-- 
Henry

2011 Year-End Short-Term Mission Opportunity in COCM UK

For the ninth year, Chinese Overseas Christian Missions (COCM) (http://cocm.org.uk/) will hold two Mandarin year-end camps at COCM’s headquarters in Milton Keynes, UK. This year, there will be two camps: the first camp is a family camp (12/24-12/27/2011) allowing children (4-16 years old) to attend while the second camp is purely a student camp (12/28-1/1/2012). Most of the campers will be from Mainland China as undergraduate students, graduate students, scholars, professionals, and family members who are currently living in the UK. The majority of them will return to China in the near future so spreading the gospel to them is strategically important. STM team members can choose to attend either or both camps.

There will be the following supporting needs from STM members in the US:

* Speakers for the morning and evening services

* Conducting workshops in the afternoon

* Devotion Leaders

* Small group leaders

* Personal testimony for each service

* One-on-one ministry during group discussion and/or break time

* Counseling for special needs

* Registration

* Writing daily emails for prayer requests

* Take turns serving meals and cleaning kitchen

* Coordinator for the children ministry at the family camp

* Helpers for the children ministry at the family camp

The criteria for the STM members are:

* Able to conduct conversations in Mandarin

* Mature Christians (baptized for at least two years) and team players

* Mainland China background preferred, but not required

* Willing to and able to work long hours

* Willing to serve what is assigned

* Young co-workers are welcomed given most campers are 20-30 years old

The expenses will be round-trip airfare to London, hotel (very cheap), registration fee, and bus tickets (from London Heathrow Airport to Milton Keynes). It was about $1,000 per person from the East Coast in 2010. Last year, 37 STM members plus 7 children from 9 churches in the US to worked with COCM co-workers to serve the campers. 35 campers became new believers and many young Christians had the opportunity to strengthen their faith. Most of the STM mem-bers got lifted spiritually as well. It was a wonderful experience to serve the Lord together. Please visit the website of COCMUSA at http://cocmusa.org/ for more information.

Please contact Mrs. Alsa Shih, Secretary of COCMUSA Board at (603) 759-5336 or e-mail her at alsashih@gmail.com if you have any questions. Registration deadline is September 15, 2011.

2011 COCM - Video

Mandarin Easter Conference:

给力青春 (这一生最美的祝福)

COCM Mandarin Easter Conference Summary

<Life Empowered>

8th-12th April 2011

Fifteen people, from Boston, Southboro (MA), West Hartford, New York, Atlanta and even Beijing and Shanghai, went to Milton Keynes, England. Milton Keynes is a city of hope. The United Kingdom hopes it will be the city of the future. It’s built on a grid; it’s full of green civil engineering and is supposed to lead the U.K. into the next chapter of its history. The locals laugh at that hope. “It’s a made up place. You’re not supposed to be there,” a drunken, recently divorced, listless man told us.

We hope Milton Keynes will be the city of the future, in Jesus. COCM is centered in this city. Led by Pastor Lu Zifeng, COCM’s mission is to bring the Gospel to the overseas Chinese in Europe, and through them and with them to their children, through their children into the local culture, and through them to China and the world. British missionaries brought the Gospel to China. Now, in U.K. where Jedi is listed as one of the most popular beliefs, Chinese missionaries are bringing the Gospel back there.

COCM is based in an extremely green looking, even greenhouse-like wood, steel and glass building. Pastor Lu and his team’s talent and dedication are visible in every part of this place. There are twenty-five foot drop posters with scriptural messages in calligraphy. There are rooms for lodging, meeting and worship. There is an industrial sized kitchen and a culinary staff worthy of any popular Chinese restaurant. There is Wi-Fi in every corner. The right wall of the sanctuary even has an inspired, highly detailed mural made just for the three-day camp we came to serve in.

