On June 30-July 2, the River of Life Christian Church in Santa Clara, CA, held their eighth annual meeting, Ling Leung Conference, with the theme “Into the Season of Restoration,” with over 1,600 online registrations and over 200 drop-ins, from all over the world, which included Hong Kong, Taiwan, Africa, Canada, and Argentina, to attend the church’s largest event of the year.
When the church prayed for this year’s theme, “restoration” came up symbolically,
With the recent death of Pope John Paul II, Billy Graham’s retirement, and the war in Iraq, “we are experiencing a spiritual season of change,” Rev. Tong Liu, senior pastor of the River of Life Christian Church said.
Preparations began in February with 150 volunteers, in addition to 21 consecutive days of prayer prior to the conference.
This year’s event general director Eric Wang, told our reporters, “Everything is planned on paper, so everyone will know what they are suppose to be doing.” They had years of experience and everything was clearly outlined, but the Ling Leung Conference did have its share of mishaps. An example He gave was that he found that the flags for the conference were disporportioned to the poles in their parking lot. One of the staff on board recommended them to a taylor, and coincidently the taylor was also a regular attendant of ROLCC. The taylor dedicated an entire night fixing the flags so that they maybe raised the next day. Mr. Wang smiled and confessed, this is “obviously God’s blessing.”
When asked about his view of the conference, Rev. Liu replied, “People come because of the theme; they need restoration in their lives.”
Restoring relationships was the focus for Saturday’s evening sermon, delivered by Rev. Shenzhu Chou, the senior pastor of Taipei Bread of Life Christian Church, the largest church in Taiwan. He asked the congregation if they wanted to see the relationships in their lives restored. The crowded room of attendants responded, “Amen.”
At the end, Rev. Chou asked the couples to stand in order for them to renew their vows. Many couples stood and joined hands with one another as the husbands repeated after the pastor.
