I spent the whole afternoon writing a report for the Missions Committee which I have been chairing for the past 7 years. Though it was seven pages long, I wrote them with much sadness as I will be relinquishing the responsibility to another sibling-in-Christ with effect from September 2011.
I requested to step down as I felt I needed to take a break from leadership for at least a year. Time really flies. I remembered when I was first approached by a dear brother-in-Christ, whom I respect a lot, to consider this area of service, I was hesitant.
First of all, I asked myself whether I was just merely filling up an empty position. I also found this leadership role very daunting because missions should be the heartbeat of the church and I did not know then whether I was up to it - as in to challenge not just the Missions Committee but the church to follow God's call to go and make disciples of all nations.
The very thought that came to mind was what happens if I cannot spur the church to obey the Great Commission. I mean it is not just an administrative role. It is a ministry for both the church and also the "unreached people group" whom we are reaching out to.
I prayed about it for a few weeks and I finally decided to serve God and His people by taking up the challenge. From one year of service, it led to the second, and then the third. It goes on and on and it has been seven years in all. There were ups and downs during this period but all in all, it has been a joyful seven years of service! Why? Because God was there to see all of us through!
I am going to miss the Committee members especially! 10 great siblings-in-Christ I have ever worked with. Like-minded, humble, diligent, committed, faithful, joyful, enthusiastic bunch! A very united group of God's servants! Praise the Lord for each and every one of them! They have been a great blessing to me.
Thank you, Park Ming, David, Violet, Lydia, Veronica, Esther, Norman, Anthony, Damein and Jared! Keep the missions flame burning in you. :)
I am also going to miss all the past mission teams from the Women's Society of Christian Service, Children's Ministry, Youth Ministry, Mandarin Service and a few of the small groups in my church... every one of them, who has answered to God's call, has made a great difference in standing in the gap between the living and the dead!
I am especially ministered by the children who have gone on mission trips. I remembered there were objections when I first mooted the idea of children going to Cambodia. After much prayer one team was sent and it was amazing how God could use these young lives to touch those they were in contact with. :)
I am thankful to God that not only the members in the Missions Committee are involved in the work of missions but these ministries and groups have also stepped up to empower the lives of the Khmer-Christians and also to reach out to those who have yet to know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour! I am especially grateful to God that till date, about one quarter of the church have been or are still involved in the work of missions! Some have taken another step further by serving God as long-term missionaries - putting aside the comfort of their homes to work in the fields which are now ready for harvest!
As much as there are so much joy in serving God and His people, my heart goes out to some of these siblings-in-Christ who have once served in the work of missions but have fallen away or have distant themselves in their walk with God. My prayers will be with them regularly that one day the flame will be burning in them again. It will happen just as God has ministered to many in the missions fields! He will not miss out anyone. He will always open his hands to embrace those who run back to Him. Sometimes He even runs to them.
I am also going to miss those in Cambodia especially the youths and children whom I have known through these years of service. The reason why I have been serving in the Missions Ministry is always that one question this boy asked me on my first mission trip - "King Kong, will you be coming back again?" He asked that question because he hardly saw the same people coming back the following year and he wondered whether they cared for him.
That was when I committed myself to go every year (no matter how busy I may be) just so that I want this boy and others in Cambodia to know that I love and care for them. I praise God that this boy is now a young man. He is a disciple under one of the missionaries sent by my church. Hallelujah!
I will also miss some Khmers whom I have come to know as friends but have passed on because of common illnesses which could have been easily cured them if proper medical care had been administered... but due to the poor and expensive medical service, they were not able to afford the medication and check-up. I know all of them are now safe in the arms of Jesus. Life in heaven is definitely better than here on earth. I will see them one day, hopefully sooner than later.
What's next now that I will be taking a break from service? I guess I will use the next one year or so to be refreshed by God and also to enrich myself with the study of His Word by attending courses probably in other churches and also to visit their ministries to learn from them. I will also seek God as to what is His next step will be for me in ministry.
To God be the glory!
I requested to step down as I felt I needed to take a break from leadership for at least a year. Time really flies. I remembered when I was first approached by a dear brother-in-Christ, whom I respect a lot, to consider this area of service, I was hesitant.
First of all, I asked myself whether I was just merely filling up an empty position. I also found this leadership role very daunting because missions should be the heartbeat of the church and I did not know then whether I was up to it - as in to challenge not just the Missions Committee but the church to follow God's call to go and make disciples of all nations.
The very thought that came to mind was what happens if I cannot spur the church to obey the Great Commission. I mean it is not just an administrative role. It is a ministry for both the church and also the "unreached people group" whom we are reaching out to.
I prayed about it for a few weeks and I finally decided to serve God and His people by taking up the challenge. From one year of service, it led to the second, and then the third. It goes on and on and it has been seven years in all. There were ups and downs during this period but all in all, it has been a joyful seven years of service! Why? Because God was there to see all of us through!
I am going to miss the Committee members especially! 10 great siblings-in-Christ I have ever worked with. Like-minded, humble, diligent, committed, faithful, joyful, enthusiastic bunch! A very united group of God's servants! Praise the Lord for each and every one of them! They have been a great blessing to me.
Thank you, Park Ming, David, Violet, Lydia, Veronica, Esther, Norman, Anthony, Damein and Jared! Keep the missions flame burning in you. :)
I am also going to miss all the past mission teams from the Women's Society of Christian Service, Children's Ministry, Youth Ministry, Mandarin Service and a few of the small groups in my church... every one of them, who has answered to God's call, has made a great difference in standing in the gap between the living and the dead!
I am especially ministered by the children who have gone on mission trips. I remembered there were objections when I first mooted the idea of children going to Cambodia. After much prayer one team was sent and it was amazing how God could use these young lives to touch those they were in contact with. :)
I am thankful to God that not only the members in the Missions Committee are involved in the work of missions but these ministries and groups have also stepped up to empower the lives of the Khmer-Christians and also to reach out to those who have yet to know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour! I am especially grateful to God that till date, about one quarter of the church have been or are still involved in the work of missions! Some have taken another step further by serving God as long-term missionaries - putting aside the comfort of their homes to work in the fields which are now ready for harvest!
As much as there are so much joy in serving God and His people, my heart goes out to some of these siblings-in-Christ who have once served in the work of missions but have fallen away or have distant themselves in their walk with God. My prayers will be with them regularly that one day the flame will be burning in them again. It will happen just as God has ministered to many in the missions fields! He will not miss out anyone. He will always open his hands to embrace those who run back to Him. Sometimes He even runs to them.
I am also going to miss those in Cambodia especially the youths and children whom I have known through these years of service. The reason why I have been serving in the Missions Ministry is always that one question this boy asked me on my first mission trip - "King Kong, will you be coming back again?" He asked that question because he hardly saw the same people coming back the following year and he wondered whether they cared for him.
That was when I committed myself to go every year (no matter how busy I may be) just so that I want this boy and others in Cambodia to know that I love and care for them. I praise God that this boy is now a young man. He is a disciple under one of the missionaries sent by my church. Hallelujah!
I will also miss some Khmers whom I have come to know as friends but have passed on because of common illnesses which could have been easily cured them if proper medical care had been administered... but due to the poor and expensive medical service, they were not able to afford the medication and check-up. I know all of them are now safe in the arms of Jesus. Life in heaven is definitely better than here on earth. I will see them one day, hopefully sooner than later.
What's next now that I will be taking a break from service? I guess I will use the next one year or so to be refreshed by God and also to enrich myself with the study of His Word by attending courses probably in other churches and also to visit their ministries to learn from them. I will also seek God as to what is His next step will be for me in ministry.
To God be the glory!
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