The afternoon of Sunday, November 10 will see the annual church members conference of the NPAC family.

        I can see that in the past, ministry leaders and co-workers have made great efforts in preparing for the conference. They wanted to let participating brothers and sisters feel the warmth of the spiritual family that leads to the joy of thanksgiving. I earnestly hope that all of you will be able to experience love in the annual church members conference of this year – the love of God for the NPAC family, the love among NPAC brothers and sisters who exhort each other and walk the heavenly path together.

       I recently read a couple of verses in the Bible: “In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit” (Ephesians 2:21-22). These verses liken the church community to a building. In the Lord Jesus, brothers and sisters are joined together like building materials. They become a holy temple. Church members are being built up through the Holy Spirit, and they become the dwelling of God. These verses show the love of God for the church: In order to build the church into a holy temple, God continuously works in the church. He builds up the life of each part of the body so that they would become pleasing and acceptable to Him.

        At the annual church members conference, the church will review ministries in the past year to give a clear picture of the actions the NPAC family has taken towards achieving our goals and mission as well as the outcomes. These include areas with solid growth and areas where more needs to be done or needs greater attention.  Reports on statistics, descriptions on situations and the testimonies of brothers and sisters will allow everyone to see how God loves NPAC – how He has led and moved the NPAC family to grow as a whole through the vision, gifts and provisions from Him to head towards His will and in His direction. We will also understand how we have been built up and have grown through these schemes and activities.

       The annual church members conference also presents a good opportunity for us to remind each other and keep watch over one another. In the review, we may see some situations that are less than satisfactory as well as challenges and obstacles faced by the church. These are what the whole church needs to understand, face squarely and overcome. Through the process, we will understand that we need to, together, pay attention to and keep watch over our faithfulness in fulfilling the gospel mission as a church and as individuals, in building up one another in Christ, and in using our gifts. The reminders from the annual church members conference are indeed God’s protection in the process of promoting the growth of the church.

        Senior Pastor Rev. Arnold Chow will explain NPAC’s direction for spiritual growth and ministry plan for next year based on the vision he has received and the feedback and views from pastoral staff and ministry leaders. This is to mobilize brothers and sisters to turn this into concrete actions to practice the mission and seek growth together in the coming year. So, the annual church members conference will also be a time for the NPAC family to get ready for putting the plan for next year into practice! May brothers and sisters attend the annual church members conference to spur one another on and to make preparations both for the church and for oneself for the implementation next year.

        The annual church members conference presents an opportunity for us to care for our big spiritual family. It also enables us to witness God’s love for our church together. I look forward to seeing brothers and sisters continuing to attend with love.