给力青春is an intensive three-day camp for overseas Chinese students and young professionals of around 17-25 years of age. There were 105 of them. Twenty or so were seekers. The rest were mostly brothers and sisters who have known the Lord between one to three years. Some come from Christian families and have believed their entire lives. The fifteen of us joined 10-15 COCM missionaries and served as speakers, small group advisors, testimony givers, dish-washers, food servers, sanitation engineers and one on one counselor for the campers.

There was precious little time. Some of the campers had never heard the Gospel before. Some were going back to places in the U.K., Europe or China without strong churches or Bible studies. Each day has two sermons, three workshop sessions, two testimonials and small group discussions. Each small group of nine to ten partnered with another group to write, direct and act out a stage drama of the scripture before each sermon. The message: leave the story you’re writing for your own life, leave your personal stage, and come back into God’s story. It’s what you have been looking for all your life. It’s why you’re here.

The dramas were hilarious, heart-felt and illuminating. The small group discussions led people to open up and tell of hurts they have never told anyone else. The candid sermons and testimonials told of God, His promise, His sacrifice and how each life can be saved and changed. Practical teaching was given about marriage, singleness, broken relationships, healing, change and service. Tears were shed, hearts were broken and journeys toward healing began. The beginnings of possibly life long relationships were formed.

In the end there was candlelight meditation around a cross and testimonials by the campers. The Holy Spirit was vividly moving people to pray, to confess, to ask for healing and to dedicate their lives, to come home, to come back to His story. As Pastor Ho said, the smallest role in God’s story is more glorious than the most riveting tale you can author for yourself. In His story are Abraham, David, Elijah, Peter, John, James and Paul. His is the story of Jesus, and He knows his plan for you.

More than half of the seekers were saved, including those who had never prayed before in their lives and had no idea what this camp was about. The surprisingly confident, sincere, responsible and dedicated small group leaders who were campers themselves also found acceptance, healing and enlightenment in these three days. The fifteen of us short term missionaries, especially those of us who had never done this before, found the same and much more.

May 给力青春 be the beginning of life long walks with God. May 给力青春 lead us, the campers and the COCM staff to give every part of our lives to Him, to know, more and more, how much He gave to us, how much He can, will and wants to give through us, and how much He treasures us and our smallest steps toward Him to give Him our hearts, our talents, possessions and our all.

COCM Mandarin Easter Conference

<Life Empowered> 8th-12th April 2011

Dear Pastors, leaders, brothers and sisters,

Thank you for your support to COCM over the years. Your prayers and support are a great encouragement to us and we cannot do the work without you.

Spring has finally arrived! Thank you very much for praying for our Mandarin Easter Conference (Life-Empowered: 8th-12th April 2011) which is fast approaching and your prayers have indeed encouraged us all. Besides COCM staff, we will have brothers and sisters from the USA to serve in this Mandarin Easter Conference. Our messages will be focused on the story of Jesus Christ, His cross and His resurrection. We pray that Jesus Christ will be the centre of our attention in this Conference and campers will be encouraged and motivated.

Once again we would like to invite you all to continue to pray for this Mandarin Easter Conference with us. We pray that His name will be glorified in this Conference.

Please remember the following in your prayers:

1. Please pray for all campers that God will prepare their hearts for this conference, especially for those who will serve in this camp.

2. Please pray for our programmes in this conference, especially the messages, testimonies and worships.

3. Please pray for good weather so that all the campers and helpers will arrive at COCM safely.

Finally, we would like to share this Mandarin Easter Conference Prologue with you below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gq_eP0J6TU

http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMjQ1MzgwMzI0.html

Yutian Li
In Christ
COCM Mandarin Easter Conference Coordinator 

UK Landline: +44(0)1908-234-100 ext.29
UK Mobile: +44(0)77-3829-1484

Email：yutian.henry@gmail.com

Easter Short-term Mission Opportunities at COCM UK

(4/8/11-4/12/11)

In April of 2011, Chinese Overseas Christian Missions (COCM) will hold a Mandarin Easter Gospel camp at COCM’s headquarter in Milton Keynes, UK. This gospel camp scheduled for 4/7/11 to 4/11/11 is tailored to Students that are mostly from Mainland China as undergraduate, graduate students, and scholars. The majority of them will return to China in the near future. Thus, preaching gospel to them and making them disciples (Acts 1:8) is strategically important.

