01 Jan 2006

January 2006 - Let My People THINK

International Conference for Youth on Apologetics, Bali, Indonesia.

Let My People THINK
International Conference for Youth on Apologetics, Bali, Indonesia
1-4 August 2005

Joanna KovilpillaiObjective
The main objective of the conference, which was clearly portrayed through its theme "Let My People THINK!", was to provide a clear and concise picture of Christianity today as well as a comparison between us and other religious co-existing with us. 

Other objectives were to prepare us as Christians to witness and to answer to whoever questions our beliefs in Christ with Biblical truths and wisdom, to share our faith and develop a better understanding of what it is to be a Christian.

Participation
The conference was attended by al-most 400 young people from as many as 15 Countries, mostly ASEAN countries as well as the US and the UK, Canada and Australia. There were about 30 representatives from Malaysia alone.

Our Conference was represented by two people from the Methodist Young Adult Fellowship (MYAF) and another two from the Methodist Youth Fellowship (MYF). I was given the honour, together with Rev. James Ravindaren, to represent the MYF. Although called a youth conference, there was no target age group as there were many older people who attended the conference.

Speakers
The team of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries did a wonderful job of imparting knowledge on the sensitive and often ignored topic of "Apologetics". Each team member had an area of expertise of their own and handled the workshops, challenge hour, bible studies and sermons in a professional and informative way.

They allowed time for discussions and questions and even entertained enquiries from participants during their meal breaks. 

Workshops
The workshops were divided into 7 categories, namely Atheism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Post-Modernism, Science, Islam and Sexuality. These workshops were held every evening and provided a cozy atmosphere where intellectual questions were raised and indepth reasoning needed to be applied. As there was a shortage of time, each participant could only attend the 2 workshops that they were most interested in.

Fellowship
The nights were the most fun as we were taken to a gospel meeting with 2 thousand people where we were treated to live music and invigorating worship. There was also a guest appearance by one of Indonesia's most famous actors, Ari Wiboyo who happened to be a participant in the conference.

We also had a cultural presentation night at another location where we were served a variety of local and international food by the beach. Each country's representatives also presented an item on their culture, clad in their traditional attire.

Joanna Kovilpillai
MYF Secretary, TAC