The What and Whys of the Weekender
The Weekender is round the corner! From 11 to 14 September, a group of pastors, elders and ministry workers from Singapore and around the region will be at GBC. But what is a Weekender? And why are we holding it?
What do pastors and elders struggle with?
As part of the registration process for this year’s Weekender, participants were also asked to share their prayer requests. From what was shared, we can get a sense of the challenges that these elders – both lay and staff – and ministry workers face.
Why
Some challenges could be at a more personal and familial level – the salvation of loved ones, parenting, health struggles. There are also challenges of ministry, which can be summarised as:
Wisdom and guidance in leadership
Church growth and health
Theological discernment
Raising up leaders (elders, deacons, volunteers)
Church planting initiatives
Provision for church buildings or spaces
Gospel proclamation and discipleship
It can be challenging and hard work for pastors out in the field. Pastoring is always spiritual work, and that in itself is a task filled with difficulties – even spiritual battles.
How can we support gospel work to see it grow, last and expand? How can we encourage gospel workers in Singapore and beyond?
What
This is why we hold the Weekender! We know how challenging and difficult it can be for pastors and hope to be able to encourage and strengthen them in their work and ministry. In doing so, we pray that pastors can continue holding out the gospel, and the gospel preached will bear fruit.
We held the inaugural session last year with about 50 participants from the region. This year, we are looking forward to holding it from 11 to 14 September. This year, we are looking forward to hosting 90 participants from 45 churches and 11 countries. These participants hail from all over Asia – neighbouring South-east Asian countries, South Asia and Northeast Asia.
For 4 days, participants will come together to learn about what it means to be a church. Through a series of talks and discussions, they will learn about how the gospel shapes a community. There will also be talks on the practical nuts and bolts of church life: biblical eldership and raising up elders, lay eldering, corporate worship, preaching and church membership.
These participants will also have the option to attend workshops on various specific ministries in the church. These include children, youth and young adults, women, and pastoral counselling. There are also workshops with a more outward focus: missions, church revitalisation and church planting.
During their time here, they will also get the opportunity to observe some aspects of our life together as a church. The participants will observe our elders’ meeting, attend Church Matters, worship with us during our Sunday Service, and observe our Members’ Meeting that weekend. Through this, we hope that they will be able to make connections between what they have learned and discussed about and how it can be applied in real-life. It might not look the same in their church and local community, but we hope that they will leave the Weekender encouraged that God can work among His people to build His church.
Pastoring is people-work and it can be tiring, and it is also important to do so in a team. We hope that by bringing pastors, elders, and ministry workers together to learn and discuss with one another, they will be able to build relationships, encourage and be encouraged by fellow believers who are also labouring for the gospel. Even in the New Testament, we see Paul write about his desire to visit the churches to encourage them and to see how they are doing. Their presence and friendship also served to encourage him. To the church in Rome, Paul writes, “so that by God’s will I may come to you with joy and be refreshed in your company” (Rom 15:32). As Philippians 1:5 shows us, Paul did not labour alone and was thankful for the gospel partnership of the Philippians. We hope that the participants will make gospel connections to other churches in their counties and region, and relationships established here can grow and deepen after the Weekender.
Ways we can participate
We have the opportunity to show hospitality to these participants. We are thankful that some have already volunteered to host the participants on Saturday, 13 September. We will all have a chance to get to know them on Sunday, when we all come together to worship our God together. Welcome them, say hi and find out more about the churches that they are from and how to encourage them in their ministries.
Stay for the Members’ Meeting and the lunch after too! Lunch will be a good opportunity to meet them and other church members. To help in planning, do sign up here by 9 September!
As a church, we can all participate by praying. Pray that
Participants will travel and arrive safely, and also be kept safe throughout the Weekender. There is a lot of logistics and movement involved to get 90 participants to and from church.
Teachers will prepare well and teach and speak clearly from Scripture.
Participants will learn, be built up, encouraged and leave with a deeper love for God’s church. Pray that they will be able to better serve and love their local churches when they return.
Let us pray that we can serve and encourage fellow brothers in Christ, that they may be built up and refreshed for their work back in their local church.