Dear brothers and sisters, shalom!

Thanks be to the Lord! He has done wonderful good works in the Spring! This year United States has experienced the darkest and most painful Good Friday. That day was the most severe day of the pandemic, but Easter was a glorious turning point. The Lord’s resurrection power was revealed as the pandemic started to slow down after Easter. There were fewer new patients and more people recovered from Covid-19. When the whole nation prayed asking God to heal, the Lord used this Easter to show His great power. May His resurrection power continue to reveal all over the earth. May the Lord of resurrection to lift us up with His mighty power day by day.

True Meaning of Communion

For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” (1 Corinthians 11:23-24)

During the pandemic, one of the most difficult issues on Sunday worship is how to arrange the Lord’s Super. Singing, prayers, and preaching can be performed virtually online, but Communion is not that easy to handle. The problem is: after the pastor blessed the cup and bread, how can he pass the elements to each brothers and sisters at their home? Since many online churches cannot find the solution, so they just did not schedule the communion. Plus, they don’t know when they can resume Communion. But if we can understand the true meaning of Communion, know the purpose of receiving the bread and the cup, and clearly understand the core meaning of this sacrament, it will be more meaningful for us as we break the bread to remember the Lord together. The Name of the Lord will be glorified. Even after the pandemic, we will receive bigger blessings when we participate the Lord’s Super by knowing the “ritual” is not inflexible. This way our spiritual lives will be even more active and striving. So, what is the meaning of the Lord’s Super?

1. Communion is for helping us to know the Lord more— When Paul taught about the Lord’s Super in 1 Corinthians, he mentioned twice that Jesus picking up the bread and cup and said, “do this in remembrance of me.” Both Jesus and Paul reminded us that the most important purpose of Communion is to remember the Lord. It helps us not only to think of Jesus, but also think of the grace that Jesus has bestowed on us. The other aspect of “remembering the Lord” is to help us learn in the manner of Jesus’ mother, Mary (Luke 2:19): pondering in our hearts our thoughts about Jesus. So that we can know the Lord deeper, know how precious the Lord is. Our hearts will be kindled and renewed again by the love of Jesus. Jesus is the center of the whole Communion.
2. Communion is for deepening our love to the Lord— “Remembering the Lord”, first is to help us knowing who He IS. He is glorious and beautiful. It makes us admire Him more and be attracted by the Lord. Also it helps us pondering what the Lord has DONE. Because of the works he has done for us, we know how much He loves us. We willingly response to His love with a grateful heart. We also need a heart that loves the Lord deeper and an action that shows we love Him. When we remember the Lord, we will admire Him more deeply and love Him more. After each Communion, we need to consider: does my love for the Lord increase because of this?
3. Communion is a gathering of remembering, not a memorial service. People miss the dead during memorial service. After the service, they slowly forget the dead. Jesus said, “do this in remembrance of me.” But often people unaware add two words on this command. Then it becomes “do this in remembrance of MY DEATH.” For this reason, the hymns we often sing at the communion are those only bring us to think of the lonely Cross on Golgotha and let us stay at the shadow of the horrible death when we receive the Lord’s Super. Actually, Jesus did not say “remember my death” but “do this in remembrance of ME.” We can think of Jesus from many angles: submission, humility, self-sacrifice, glory, authority, power, status, His birth, His death, resurrection, ascension, return, and more. Each time we receive the Lord’s Super, we can try to use different perspectives and themes to remember Christ. We can pick an appropriate hymn matching the specific theme to remember the Lord. Each time the hymn can display one aspect of the Lord’s glory. Then Communion is no longer just death and bitterness, but is a display of the Lord’s glory. It lets our hearts face toward His throne. Communion is for remembering the Lord, thinking of the Lord who is still living and loving us. Let Him attract us again with His abundance. We will admire Him and love Him more each time.
4. Communion is not a repentance meeting— Some people have been afraid to take the Lord’s Super because they are particularly conscious of their sins, and don’t want to “eat and drink judgment” (1 Corinthians 11:29). They continue confessing sins when receiving elements or simply refuse Communion. This quite misses the meaning of Communion. Communion time is not for us to remember our sins, but rather to remember the Lord who washes away our sin with His great love. Before going to the Lord’s Supper, we can confess our sins and repent in front of the Lord and deal with the sins. When the Lord’s Super begins, we no longer pray regarding our sins, but completely focus on Christ to remember Him and praise Him.
5. Communion is the climax of worship— Communion is to help us discover how glorious and lovely the Lord is. It elevates our hearts to admire the Lord and love the Lord. We need to use worshipful spirit to give honor, glory, authority, and power to Jesus Christ. We join with heavenly worship of the Lamb that was slain (Revelation 5). Let the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords receive glory and be exalted. This is the ultimate goal of Communion. Roman Catholics view Communion as the church’s most important part of worship; ‘Mass’ means remembering the Lord. We need to agree with this point. It is a pity that they overly elevate the bread and the cup. They called it “Holy Body” and “Holy Blood”. They consider the bread as the physical body of Christ and the cup as the physical blood of Christ. Eating the bread is literally eating the flesh of the Lord. And drinking the cup is literally drinking the blood of Jesus. But the Lord’s blood is too holy, so only the priest can drink the cup. Their understanding is that eating the holy body of Jesus can receive favor from the Father. For us, if we only think of “what we can get” before the table of the Lord’s Supper, then is selfishness, not true worship. The goal of worship is not what we can gain. But when we worship, what does the Lord receive? True worship is whether the Lord receives the glory and praise that He deserves. Does the Lord gain me? Most churches consider the elements as symbols, a type of the Lord’s body and blood. We know that eating the small piece of bread is not the most important thing, drinking the small cup is not the most important thing either. The most important thing is: Do I know Christ better and gain Christ through the bread and cup? Do I receive new insight in front of Him? During the service, is Christ being exalted? Is His heart pleased because of our worship? This is the key of Communion and worship. At the Lord’s Super, we sing to remember the Lord and worship the Lord. The hymns should not only limit to Christ’s suffering. We can sing any hymns that help us know Christ’s glory, and lead us to exalt the Lord. We can also remember and worship the Lord through prayers. The prayers at the Communion ought not be for church ministries and personal needs. They should be Christ-centered. We remember the Lord and exalt and praise Him through such prayers. The point of the bread and the cup is not for us to eat and drink. The most important is to let us remember Christ and know Christ more. The most important part is not receiving the bread or drinking the cup. The key is: Do we gain Christ through the cup and the bread? Do Christ gain us more?

