親愛的弟兄姐妹們，

在主的愛中向您問安！ 願上帝的恩典與大能成為我們向前走的力量！

II.　建立敬畏神的主日崇拜 (接續上期的禱告信)

當校園聚會的人數漸漸增加的時候，查經班或校園教會可以考慮建立主日崇拜。開始的時候考慮到同工人手不足，加上一些人已習慣去美國教會，無法一下子脫離美國教會，所以就不需要一開始每個主日都要有主日崇拜，可以從每月一次崇拜開始，按能力慢慢增加崇拜的次數。哥城華人教會（Columbia, MO）在1981年時還是查經班階段，就已經開始每個月有一次的主日崇拜，地點設在一對教授夫婦的家裡。1982年，主日崇拜增加到每月兩次，地點改借用美國教會舉行。1988年主日崇拜又增加為每月三次，到1990年初變成每週都有主日崇拜。主日崇拜次數的增加，和地點的轉換是因為參加主日崇拜的人數越來越多，需要越來越大，同工也在增加。 當主日崇拜聚會能每週一次穩定地舉行後，教會於1992年就正式成立。現在的主日崇拜聚會大約有七、八十人，另有小孩與青少年約三、四十人左右。

在大學城的教會講道需要有很好的內容，因為聚會中有很多學生與教授，他們愛用思想與理智去分析，為了讓他們能從講道信息中得幫助，講道的人就要好好地研讀神的話，將神的話豐豐富富地帶出來給這些學生與學者。

聖餐是敬拜的中心。領用餅杯前，大家都在主面前藉著詩歌、禱告來敬拜坐在寶座上的羔羊。聖餐的次數不是那麼重要，重要的是要帶著一個敬拜主與愛主的心一同領用。哥城華人教會每主日崇拜都有聖餐的歷史，可以追溯到查經班時期，那時還不是每週都有主日崇拜， 多年來同工們都有同樣的看見，每週都要有聖餐。崇拜所唱的詩歌偏重於傳統聖詩，但內容適合的現代詩歌也被採用。聚會時可以有洗禮，學生流動性較快，只要弟兄姊妹的心準備好了願意接受洗禮，就儘早給他們施洗，不需要等到特別日子。

校園教會的主日崇拜有下列特點與要注意的地方：

1. 非基督徒的學生，主日早上很難早起，主日崇拜的信息要以造就為主，此點可與週五團契較著重傳福音的內容有所區別。
2. 要牧養知識分子，必須要滿足他們愛學習的心，讓神的話向他們說話，用神話語的甘甜來滿足他們，這就要求傳道人必須能深入了解神的道，預備信息時要注意分享的內容，是否能為會眾帶出新的領受?
3. 年輕的學生學得很快，但應用的較慢，崇拜信息要多詳細分享實際應用的方法，在平常與弟兄姊妹相處中，可幫助我們按弟兄姊妹的需要，帶出應用。所以要常把握機會讓弟兄姊妹知道，所聽的道如何能實際地應用在生活中?
4. 年輕的大學生一方面注重感性，一方面也注重理性的學習，所以崇拜的詩歌要注意現代詩歌與傳統詩歌平衡選用，合適地應用。現代詩歌多注重感性 （Melody），傳統詩歌則更注重信息（Message），在敬拜中，學生需要藉這兩方面的詩歌，來到主面前。
5. 年輕學生也可以參加主日崇拜的事奉，應當多鼓勵他們參與，包括作招待、服事餅杯等。
6. 要鼓勵會眾在參加崇拜聚會的穿著上，顯出敬畏神的心，藉此提醒與預備自己的心去敬拜主。
7. 要鼓勵會眾聚會時帶傳統紙版聖經，不要以手機或平板電腦等電子版聖經代替紙版聖經。
8. 提醒會眾敬拜與聚會時要專心，不要用手機看電子郵件等無關信息，更不要玩電子遊戲。
9. 提醒會眾不要在聚會中走出聚會大堂接電話，因為聽神的話比聽人的話更重要。
10. 以上這些提醒要經常提出，幫助會眾在主日崇拜存敬畏神的心。

五月門徒訓練 (五月二十一至二十六日)

五月訓練營是一個轉接性的訓練：一方面是校園同工的轉接，舊校園同工離開，新同工要被建立，得以在校園為主作見證與接替事奉。另一方面是畢業同學人生的轉接，預備畢業同學的心，迎接下一階段人生的新旅程， 建立畢業弟兄姊妹帶著宣教的心志進入社會，為主作鹽作光。也盼望建立學生帶著宣教的心回中國，或是帶職事奉，或是暑期探親，都能將福音傳開。這次的訓練是為了建立時代的工人，內容包括：活潑的事奉、時代的挑戰與回應、 神的國度與約、門徒道路、門徒的塑造 (提摩太後書)、有福的盼望。講員：莊祖鲲牧師、周偉恩牧師及中心同工等。 請為講員及聚會代禱，求主幫助您能來參加，也帶領其他人來參加。截止日前期為：5月18日。

