadium, believing for God to touch lives.
12:30 Registration booth was set-up and the team assigned gets themselves ready for the evening opening.
14.00 Team members from our tertiary, Young Adult and Family Zones came together to clean the stadium seating and aisles, wiping every individual chair.
16.30 The missions team rehearsed the praise songs, getting ready to build an atmosphere of faith.
19.00 Doors opened for the first wave of guests, and the team is ready to greet the delegates.
20.00 Service had a rousing start with our own song “One Name” opening the praise and worship session.
20.20 Pastor How shared a timely word with the Hong Kong delegates in the midst of worship. He encouraged them that in the midst of uncertainty, Jesus is the HOPE that they have for peace and the future of the nation.
20.30 One of our leaders, Dominic, welcomed the delegates in pitch-perfect Cantonese, officially opening the conference.
21.00 Fifi gave exciting news about the HOGC global programme, now open to pastors, leaders and church builders in Hong Kong.
21.30 Pastor How then preached a powerful opening night message, “Give Up to Go Up”, where he shared his and Pastor Lia’s sacrificial journey to obey God’s call to build a youth church.
22.00 One of last year’s SCHK delegates, Samantha Ko, shared her moving, heartfelt testimony on how Pastor How’s preaching from last year challenged her to give God her best years.
From taking a gap year spent serving in a youth ministry, she is now a full-time staffer of U-Fire in Hong Kong.
22.30 Many hands were raised in response to the altar call. Each one represented a decision to surrender to God.
23.00 Even after the end of the service, groups of delegates stayed to discuss within their church teams. The HOGC team members engaged them in conversations too, some even praying for them before clearing from the conference.
00.30 Representatives from the various departments gather to meet for an Events Meeting, going through the details of Day 2 before calling it a night.
Want to see more? Check out the Strong Church Conference Hong Kong Facebook Album!