It is always good that we can eat the bread and drink the cup in normal days. During the pandemic, since we are not able to go to physical churches to worship, then we cannot physically receive the elements. But as long as we have Jesus in our attention, with the bread and blood in our hearts, the features of Communion can “work” and the Lord in Heaven can receive glory. We worship with spirit and truth on earth and will be blessed when we partake in Communion. During the pandemic, when we participate in online worship, when a pastor performs the Lord’s Super, everything can remain the same, only need to change one sentence. Used to say, “This bread is the body of Jesus, broken for us. We receive with a grateful heart.” Now change to “This bread is the body of Jesus, broken for us. We receive in our hearts with a grateful heart.” The only change is adding three words “in our hearts”. And does not need to pass the elements. The most important thing is: we remember the Lord in our hearts and receive the elements in our hearts. During the pandemic, we partake the bread and the cup in this manner can display the true meaning of Communion to give Jesus more glory and we are blessed as well.

May Disciple and Coworker Training Camp (May 17-22)

Due to the pandemic, schools probably will not resume normal classes by May. We decided to hold the May Disciple and Coworker Training Camp virtually. As training camp is a camp of commitment even if it is online, the qualification for the participants is still the same as our normal training. It requires registration on time. It only can come after receiving the acceptance letter and attending fulltime. Attendees still may not be late for the camp or leave early. Pay attention during classes and keep the video camera on. Attend morning devotion, prayers in the evening, and also do homework and memorize Scriptures. Our schedule will be the same as normal. Disciple Training Camp is not just for students or new believers. As long as brothers and sisters who want to be equipped continuously before the Lord, they should come. Our speakers are Rev. Morley Lee, Rev. Tsu-Kung Chuang, Elder Eric Wu and CWC coworkers. May the Lord help more brothers and sisters willing to be equipped and preparing their hearts to come. Please register earlier and encourage others to come to study together. Our deadline is May 15. This time we did not mail registration hard copies to churches. Please download registration forms by yourself.

Lay-Minister Disciple Training Camp (May 22-25)

During the pandemic, many brothers and sisters may not be as busy as normal. It will be a good opportunity to pursue the Lord. After the pandemic, then there will be a great chance to serve! The non-believers’ hearts may be softened and more willing to listen to the Gospel. So we need to grasp this opportunity to equip ourselves. We hope that you can take advantage of the Memorial Day weekend to attend Lay-Minister Disciple Training Camp. Due to the pandemic, we also convert our camp to be held virtually. Participants need to attend fulltime still. For rules on training, please refer to the above paragraph or the registration form posted on our website. Our speakers are Rev. Tsu-Kung Chuang, Elder Eric Wu, and Elder Johnson Lee. Please remember them in your prayers. May the Lord give them words from above and strength from above that brothers and sisters can be rejuvenated and gain new strength. Please register sooner. Our deadline is May 15 also. We did not postal mail registration forms to churches because they are holding virtual worship. Please download registration forms. Please click here for details.

June Youth Disciple Training Camp (May 31- June 6)

Due to the many activities in the youth camp, many of them cannot be done virtually. With pain we decided to cancel this year’s youth camp. The invited speakers will share in December’s Winter Conference. We hope the youths can arrange time to come to this year’s Winter Conference to join with other youths to pursue the Lord together and enjoy the good time in the Lord.