帶職信徒訓練營 (五月廿六日至二十九日)

國殤週末的訓練營是專為：建立全職工作的基督徒，往帶職宣教士方向: 不僅建立自己，在社會作光，在職場作鹽，在職場得同事，更能在校園得著學生。這次營會內容包括：帶職服事主的挑戰、事奉與家庭的平衡、忠誠的愛 (路得記)、服事的裝備、恩賜的運用、同工的相處、門徒道路、榮耀神的婚姻/工人、末世聖徒的簡樸生活、聖潔工程、受苦心志。分組專題研討則有：如何在美國建立事業、 建立合神心意的校園輔導事奉團隊、 如何教養青少年 和 如何明白神的旨意等。中心的宿舍與兒童的節目，都是為帶職服事的弟兄姊妹而預備，請早報名參加，預備心接受裝備。講員有：吳繼揚牧師、周偉恩牧師、林廖文惠姊妹、劉家揚長老等。請多為他們禱告！請預備您的心來參加、並早日報名。截止日前期為：5月18日。

六月青少年門徒訓練營 (六月四至十日)

一般的暑期青少年營常是青少年假期的「遊樂場」，中心主辦的青少年門徒訓練營卻是門徒的栽培營會，幫助青年基督徒委身跟隨耶穌的訓練營，除了上課學習外，更有討論與宣道操練。聚會將以英語教導。講員包括: Rev. Edward Cheng, Rev. Steve Tan and Sister Vivian Lin等。請為此聚會禱告，並鼓勵您的孩子快快報名。

八月讀經營 (七月三十至八月五日)

讀經營是為了建立同工們：1. 吸收生命之道 － 懂得如何研讀神的話與享受神的話。2. 成為神話語的出口 － 可以分享神的話、帶查經，教主日學，甚至講道等。讀經營的計劃是：幫助弟兄姊妹妹在六年之內將聖經研讀一次。八月讀經營我們將研讀列王與先知。讀經營的參加者必須是基督徒，且在過去兩年內至少參加過一次門徒訓練。所以您若想參加八月讀經營，卻還沒參加過門徒訓練， 請把握機會儘快報名先參加今年五月門徒訓練或帶職信徒訓練。

餐廳擴建

兩年前Motel B （別示巴樓家庭宿舍）建造完成，來參加聚會的人數也相對地增加，聚會大廳（迦南樓）的衛生間也隨著需要，先增建女生洗手間，感謝主！最近男洗手間的擴建也相繼完成。目前我們需要將餐廳擴建，好應付人多時餐廳的擁擠，擴建的餐廳就在原餐廳的旁邊，完成後餐廳面積將培增，成為一個舒適的空間為進餐使用。聚會人數較少時，可以分隔成兩部份，原有部份繼續作餐廳，新的部分可被分隔出來作課室，中心一直缺乏中型的課室，相信這樣的安排是很理想的。求主帶領，也為所需約八萬美元的經費代禱。

禱告：

1. 中心的事工非常多，同工卻非常不足，求主加增中心同工事奉的力量與智慧。
2. 求主預備有更多新同工一同參與事奉，請為在禱告上記念我們。
3. 求主加添中心同工事奉的果效，能影響更多青年學生成為神國的生力軍。
4. 求主也使您成為中心的同工，鼓勵教會的弟兄姐妹來參加各項營會。
5. 記念中心在財務(經常費、建築費、訓練經費)上的需要。
6. 為餐廳的擴建工程禱告，求主帶領工程順利禱告。
7. 為五月門徒訓練、帶職信徒訓練營禱告，求主預備人心參加，並賜福講員！
8. 為六月青少年門徒訓練營禱告，求主使這營會，能幫助年青弟兄姐妹一生跟從主。
9. 為餐廳的擴建經費禱告，也求主帶領建造的過程。
10. 為八月、九月短宣隊的安排禱告，求主興起更多的弟兄姊妹一同參與。

在祂的榮耀裡與您一起同工的，
高榮徳牧師

 

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Greetings to you in the love of God! May the Lord’s grace and mighty power energize us as we move forward!

