General Superintendent Jerry D. Porter and his wife, Toni, served as keynote speakers for the second Asia-Pacific Regional District Superintendents Conference. Seventy-nine leaders representing 18 nations gathered in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, November 3-5 to concentrate on the theme “Servant Leadership: Developing Christlike Leaders in the Asian and Pacific Contexts.”

Six of the district superintendents from Indonesia, Hong Kong, Korea, Papua New Guinea, Thailand, and the Philippines also shared inspirational messages throughout the conference. Simultaneous translation was provided in five languages. Three youths from Indonesia led the times of worship and praise. The Regional Advisory Council, field strategy coordinators, regional educators, and ministry coordinators also served and interacted with the district superintendents.

A unique aspect of this conference was the participatory nature of the sessions. Each day there were eight facilitator-led modules following the pattern of inspiration, discovery, implementation, and reporting. Participants were distributed across five multicultural discovery groups to discuss key questions:

• What if for one day Jesus were to become me? 
• Am I a servant or a leader first?
• What is intentional servant leadership?
• How does a servant leader deal with conflict?
• How does a servant lead? 
• What will be produced on my district?

Following these discovery modules, the district superintendents then gathered into field-based implementation groups to develop action points for their districts. These groups then reported back to the larger body, allowing for dialogue and learning.

The event began with a concert of prayer, was sustained throughout by frequent visits to a prayer room, and was concluded with a powerful healing and communion service. All services included special times of prayer and intercession.

Each evening participants were challenged by Porters’ messages on embracing the attitude, the prayer life, the mission, and the Lordship of Christ. Dr. Porter is the jurisdictional general superintendent of the Asia-Pacific Region.

--Asia-Pacific Region, NCN News