2012
ISSUE
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From the General Director Our annual staff retreat was held during the 1st week of June immediately following the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Holiday. It took place in the Pioneer Centre situated in the countryside on the edge of the Wyre Forest not far from the city of Birmingham. Our fellow workers from different places purposely put aside ministry responsibilities to come together for a time of worship and communion, sharing and praying for one another. The theme for this retreat was “Serving from A Place of Rest”. We read passages in the New Testament to learn from the example of Jesus on how to have intentional rest so our mission work will be sustainable. We reflected on our personal experiences and shared lessons learned in the process of merging the journey of our earthly life, the journey of our transformation in Christ, and the journey of our service to Him into a seamless one that aligns closely with God’s will. This year, we were especially delighted to welcome several associate members and their spouses in our midst at the retreat. Since the time we renewed our vision and clarified our strategic priorities in 2009, we have been exploring alternative models of mission partnership with our supporting churches, groups, and individuals. We have been working with many Christian tent makers and lay church leaders who share the vision of COCM. From such experiences we recognize that there is a need to achieve better coordination among our mission partners so we can work together more effectively in the mission field of Europe. One of the strategies we implemented was to invite some of our mission partners to join COCM as associates.
INSIDE Husband and wife sharing the same yoke ~Daniel and Jean Tsoi My Faith Journey from Asia to Europe ~Job Yan Act of Worship -My ministry as a COCM Associate ~Dennis Yau Report From Our Gospel Partners ~Bryan & Margaret Charles
COCM associates are individual Christians who are committed to give a significant portion of their time throughout the year to be directly involved in and support our mission ministry in the field. Being essentially volunteers, they are part of the COCM staff team, are included in all our communications, and are invited to take part in all our events. One of the highlights of our staff retreat was to get to know our new workers and hear the stories of how God brought them into the family of COCM. In this issue of Link, we share with you the personal stories of our associate members. Rev. Daniel Tsoi was a tent maker living in Hong Kong and helping the Chinese churches in Hong Kong and China. His wife Jean was born and grew up in Taiwan. They now reside in Manchester, England permanently. Job Yan was born in Singapore. He spent the bulk of his working life in the corporate and public sectors in Singapore and other Asian countries. Job is married to Jana, a Czech-trained medical doctor. They live in the Czech Republic with their two daughters. Our youngest associate, Dennis Yau, was born in Hong Kong and has been actively serving in local churches in Hong Kong and the UK. His wife Jessica joined COCM at the beginning of 2012 as our full time Bookroom staff worker. They have recently relocated to Milton Keynes. It is my hope that their stories will inspire more of our mission partners who are called to be tent makers to seriously consider the option of joining our team as associates. Let us pray for all our associates to have wisdom to manage their professional work, their ministry responsibilities, and their family life while they serve alongside us in the vast mission field. As we work together in the coming months, may God grant us unity and teamwork so we will have another season of fruitful partnership in the gospel.
Rev. Henry Lu
神恩澤僑胞 福音遍全歐
Reaching the Chinese to Reach Europe
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Encouraging
Husband and wife sharing the same yoke Daniel and Jean Tsoi
Husband and wife, Daniel and Jean Tsoi live in Manchester, UK. They became COCM associates in 2012 and 2011 respectively. They assist COCM to encourage and support different churches in the UK and in Europe.