II. Establishing a God-fearing Sunday Worship Service (continued from last newsletter)

As more and more people are added to the campus fellowship, Bible study groups or campus churches should consider having Sunday worship services. There are many considerations as we began the Sunday worship, such as a lack of coworkers and the fact that many brothers and sisters already regularly attend American churches. We may not need to have Sunday Service on every Sunday. We can start with a monthly worship service, and gradually increase the frequency as resources grow.

Columbia Chinese Christian Church (in Columbia, MO) started a monthly Sunday worship in 1981 while still a Bible Study group. This Sunday service was held at the home of a couple who were university professors. In 1982, when the Sunday service increased to twice a month, we started to use the facilities of American churches. 1988 was the year we had Sunday service three times a month. By 1990 we finally had worship services every Sunday. The increase in frequency and the change in location were mainly driven by the increased number of attendees and a matching increase in coworkers. CCCC was formally established in 1992 as we held services every Sunday.

Today CCCC has a congregation of about 70-80 adults plus 30-40 children and youths.

Sermons for a collegiate audience must have “meat” and “milk” content (1 Corinthians 3, Hebrews 5). Students and professors love to question and analyze. However, they also may have had no significant exposure to the good news or any of the Bible. Speakers must study God’s Word well so as to reveal God’s Word and abundantly supply the congregation with spiritual feeding suitable for a variety of needs.

The Lord’s Supper is the heart and soul of worship. Before we partake in the bread and the cup, we all worship through hymns and prayers the “Lamb that is on the throne”. The frequency of Lord’s Supper is not important. What is really crucial is that we take the Lord’s Supper worshipfully, with unity and love of God. CCCC has Lord’s Supper in every Sunday service, dating back to the time when CCCC was a Bible study group. Even when we did not have Sunday service every week, the coworkers had the same vision to observe the Lord’s Supper every week wherever they could.

A majority of the worship hymns we used were traditional hymns supplemented with contemporary songs when the content was appropriate.

We continue to have baptism when brothers and sisters are ready for baptism. Since students have such a high turnover rate, we baptize them as soon as possible without waiting for special days or occasions. This also sets a good precedent to not delay faithful obedience of any kind.

Here are some other challenges and opportunities that tend to happen more often more with campus churches than with other congregations.

1. Non-believing students have had a habit of sleeping in on Sunday morning. Most likely they will not attend the Sunday service. For this reason, Sunday messages can emphasize discipleship training for believers. By contrast, the Friday evening Bible studies tended toward evangelistic presentation of the good news.
2. In shepherding students and scholars, we should cater to their need for learning. Hence we would use God’s word to speak truth to them, to satisfy them with the sweetness of God’s word. To meet such needs, the speakers are mandated to familiarize themselves with God’s Word. While preparing the message, they need to examine whether the content would bring new enlightenment to the audience.
3. Young students learn ideas fast but are relatively slow in applying what they learned. So the Sunday service message should share more about how to apply to daily lives, with examples and detailed and applicable methods. When spending more time with them, the speakers can learn their needs and bring out the applications they can apply to their daily lives. Speakers need to seize the opportunities to let brothers and sisters know how to apply the messages they heard in real life!
4. We love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. College students are rational yet emotional. So, the songs in the worship services need to strike a balance between the traditional hymns that tend to emphasize propositional content, and contemporary hymns that tend to express emotion. Students can be prepared to come before God through both types of musical worship.
5. Young students can also participate in the service in the Sunday services. They can serve as ushers or pass the bread and cups at the Lord’s Supper. They can assist with music, announcements, presentation technology, and help in other ways.
6. Encourage the congregation to dress modestly to reflect their fear and honor to the Lord. Clothing and conversation should not distract hearts from worship.
7. Encourage the congregation to bring and use printed Bibles rather than e-Bibles on probably-distracting cell phones or other devices.
8. Remind the congregation to be attentive during the worship service and refrain from using mobile phones to check messages, play games, and receive calls.
9. Remind them generally that listening to God’s Word is more important than listening to man’s words.
10. Repeat the above reminders often to help the congregation worship with a God-fearing heart.

May Disciple Training Camp (May 21 to 26)

The May Disciple Training Camp is designed to help Christians cope with transitions. For instance, some campus ministry coworkers are leaving and need encouragement for their new environment, while the succeeding ones must be equipped to take over the ministry and bear witnesses for the Lord on campus. Moreover, students who are up for graduation face transitions, they need help preparing their hearts to embrace the next phase of life and the new journey ahead, enhancing their zeal for missions in society, and living a life of salt and light. We also hope to give them a heart of evangelism to go back to China, to share the Gospel while working or visiting families. Thus, disciple training aims to build up the coworkers of this generation for the Kingdom of God. The topics will include: Lively Ministry, the Challenge of this Age and our Response, God’s Kingdom and Covenant, the Way of a Disciple, the Molding of a Disciple (2 Timothy), and a Blessed Assurance. The speakers are Pastor Tsu-Kung Chuang, Pastor Stanley Chow, and CWC coworkers. Please pray for the speakers and the meetings. May the Lord help you attend and to invite others to come. The registration deadline is May 18.

