Yups, I'm officially out of the youth ministry. I'm old enough to join the young adults, finally. Haha! Like I told my net yesterday, my calling for this season has come to an end, and I await my new calling!
I thank Jaena, Shereen and Gladys for planning my small farewell lunch gathering last Sunday. It was a simple meal at Tampines Mall PastaMania, but I did enjoy the fellowship, food and testimonials shared.
I thank my (now former) net group for bearing with me, for being with me and supporting me thru all those events and activities. I thank God for expanding the net group, it is truly not my credit but His! From 4 bored and demoralised youths to 16 regular youth members (still including myself!). 4 times the growth in a span of 1.5 years is really no easy feat, but with God, nothing is impossible! Woohoo!
Cleone, they are all yours now! You can do it! Dun be intimidated by the numbers, but instead rise them up to be our future generation's leaders! Dun forget my advice and look for me if you need any help ya =)
I thank every other R5 youth net leaders for bearing with me in any small ways; I may be horrible at times but no hard feelings ya. I apologise if you still hold any grudge against me.
I thank Gladys and Amos for being such anointed leaders for R5 and I'm really blessed to be under their leadership. They are ever so encouraging and loving and caring to us leaders, despite our tendency to play truant for church meetings. LOL!
Last but not least, I gotta say I thank Grace for being our acting YM for late 2008 to 2009. It hasn't been an easy task handling us independent fellas of R5, but she still did it. I have had my clashes with her since 2008, but God really helped me overcome my flaws and the grudges I once had against her too. Haha! All is forgiven and cleared.
God is great, and His love endures forever! Nothing is impossible with Him!
I thought I was gonna die when I was asked to lead Siglap Sec Campus Outreach back in 2008. Somehow, I did it with the help of Karina and the fellow Siglapians =) Amanda, Wei Si, Wei Gin, Jeremiah and Timothy, Jarel, Zi Heng, Thaddeus and myself. We had successful outreach events and were glad to see one salvation: Khaliun! YAY!
Now, can one of you people restart the outreach events please! Haha!
I remembered when I first came back to VFC back in 2007, I went to Amos' net group. It felt weird to be under the leadership of someone physically younger than you, but God humbled me and I was able to blend in and be a part of the group. I've learnt alot under the guidance of Amos and I really respect him alot. I dare say that he is far more spiritually mature and older than me. He is a good chap, except for the long-winded sharings lah. LOL!
I remembered being under Simon's leadership too, he was another anointed man of God. Again, I've learnt tons from this dude, and he is another brother I respect in church too. Haha!
Oh yes, dearest Karina! She taught me almost everything I needed to know about running a net group. I was just like Cleone when I first started out, a greenhorn and nervous when asked to lead the group. Haha! She is super anointed woman of God, super in tune in God's Word, ever so caring and pastoral to me, encouraging me with long smses, playing Twister together and being a genuine friend to me. Ah, I love her!
Under my ministry for the past 3 years, I've encountered all sorts of youths with all sorts of patterns. Growing up, that's what I say. I really respect my parents and the parents that have those funny-patterns kids. It is seriously not easy to handle those weird random youth issues nowadays, very different from our parents and my era. Yes, I'm that old!
I've reached out and minister to so many youths but few has really impacted my life, that stirred up emotions of all sorts and lessons to learn in life. Disappointment is ranked top on my list, next is anger and disgust, followed by sadness and grief. Lessons learnt: Maturity (mental and spiritual), family love (parents and siblings), discipline and upbringing (parents), loving yourself and the courage to face harsh life.
I wish I can put some names out, but I guess it's not very wise hor. Ha! Ok, initials will do, for my own future reference. YR, MA, KM, ATS.
I thank Cher Hao, for standing by me during the lows in my ministry. How it affects my mood and emotions, it can be quite troublesome. He offered me good spiritual advice, to improve on myself as a leader and as a member. He gave me new perspectives that I never saw; just like Proverbs 12:15 says,"The ways of a fool always seems right to him, but the wise man always listen to advice." (NIV). He let me see the blind spots in my life and ministry, thank God for such divine wisdom!
Well, some advice to those net leaders who have yet to retire from youth ministry: always care for your members - both active and passive ones. They are very important in God's sight. Follow up and look into their welfare. Encourage them. Be a (reachable) friend and show pastoral love to their spiritual needs. Love them like how you do to your blood siblings. Yes, some really deserve to get beaten up but still, patience! Hahaha! Rebuke in love, yet firm on the teachings.
As for me, like my name in Latin says, I'm forever YOUTHFUL! I never bluff, you go check Internet or those baby names' books lah! LOL! I'll never ever be old at heart, although the age is terrible!
Let's welcome my new season now =) YA, here I come!
