IFGF Conference 2020 ONLINE: GREATER BLESSINGS

Greater Blessings was the theme of IFGF Conference 2020 which was held for 2 days on Friday, 7th and Saturday, August 8th, 2020 from 10 AM – 5 PM GMT+7. IFGF Conference is an annual event that gives ministers, business people, professionals and future leaders a platform to listen and learn from competent sources from various industries. Its vision is to equip and build global leaders, to establish global collaboration and communication between IFGF leaders.

As an impact of the current Covid-19 pandemic, IFGF Conference 2020 was done beyond the walls. The conference was held online with the help of 150 volunteers who worked behind the screen. More than 2500 people from Region 1 to 8, including invitees, registered for the conference. However the real numbers for viewers who were watching this conference is estimated to be around 3000 – 3500 people as many of the registered participants watched the conference through TV screens with their family members and even on a big screen in church. The data showed that the 1st day of the conference reached 8,000 views. Statistically, the largest number of participants came from Indonesia, specifically Jakarta.

This was IFGF’s first experience holding an online conference and there was a server issue on the first day. Regardless, through God’s help and the committee’s hard work this conference had blessed many people spiritually. The committee received a lot of positive feedback and constructive inputs from various countries.

Here are some comments and inputs regarding IFGF Conference 2020:

Ps. Suyono, Chairman of GAPPIN Synode in Borneo, Indonesia (An affiliated church of IFGF)
“Thank you for inviting us to this IFGF Conference. The conference blessed us a lot and we hope to be a part in IFGF future activities.”

Mayor General (Ret.) Drs. Jan Pieter Ate, M.Bus
“I’m impressed by the IFGF team who are very professional in preparing and organising an international conference that was bilingual. Very flexible and communicative. I learnt a lot from this event and I believe other organisations did too.”

Andre (Melbourne)
“In the last few days I went to sleep feeling mentally tired due to my workload. I also have to be home (Melbourne has a lockdown due to Covid-19). So I prayed to God, “God, I only need a reason to wake up tomorrow. I want to wake up knowing that I have a purpose and a meaningful day.” Then in the closing session by Ps. Sam, my prayer was answered. I know that I’m always in His plan and I decided to recommit myself to Jesus and I asked him to lead me in every step of my life for His glory. By sharing this testimony, I would like to honor Ps. Sam (and everyone else, but especially him). To all the volunteers and committees, thank you for this conference. I hope the conference next year will also be online.”

Ps. Caleb and Febe, GMS Surabaya, Indonesia
“This was our first IFGF Conference. We were truly blessed by the powerful messages and the level of excellence, Ps. Jimmy. An honor for us to be parts of this conference with our IFGF friends.”
Ps. Kong Hee, Speakers of IFGF Conference 2020, CHC Singapore
“Praise God! It was a privilege to be in your conference. Many of my congregation is also IFGF members in Indonesia, Australia and USA. Thus I feel that we are sister church. Congratulations on a wonderful conference. Please have a good rest now.”

On the opening session, Ps. Jimmy Oentoro spoke about the main theme “Greater Blessings”. Ps. Jimmy talked about the church back in the normal era in which churches are differed by church inside the walls and outside the walls. He reminded us that church is not a building. We are the church and we are called to be discipled and to disciple. A discipleship culture should be part of our church culture in this new normal. The next session by Ps. Chris Hodges (Church of the Highlands) explained that through God’s supernatural power and favor, we are able to go and reach further than the places we can reach by our own strength.

After lunch break, participants are divided into workshops which were chosen by themselves. The 5 workshops were prepared based on participants’ main concerns:

Navigate Business In The New Normal by Ps. Tommy Simamora, attended by 376 participants
Engaging Creatively In Digital Platform by Phodi (yesHEis) & Raditya Oloan (Influencer), attended by 443 participants
How To Overcome Mental Health by Pinkan M. Idira (Psycholog), attended by 347 participants
Living Beyoutifully by Jenny Oentoro, attended by 300 participants
Man Up by Ps. Raymond Njotorahardjo, attended by 180 participants

After the workshop, participants were invited back to the main room to join the next session by Ps. Daniel Hanafi. He explained to us the new paradigm that we need to have on spreading the gospel using the wonderful technology that is currently available. This technology has enabled us to share the gospels further without us having to travel far. It increases our opportunities to share the Gospel and make others hear about it. The last session of the day was by Mr. Ganjar Pranowo (Central Java Governor, Indonesia) hosted by Ps. Budi Hidajat. In this session Mr. Ganjar stated that church shouldn’t be a static organisation because its members come from different backgrounds. This means churches can help each other as well as the government. Churches should not focus on themself but they should embrace others. Mr. Ganjar encouraged the IFGF Church to defend the nation and to love Indonesia.

On the second day, Ps. Joel A’Bell (Revitalise Church) opened the session with a reminder that God is our shepherd. We have nothing to fear because He cares, provides, leads and protects us.

The next session was a discussion with IFGF pastor’s kids that was hosted by Stacy Oentoro. 5 other pastor kids who joined the session were Victor Effendi, Kenneth Kristanto, Gerald Gunawan, Petra Destiny and Stella Nikiko. In this session they shared the joy and the hardships they had to endure as “Pastor’s Kids”. They also shared how they found their calling and how to overcome their hurdles. This session titled “Next Gen: Awakening the God Dream” was particularly interesting and inspiring for the younger participants.

Afterwards, participants joined the 2nd workshop. Just as day 1, there were 5 workshops available:

Generation Reinforcement by Ps. Victor Repi, attended by 280 participants
Discipleship In The New Normal by Ps. Indra Puspa, Ps. Jonathan Kasim & Ps. Andy Halim, attended by 402 participants
⁣⁣Raising Kids With Imperfection by Esther Idayanti (Lecturer at STT Internasional Harvest), attended by 324 participants
Preparing Sunday Service Production For Onsite & Online by Ps. Evan Tjandra, attended by 174 participants
Praise Talk: Now and Tomorrow by Ps. Joshua Artono, attended by 250 participants

The second to last session was by Ps. Kong Hee (CHC Singapore) who talked about resilience and vulnerability. He emphasized the importance of spending our time with God because it will be our strength through life’s hardship and challenges. Maybe our current life is victorious but at other times we need to learn. Our intimacy with God will enable us to go through different seasons.

In the closing session, Ps. Sam Hartanto preached about Greater Destiny. Ps. Sam explained that destiny is destined by God but we are the one who gives meaning to it. During this last session, Ps. Sam led Holy Communion to mark the closing of IFGF Conference 2020.

It is only by God’s grace that the conference went well. IFGF thanks the committees, volunteers, speakers and participants who have spent their time to learn and equip themselves through this conference.

See you in IFGF Conference 2021 “Greater Destiny”

IFGF Global