Dare to Shine
Praise God that the first FRCN-UK Day conference has completed successfully on 18th March at the COCM centre in Milton Keynes. Thirty five academics and researchers from ten different Universities and areas of the United Kingdom including, Birmingham, Cambridge, Cardiff, Coventry, Cheltenham Spa, Nottingham, Leeds, Loughborough, Luton, Sheffield and Oxford attended the meeting. Their academic disciplines were mainly from science and engineering which included biology, material science, computing science, engineering, electrical network.
The main speakers are Dr. William Ho (a medical doctor) and his wife Dr. Esther Su (PhD). They are currently full time preacher and evangelist of the good news of Jesus Christ. Dr. Ho, using the topic “Dare to shine” as well as their experience in Jesus Christ and the word of God in the Bible, discussed why some Christians were afraid to shine for Jesus Christ. He then encouraged all of us to shine and explained why we should shine for Jesus Christ. He then suggested various ways how we should shine for Jesus Christ in terms of our proper attitude towards our colleagues, superiors and students based on Biblical principles. The full recording of his sermon as well as a summary of the key points can be found at the website of the network (http://www.frcn.org.uk).
Besides listening to the preaching, we also have time to get to know each other. The tea and lunch time were greatly enjoyed. Although for most of us, it was the first time that we met each other, the fellowship of believers and the university environment that we all share had helped us to understand each other and our environment much quickly. Though there was not enough time to share deeper, a good foundation has been built in this short one day conference.
Furthermore we have two workshops with the first one looking at the Challenges and Difficulties in sharing the gospel in University campus. We looked at:
- Experience sharing of preaching gospel in the University
- What could be done
- What the limits are
- What can be done without causing problem
- What message we should share
- What method we should use
- What resources are available to us
We also looked at some of the other issues concerning a Chinese Christian working in a University.
The second one focused on how we can support each other in the network and seven areas were identified:
- Spiritual growth
- Career issue
- Non-academic University Issue
- Family life
- Service and training for service in the church
- Christian witness in University
Evangelistic work Some of the key points discussed will be made available at the website also. That will be the guide to the activities of the network for the coming year before the Day conference scheduled for 24th March 2007.
Although it would take time for us to get to know each other more, we trust that God will lead each one of us and help us to have fellowship and to support each other through the network. If you are currently employed by a university or similar higher education institution in UK or have honorary status in a university or higher education institution in UK, you are welcome to become our ordinary member. On the other hand, if you are not currently a employee or honorary member of a British University, you can become an associate member of the network if you have received one or more research degrees from a University or similar higher education institution or just have a special concern and willingness to support the network. If you accept the doctrinal basis of the Network and agree with the mission statement and the roadmap of the network and endeavour to realise them, you can become a member by filling in application form available on the website. We also wish all members shall provide the basic information for the website as shown on the “members” webpage on the website.
Although this was the first day conference, we are very thankful to the providence of our Lord Jesus Christ as everything went smoothly with the meals and the proceedings of the conference. Most, if not all, the participants enjoyed greatly the fellowship shared and pray that God will continue to guide and bless the FRCN-UK ministry in the coming years.