Ministry Highlight: The City Conference

This spring, Praxis and 2:42 are joining with other churches in the area to host The City Conference – a conference geared towards career young-adult singles. Registration is still open and scholarships are available – but are you not sure if the City Conference is for you? Pastor Brian Chang, planning lead behind the conference and ministry head of Praxis, hopes to answer some questions for you!

Megan: How did the City Conference get started? 

Pastor Brian: Well, it’s been something that we’ve been trying to do for a long time now. Pastor Eric Lau (now with Zoe Community Church) had floated the idea a lot before he left, and the elders really have a heart for young adult ministry. Plus, we’ve had a growing population of single adults at Lighthouse so it felt like the natural thing to do, to finally do something that will unite all the single adults in the church over a topic that really hits home. Immanuel Bible Church approached us about doing a singles conferencea while back and that was enough for us to take the plunge! We also know that most churches don’t have the resources to have pastors oversee single adult ministry, so we wanted to find a way to bless other churches as well. So….that’s how CityConference started. It’s crazy. Too much crazy.

M: Give me a basic rundown of what the conference will entail – topics, speaker, small groups, etc.

PB: Dude, so much going on, it’s gonna be crazy awesome. This year our topic is “Singleness, Stewardship, and the Glory of God,” and Pastor Kim will be preaching three messages along those lines. I’m really excited to have Pastor Kim speaking because he’s one of the best thinkers I know, and I know he’s thought a lot about the issues that single adults face. For those who don’t know, Pastor Kim oversaw a singles group in his younger years in ministry so he’s had a lot of time to think through singleness. We’ve invited numerous churches to join us, so we’re really looking forward to seeing people from all over California at theconference!

We’ll have plenty of activities throughout the weekend in addition to the messages: worship, organized games, missionary sharing, and breakout discussion groups after each message. I’m also really excited because we’ll be partnering with OMF and Erin Kawaye to participate in a service project for some missionaries in Indonesia. It’s going to be awesome! The deadline to sign up is April 10th though, so sign up today!

M: Who is this conference geared towards? 

PB: YOU. Yes, YOU. Seriously though… YOU.

Single adults. All single adults. We’re expecting mostly single adults between 22-40 (which is a big range, I know), but everyone is invited! Anyone who would be encouraged by this topic is welcome. Come on out, sit under God’s word, and have some fun with other single adults from likeminded churches!

M: What are you most excited for?

PB: So, so much. David Lee and Daichi Tsuruta are leading worship for us, so that’s awesome. We have some coffee snobs making coffee for us in the mornings, so that’s super exciting. Pastor Kim is preaching, so that’s amazing. We’re in Orange County (with a shuttle to Downtown Disney for free time), so that’s magnificent. And there’s 100+ single adults getting together to hear from God’s word and grow in how they steward that season of life, so that’s spectacular. If I could roll everything awesome into one weekend, this would be it.

M: How can the church family be praying for the City Conference? 

PB: Since this is Lighthouse’s first conference with multiple churches, there’s much to pray for!

  • Pray for Pastor Kim’s messages: pray for him in his preparation, and for his family as he prepares messages in addition to his regular responsibilities.
  • Pray for the attendees: pray for humble hearts that desire to grow and change.
  • Pray for the logistics: pray for the staffs and those in charge of the conference. There’s a lot that goes into making this happen, so please pray for grace!

(Congrats, you made it this far!)
Here’s a music video for your enjoyment! Enjoy the facial hair.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWQ4thTS2kA

If you have any more questions about the City Conference, please feel free to contact the church. Hope to see you there!