There is short term mission (STM) opportunity for twenty (20) USA Christians to participate in serving the Lord as workers in this camp.

The supports that COCM is looking for is in the area of:
 Personal testimony
 One-on-one ministry
 Counseling
 Logistic supports in the center

The criteria for the STM workers are:
 Mature Christians (baptized for at least two years) and humble team players
 Mainland China background preferred, but not required
 Able to speak Mandarin and conduct conversations in Mandarin fluently
 Willing to and be able to work long hours (Daily schedule could be from 7am to mid-night)
 Willing to take a mixed range of assignments
 Young workers are welcomed as most campers are at 20-25 of age

The expenses consist of a round-trip airfare to London (4/5/11 to 4/12/11), hotel accommodation, registration fee, and bus tickets (from London Heathrow Airport to Milton Keynes). It is estimated around $1,000 per person from the East Coast.

COCM has conducted many gospel camps like this. It has proven to be a very rewarding and effective experience in reaping the harvest field. Please visit the website of COCMUSA at http://cocmusa.org/ for more information.

Should you need more detailed information or has the burden to serve, please contact sister Lily Chuang who currently serves COCM USA as a Treasurer at (860)514-4121 or e-mail ellilyc@aol.com. The deadline for registration is January 15, 2011.

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

2010 STM Year End Camp photos and report

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Praise the Lord and thank to your prayers, the two COCM year-end mandarin camps were ended happily and most of the short-term mission (STM) members have safely returned home in the US. The faithful Lord let us experience His amazing grace and power from the two camps. Over 30 people accepted Jesus as their personal savior; many brothers and sisters got lifted by the Holy Spirit including the co-workers to serve others.

It is very special this year - the weather is not cooperative. First, for the family camp, the UK has encountered the worst winter storm in decades with snow, ice, and extremely low temperature. It forced London Heathrow airport to be closed for several days. Second, when coming to the student camp, the East coast in the US got hit by a heavy snow storm and blizzard with 28 inch snow falling at New York JFK airport. More than 1,000 flights got canceled at JFK alone. However, our Lord promised us “I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.” The following are a few highlights of our trips:

· Pastor YAN Lu and his family drove to the JFK airport 4 times in two days after one cancelation after another and finally caught the flight to London despite their car was trapped in a big snow hole.

· After driving one and a half hours to the Boston airport from Western Massachusetts, three college-age sisters with one seeker only found out their flight to London got canceled. When they learned they could flight out of New York, with determination they drove 10 hours from Boston to New York although it usually takes only 4-5 hours. After some delay, their flight finally took off.

· Brother John Shi and his wife slept at the JFK airport overnight in order to get the standby tickets, flied the second day without sleep on the aircraft, and started to serve the campers right after they reached COCM.

· Pastor Daniel Shih missed his connection flight due to the weather, arrived one day later at 1:00 pm, and started his seminar at 2:30 pm on the same day and sermon in the evening.

Our Lord is a faithful Lord. Although there are many delays on our scheduled flights, there is not a single-minute delay on our scheduled service; everyone caught their own service on time. There is nothing that “will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:39).” The Lord is with us every day. For simplicity, we can only mention a few high moments here:

· As a STM member, Sister Claudia Tang came with her husband who has been a seeker for over 30 years. During her scheduled testimony, she intended to confess her sins for being a true reason of blocking her husband from believing in Jesus. To save face, she withdrew herself from confession. However, when the Holy Spirit urged her in the last day free sharing, she opened her heart to the Lord, her husband, and all the campers, confessed that she focused her attention too much on other family members and ignored her husband’s feeling. At the last minute when all the campers were preparing to take the group photo, Pastor Zhigang Zhang was praying with Mr. Tang and announced to us that Brother Janghsuen Tang has accepted Jesus! Our Lord is the awesome God, His timing has no mistakes-“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).”