August Bible Camp (July 26-August 1)

In the days of pandemic entanglement, the Books of Wisdom can really comfort our hearts. The book of Job let us understand the meaning of sufferings. Psalms teach us how to sing in the dark. Proverbs give us hearts of wisdom in order to live in the world filled with evil and suffering. Ecclesiastes teaches that even though we live in a world that all is futility, we can still live out a life filled with light from above the sun. Song of Solomon teaches us how to more practice a personal inner room life with the Lord even in all kinds of surroundings. We will study five wisdom books during this Bible Camp. Please register soon, so that you can have a few months to study those books. During the pestilence and difficult situation, you can have the peace and joy from our Heavenly Father. Participants of Bible Camp not only need to have attended Disciple Training, but only need to attend at least one disciple training camp within two years. If you wish to attend August Bible Camp, but have not attended any disciple training camp before, please grasp the opportunity to register May Disciple and Coworker Training Camp or Lay-Minister Disciple Training Camp first. Our speakers are Rev. Chih-Hao Shen and Mrs. Juanna Wu. Deadline for registration is June 15. Many brothers and sisters have turned in their registration forms in January and started to prepare diligently. The participants will start to write the assigned topics from June 1. So please do not delay if you wish to attend. This time we did not postal mail application forms to churches. Please download registration forms by yourself.

Prayer during the Pandemic:

The pandemic does not come by chance. There is God’s will in it. This is the days of God at work to let people recognize their own sins and helplessness that their bodies and spirit can be healed together. They will turn to the Lord to bring glory to the God’s name. Since the pestilence is in God’s plan, we should earnestly pray for the Lord’s will be done. Jesus taught us to pray like this:” Hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” Each Sunday evening, we will have online prayer meeting focusing on the pandemic. We will also have devotional sharing and Bible study to let God’s words nourish our hearts so that we can gain strength to be the prayer warriors. We also pray that God’s will be done on earth as in heaven so that our bodies and spirit can be healed and be revived vigorously. Zoom prayer meeting is held every Sunday at 6:30pm (US Central time), Meeting ID is 8110999917. If you need a password, please text me at 573-999-6235. Please join us.

Prayer Requests :

1. Pray for May disciple and coworker training camp. Even though we are doing it online, we pray the Lord to let brothers and sisters attend with committed hearts. We also pray that all the participants can pursue the Lord concentratedly, study each lesson faithfully so that they will be used by the Lord during these difficult days.
2. Pray for May Lay-minister disciple training camp that the Lord will raise more lay ministers to become the watchmen in trials and lead others to the Lord. God’s kingdom will be expanded. Even though this camp is held in virtual meeting form, may the Lord raise more people to commit themselves to Christ in the camp, and to serve the Lord’s kingdom all their whole lives in the future.
3. Pray for all the speakers of both May Discipleship Training and the Lay-Minister Training. They are Rev. Morley Lee, Rev. Tsu-Kung Chuang, Elder Eric Wu, and Elder Johnson Lee. May the Lord give them words and strength. Pray the Lord to use them greatly even with online format so that they can build up more faithful servants for the Lord to lead others during the last days.
4. Pray for the youths in the Midwest. Even though they cannot attend this year’s youth disciple training camp, they will continue to pursue the Lord. May God give their parents wisdom to lead their children.
5. May the Lord help Pastor Ko to pursue the Lord more on one hand, one the other hand to use literatures to communicate with other churches during the pandemic. Pray the Lord that in the Lord that he will bring good results. May the Lord also bless Pastor Ko’s whole family.
6. Pray the Lord to help CWC coworkers to use online worship each week to bring good fruits and provide the spiritual needs for the brothers and sisters.
7. Pray for the ministry of brother Qinglong Liang. Even though he cannot step out of the home, but almost every day, he uses the internet to have individual meetings or church meetings. May the Lord strengthen him and keep his whole family.
8. Pray for the American coworkers for maintenance and building ministry. During the pandemic, praise the Lord! they still faithfully continue to serve to prepare CWC camp to be a place to bless others as a long term base. May God bless the works of their hands.
9. Pray for campus ministry during the pandemic. May the Lord use this time to build up more student coworkers and prepare them in the new semester to be used by the Lord to become influential coworkers.
10. Pray for campus ministry after the pandemic. The student numbers may be expected to drop due to visa situation. But we pray the Lord to help each student to have a softer heart to accept the Lord after experiencing this century disaster.
11. For this reason, we expect to face a time of change in the next semester. May God give us vision to win more disciples of this new generation.
12. May God raise new coworkers to serve the Lord with us during the new challenge to win more souls.
13. Pray for this month’s financial needs of CWC. May the Lord move more brothers and sisters’ hearts to support our ministry in prayers and offerings.
14. Pray for the planning of August and September’s short term mission teams. We expect that students need the Gospel even more after the pandemic. May the Lord prepare and equip each mission team member to win more souls for Him.
15. May God let all people turn their eyes upon Jesus during the pandemic. May our whole bodies and spirit can be healed, and God’s kingdom will be expanded.

May the Lord keep our bodies away from the virus during these “stay at home” days. Our soul can be protected from the attraction of the world’s evil force. Keep our spirit away from the king of the world that we whole ourselves can turn to this King of Kings Lord Jesus!

In Him,
Pastor Billy Ko