CGI-Asia Conference 2010 in May this year was hailed as the largest Asian Christian conference in the world. We look back at the highlights.
Contributed By Annabelle Low
From the start of 2010, City Harvest Church began gearing up for its biannual Asia Conference, held this year in conjunction with Church Growth International for the first time. CGI-AC 2010 took place over a span of five days from May 26 to 30.
Hosted by CHC’s senior pastor Kong Hee and senior pastor emeritus of Yoido Full Gospel Church, David Yonggi Cho, conference speakers spanned the who’s-who of the Christian preaching world: Kim Sung-Hae, Lee Young Hoon, Phil and Christine Pringle, A.R. Bernard, John Avanzini, Mark Conner, Casey Treat, Reinhard Bonnke, Theo and Beverley Wolmarans, Steve Munsey, Prince Guneratnam, Ken Eldred, Richard Bernal, and David Sumrall, among many others.
Apart from power-packed preaching, CGI-AC 2010 also celebrated all aspects of culture. Conference attendees could register to attend a wide range of electives to strengthen themselves for ministry and everyday life.
The Asia-lympics and various competitions such as the Parade Of Schools, City Harvest’s Got Talent, Beauty Pageant & Manhunt, showcased the talents of the church. The Children’s Church’s YoungTalents came together to reprise their hit musical Fish Ball Ping Pong for the delegates. CGI-AC 2010 also saw the launch of CHC’s latest music album, Reign. Competitions such as Xtreme Makeover (in which homes of the underprivileged were cleaned up, repainted and furnished) showed the church’s heart for society, while The Marketplace Exhibition showcased businesses run by Christians, providing networking opportunities.
CGI-AC 2010 saw over 25,000 attendees, with more than 7,200 international delegates from over 70 countries, representing 2,086 churches.
Cho opened CGI-AC 2010 by delivering a powerful message on Fourth Dimension Living, reminding the congregation to think, dream and speak according to the Scriptures. He emphasized that the Holy Spirit is our heavenly partner who helps us in all we do.
Bernard, founder and CEO of the Christian Cultural Centre, gave timely messages that exhorted the attendees on both a corporate and individual level—he spoke of the need for the church to realign its worldview, its core purposes and values in order to restore its influence in the society, and also taught on the importance of knowing one’s self-concept—the person one thinks he should and could be, as opposed to self-esteem, which is how a person feels about himself.
Pringle of Christian City Church led the crowd to brandish the sword of the Spirit before preaching about the power of prayer. In another session, he prayed and imparted the anointing of God to pastors from Northern and Southeast Asia.
Kong exhorted the congregation to become culturally-savvy, spiritually-disciplined Christians who engage the marketplace and excel in it. He urged the congregation to pass on their fire and passion to the next generation of youths and reminded the congregation of what Christianity is all about—the love of God demonstrated through good, healthy relationships.
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Bonnke, whose youthful antics and cheeky humor left many marveling at his age (he is 60), inspired thousands of young people as they raced down the aisles to catch the fire of the Holy Spirit and passion for evangelism.
Avanzini preached many of the offering messages during the conference. He highlighted that the enemy does not mind when Christians praise, worship and hear the Word, but he fights giving, as sowing ties the believer to a destiny in God.
Munsey opened the delegates’ eyes to a new way of delivering the Word with his dramatized yet effective style of preaching in his electives and offering messages during the plenary sessions.
In the only evangelical session of the conference, the legendary Taiwanese diva Tsai Chin performed onstage, while the CHC drama team put on a specially commissioned skit entitled “The Relationship Makeover.” Many responded to the altar call given by Kong.
CGI-AC 2010 left the delegates with a burning passion to seek God and live by the Spirit in order to share the love of God with the rest of the world, one soul at a time.
The CGI-AC 2010 DVD is available at Attributes in English, Chinese and Bahasa. The next Asia Conference will be held in 2012.
