Mission Statement||事工宣言
In Obedience to the Great Commission, Total Growth Christian Ministry is devoted to assisting the churches of Jesus Christ in the "Making of Fully committed Disciples" of Jesus Christ (Matthew 28: 19-20; Luke 14: 25-35) through the provision of resources, materials and programs to help believers to
- Establish a solid and intimate relationship with God.
- Cultivate an authentic Christian life and witness at home, at work and in the community; and
- Pursue together with other believers to grow in our knowledge and love of Jesus Christ.
Goals||事工目標
Individual Level
To provide a wholistic approach, format and materials for the cultivating of a meaningful daily time of communion with our Lord through biblical prayers and articles, especially from ancient saints, inductive bible study questions for each book of the Bible, and suggested time slots for confession, thanksgiving, intercession and a time for silence, ending with a word of benediction.
Small Group Level
The provision of a Bible Study Guide for each book of the Bible based on the aforementioned inductive study questions, and
The establishing of a 31-week Small Group Discipleship Program for men and women (each) that shall
Provide an arena for developing soulmates for mutual support, prayers, and accountability,
Equip believers to cultivate a consistent and meaningful time alone with God daily—learning to pray meaningfully and to divide the Word correctly—thereby increasing their intimacy with the Lord and leading a life of self-examination,
Provide reading materials for biblical understanding and practical solutions towards applying the Word to build Godly families and relationships, to serve the church of Jesus Christ in true Christ's likeness of servanthood, to be effective witness for Christ at work grounded by a biblical understanding of work, and to engage the world with the gospel here and abroad without compromise.
Church Level
To make the Devotional Guide and Small Group Study Guide free to be used by all believers and churches online,
To assist in the running of the Discipleship Program by the offering of training and training materials and the assistance to the procurement of all materials necessary for the program,
To provide regular (likely annual) prayer retreats for current members and alum of the TG program,
The Author & Founder||作者暨創辦人簡介
Rev. Paul Chan||陳明斌牧師
Rev. Chan was a Certified Accountant (UK & Canada) and worked as both an accountant and executive in the commercial field for some 21 years before being called by the Lord to full-time gospel ministry in 1991. Since then, he has completed his theological and seminary training with both Regent College (M. Div.), and Eastern Baptist Seminary (D. Min.) and has had the opportunity to serve at First Baptist Church and Lord's Grace Church in Vancouver, before joining CCM USA as their General Secretary. Upon his retirement, he has had assumed interim pastoral roles in both Grace Chinese Alliance Church (Concord, California) and Richmond Chinese MB Church (Richmond, BC). With his previous background in management and business, he has had the privilege of walking alongside Christian men and women in the marketplace in their pursuit of spiritual growth and relevancy in the workplace in the last 30 years which has led to the development of a 31-week Total Growth Discipleship program. To foster a long-term personal growth for these Christians, a Five-Year Devotional Guide in both English and Chinese has also been developed to walk through almost the entire Bible through the Total Growth's website. He is happily married with two children and four grandchildren and resides in both California and British Columbia.||陳明斌牧師在1991年蒙召作牧者前是執業會計師，並在工商界出任行政管理職務和經商二十多年。蒙召後先後進入維真和東浸神學院進修，並完成碩士和博士課程。在退休前曾在溫哥華市中心第一浸信會和華人主恩堂作牧者，並曾任美國中國信徒佈道總幹事。退休後亦曾協助加洲灣區恩信華人宣道會（英語事工）和列治民真理堂作Interim牧者。因著昔日職場的背景，陳牧師有機會與不少職場的信徒同行，一起追求實踐信徒在家庭、職場、社區和教會生活中，從而產生《31星期全人成長門徒訓練小組課程》。同時為幫助信徒更有意義和有系統的操練每日禱告、讀經的靈修生活，亦在網上完成《五年靈修指引》。陳牧師與師母婉萍同有一子一女和四個可愛的孫兒。
Directors||董事成員
Patrick KU (Chairperson)
Rev. Paul MB CHAN
Alan AU
Vivien CHAN
Rev. Brian LEE
Keith WONG
Officers
President: Rev. Paul MB CHAN
Secretary: Alan AU
Treasurer: Vivien CHAN
History||歷史
「全人成長事工」的構思始於1996/97年，為回應一群在職場工作的弟兄的要求，開始使用一個30多星期、每週一個晚上的英文小組門訓課程。主旨是要幫助信徒建立一個真誠、有意義和更與主親近的基督徒生命。每週的小組時間著重分享的不是個人特別的領受，而是分享在過去一週在個人靈修、代禱和反思閱讀指定的經文和屬靈書籍中，聖靈給予的責備、感動和提醒。更藉著小組組員彼此的承擔與互相的代禱，建立長久的屬靈禱伴。
Total Growth Ministry was conceived back in 1996/97 by a group of Christian men in the marketplace with a hunger to seek authenticity, relevance and a deeper intimacy with Jesus Christ. They came together every week on a Thursday night for about 8 months committing to share not so much their insight but their conviction by the Holy Spirit through the reading of the Bible, prayers and supplications, and reflective reading on relevant Christian literature on the subjects of Prayers (developing a deeper prayer-life), Bible Study (cultivating a more meaningful Bible study habit), Christian Families (building a family relationship after God's own heart), Servant Leadership, Evangelism/Mission, and Work Ethics. The materials used have since been substantially modified with the distinct emphasis on "Sharing Life Together", developing deep, genuine and lasting friendship in Christ.
