Re:New Conference Recap

After many months, the day had finally arrived. On a late Thursday evening, streams of cars flowed into the parking lot at 4700 Wissahickon Ave. Going up the stairs and through the doors of Metro Church, it was impossible not to feel a buzz of anticipation. A thrum of voices echoed through the hallways while attendees were checked in and warmly welcomed by hospitality ministry volunteers.

Alongside tote bags and shirts, participants were handed a booklet and lanyard with Hebrews 2:1 printed on them: “We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.” The verse was the conference’s anthem—a battle cry against the spiritual drift that we are all prone to, and a call to remember, repent, and return to the love of Christ.

In his opening plenary, Metro’s Senior Pastor Donny Cho began the conference with Joshua 24:1-15. He emphasized how this was an opportunity for the entire church to make God the center of gravity for our lives: “Fear the Lord. Serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshipped. You can say to yourself, ‘As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.’ That’s what this weekend is all about.”

During keynote speaker Ajay Thomas’ first plenary, he shared, “I can’t help but feel humbled by what you want [for this conference], and therefore, so needy to the Lord—not just for four talks, but that in the sum of what happens in these days, God might call you from, and prevent you towards, spiritual drift.”

He outlined the trajectory he hoped for Metro to consider over the course of his four sessions:

1. The emptiness of the things that cause us to drift (Ecclesiastes 2:1-11)
2. Jesus’ call to repent and return to the love you had at first (Revelation 2:1-7)
3. The reason why our church exists is to make much of Jesus (Excerpts from Luke 1 & 2)
4. The way to finish is to keep going the way you began (Colossians 2:6-7)

After earnestly making the case for why everything in this world is fleeting apart from God, he closed the first night with this: “To have everything but not him is hell. And the gift of the gospel is, you get him. You know what heaven is? You get him, and you get him forever.”

On Friday morning, the conference gathered once again for worship and Ajay’s second plenary, which honed in on Jesus’ letter to the church in Ephesus—a church that served faithfully and persevered, but had forsaken the love they had at first.

In his reflection on this session, Joey Lee shared, “Pastor Ajay highlighted Revelation 2:1-7 and taught us about how outwardly we can be doing good works in Christ's name, and at the same time how the church can forget their first love.” He continued, “That can very much be the case for our church as well; in an effort to combat this, we as a church should remember, repent, and return to Jesus.”

Pastor Doug Logan then spoke about his most recent book, “Spiritual Fathers.” Doug shared, “My charge to you is, when you read this book, hear that we’ve all got a fatherless, brokenness in us. [...] Get under the teaching of a spiritual father or mother. That will carry you a long way.”

While Doug held a book signing for “Spiritual Fathers,” there was a break during which attendees fellowshipped, browsed the bookstore, and connected over the morning sessions.

In addition to books that were thoughtfully selected for the purpose of spiritual nurturing the congregation, special edition conference merchandise was available. These included stickers, car fresheners, and apparel, all intended to potentially spark organic conversations about faith.

The breakout sessions that followed were some of the highlights of the conference. Pastor Joe Holland led a breakout titled, “Why the Church is Vital to Your Spiritual Growth.” After the session, Darell Abdula reflected, “Joe reminded us that church is not a gym membership, nor a country club, nor a networking event, nor a lecture, nor a civic opportunity—it is the union with brothers and sisters in Christ that Jesus has saved us into.” Joe exhorted the group, “You may be part of the invisible church, but you need to join the visible church to live out your identity as part of the body of Christ.”

Many of the women attended Jayne Clark’s breakout named Pride, Fear, & Voices in the Garden. Jayne opened by sharing about her personal walk with the Lord and her journey to become a biblical counselor. She spoke extensively on Genesis 1-3 and how the lessons there can be applied to our lives: “Eve listening to the serpent begs the question: what voices are you listening to, and how are you using your voice to encourage other people?” She concluded with, “The key is knowing you and whose you are, as well as where you're coming from and where you're going. You are God’s, you came from God, and you're going back to God.”

