NEXT GEN LEADERS
STUDENTS

28 - 30 November 2025

LEADERS TRAINING WEEKEND

THE NEED

For many young men and women it is during their time as students where they can really find their faith and make steps forward in their Christian discipleship. For Chinese churches, we realise the importance of our student ministries as formative spaces that can help raise the next generation of Christian men and women to follow and serve Christ.

For those of us tasked with leading student ministries we might desire further equipping and direction in how to disciple our students and lead our fellowships faithfully. We hope to address some of these needs through this training weekend.

WHO IS IT FOR?

We invite those who are currently serving or looking to start serving in English speaking student fellowships, especially those from Chinese church and fellowship contexts. Whether you are new to serving or have been a long-time leader of your student fellowship, we aim to meet some of your training needs.

WHAT WILL IT COVER?

Through our plenary session and workshops, we will aim to touch on topics such as: the purpose of student ministry, principles of faithful biblical interpretation and Bible study leading, student discipleship, working and leading together as a student leadership committee, how to think about student outreach, and many other topics.

WEEKEND OVERVIEW

The event will begin on the Friday evening (28th) starting with dinner and an evening session and finish on the Sunday lunchtime (30th). The event will include plenary sessions, workshops, times of worship, prayer, and small group discussion times. A more detailed timetable will follow shortly.

DETAILS

Friday - Sunday
28-30 November
COCM Mission Centre (MK6 2ES)

Event starts with dinner at 6pm on Friday and ends with lunch at 1pm on Sunday

Registration Deadline: 17th November

CONFERENCE FEES

All options include meals

Saturday Only: £40

Friday & Saturday Only: £60
1 night accommodation

Full Weekend: £75
2 nights accommodation

WORKSHOPS

A workshop on how to get student ministry rolling, including building and working together as a team, programming, future planning, calendars, troubleshooting. It’ll be a mix of sharing ideas, challenges, and finding principles that might work for your context.

This workshop will be run by Bert Han who is the senior pastor at Birmingham Chinese Evangelical Church. Bert has a BA from UCLA in English Literature, a degree he no longer remembers anything about. But he does remember winning a logo design competition for the UCLA Library.

Ok, well, this workshop is a bit longer than a summary. This workshop is an overview of the New Testament books, looking into some of the background, structure, and themes of each book. We will also attempt to address a few questions about the New Testament (e.g. are the 4 gospels full of contradictions? Was Paul a misogynist?). Through this workshop we can explore some ways of interpreting scripture, and give some direction for understanding how these books can speak into our student contexts today, and also give us more confidence in sharing about the New Testament with others.

Brad grew up in Vancouver, Canada. He was called into pastoral ministry as a teenager and followed through on that after graduating from uni. In 2008, God opened up a ministry opportunity in the UK for him to serve at the London Chinese Alliance Church, where he continues to serve today. He's passionate about God's word and regularly leads in-depth studies of the bible to his church members. He's married to Joanne and has two secondary- school aged children.

Are you new to Bible study leading? Maybe you still lack confidence in how to answer questions or understand the passages that you are leading. If this is you, come along to this workshop where we will cover some basic principles of how to interpret Scripture faithfully, and also how to write and develop questions for your Bible study nights. There will be plenty of opportunity for group work to put into practice some of the skills that we learn.

Alex has been involved in student ministry for 6 years. Initially as a student leader and then 5 years on the Planning Team for 360 (The English student fellowship of the Chinese Church in London). At 360 he enjoys diving deep into the Word with students and teaching them how to read the bible. He met his wife Viv at 360 and has been married for almost 3 years. His favourite theologian is Sinclair Ferguson, who taught him to love the doctrine of Union with Christ. Outside of ministry, he is an accountant and enjoys playing table tennis and pool.

For some people, the student years can be a difficult period in their life. Whether it’s the pressure of needing to attain certain grades or secure job offers; or trying to discern the direction of their life after uni; or dealing with broken relationships; or perhaps dealing with loneliness; or many other things, many students are in need of pastoral support. As their leaders, how can we disciple our students in a healthy way? How can we walk with these people, and point them to Christ even when we don’t have all the fixes to their problems? And how can we move beyond just trying to fix problems, and help students really walk with Christ for themselves? Come along to hear from Tommy and John, as they share their experiences and advice on how we can begin to disciple our students in a Christ-like way.

Tommy is happily married to Christina and they have four children - Isaac, Benjamin, Nathanael and Abigail. They live in Dublin and attend the Chinese Gospel Church of Dublin where Tommy leads one of two English congregations as an elder. He has a team of co-leads for kids, youth, university students, young working adults and adult groups overseeing these ministries. He also works as an endocrinologist and is a lecturer with one of the medical colleges. Tommy studied at the Irish Bible Institute focusing on transformational leadership and applied theology. He is a lay preacher and is eager for Christians to learn how to handle the Word well.

John but most people call him by his full name John Ho, is the Student Minister at the Chinese Church in London English Ministry, where he’s been serving for the past three years. He leads 360 Student Fellowship with the help of a few lay leaders, and loves journeying with students as they explore faith, community, and life together. He grew up in Oxford Chinese Church, where he was shaped by a close-knit community and a youth leader named James So. After studying at the London School of Theology, John stepped into ministry with a desire to help young people. Outside of ministry, John Ho enjoys spending time with his fiancée, Haynam and her dog, Eden. John's love is with football but his footballing career has been hampered by an ACL injury and has now started golfing.

TIMETABLE

CONTACT US

If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to email us at englishministries@cocm.org.uk or use the contact form provided

NEXT GEN LEADERS STUDENTS