Daniel’s story I was born and raised in Hong Kong. Right from a very young age I followed my mother to the Swatow church. I accepted Christ when I was 13 and soon after began to serve in the youth fellowship and Sunday school. After graduating from university in Taiwan, I returned to Hong Kong. Apart from work and taking part in community service, the rest of my time was spent serving in church. This was the time when China began to open its doors to the outside world; under the guise of visiting relatives, a group of us from the church took in a lot of Bibles to support the local church in China. As China continued to carry out its reform and open door policy, I became increasingly involved with the gospel ministry inside mainland China, offering support to Bible school students, helping with leadership training and building up the church. I thank God for giving me opportunities to serve Him in China over the past 20 years and to witness His great power and love. In 2004, on account of the children’s education, my wife Jean brought our 2 children to the UK. I stayed back in Hong Kong for work and ministry. At first we were undecided about our future direction once our children entered university. But as the ministry in China took root, a group of brothers and sisters there had undergone long-term or short-term training and were able to stand firm in the faith. At the same time, God raised up a team of brothers and sisters in Hong Kong who were willing to support the ministry in China. In light of this I began to consider whether I should adjust the future direction of my ministry. Another important factor that precipitated my thinking of the future of my ministry was the present spiritual state that I saw in the UK as I travelled back and forth over the past few years. Although it was a great Christian country with an unparalleled contribution to world mission in the past 2 centuries, but with the rise of materialism, people’s hearts have become a muffled drum that the hammer of the
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gospel cannot penetrate no matter how hard one tries. In contrast, there is a flood of Chinese coming into this country, some are permanent migrants, some are students who just stay temporarily, and some are here shortterm for business or other reasons. As people living in a foreign land, they are much more open to the gospel, so the Chinese in Europe are indeed a field that is ready for harvest. Based on the aforementioned reasons, I began to pray about whether I should come to serve in the UK. Over the past year as God directed through the change in circumstances, I was more and more certain that He was leading me to the UK. In September 2011, I had the opportunity to meet COCM’s director, Rev Henry Lu in Hong Kong. He shared with me COCM’s vision and ministry, to which I was fully in agreement. Actually I had known about COCM over 20 years ago and attended their prayer meetings in Hong Kong a few times. Over the past few years, brothers and sisters in the UK also mentioned about COCM’s ministry from time to time. On reflection, the meeting with Rev Lu in September 2011 in Hong Kong was not a co-incidence but God’s hand was upon it. During Christmas 2011, Rev Lu arranged for me and my wife Jean to go to Marseille, southern France for mission work. It brought home all the more clearly that, not only the UK but the whole of continental Europe was a field ready for harvest not just for the Chinese but if God so leads, we need to share the gospel with the Europeans, to repay our debt to the gospel. In February this year, after the graduation of a 3-year Bible training course in Guangdong, China, I delegated the ministry for which I was responsible to co-workers in China and Hong Kong. At the same time I put all my affairs in order in Hong Kong and took up permanent residence in the UK and officially became a COCM associate. Straightaway in April I was dispatched to the Chinese Church in Helsinki, Finland to help in their meetings over Easter. There I saw the spiritual needs of the brothers and sisters and God’s amazing grace in their midst. This is the prayer of my heart: Lord, send me, let me be a witness to your glory.
Daniel, Jean and their children
half of his time working hard at his job and the other half in zealously serving the church. When I first got married, I concentrated on looking after the family and only as the children were growing up did I resume serving in the church, especially in the women’s ministry. In 2004, in order for the children to have a more suitable education, I moved with them to the UK. Thank God that they were able to enrol in the school that met their needs. At the same time, I took the opportunity to study for a master’s degree at the university. Over the past 7 years, God opened a door for me to share the gospel in a few Chinese churches in the UK. This was something I could never have thought of when I lived in Taiwan or Hong Kong. Later, I was invited to speak at the North England Easter camp for students. It was there that I met the main speaker of the camp Rev Henry Lu. From his sharing, I gained a clearer understanding of the spiritual state of the UK and indeed of Europe as well as a more comprehensive understanding of COCM’s ministry. In fact I had previously heard of how God had been using COCM in Europe and had thought about the possibility of getting involved, but because of my passive nature I had never taken any action. I am grateful to God for the opportunity to be a COCM associate and through it to play a part in the Europe mission field. May God enable me to be a channel of blessing to others.
Jean’s story I was born into a very ordinary family in Taiwan. At 13, I happened to attend a 5 day summer camp for the whole province organized by the Reformed Presbyterian Church. I left the camp as a Christian. Actually at the time I didn’t know what being a Christian meant. I couldn’t quite grasp all that was taught, but the one thing I understood was “Jesus loves you”. Jesus loved me and as long as I loved Him then I was a Christian. In over 30 years, “Jesus loves you” still remains the truth that I know best. The more I know Him, the more I experience His love. A few years after graduating from university, I got married and moved from Taiwan to Hong Kong. My husband, Daniel Tsoi was an ardent Christian. He spent
Jean (in the middle) was the speaker for Guilford Family Camp
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My Faith Journey from Asia to Europe Before becoming a COCM associate in 2011, Job Yan served 9 years with Jian Hua Foundation of Hong Kong, engaging in China ministry projects. Prior to that, he spent two decades in the corporate world in a number of Asian countries. Job Yan is married to Jana, a Czech native from Prague. They have two delightful teenage daughters. Job’s family worships at the International Church of Prague, where he is an elder.
