W4CAA will hold a Bible conference in Princeton this summer, 1–2 July 2017, to the theme “The Mystery of the Kingdom of God”. We encourage all to attend at the main site in Princeton, but one-day participation (1 July) is also available at our satellite sites or through your own Internet connection.
At the main site, hear the Gospel of Mark expounded by Sam Tsang, Ph.D., and preached by Joel Ristuccia, M.Div.; study the parables in Mark with a group (and have the opportunity to be trained to lead a systematically inductive Bible study); worship God according to the solid, scriptural piety of the Book of Common Prayer; and deliberate with Richard Yen, Ph.D., M.D., and George Shen, M.S., on matters of faith.
Please register online if possible (online payment is available now) Online registration is now closed, so please pay on site by check; walk-in registration at the main site will be available 1–2 July at Princeton Theological Seminary’s library, and 1 July only at satellite sites.
Tell your friends with this letter-sized poster.
For additional information, please write to Tony Chan or Lue-Yee Tsang.
Conference schedule
All events are noted in Eastern Daylight Time (EDT). The opening ceremony for west coast sites, therefore, begins at 10:15 Pacific Daylight Time (PDT).
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Speakers
Sam Tsang, Ph.D., teaches preaching and New Testament at Hong Kong Baptist Theological Seminary and at Ambrose University. He has written close to 40 books in English and Chinese on biblical studies and pastoral matters. His ability to speak in English and Chinese has granted him audiences in Asia, Australasia, Europe, Africa, and all across North America. Please follow him at engagescriptures.org or facebook.com/drsamtsang, or on Instagram @drsamtsang.
Joel Ristuccia, M.Div., is chaplain of Manna Christian Fellowship at Princeton University. Before joining Manna’s staff in 2011, Joel ministered on staff at the Moody Church in Chicago, IL, in young-adult ministry, small-group ministry, and men’s ministry. He received his B.A. in economics from Washington University in St. Louis and an M.Div. from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School with a focus on pastoral leadership and teaching. Before being called to ministry, Joel spent three years as a management consultant for hospitals and health systems. Joel married his wife, Janet, on 07-07-07, and they have one daughter and one son. In his spare time he enjoys swimming, sports, reading, eating (especially when Janet is cooking), and spending time with his family.
Richard Yen, Ph.D., M.D., who will be speaking on site in Princeton, is well known for his involvement with the West Coast Chinese Christian Conference (WCCCC), for which he has served as staff, and as speaker and advisor, since 1971; he is also the founder and chairman of the W4C Alumni Association (W4CAA). Dr. Yen obtained his Ph.D. degree in 1976 from the University of California, Berkeley, and researched human genetics at the University of California, San Diego. After practicing anæsthesia for 25 years at Kaiser Permanente, he took early retirement in May 2012. He is the CEO and founder of a privately held company specializing in the development of artificial platelets that can be used in cancer patients and in patients exposed to lethal doses of irradiation, such as after a nuclear event. Dr. Yen is the sole inventor of more than 30 US and international patents.
George Shen was born in Shanghai, China, and grew up in Hong Kong. He went to the University of Illinois, Chicago, to study information engineering. Receiving the Lord in his junior year changed his life, and included a major change to materials engineering. Between his B.S. and M.S. programs at the U. of I., he went to study at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago for a year, where he met his future wife Lois. He then worked as a New Product Development Manager and Clinical Affairs on orthopedic implants for a subsidiary of Bristol Myers, and holds 5 patents. After moving to California, he worked as a sales representative of orthopedic implants for Bristol Myers’s subsidiary Pfizer and Stryker. He has served as a Sunday school teacher since college, and for many years as a translator for Chinese churches, conferences, and books. George is a member of the Global Edenics Team in Chinese and contributed to the book The Origin of Speeches, Intelligent Design in Languages. He has coauthored articles on dental prosthetics, orthopedic implants, and archæology. He has just been appointed by a university in southern California to the position of Adjunct Research Instructor of Orthopedic Surgery.
Alternate locations
Besides Princeton, here are some satellite sites at which the conference will be held (register as attending the conference remotely). The satellite sites are hosting the conference only on Saturday, 1 July; to hear sessions on Sunday, 2 July, you will need to connect from home. Click the pushpins to see maps for those locations.
East Coast
University City Chinese Christian Church (UCCCC)
4501 Walnut St, Philadelphia, PA 19139 📍
Site coördinator ✉ Dr. Philip Siu
Chinese Bible Church of College Park (CBCCP)
9618 Autoville Dr, College Park, MD 20740 📍
Site coördinator ✉ Key Mak
West Coast
Seattle Chinese Alliance Church (SCAC)
2803 S. Orcas St, Seattle, WA 98108 📍
Site coördinator ✉ Andy Chung
First Chinese Baptist Church (FCBC)
942 Yale St, Los Angeles, CA 90012 📍
Site coördinator ✉ Cheuk Choi
And possibly elsewhere.
