• Conference Brochure
  
  
• Conference Schedule
  
  
• Workshop Synopsis
  
  
• Conference Fees
  
  
• Registration Form (PDF Download)
  
  
• Furama Riverfront Map

Organized by BGST

In partnership with:

BGST Annual Conference 2010

Towards
A Shared Marketplace
Theology

1-3 July 2010 - Furama RiverFront Hotel

Theme & Synopsis

This conference seeks to bridge the gap between clergy and laity in the definition, understanding and outworking of marketplace theology in the Singapore context today. It seeks to create a common platform for shared dialogue, and for both sides to listen to each other’s worldview and perspective of what marketplace theology means and the accompanying challenges it presents. The conference strongly believes that both clergy and laity need to work closely together to develop a practical theology for the marketplace that can be both taught from the pulpit, and lived out in the globalised business world today.

Who should attend?
Pastors, elders, entrepreneurs, business executives, graduates entering job market and anyone looking for a framework to understand marketplace ministry. You will participate in dialogues between pastors and marketplace professionals.

	Conference Keynote Speaker: Dr Carver Yu Dr Carver Yu, Senior Pastor of Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Hong Kong and President of China Graduate School of Theology will be our keynote speaker. He will present a framework for the Conference participants to dialogue towards a shared marketplace theology in the Asian context. Dr Yu will draw from his experience in bringing clergy and laity closer together in dialogue on marketplace theology as it is being developed in Hong Kong today.
	Response Speakers: Marketplace perspective: Mr Lim Hua Min Mr Lim Hua Min is currently the Executive Chairman of Phillip Capital Group of Companies. He is a recipient of the Public Service Medal for his service as Chairman of the Stock Exchange of Singapore Review Committee. A well-respected Christian corporate business leader and local church lay leader, he will share the laity perspective of the challenges and needs that lay believers face in urgently needing a relevant theology for the marketplace that can guide and undergird their lives and actions in the business world.
	Church Perspective: Rev Dr David Wong Rev Dr David Wong served as pastor of a church in Singapore for 17 years, and then 13 years with Haggai Institute, overseeing the training in both Maui and Singapore. He has been a counsellor and mentor to hundreds of Christian leaders, from more than 150 nations. In 2006, he started Finishing Well Ministries, to help leaders move beyond mid-life to a strong finish. He serves as Leadership Mentor in The Bible Church, Supervisory Pastor in Mount Hermon BP Church and Senior Pastor of Zion Bishan BP Church. Though he is based in Singapore, he continues to travel to minister in different parts of the world. Top

Conference Schedule

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Workshop Synopsis: 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7

Day 1 (select 2 workshops from W1 to W3)

Workshop W1   What is Marketplace Mission?

Mission activities in churches are varied ranging from cross-cultural evangelization to social concerns. In recent decades, there is a growing focus on ministry and mission in the marketplace. There are several Christian groups promoting marketplace missions in Singapore. As ‘missions’ and ‘marketplace’ are two keywords that are understood from different standpoint by Christians in the Church and in the marketplace, this workshop seeks to engage both sides in this dialogue towards a common platform for understanding, appreciation and cooperation.

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Workshop W2   Calling – Can There Be A Marketplace Calling?

What do we mean when we say that God has called us? Are there biblical and theological warrants to speak of God’s call into a particular occupation? How does the awareness of being called by God impact the three basic spheres of our life in the church, home, and the marketplace? This workshop seeks to provide clarity on the issues raised in the above questions by way of a dialogue between a pastor and an entrepreneur.

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Workshop W3   Believers in Business with Pre-believers – Issues and Perspectives

All businesses exist in collaboration with multiple parties in delivering their products and services to the customers. The partnership arrangement in any business value-chain can vary from loose alliances to joint ownership. In this workshop we will look specifically at believers in business with pre-believers as joint owners of an enterprise. What are the biblical teachings for such arrangement? What are the practical business considerations? How should the decision-making be approached and what additional understanding needs to be established between believers and pre-believers? What are the underlying challenges?

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Day 2 (select 2 workshops from W4 to W7)

Workshop W4   Secular Education As Preparation for Marketplace Ministry

Ministry in the marketplace requires the working out of our Christian faith within our job scopes. However, the knowledge base and skill sets acquired for our jobs are acquired through secular education. How do we integrate the Christian faith with secular education? Can our secular education be an act of Christian worship, even a sacred activity rather than branded as “secular”? How does one orientate secular education as a form of preparation for marketplace ministry? This workshop facilitates the exploration of such pertinent questions.

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Workshop W5   The Role of the Church in the Marketplace

What is the role of the church in the marketplace? How does the church in practice prepare and support Christians who are called primarily to live out their calling in the marketplace? How does a church equip and give recognition to those called to minister and serve in the marketplace? From a marketplace standpoint, are our current church structure and church programmes a help or hindrance to marketplace ministry and missions? Conversely, how does the church deal with Christians who are caught up in the marketplace to the neglect of the work of the local church? How does the church tackle this tension? We will dialogue on these issues.

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Workshop W6  Marketplace Practices in the Church – Value Add or Not?

The Church is the body of Christ. That is the spiritual understanding. But any group that comes together will require some rules and organization especially when the church has many members. Christians who worship together in the church also work in the marketplace with different philosophy and practice, process and goals. When church leaders bring marketplace standards and practices into the church, are these value-add or worldly ways? This workshop will engage a pastor and a businessman in dialogue on the pros and cons of marketplace practices in the Church.

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Workshop W7   Marriage and Marketplace

Christians are commanded to be fruitful and multiply, to go into the world and make disciples of the nations. How do marriage and family contribute to a fruitful service in the church and marketplace? Conversely, how are they impacted, for better for worse? What are the trials and temptations faced by Christians in their marriage and family as they serve in church and the marketplace? What challenges need to be highlighted to protect marriage and family and make our witness authentic?

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Conference Fees

** conference fees includes lunches & tea breaks as per the conference schedule

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Book your seats here [Registration Form, PDF Download]

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