Meanwhile, a group of men joined Pastor Mark Becton for his breakout on Biblical Fatherhood. Whether they were single, married, expecting, or already fathers, Mark reminded them, “You can be a biblical father by knowing the Father of the Bible. You have one.” Throughout the session, he drew many connections between the experience of earthly fatherhood and the divine fatherhood all believers enjoy: “In some of your hardest moments as a parent, do not feel alone. Trust that the Father is taking you by the hand. He is fathering you in the process.”

After lunch, everyone gathered in the sanctuary for pastoral exhortations from some of Metro’s very own. Pastors Josh, Brian, and Tim spoke on the topics of engaging the culture, lifestyles, and finances, respectively. Their deep love for Metro’s congregation was apparent as they urged attendees to consider practical ways their lives can serve as living sacrifices (Romans 12:1) and demonstrations of God’s mercy. Several of the pastors also took the stage on Saturday morning for a Q&A session filled with humor, truth, and care.

In his Friday evening plenary session, Ajay walked through Luke 1 and 2 to display how John the Baptist’s entire life, even before he was born, was dedicated to proclaiming the supremacy of Jesus. He declared, “When we are sane, we don’t have to build names, platforms, empires, or kingdoms for ourselves. When we’re sane, we want to point people to Jesus, die and be forgotten, because we’ll always be remembered by him.”

During his fourth and final plenary on Saturday morning, Ajay reminded everyone that this is only possible because we are in Christ; we are as close to God as Christ is. It was a fitting conclusion that championed the hope we can cling to for years to come. Instead of drifting from the faith, may we all be able to say, “I want this good news to be sweeter to me in the last hour than in the first.”

While the adults learned in the main sanctuary, Metro’s children worshiped together just down the hall in the all-purpose room. Crossroads Children’s Fellowship volunteers energetically greeted the children each day of the conference with bright smiles, leading them in singing, dancing, and group prayer.

Karen Williams, a children’s Christian educator, guided the kids? through 1 Kings 18, 19, and 21, engaging them with vibrant teachings and painted demonstrations of the verses. The classes learned about Elijah’s journey to a greater reliance on the Lord as he fled to Mount Horeb and witnessed God’s voice there.

In addition to these sessions, the children were visited by some special guests—the Avengers! Members of the Crossroads team dressed up as the superheroes and acted out a skit, leaving on a cliffhanger each day to build anticipation for the next part. Faces lit up, bursting into laughter as the characters took on funny voices and mannerisms, using familiar characters and animated lines to ultimately further the message of the gospel.

Henry Tsai, who played Thor, reflected on what it was like to be a part of the skit. “Being able to share the Gospel through familiar characters like the Avengers made the message of Jesus feel potentially more approachable and relatable to the children. Because they already know and connect with these characters, they were able to engage with the story in a way that felt familiar and exciting, while also being introduced to deeper truths about who Jesus is and what He has done for us.”

Olivia Wong, playing Spider-Man, further elaborated, sharing her experience serving on Crossroads for the conference. “I will cherish witnessing the children’s unbridled joy during the Crossroads program for a long time. Being able to incorporate the line that Ajay preached in his third plenary – ‘the Avengers are special, but Jesus is spectacular!’ – truly encapsulates bringing the same gospel message from the podium to the children…with a little bit of Marvel flair! As an East Falls volunteer, I also loved getting to know the Cherry Hill children and serving with new friends.”

On Friday evening, the children had the opportunity to create questions to ask during a Q&A session with Pastor Dan Sung. They jotted down questions about what it means to have faith, the Gospel, Jesus, and everything in between. Learning more about the gospel truth of the Bible through these questions provided an impactful and encouraging close to day two. Owen, a fifth grader in Crossroads, reflected, “I learned about Old Testament stories, like Elijah, and how they pointed to Jesus.”

