Connect is the English news publication of the Chinese Methodist Church in Australia. It was established during the CMCA 2019 Annual Conference in Melbourne, Victoria.
We provide content for members and visitors of the CMCA with a vision to connect them in a united spirit for the work of the gospel. We partner with the CMCA Annual Conference along with its local churches, and we invite contributions the people of the CMCA to contribute stories, biblical and theological reflections, thoughts on practical theology, ideas on public theology, and anything that is related to our life as a church.
The Team:
Ricky Njoto
Editor-in-Chief
Originally from Indonesia, Ricky is a local pastor at Church on the Corner, an English congregation of the Camberwell Methodist Church in Melbourne. He is also a Ph.D candidate at Ridley College, Melbourne, specialising in Jonathan Edwards and the history of the preaching of the Book of Revelation. Ricky is married to Hannah, a youth pastor. He loves reading, writing, music, and coffee; and enjoying them all together!
Pin Hien Lam
Chief Advisor and Editorial Member
Pin Hien entered pastoral ministry in 2008 as assistant pastor at Eight Mile Plains Methodist Church, Brisbane. He was posted to Kingsway Methodist Church, Perth in 2013, becoming the minister-in-charge in 2014. He is happily married to Jennifer, and together, they have four grown children—Aaron, Abel, Andrew and Amos. He enjoys making regular short-term trips to Battambang to share the gospel with the Cambodian people there. Pin Hien’s interests include Church History, Methodist Studies, and walking and training the family dog, Monty.
Ivan Low
Editorial Member
Ivan Low is the pastor of the English congregation in Immanuel Methodist Church in Perth, WA. He is happily married to Jun and enjoys taking slow walks in the park, playing music, and computer games. He desires to see the kingdom of God impacting hearts and transforming lives through the ministry of the saints.
Jun Gan
Editorial Member
Jun came to Perth in mid-2017 and has been serving alongside her husband, Ivan, in the Immanuel Methodist Church. She came to know the Lord during her teen years and has been actively involved in the youth ministry since then. She is passionate to see young people experiencing the transformative power of God’s grace and hopes to empower more young people to rise up and be a disciple-making generation that is sold out for God. During her free time, she enjoys reading, listening to podcasts, exploring new places, writing and connecting with her friends and family.
Lucas Sharley
Editorial Member
Lucas pastors the English congregation at Eight Mile Plains Methodist Church in Brisbane, QLD. His dream is to present every Christian mature in Jesus. He is especially interested in re-connecting the church to its history and tradition, particularly the medieval period. He shares a passion for teaching with his wife, Beccy, a primary school teacher.
Amos Wong
Editorial Member
Amos has been serving in the Annual Methodist Youth Conference as the chairperson since 2017. Amos has a passion and vision to help Christians grow in the understanding of the Word of God and subsequently be transformed by it. His main ministry at the moment is to kick start EEU, a training conference for young Methodist Christians serving in leadership positions. During his free time, Amos enjoys fishing and travelling.
Sean Kong
Editorial Member
Sean Kong is the assistant minister at Sherwood Methodist Church in Brisbane, QLD, where he’s been serving since 2014. He is married to Jane, and together they have a young son and a daughter. Sean especially has a passion for reaching the ‘lost in the pews’, as he himself was a nominal Christian for 19 years before God graciously rescued him out of his false Christianity. His interests are film and listening to Bach.