Ministry updates (after a long while!)

Dear friends and supporters,

It’s been awhile since my last post, so here’s an update on how I’m doing and how the ministry is progressing.

Fellow Workers’ Conference 2014

Earlier this year, I ran Fellow Workers’ Conference on the topic “The Gospel, the Reformation and the Reformed”.

118 participants, mostly university students and young working adults, came to hear Dr Carl Trueman and Pastor Robin’s lectures on church history. Personally, learning again about the great reformers like Luther, Calvin and Zwingli was a great encouragement for me to keep persevering in ministry even when the going gets ridiculously tough. Their lives have proven Paul’s words in 2 Timothy 3:1-13 to be true.

“But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant… Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil people and imposters will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.”

And therefore, I consider these words to be true too:

“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us… we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.” (Romans 8:18-25)

Campus Ministry

Currently, I’m also running a weekly bible study in International Medical University, with an average attendance of 20-30 students every week.

We’ve gone through 10 weeks of 2 ways to live (an evangelism training series), 9 weeks of Just For Starters (a series of bible study for new Christians) and we’re currently going through a series on the Heidelberg Catechism! The Heidelberg Catechism is a summary of Christian doctrines in the form of questions and answers, that remains one of the most comprehensive and understandable form of Christian education resources around. I run the bible studies twice a week, 2 hours each and many students have benefitted from it. There was even a girl who came for the bible study just hours before her exams because she didn’t want to miss out on what we were learning.

CERC Youth

I’m currently the head youth leader in our CERC youth group and I’m grateful to God for the opportunity to teach and be taught by the leaders of our future generation. Currently we have about 10 youths who join us regularly for a time of learning God’s words, fellowship, fun, creativity and songs. We’re currently going through the first few chapters of Romans on the depravity and sinfulness of humanity, and one of our 15-year-old youth shared in front of everyone how her understanding of sin magnified her understanding of the goodness of God in saving sinners. Right now, she’s starting to look for opportunities to share the good news with her friends in school.

Full Time Ministry — Yes or No?

My MTS training years are coming to an end and I’ll need to make a decision soon on whether I will continue my life in full time ministry, so please pray for me to be wise and God-glorifying in it. I’m currently writing an assessment of myself based on my experiences in ministry, ie preaching, leading bible studies, counseling people, organizing events, etc. I want to thank my parents’ support in all that I’ve gone through, including my decision to enter MTS, and I continue to thank them for their patience in waiting for me to make a decision.

Prayer Request

1. Pray for the churches in Malaysia to stand firm in the proper teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ, never giving in to the lure of false teachings.
2. Pray for CERC, a church faithfully making disciples for Jesus.
3. Pray for the IMU campus ministry, CERC Youth Group and the Gospel Growth Fellowship to grow and to stay faithful.
4. Pray for me to grow in maturity and in the knowledge of Christ, and to persevere in my sufferings for him (2 Tim 3:12).
5. Pray for my family, especially my parents to continue their lives as a living sacrifice for Jesus.