The May Lay-Minister Training Camp (May 26 to 29 )

The Memorial Day weekend training is designed to build up Christians in full time secular situations to grow toward becoming lay missionaries. They will not only equip themselves but also be the light in the society and be the salt at their working places, in order to evangelize colleagues at work and students on campus. The topics of the training include: the Challenges to Lay Ministers, Balance Between Ministry and Family, Loyal Love (Ruth), Equipping for Ministry, Using of Spiritual Gifts, Cooperation of Coworkers, the Way of a Disciple, the Marriage/Workmanship that Glorifies God, the Simple Life of the Saints at the End Time, the Project of Holiness, and the Mind for Suffering. Workshop topics include: How to Start a Business in the United States, How to Build a God-Pleasing Campus Counseling Team, How to Parent Teenagers, and How to Understand God’s Will. Our motel-style dormitories and the children’s programs are all especially designed for brothers and sisters with families. Please apply earlier and prepare yourselves to be equipped. The speakers are Pastor David Wu, Pastor Stanley Chow, Sister Vivian Lin, Elder Chia-Yang Liu, etc. Please pray for them often! Please prepare your hearts to attend and apply early. The registration deadline is May 18.

June Youth Disciple Training Camp (June 4 to 10)

Today’s summer youth camps too often are little more than playgrounds for youths to enjoy their summer vacation. However, the CWC’s Youth Disciple Training Camp equips disciples and help youths commit their lives to follow Jesus. Besides taking classes, they will participate in discussions and mission projects. The meeting will be held in English. The speakers are Rev. Edward Cheng, Rev. Steve Tan, and Sister Vivian Lin. Please pray for this meeting and encourage your youths to apply as soon as possible.

August Bible Camp (July 30 to August 5 )

The Bible Camp is designed to equip coworkers to first, absorb the Word of Life, knowing how to study and enjoy the Word of God; and second, to become the outlet of God’s Word, to share the Word of God, lead a Bible study group, teach Sunday School classes, and even preach. The plan of the Bible Camp is to help brothers and sisters study through the whole Bible once in six years. We will study Kings and Prophets in this August Bible Camp. The participants have to be Christians who have attended the disciple training for at least one time in the last two years. If you want to attend the August Bible Camp and have yet not attended the disciple training camp, please take advantage of the May disciple training or the May Lay-Minister training.

The Dining Hall Expansion

The construction of “Motel B”, the Beersheba Family Dormitory, was completed two years ago. The numbers of people attending CWC meetings grew correspondingly. Following that the restrooms in the meeting hall (Canaan Hall) were expanded according to the increasing needs. The female restroom was added first. Praise the Lord! Recently the expansion of the male restroom was completed. Currently we need to enlarge the dining hall to solve the problem of crowding. The expansion would join the original dining hall. After completion, the area of the whole hall will be doubled. The new dining hall will be a comfortable place for having meals. If the attendance is low, the new expanded dining hall can be divided into two sections. The original section can be used as the dining hall while the new section can be used as a classroom. CWC has always been short of a medium-size classroom. I believe that this arrangement is ideal. May the Lord lead us! Please pray for the needed funds of approximately $80,000.

Prayer Requests

1. The ministry of CWC is heavy, but our coworkers are few. May the Lord provide strength and wisdom to CWC coworkers.
2. May the Lord prepare more new coworkers to join our ministry. Please remember us in your prayers.
3. May the Lord increase the effectiveness of the ministry of CWC coworkers so that more young students will become a force in God’s Kingdom.
4. Pray that the Lord will make you a CWC coworker, to invite brothers and sisters from your church to attend various CWC camps.
5. Please remember CWC’s financial needs (general funds, building funds, and training funds).
6. Pray for the dining hall expansion. Pray that the Lord will lead the construction to a smooth completion.
7. Pray for the May disciple training camp and the Lay Ministry training camp. May the Lord prepare hearts of the attendees and bless the speakers.
8. Pray for the June Youth Disciple Training Camp. May the Lord use this camp to help young brothers and sisters to follow Christ all their lives.
9. Pray for the funding of the expansion of the dining hall. May the Lord lead the process of construction.
10. Pray for the preparation of the short mission teams in August and September. May the Lord raise up more brothers and sisters to join.

Serving together with you in His glory,
Pastor Billy Ko