Globalization and the advent in telecoms technology have presented this generation with far greater opportunities and choices in terms of where to reside, study and work. I was a product of this global phenomenon. After leaving home at age 22 for my university education in the west, I never quite returned. Like the patriarch Abraham of old, I have left my Ur for good. My children were not exactly consulted when they had to relocate across three countries with me before they turned two, and are now living in their fourth. Home to us has taken to mean where the family is rather than a specific location. In reflecting on this state of flux that has become a norm in a greater part of my adult life, I found myself resonating with a prevailing theme in Eugene Peterson’s “A Long Obedience” - that of life as a faith journey, a pilgrimage away from this world, towards the city of God. Realizing that the Lord’s call for us is not to a specific place, but to be on a journey, my wife and I have regularly reminded ourselves and our children of the need to travel light and to hold on to things of this world with loose fingers. We do easily forget, and thus recognize the place for reminder in 2 Peter 1:12. We have also resolved to seek opportunities to serve every stop along the way. Having said thus, I do confess that my last stop in Prague had not been the easiest, where
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Job Yan
we have lived since 2004 to take better care of Jana’s aging mother. Since I thought my call was to serve my kinsmen in China, being so far removed in Europe had substantially curtailed the types of China ministry I could still effectively undertake. For a few years, I continued to make regular trips to China to follow up on these projects. It took a while before my eyes were open to see that my commitment ought to be more to a race rather than a place. With hundreds of thousand Chinese arriving each year in Europe for educational and economic reasons, I do not necessarily have to go to China in order to reach out to them. They are right here in our midst. This new insight has significantly altered the way I viewed my commitment to Chinese ministry in Europe. Instead of trying to keep up my China involvement, I began to be more open to Chinese ministry opportunities in Europe. Three years ago, an outreach team from a Chinese church in Canada visited Prague. As a result, three conversions took place. I accepted the team leader’s invitation to start a weekly bible study to disciple these
new Chinese converts. Together with a few other believers, we began a weekly meeting in our home. Six months later, the new believers were baptized, and the group began to function more like a fellowship, with bible study, tithes and offerings, and regular communion. About two years ago, Henry wrote in an issue of COCM Link about Paul's habit of building partnership in the Gospel with the churches he had visited. This prompted me to write to inquire if he would consider partnership with groups that were not planted by COCM by co-opting leaders of these groups into a new membership category. This could be an innovative way for COCM to expand its ministry coverage without investing more into staffing and to incur higher operating expenses. Leaders of these groups may benefit from COCM’s ministry support and an increased level of accountability. Since many may join after a long career in the workplace, they may bring with them a very different kind of skill sets and life experience to add diversity to COCM’s knowledge base and to support its effort to remain relevant in a fast-changing mission landscape. It may be more than coincidence that Henry happened at that time to be also contemplating the introduction of alternate and less structured membership tracks, as the single largest deterrent to ministry growth is not the lack of financial resource or opportunity but the scarcity of committed and trained staff workers. This new category may possibly cover individuals already engaged in some forms of Chinese ministry in Europe, but for various reasons, are not ready to become full-time staff members. By offering this new membership category, COCM may
more creatively leverage scarce kingdom resources to effectively accomplish ministry objectives. Coming under the supervisory cover of COCM would give me the ministry cover that I very much needed and desired. Knowing that this opportunity had opened up, I submitted my application and became one of the first to be admitted as a COCM associate. Jana and I are sincerely grateful of the privilege and opportunity to join the COCM family. We felt truly accepted and warmly welcomed by all at the last staff retreat we attended. Their authentic faith and devoted passion for the Lord’s work shine through all that they do. We are indeed blessed by our fellowship with them. I shall be looking forward to get to know them more, and to offer up my five loaves and two fish to them in service.