The hallway was alive with energy as the children eagerly shared with their parents the activities they had done and lessons they had learned throughout the weekend, undoubtedly creating lasting memories and foundations of the gospel in their hearts and minds.

“It means everything to me that my daughter has not only the freedom to worship God, but also the opportunity and intentionally created structure to learn about who Jesus is and that he died for us. I am so grateful that she can begin learning about the gospel at a young age in ways that she can understand and experience,” said Pearl Parker-Kim.

She continued, “As a parent, my hope is that she will grow up not only knowing about Jesus, but also coming to know him personally and understanding the depth of his love for her. I see these opportunities as precious seeds being planted in her heart, and I do not take for granted the privilege of raising her in a community that desires for her to know and love Jesus. I am so grateful that we do not have to do that work alone.”

Another significant aspect of the conference was the integration of both of Metro’s church campuses, as the Cherry Hill congregation commuted to East Falls to worship as an expansive church community. Brian Park, Shepherding Pastor of the Cherry Hill campus, spoke on the importance of unifying both congregations for this conference. He explained, “It helped our Cherry Hill community see that we are part of something bigger than our own local congregation. Worshiping, learning about spiritual drift, and building relationships across campuses remind us that the church extends beyond our own local congregation.”

The Cherry Hill campus was established in 2022, ten years after Metro’s initial launch in East Falls, and the conference provided an extraordinary opportunity for both congregations to join in fellowship, community, and worship together. “Coming together as one church helped us better understand our shared story with East Falls and the mission that brought Cherry Hill into existence. Knowing how we started is important as we consider how we can grow into a greater faithfulness as a campus and how to love our neighbors throughout South Jersey,” continued Brian.

The fellowship throughout the weekend expanded across both church campuses, but also provided opportunities for congregants to grow closer with those in their own community groups. Attendees were encouraged to carpool, sit together, and share meals with their community groups, offering abundant opportunities to connect and discuss the teachings. Alma Mathew and Joanna Ford, both members of the Jenkintown community group, reflected on their experience spending time in community together during the conference.

“I think this conference is already influencing my community group to grow in our desire to know and love the Lord, to delight in him as he delights in us, and to throw away the idols of this world that keep us from beholding his beauty,” shared Alma. “The best part is that we get to depend on not only each other, but ultimately Christ to refine our hearts and sanctify us in the process.”

“Community groups provide such a unique opportunity to connect with people on a deeper level, and spending time considering the ways that we drift spiritually both individually and in community has really impacted me,” added Joanna. “In processing with my community group, I have been able to reflect more on what it means to surrender everything in our lives to Christ.”

Throughout the three days, countless volunteers from Metro’s various ministries pitched in behind-the-scenes to make the conference possible. They sacrificed time before, during, and afterwards to ensure that others could have a smooth, distraction-free experience.

Reflecting on the opportunity to serve during the conference, Adzira Yeung shared, “Serving with the operations team in preparation for the conference helped to prepare my heart for worship and celebrate what God is doing in our church. It is easy for service itself to become a slippery slope toward spiritual drift, so coming together to recenter on why we do what we do was a joyful, grounding start to the weekend.”

She expressed, “The seamless flow of the conference was a true testament to the body of Christ working together. With spaces refreshed and stocked behind the scenes, thoughtful takeaways to bring home, and memories captured for us to look back on, all these hands coming together created a wholesome, sobering, and deeply purposeful time for everyone to reflect on God’s faithfulness.”

Friday evening was dedicated to an open mic where anyone could come onstage and speak about the ways they were thankful for this church community, conference, and what the Lord was doing in their lives.

After many individuals shared their heartfelt thanks and personal stories, Pastor Donny closed out the night. “If you love Jesus, if you trust Jesus, will you partner with us? Not because Jesus needs it; he has chosen to do his work through weak people like us.”

He finished, “As we respond, let’s come together and remember who Jesus is, what he has done for us on the cross, who we are in him, and who we’re called to be. Partner with us. Love you so much—so grateful that you’re here.”