On 23–25 June 2017, Hope Church Brisbane held their annual Church Conference themed “Encounter”, at Unidus Community Centre. This year’s speakers were our very own Pastor Wilson Lim, Pastor Lai Ling, Pastor Joshua, Pastor Torch, and sister May. The focus was on teaching the truth about God and the different aspects of God’s relationship with us, to reveal God’s heart to us, and thus providing delegates the opportunity to encounter God personally and experience breakthrough spiritually through God’s word, worship, baptism of the Holy Spirit, inner healing and deliverance.
The conference kick-started with a vibrant praise and worship session, followed by Pastor Lai Ling sharing about “Encountering the Father’s Love” and reminding us about who our Heavenly Father is to us – He is the Healer, the Restorer, the Provider, the Lover, and the Relational Father. She encouraged us to come to God and open our hearts to Him to encounter His love as His children. The next night, Pastor Lai Ling preached her heart on “Inner Healing”, where she reminded us that God is the Restorer of lives: He loves us and seeks to break our bondages, treat our wounds and heal us, and see us living a life of freedom and purpose. Many hearts responded to God on both nights and many divine exchanges happened at the altar. Many ones experienced the love of God and His healing so tangibly.
Pastor Wilson shared rich insight on “Delighting in God who Delights in us” about how God loves to delight in us. He encouraged us to in turn also learn to delight in God, and that includes even when we are walking through the darkest valleys and tough times. It is really in that most difficult time, that as we delight in God, we will truly encounter Him. Pastor Wilson also shared in his sermon on “Finding our Purpose in Life” about our purpose in life: to worship God, to be a part of God’s family, to become like Christ through discipleship, to serve God through ministry, and to be involved in evangelism and missions.
Pastor Joshua preached on “The Grace of God – our special relationship with Him”, where he brought insight to delegates on how ‘grace’ and ‘faith’ goes hand-in-hand. In essence faith is grace in action – it is the grace of God that enables us to have faith in God. Sister May shared on “The Glad Heart of God”, where she shared with the delegates that God really likes us and takes delight in us, and when catch God’s heart for us, we will begin to enjoy God as well, and eventually others are drawn to God through us. Pastor Torch shared about “God’s Leadership over our lives” – how the enemy is constantly trying to get us to accuse God, yet no matter what we go through and even in the hardest times, God’s leadership is still perfect over our lives, just as how Jesus had completely surrendered Himself to His Father’s leadership when He said “…Yet not as I will, but as You will”.
Throughout the conference, there were many powerful praise and worship sessions, allowing people to soak in worship. The presence of God could be felt so tangibly. It was truly a divine exchange as willing hearts sought to encounter God and truly felt His love through worship. There was also creative live skit presentations setting the path connecting to the subsequent sermons. Delegates also broke out into their respective breakout sessions, all focusing on encountering God through various ways: encounter the presence of God, encounter the power of the Holy Spirit, encounter God’s deliverance, and encounter God in His vision for success.
The children were not left out either! Happening concurrently was the fun-filled and inspirational Kids Conference “Quest” which provided children the opportunity to learn about God and encounter Him even from a very young age, participate in engaging praise and worship sessions, various team-building activities, games, making arts and crafts, and a very exciting Campfire set up with a Tent at night where the children had a good time singing songs and roasting marshmallows over the fire. It was heart-warming to see the children bonding so well with each other, and so eager to learn about God throughout the conference.
The “Encounter” Conference was truly a blessing to all who were present. Many encountered an incredible wave of God’s presence, love, and healing. Many hearts were inspired, and many lives impacted and transformed! The conference concluded with another energetic heart-pumping praise session, with delegates praising the Lord with their whole hearts for what He has done and accomplished in us, and will continue to do!
Grace Ngu, Hope Church Brisbane