Job and his family in Czech Republic
Act of Worship ─
Dennis Yau
My ministry as a COCM Associate
“To offer your body as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship.” (Romans 12:1) I was born and brought up in Hong Kong, the place where I came to know the Lord, was baptized, went to university and started to work. When I was still an undergraduate student, God called me to start serving in university student ministry. To equip myself to serve more effectively, I spent two years to study at the United Wesleyan Graduate Institute for the theological diploma course. Through the instructions and personal examples of the teachers, my own reflection and God’s own moulding of my life, the foundation was laid for my future ministry of tent making. Later, to fulfil my lifelong dream of studying overseas, I left my job and went to study for the Master ’s degree in Economics and Finance at the University of York in the UK. After graduation I have been
doing Economic and Commercial Analysis for a British company. During my time of study in England I met my future wife whom God had prepared for me by His divine arrangement, so Jessica and I were married in 2011. If God’s amazing plan was for me to meet my other half in England, then coming to know the mission of COCM was another divine encounter. One Sunday in 2009, I just happened to attend the worship service at York Chinese Church and I met Elder Jay Lam and Elder Windsor Sung who were visiting from the USA. As we talked, they shared with me many urgent needs of the gospel ministry among the Chinese in the UK, especially the lack of mature Christians as church leaders. They
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《未得之地》
Encouraging
advised me to submit myself to God’s guidance and become more involved in serving the local church. The commitment and diligence of these two elders moved me deeply and compelled me to explore the possibility of serving in the UK. From then on, I began to pay closer attention to the spiritual needs of the overseas students in the UK and the characteristics of the gospel ministry among them. At the same time I set about researching the current climate of Christian faith in the UK, the structures of the Chinese churches and their responses to what was going on around them. Under God’s provision and leading, I came to know COCM’s General Director Rev Henry Lu when he visited the York Chinese Church at the end of 2009. I was invited to attend the Mainland Chinese Student Ministry Consultation hosted by COCM, through which I began to understand more of COCM’s vision, mission strategy, management and structure. From then on, I maintained a good relationship with COCM and gained better understanding of this mission organization. In 2010, COCM officially started their associate scheme. Rev Henry Lu asked me if I would be willing to be an associate member to serve in COCM as a tent maker. I took up the offer without hesitation. It was my privilege to do so and it was also God’s grace to me. As an associate, I regularly use my time after work for leading Bible studies or conducting training sessions. Occasionally, I am invited to speak at different churches on Sundays. Whenever there are needs in the Europe field, I use my annual leave and weekends to travel to continental Europe to lead Bible studies, preach at Sunday services a n d visit
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Dennis with the brothe rs and sisters from Lut on Chinese Christian Church
local Chinese families. I also serve in various COCM camps helping to train small group leaders as well as leading workshops. Being a tent maker, I find the biggest challenge has been time management. I pray to God daily for help to manage my work and leisure time in an appropriate way, so that not only I glorify God in my work but I also use my leisure time effectively in supporting the mission organisation and the church, while helping the people I serve to grow in the Lord. Although I am not a full-time COCM staff, yet as an associate I have a special role to play in the vast mission field. First, I represent COCM as I go to speak or share in different churches, so that the churches and their leaders can get to know COCM more and if they are moved, they can also come on board to support the mission ministry. At the same time, I can share the needs of the churches with COCM. This way we can be more connected and mutually support each other thus increasing the effectiveness of our ministries. Second, on a personal level, COCM is like my home. I go to the COCM centre almost every day after work. The staff members at the centre are like my family, nurturing and encouraging me in my life, so that I am not just giving to the ministry but also deriving great benefit from it. In becoming an associate, on the one hand, I feel God is especially merciful to me. Though I am fallible, yet God still chooses me to embark on this path of working alongside Him. On the other hand, the word ‘associate’ carries with it the meaning of being ‘associated’. My ministry in COCM not only binds me closer to the Lord but also to the workers in the mission field. Praise the Lord that through tent making I can participate in mission here in Europe and in the process I can learn what it means to “give myself to the work of the Lord”, “to be a living sacrifice” and “to humble myself through obedience”. I truly believe that God is preparing me through this ministry, perhaps from here I will go on to enter into full-time service in the future.
Report From Our Gospel Partners
Bryan & Margaret Charles From 1990 until 2007, when he retired, Bryan taught English in a day & boarding school in North Devon. In May 2006 he came across 2 pupils who professed to be Christians. We invited them to our home and soon a group of boarding students was coming every Friday evening, in term time; usually about half a dozen and mainly Chinese from Hong Kong. The main purpose is to teach them God’s Word. Food is served first, an important consideration for the Chinese! (Margaret purchased an electric rice cooker and improved her skills at Chinese cookery.) After dinner we sing hymns and choruses, old and new, but nearly all new to them. Bible study follows for about ¾ - 1 hour. They generally listen, but we try to get them to comment and discuss; though it is sometimes difficult to know what they are thinking! During a school year we might study Paul’s journeys or the life of the Lord. Finally we chat and serve Chinese tea before taking them back to their boarding houses. We encourage the believers amongst them to attend our local church Bible Class. One Chinese boy named Dragon “adopted” us and stayed with us most weekends in his U6 year, so he came regularly. Two others, Jaco and Peter, came subsequently; but sadly no-one currently comes. Those who came joined us for a traditional, English, Sunday lunch.
We find it takes time before most Chinese students say much about themselves. We try to befriend them: most half-terms, and sometimes before term, one or two stay in our home and they join us for family devotions; we help them with their studies, especially IELTS (English as a foreign language – qualification needed for university); if they have university interviews we usually take them to and from the local railway station; and occasionally we take them out to see the beautiful scenery of Devon, but not all are impressed! On odd occasions Margaret has
Charles and Margaret visiting the students in Hong Kong
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HEADQUARTERS
a craft evening for the girls. At Christmas we have a traditional party with games (and food!), which is a novelty. When their parents visit, we invite them to our home for a Devon cream tea.
