A Word from the VP: The OTS-ISAAC Asian-American Conference Report
The ISAAC conference on April 26th was very well attended with a total head count being close to 70. The conference sees a lot of our seminary alums coming "home" to see how they can improve on their ministry direction. Some churches brought their whole board. The whole affair has many churches coming from all over the South Bay area, from mainline denominations to independent churches. Even one vice president of a local seminary came. It is great to see the vibrant dialogue under the banner of being more intentional about being missional in our ministry.
Here's what I have learned.
First, if we provide the venue that meets the church's needs, they will come. OTS not only senses the spiritual temperature of the South Bay area, but we actively do something about those needs.
Second, this presentation is not the last step but is the first step to a strategic dialogue among churches to make ministry better for the 21st century. Ministry is always under Christ, but the shape ministry can take continues to evolve. With that realization, we at OTS are prepared to be proactive in finding the solution before the foreseeable problem overwhelms our churches.
Third, many lay leaders do see the problem accurately. In the afternoon, our dialogue points us to two glaring issues facing the Chinese churches: leadership and Christian education.
We at OTS are best equipped to deal with such a problem first by modeling leadership (e.g. by hosting this conference) and by providing resources for better Christian education. We are committed from day one towards solving these problems. Our commitment is no doubt correct, especially when the leaders validated our vision by their own observation.
Fourth, nothing beats a kingdom mindset. Saturday afternoon proves to me that when people are willing to put down their agenda, they can find paths towards the solution. The unity shown at the dialogue shows that a greater work is possible.
Fifth, the survival of our churches will depend on whether we listen to the next generation. Many OBC churches are denying a problem by ignoring it and by shifting focus to a more China-centered mission. The ministry to mainland China cannot happen until our present church survives and thrives. Without dealing with our problem at home, there will be no foreign mission soon. I hope this will be a beginning of something special, a movement that will change our global ministry. We must solve our local problems. OTS will work towards that end.
We will meet again soon to see what we can do with the data we have. Those who attended the conference will receive a free booklet publishing the data we have researched, but even if you haven't attended, all is not lost. When we get together again, we will move the discussion towards various types of solutions we may have for the challenges presented by the data.
Posted 10/06/2007 @ 01:59 AM