Registration
Registration is available online. Please register and pay as soon as you can, so that you don’t miss the deadline!
| On-site individual | Online individual | |
|---|---|---|
| Early-bird (by 14 May), Nonstudent |
$75, 2 days; $45, 1 day. |
$45, 2 days; $27, 1 day. |
| Early-bird (by 14 May), Student |
$45, 2 days; $27, 1 day. |
$27, 2 days; $16.20, 1 day. |
| Early-bird (by 1 Jun.), Nonstudent |
$100, 2 days; $60, 1 day. |
$60, 2 days; $36, 1 day. |
| Early-bird (by 1 Jun.), Student |
$60, 2 days; $36, 1 day. |
$36, 2 days; $21.60, 1 day. |
| Standard (2–28 Jun.), Nonstudent |
$125, 2 days; $75, 1 day. |
$75, 2 days; $45, 1 day. |
| Standard (2–28 Jun.), Student |
$75, 2 days; $45, 1 day. |
$45, 2 days; $27, 1 day. |
Those who register to attend the conference remotely will need high-speed Internet to connect to the conference through GoToMeeting.
Lodging
Conference attendees who require lodging will need to book their own rooms at the Erdman Center.
Opening Speech
Brethren in Christ, last year the alumni association of the West Coast Chinese Christian Conference held its Thematic Bible Conference in Princeton for the first time. Having our origins in a west coast conference held in the winter, which by God’s grace has continued from 1969, last year we established here an east coast conference held in the summer. Thus, for the benefit of the whole Church, the Lord saw fit to give us not only a winter conference for the west coast but also a summer conference for the east coast, where those made holy by faith in his Name might be equipped to better understand and obey the Scriptures. Together we presented our daily sacrifices of praise in Morning and Evening Prayer, heard expositions from Benjamin Alley on the background of the Gospel of Mark, studied the six places in which the Gospel of Mark mentioned the gospel, and learned to create and facilitate Bible studies straight from the text; we also were challenged by Dr Richard Yen’s thoughts on biological science and Genesis, as well as on God’s ordinance of marriage. In short, last summer’s Thematic Bible Conference was a success. Today, people in Princeton, Philadelphia, College Park, Seattle, and Los Angeles are joined together in the second Thematic Bible Conference to be held in Princeton.
I thank you all for coming to this year’s conference, and I welcome you all to learn and contribute. Without you, there would be no conference this year. The word of the Lord stands for ever, but those who believe and obey this word show forth its glory in the world. The Word was with God in the beginning, even when darkness was over the face of the deep; but, as King David says to God, ‘I will declare thy name unto my brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee.’ For this is the end to which we hold this conference: that knowing and learning to love the God’s word we may be moved to praise him, not only with our lips, but in our lives, by giving up our selves to his service, and by walking before him in holiness and righteousness all our days. What is a mystery in the darkness, the kingdom of God, becomes manifest in the light. This mystery, says St Paul the Apostle, hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: to whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. It is to him that we devote ourselves, and at this year’s conference we seek to know the mystery of his kingdom.
And I am sure that those who are attending this conference will pray earnestly, listen attentively, and study carefully. Today, we have the privilege of hearing expositions of the Gospel of Mark by Dr Sam Tsang, speaking from Seattle. Dr Tsang teaches preaching and New Testament, and has written close to 40 books, in English and Chinese, on biblical studies and pastoral matters. Tomorrow, we will get to hear the word of God preached by Joel Ristuccia, chaplain of Princeton University’s Manna Christian Fellowship. Joel has been with Manna since 2011 and guided many a student here in the ways of God. Let me also welcome Dr Richard Yen, who has come to us from California. Dr Yen is well known for his involvement with the West Coast Chinese Christian Conference, for which he has served as staff, and as speaker and advisor, since 1971. As the founder and chairman of the W4C Alumni Association (W4CAA), he has also created the training videos for inductive Bible study leaders which we are using this weekend. Thanks to all of our speakers this weekend.
It is my prayer that in these two days, and beyond these two days, we will draw near to God, casting aside what we think we know in order to see his reign, his kingship, his kingdom, as it truly is. By seeing his kingdom, our hearts may see the foundation of the world, see his splendour and eternity, see his beauty, kindness, and severity, and see the very face of God, which before Christ no man was pure enough to see and live. Let us think upon the things of God’s reign, that we may draw near to him with the purity of faith. In the words of the pastor and poet George Herbert,
Love bade me welcome. Yet my soul drew back
Guilty of dust and sin.
But quick-eyed Love, observing me grow slack
From my first entrance in,
Drew nearer to me, sweetly questioning,
If I lacked any thing.
A guest, I answered, worthy to be here:
Love said, You shall be he.
I the unkind, ungrateful? Ah my dear,
I cannot look on thee.
Love took my hand, and smiling did reply,
Who made the eyes but I?
Truth Lord, but I have marred them: let my shame
Go where it doth deserve.
And know you not, says Love, who bore the blame?
My dear, then I will serve.
You must sit down, says Love, and taste my meat:
So I did sit and eat.