Regional Conference on Contemporary Christian Leadership
Last Updated (Wednesday, 21 September 2016 14:32)
“Ecumenical Leadership in the Present Day Milieu”
19 – 21 November 2016
Wu Kwai Sha Youth Village, Shatin, Hong Kong
(Day of arrival 18th November and Departure 22nd November)
During the time of inception the YMCA members used to spend time in bible reflections, searching for answers in the scriptures, for the challenges they were facing in their days. This search still continues today. The members of the YMCAs still are in the quest of finding biblical responses to the challenges they are facing in their own context.
YMCA as a Christian organization, the members as disciples of Jesus Christ are committed to his life and teachings emanating from the Holy Scriptures. Throughout the history of the YMCA, Christian teachings and values had always been reflected in YMCA’s course of action to bring about social change in the communities.
We are undergoing a phase of the world history which is being tormented by immense sufferings of the people in many parts of the world. The rise of religious fundamentalism is a burning issue of the present day. This phenomenon is being felt more and more in the recent times. Peace has become a distant realization than in any time in the past. The current mission statement of the YMCA, the Challenge 21, calls for the world YMCA family to seek to be mediators and reconcilers in situations of conflict, and work for building peace with justice among peoples and nations. As members of the YMCAs, there is a clarion call for us to respond with a sense of urgency by being Agents of Peace, working towards building a community committed to peace, harmony and sustainability.
Such a situation also calls for a leadership in the YMCA which not only contributes to maximizing YMCA’s impacts in social transformation, but also ensures peace and sustainability in our communities and beyond. The Asia and Pacific Alliance of YMCAs (APAY) acknowledges the necessity to be involved in forming such a leadership that has been derived from our Holy Scriptures. The quest still continues in the search of the leadership which is required in the present day milieu to serve the world towards peace and harmony. Our search still does and will continue for answers in the Bible on how we can face the challenges of the current socio-political issues we are confronting.
In carrying out our responsibilities as disciples of Jesus Christ and to provide the proper leadership in the community, there is an ardent necessity for us to be well acquainted and equipped with Christian Leadership. The need of exploring contemporary Christian Leadership was deeply felt during the APAY Leaders Quadrennial Roundtable held in December 2015 at Chiang Mai, Thailand. The APAY as a part of the priorities of the present quadrennial, now plans to organize a regional conference on ‘Contemporary Christian Leadership’ which has been scheduled on 19 - 21 November 2016 at YMCA Youth Village, Wu Kai Sha, Ma On Shan, New Territories, Hong Kong. The theme of the conference is : “Ecumenical Leadership in the Present Day Milieu”.
Resource persons invited in the pursuit of learning Christian Leadership for social transformation, shall be sharing their thoughts and insights during the conference. At the conference we shall be focusing on Jesus’ way of leadership for peace building through social transformation in today’s context. To be focused also is the core components of ecumenical leadership for building a culture of peace as well as how gender perspectives can enrich the leadership we are seeking in this context.
The APAY does hereby invite the YMCA movements of our region to send delegates to the conference who have experiences in the work of leadership development or theological reflections on contemporary Christian Leadership. Participants are expected to take part in deliberations and share their insights on theological interpretations and developing the components for such a leadership during the conference.
Objectives of the Conference :
i) To re-visit the calling of Jesus Christ, in terms of being his disciple in realizing His ministry in the contemporary world.
ii) To search for the meaning of Christian leadership and learn how to put it into practice in our daily life.
iii) To review the mission of the YMCA, in terms of facing the present day challenges of the world, especially to bring peace, harmony and sustainability among the nations.
iv) To understand deeply the biblical interpretation of Christian Leadership from gender perspective.
The Registration Fee for participation at the conference is US$200 per person including Green Fee of US$15. This covers food and lodging from breakfast of 19 November till Dinner of 21 November. The venue of the conference is at, Wu Kwai Sha Youth Village, 2, On Chun Street, Ma On Shan, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong and Registration Deadline is on 10 October 2016.
This is a self-financed program. Hence no subsidies shall be available for the participants. Participants or their YMCAs need to bear the Registration Fee as well as their cost of air travel to Hong Kong.
Participants are expected to arrive by the evening of 18 November and depart after lunch of 21 November 2016.
For further information or for any queries please contact Duncan Chowdhury, Executive Secretary for Programs, at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
With best wishes,
Nam Boo Won
General Secretary
Program Schedule
|
Friday
18 November |
Saturday
19 November |
Sunday
20 November |
Monday
21 November |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
0730
|
Arrival
|
B R E A K F A S T
|
||
|
0845
|
D E V O T I O N
|
|||
|
0930
|
Session 1
Opening Ceremony & Introduction |
Session 5
Paper Presentation: Dr. Bart Shaha “To serve but not to be served: ‘Christian discipleship’ in today’s context". |
Session 9
Preparation of Statement |
|
|
1045
|
B R E A K
|
|||
|
1100
|
Session 2
Keynote Address: Dr. David Suh “Ecumenical leadership for social transformation in today’s context” |
Session 6
Group Work Plenary |
Session 10
Closing Session |
|
|
1230
|
L U N C H
|
|||
|
1400
|
Session 3
Group Work |
Session 7
Paper Presentation : Prof. Angela Wong "Gender Perspectives enriching Christian leadership” Paper Presentation : Mr. Max Ediger “The core components of ecumenical leadership for building a culture of peace” |
Departure
|
|
|
1600
|
B R E A K
|
|||
|
1630
|
Session 4
Plenary |
Session 8
Group Work & Plenary |
||
|
1800
|
||||
|
1830
|
Dinner
|
Welcome
Dinner |
Dinner
|
|