· At the last day free sharing from the student camp, a seeker wanted to share his gaining in the past three days. After hearing the others’ testimonies and lining up for his turn to speak, Brother Zhihua Tang told us that he was a nonbeliever when siting on the previous chair and became a believer when moving to the next chair! How powerful and amazing the Holy Spirit works among and through us!

· After we celebrated the New Year together with joyful tears, the campers presented to the US STM team a big banner with all the signatures, appreciation words, and an Europe map. Representing the team, Pastor Zhang received the banner and said he was moved and recharged from participating in both camps, and got back the original feeling when the Lord called him as a minister. Many STM team members have the same feeling-we came to serve but it is us who gained the most. “It is more blessed to give than to receive (Acts 20:35).”

Born in 1950, COCM has been a lighthouse to shine in the “dark” Europe for the past 60 years. In 2003, the new and beautiful COCM building was dedicated, two years after the 9/11 terrorist attack and the tightening immigration policy in the US. Since then, many Chinese students have flooded the UK and the number of students has reached about 90,000 nowadays, comparable to the number in the vast US. However, the rich land in the past has become a spiritual desert in Europe. Although the UK has the most Chinese churches-it is only about 80, shadowed by over 1,000 Chinese churches in the US. There is a huge resource imbalance between the Old England and the New England. Our Lord is a merciful and just Lord. The first COCM year-end camp was kicked off in 2003. The next year, the first US mission team supported the year-end camp through Pastor Henry Lu’s family. In 2005, about ten people from several churches in New England participated. This year, the Lord has called 47 brothers and sisters from 9 US churches to support the COCM year-end camps. Many people have heard the new Macedonian call. It is estimated that 80% of the Chinese students in the UK will return to China while 80% of the Chinese students in the US will stay. Strategically, it is very important to spread out the Gospel to the students in the UK as they will bring it back to China-the so called “Divine Land.”

We thank you for your faithful and constant prayers and support. Please keep praying the following:

· The spiritual growth of the new and young believers and the follow up by local churches and fellowships.
· God will provide more workers to join COCM for the growing student and Mandarin population in the UK and Europe as “There is much grain but not enough men to get it in (Matt 9:37).”

· God will provide wisdom and strength to Pastor Henry Lu and his COCM co-workers so they can continue to fight for the Lord and defeat the evil spirit. “For I give them witness, that as they were able, and even more than they were able, they gave from the impulse of their hearts, Seriously requesting us that they might have a part in this grace of being servants to the needs of the saints (2 Cor 8:3-4).”

· The Lord will keep providing the young believers in the UK and that they will grow strong and serve the Lord with even more passion. “Let no one make little of you because you are young, but be an example to the church in word, in behavior, in love, in faith, in holy living (1 Tim 4:12).”

· The Lord will encourage the US STM team members to share at our own churches and inspire more brothers and sisters from the US and other parts of the world where resources are richer to support the mission in the UK and Europe as “But so that things may be equal; that from those things of which you have more than enough at the present time their need may be helped, and that if you are in any need they may be a help to you in the same way, making things equal (2 Cor 8:14).”
May His Kingdom go forth.

Serving together in Christ,

The 2010 STM members for the COCM year-end Mandarin camps, representing the following 9 churches in the US:
Amherst Chinese Christian Church (MA)
Austin Chinese Church (TX)
Chinese Alliance Church of Westchester (NY)
Chinese Bible Church of Greater Lowell (MA)
Chinese Gospel Church in Southborough (MA)
Rockland Chinese Alliance Church (NY)
Rock Chinese Church of Austin (TX)
West Houston Chinese Church (TX)
Worcester Chinese Gospel Church (MA)