'I Believe' to draw Christian leaders
Advertiser Staff
Hawaiian Islands Ministries' "I Believe" conference is bringing together several of Bill Clinton's spiritual advisers and other key figures in Christian circles for a three-day ecumenical event April 4-6 at the Hawai'i Convention Center.
"In light of 9/11, our theme is 'I Believe,'" said the Rev. Dan Chun, senior pastor of First Presbyterian on O'ahu, who founded Hawaiian Island Ministries.
"When people are depressed, they say seeing is believing. We believe in the reverse, if you believe in a God who is loving, you'll see."
The conference will draw lay leaders and pastors for Christian churches from around O'ahu and the Neighbor Islands, as well as some from the West Coast, he said.
Chun said last year's conference drew 3,600 people from 81 denominations and more than 425 churches, one of the largest such conferences in the state.
This year's goal, post-Sept. 11, is to counter the effects of terrorism and violence on families and interpersonal relationships, said Chun, who noted that domestic violence tends to rise in wartime.
"We'll talk about anger management; how to have a family that can stay together; troubled youth; how churches respond to the homeless; and those in need of shelter," he said.
On the speakers' list for his organization's 14th annual conference:
• Bill Hybels, who spearheaded the mega-church phenomenon, is pastor of Willow Creek Association, a 16,000-member church near Chicago.
"He would build a church for the unchurched, or seekers," said Chun, adding that the international speaker was a counselor to Clinton.
• Tony Campolo, another spiritual adviser to the former president, is an author and speaker who is professor emeritus of sociology at Eastern College in Pennsylvania.
• Josh McDowell, whose message is aimed at youth, is an author and evangelist from Dallas.
• Tony Evans, the senior pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas and founder of the Urban Alternative, a Christian ministry which advocates social action in depressed urban areas, is another author and speaker.
• Marilyn Hontz is a North Carolina speaker and retreat leader.
• Larry Crabb, a psychologist and speaker, is founder/director of New Way Ministries, a ministry based in Colorado.
There will be more than 40 speakers in all, leading 95 seminars. Seminar topics range from prayer, theology and worship to parenting, counseling, finances, leadership, relationships and business.
The conference also will have a youth angle to it. Besides a youth educational track, the conference will include a Youth Jam 2002 concert and rally for students ages 13 to 19. The four-part music, comedy and multi-media program will be in the evening on school days, but all day Saturday, and is being presented jointly by the ministries group and Youth for Christ. Geoff Moore, a Christian musician from the Mainland, will be performing at the concert April 6.
Registration is $169 ($50 for pastors and $20 for their spouses), $85 for full-time college/adult students and $149 per person for alumni of previous conferences and for groups of five or more. Rates will increase after Jan. 1; scholarships will be available for students. Tickets for the Youth Jam are $10.
Register online at www.himonline.org, or call Hawaiian Islands Ministries at 988-9777 or, off-island, (877) 998-9777.
