We are grateful for the chance to participate in the Increase Association’s strategic regional workshop (SRW) in Malaysia, specifically hosted at the Malaysia Bible Seminary Retreat and Training Center.
My wife and I, together with Anneta Vyzotskaya and Lewis Varley, are representing TEE Aotearoa. Jewel and I felt odd seeing “New Zealand” on our name tags for a moment, but we realised the NZ delegates are a multicultural bunch.
During a meet and greet, someone asked me, “Are you native to New Zealand?” I smiled and responded with a tinge of longing, “I wish, but I’m originally from the Philippines.”
Well, if in doubt, why not ask? 🙂
According to the Increase Association, this is their largest 2024 strategic regional workshop (SRW). More than 50+ delegates from Southeast Asia and Oceania member organisations are attending. They came from the Philippines, Myanmar, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, and New Zealand. There are guests from Japan, Indonesia and Vietnam.
Graham Aylett, Increase Association’s General Secretary, explains more about the SRWs in his newsletter:
“The main way that we’ve been working to serve the members of the Increase Association in 2024 is through four Strategic Regional Workshops. We’ve worked to bring together small leadership teams from our member organisations and some selected guests. The first two workshops were in April (Thailand) and June (Egypt), and two more are due to take place in Malaysia (August, for member organisations in South East Asia and Oceania) and Central Asia (September, for member organisations in Eurasia).“
The sessions in the five-day gathering include holistic training/mentoring, diaspora, connecting with other training programmes, soul care, and orality.
What amazes us, talking with several co-delegates and learning about their ministry, is the Gospel discipleship work advancing and progressing in the represented countries.
I met and talked to a CEO who organises TEE groups and conducts sessions despite his busy schedule. A couple had been doing TEE sessions with migrants for many years. I must talk to them more.
One of our goals in attending the SRW is to learn from other’s experiences in conducting TEE discipleship programs. We will learn more inspiring discipleship stories in the next few days.
Interestingly, these Gospel works happen mainly through local missions and missionaries cooperating with mission partners from home country and abroad.
Attending the SRW, we are happy to be part of a bigger undertaking by a network of organisations working together regardless of denomination.
At the same time, we are humbled to see that what we all do, individually or collectively, is only a drop in the bucket of God’s vast work. There is so much work to be done.
Praying for strength and wisdom for us, other delegates, and resource persons as we go through the five-day seminary.
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