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Six Countries Represented at First Asia Youth Camp
TAIPEI, TAIWAN (August 17, 2004) - More than 120 youth from six countries
attended the first annual Asia Covenant Church Youth Camp last week with
pastor Ben Wong and
youth pastor Andy Tilly serving as guest speakers along with Evangelical
Covenant Church Department of World Mission representatives David Dolan
and David Husby.
Attendees came from Taiwan, the United States, the Philippines, Japan,
Thailand and India. A majority of the participants were youth who are
considered leaders in their respective Covenant churches. Most stayed in
an area college dormitory. Worship teams from area congregations led
worship music. After the camp ended, many from outside the
area attended one of the worship services at one of several nearby
Covenant churches.
"This was the first Asia Covenant youth gathering and we were wondering
how well these youth would do together," said Husby, the Asia regional
coordinator for world mission. "We were amazed at how quickly and easily
they bonded in spite of some pretty significant cultural and language
differences. Lots of translation was going on and it seemed to go quite
smoothly. A lot of people around the world were praying for this event
and it was obvious that those prayers were answered. The event
surpassed my highest expectations. I can't wait until we can do it again."
Wong, pastor of Shepherd Community Church in Hong Kong, challenged youth
to consider cross-cultural missions as he mixed humor with an
unrelenting passion for saving souls. "This is a new day in Asia," he
said in discussing the changing face of mission work. "In the past, we
relied on the western missionaries to bring the gospel here, but now it
is our turn."
Tilly, who serves at Life Church in Edmond, Oklahoma, focused on two
areas in his talks: "The Foundations of Youth Ministries" and
"Communicate to Relate." After
sharing basic principles of youth ministries that all cultures can
understand, he discussed how leaders can more easily reach their
audiences by understanding the unique needs of each culture, at the same
time recognizing the similarities of youth in general.
The speakers' messages seemed to hit the target, said Husby, as several
youth shared how they felt God speaking to them during the closing
meeting of the camp. One woman from India - a recent medical school
graduate - shared how she felt called to work as a medical missionary. A
Filipino student related how she had been studying medicine to please
her parents, but was inspired by the camp to rethink her motives and use
her medical skills to serve the Lord in some way.
Husby gave special thanks to those who had helped support the camp
financially and through prayer. Although the majority of the expenses
were covered by the Asia Covenant churches themselves, nearly $10,000
was given by Covenant churches and individuals in North America to help
cover expenses of the youth from the Philippines, India and Thailand. It
is hoped that the next Asia Covenant Youth Conference will be held in
the Philippines in August 2006.
To learn more about the recent camp, email Husby at
davronna@yhb.att.ne.jp or Dolan at davejudy.dolan@comcast.net.
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