Discipleship Ministry
This ministry has eventually led to the publication in Chinese of a "31-Week Small Group Discipleship" manual, one for Men and one for Women in 2011, while in early years of the ministry it was conducted mainly in English.
門徒訓練小組課程
經過多年內容的修改，這事工終於引至中文《全人成長31星期門徒訓練小組課程》在2011年的出版；分別有弟兄版和姊妹版。雖然早期的事工是以英語為主，這課程是以繁體出版。課程附有十二個粵語講道的光碟，但網頁上可下載國語講道。
Daily Devotional Guide
At the request of those who have cultivated a meaningful habit of daily devotion, a "5-Year Daily Devotional Guide" that takes the readers through the whole Bible* in both English and Chinese was developed between 2012-2016 with its emphasis on approaching the throne of God based on the A.C.T.S. approach (i.e. Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, and Supplication), so that we may develop a more holistic and God-centered time of devotion:
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Each day, after "A.C.T.", we shall study the Word of God by reflecting on suggested questions in an inductive manner based on a more manageable (and often shorter) chunk of scriptures, book by book the purpose of which is not so much on arriving at the "model" answer, but to train our minds to think more responsibly and perhaps go deeper into God's truth;
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After which a short "Meditative Reflection" article is provided for further reflection on issues related to the passage studied
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Followed by a time of silence before embarking on a time of "S." (i.e. Supplication).
The Spanish and Portuguese translations were completed in 2022 and 2023, respectively.
Small Group Bible Study Guide
Since the inception of the 5-Year Daily Devotional Guide, we have come to understand that some users are using only the Scripture Reflection portion to aid leading small group Bible Study and in preparing for their teaching of Sunday School. As a result, we have separated the Scripture Reflection portion on the web-site under the title, "Small Group Bible Study Guide" for such purposes.
小組查經指引
另鑑於「經文默想」這部份的內容適合用作小組查經資料和主日學教材，我們特別將「經文默想」部份，編製《小組查經指引》，放在這網址中的網頁。
Our Beliefs
The author, editors, and co-workers in the Total Growth Ministries are Evangelical Christians who are fully committed to uphold the Bible as the Inerrant Word of God and we endorse the Apostles' Creed wholeheartedly.
信仰
「全人成長事工」的主編、編輯和同工皆是福音派的基督徒、篤信全本聖經是神的默示、並全然認同「使徒信經」的信條。
陳樹安序
這個《全人成長─門徒訓練小組課程》，就是陳牧師把多年來所採用的訓練材料，經過在不同群體中的實踐、修正、和更新，編撰而成的一本既實用又有果效的訓練課程。
據本人所了解，這《全人成長》課程具有幾個獨特的元素。而這些元素就構成了這個訓練課程成功的主要因素。 就如：
- 正確目標─這課程不但有清晰的目標，而且目標是正確及崇高的。就是以「最大的誡命」為目標來培訓學員「盡心，盡性，盡意愛神，並且愛人如己」。
- 適切內容─以「人與神」及「人與人」之間的關係為培訓的重點，以達致在職場上、在家庭中、並在社交環境中，有效地實踐聖經的教訓，而不致成為「只聽道而不行道」 的人。
- 互動過程─在整個訓練過程當中注入了互相守望，彼此提醒，彼此分享，彼此代禱，彼此鼓勵，彼此關懷，和彼此支持等元素，因而達致同步向前，一齊成長的果效。
本書現在以中文出版，真的可說是華人教會，及華人信徒的福趾。
但願神大大使用這本書，造就信徒，為主發光。
金新宇序
本書前身原是十多年前陳牧師所改編的英文版門徒訓練課程。鑒於當時教會一般信徒的門徒訓練課程，缺乏針對時弊和對準信徒需要，幫助信徒把信仰和生活連在一起。
陳牧師先後在溫哥華第一浸信會和主恩堂，使用他所改編的英文版門徒訓練課程。後來被要求重新改寫以迎合華人教會獨特的需要，因而產生這《全人成長─門徒訓練小組課程》。
此書與英文版已經多年考驗，故不須推介即能普遍被接納使用。
陳牧師早期帶職事奉和後來全職事奉。他的社會經驗和在聖工上屬靈經驗，對一般信徒的背景和屬靈需要，都十分了解。他的書可不是紙上談兵而已！
教會的增長，不能單憑信徒人數增長來衡量，要看信徒能否成為天國有用子民。這正是主耶穌升天前，吩咐門徒的話：「要使萬民作我的門徒。」
陳明斌博士的《全人成長─門徒訓練小組課程》一重點是在訓練過程中，建立人與神親密關係；和訓練班中學員彼此的關係，不是個別修行，獨善其身，過修道院的離俗生涯。信徒要在教會中，家庭中，工作場所及社會中有影響力，並與其他信徒「一起成長」，建立主內肢體，彼此關懷，有代禱生活，和美好靈裡分享時刻，實踐使徒信經的「我信聖徒相通」。