The general secretary-designate of the Chinese Coordination Center of World Evangelism (CCCOWE) speaks at the New England Regional Retreat held in Boston.
Over 500 believers from around 10 Chinese churches in the New England regional retreat have attended the retreat at the Chinese Bible Church of Greater Boston (CBCGB) on March 26. Rev. Morley Lee was invited to speak on the theme "Riding on the Same Boat."
The gathering began with a short video show featuring the history of CCCOWE and the 6th Chinese Congress on World Evangelization (CCOWE). Lee pointed out that even though there is a lot of cooperation between Chinese churches, there is no true unity. He emphasized the importance of both cooperation and unity. For churches to unite in one, they must have one goal and identify the commission that God has given to the churches in this era.
With two quotations of bible verses, Lee further explained the urgency of achieving unity among churches. First of all, he quoted I Peter 5: 8: "Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour," saying that churches must be alert of the work of Satan in the end of the days for He is always trying to attack the weak, the ones who do not unite together.
In the other verse II Cor 11: 14, Lee warned of the Satan that pretends to be an angel and causes dissension among members in the church. Churches must set up a firm foundation of the truth, and when members unite together, the work of Satan can be identified clearly and confronted, Lee exhorted.
At the end of the retreat, around 20 pastors and elders from the New England region laid hands on Rev. Morley Lee and his wife and prayed for blessings as they are going to move to Hong Kong in late April to take up the new commission to lead the CCCOWE international headquarters.
Reflecting upon the CCCOWE New England Regional Retreat, representative of CCCOWE New England region and Chinese pastor of the Boston Chinese Evangelical Church Rev. Daniel Chan commented that the retreat was very encouraging, describing the scene when Rev. Lee knelt down and received the prayer of blessings from all leaders very "touching."
"All ministers have expressed their hope to be more united with churches in the New England region. Although there are a lot of difficulties in reality, I believe that we can overcome everything through persistent prayers and cooperation," Chan said.
A retreat for all ministers and pastors of the New England region was convened to promote unity and cooperation on April 27-28. Rev. Lee and his wife were invited as keynote speakers.