General Director: Rev Henry Lu 2 Padstow Avenue, Fishermead, Milton Keynes, MK6 2ES, UK Tel：+44-(0)1908-234-100 Fax：+44-(0)1908-234-200 E-mail：cocm@cocm.org.uk Web Site：www.cocm.org.uk
One student’s parents invited us to Hong Kong to stay with them last September and this gave us an insight into their culture. We met some of the students’ parents. Our Friday meals are now more Chinese-style and they are clearly more liked (by them!)
HONG KONG OFFICE
Where does COCM fit in? We believe Charles and Margaret visiting the students in Hong Christian literature can be really helpful, Kong so we contact OMF and COCM in order to obtain booklets to give to them, along with Chinese-English Bibles. The main connection comes when they go on to university in the UK. We are concerned that they should go to a Christian meeting, and those who are believers to a local church. COCM’s website helps here, listing churches with contact numbers. We email and/or phone the contact person for the Church/Fellowship and give details of the student. This worked well at Nottingham Trent, for instance, where the person we contacted in turn contacted the coordinator of the Fellowship (Carmen), who then contacted Jaco, the student. She encouraged him and he has continued in the Fellowship and Church for nearly 3 years. Some of the students we transport when they begin university: when taking a student to Essex we met the COCM worker, Lydia, who was waiting for us; she introduced the girl, Gloria, to Rachel and Jennifer, two of the Chinese Christian girls in the Fellowship and Church. Gloria has attended the meetings ever since. We also visit the students at university and sometimes meet other COCM workers or similar: Oiling and Simon, Lydia’s husband, at Essex, and Harry and Karine at Plymouth. When attending Dragon’s baptism in Coventry and also his graduation, we were introduced to members of the Chinese church. These have been happy times of fellowship. Camps also play a part. Students at Midland universities have attended the MEC Easter camps, which have proved a great help to Jaco and Dragon; Dragon, now a postgraduate, has begun to attend the COCM Mandarin camps, which have stirred him to greater service for the Lord. We e n j o y r e a d i n g COCM’s newsletter and magazine on the mainland Chinese. It is interesting and helpful. We also give updates to COCM workers regularly and ask them to pray for the students we have contact with. Together we are encouraging many young students to keep growing in the Lord. Charles and Margaret visiting Dragon in Hong Kong
Rev Tang Chi-Ming Room 522, Metro Centre II, 21 Lam Hing Street, Kowloon Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong Tel：+852-2549-5288 Fax：+852-2549-5155 E-mail：cocmhk@cocm.org.hk Web Site：www.cocm.org.hk Chairman: Rev Cham Nai-Bun
MALAYSIA OFFICE Mr David Liew Unit 697-2-2, Desa Kiara, Jalan Damansara, 60000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Tel：+60-(0)3-7722-3670 E-mail：davidckliew@gmail.com cocmmsia@gmail.com Web Site：www.cocmsea.org Chairman：Mr Bryan Lee
SINGAPORE OFFICE Chairman：Professor Hanry Yu 420 North Bridge Road #05-07 North Bridge Centre Singapore 188727 Tel：+65-6338-6283 E-mail：cocmspore@gmail.com Web Site：www.cocm.org.uk
USA BOARD Chairman：Rev Daniel Chan 1960 Silas Deane Hwy, 2nd Floor, Rocky Hill, CT 06067, USA Tel：+1-860-257-3896 E-mail：info@cocmusa.org Web Site：www.cocmusa.org
CANADA VANCOUVER BOARD Chairman: Mr Lawrence Chen P.O. Box 32528, Richmond, B.C. V6X 3S1 CANADA Tel：+1-778-591-0109 E-mail：lrlchen@telus.net Web Site：www.cocmcanada.org
www.cocm.org.uk
Published by the: Chinese Overseas Christian Mission. Registered Charity No.232651 No.1135892 Company No.7106567
Editorial Committee：
Rev. Henry Lu．Ling Lu．Min Yin． Yu-Mei Wu
Translator：Monica Li
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God called us to serve in Europe, and we are thankful for the financial support from individuals and churches around the world over the years. The vast majority of people living in Europe have yet to accept the Gospel, hence we ask humbly for you to work with us. If you are moved to support us financially, please get in touch. Donations from UK By Cheque Cheques made payable to “COCM” may be sent to: COCM, 2 Padstow Avenue, Fishermead, Milton Keynes MK6 2ES By Bank Transfer or Standing Order Please contact COCM Headquarters for detailed information. Donations from overseas Please contact Your local COCM offices / boards or COCM Headquarters (Please see the contact information at the right-hand column on the back page.)