Thursday, August 25, 2005


‘Sparks’…..this is the picture that comes to mind when we think of the recent Prayer Conference. God was showing us what He was doing in this Conference. Sparks about ‘Passion to Pray’ was being ignited by the Spirit of God in the hearts of those who were present. The vision is to see more and more Youths in TRAC catching the vision and challenge to be intercessors. Why is this so essential to our Youth Ministry? Because if God doesn’t build His house, those who labour, labours in vain! And God wants to build His house. Our response to His Call to pray is actually a response to see more of God and His Work in the Youth Ministry.

48 youths and 12 adults attended the first MYF Prayer Conference which was held in Ipoh Wesley from August 20 – 23. Our primary speaker was Mark and Joel Goodwin. Mark talked about the Tenacity to Pray. The primary call was not to miss out in what God wants to do in the life of a person! Much emphasis was also laid on holiness and intimacy with God. Joel, Mark’s son spoke to us about listening to God.

Jared from Penang Wesley shared about Joshua House experience in Prayer. This ministry was basically born out of prayer. The Youths in JH meet twice a week. On Thursday they have their regular Youth Meeting and on Sundays (evening) the meet for about 2 hours to prayer. It was exciting to see the Youths from JH going all out to pray and minister to the needs of others. Oh yes, must tell you that about 80% of their Youths come from outside of the Local Church. I sense that if we were to ask God, He will give us Youths in our Youth Fellowship.

Pauline shared about Prophetic Intercession and many came forward to be ministered after the session. God was moving in our midst. Many received a touch from the Lord and were deeply ministered. I think many left the Conference with much anticipation for the next prayer conference which would be held in March 2006. Our prayer is that all of the TRAC Churches will catch the vision and excitement to pray!

posted by Pastorpher at 5:50 pm 2 comments

Saturday, August 20, 2005

Ground breaking for Meth. Youth Centre

It was a momentous morning. By the grace of God, I was present at the ground breaking ceremony of Methodist Youth Centre, Ipoh Wesley, my home church. Also present were the leaders of the church, who were responsible for encouraging me to enter Seminary. About 12 years ago I was the Youth Worker in this church. The Word that God seemed to impress in my heart was taken from Psalms 71: 17 - 18. “Since my youth, O God, you have taught me, and to this day I declare your marvellous deeds. Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, O God, till I declare your power to the next generation, your might to all who are to come.”
As we stood together and worshipped God, in our midst were people from ‘different generations.’ We held the ‘cangkul’ together and symbolically broke the ground as a testimony of proclaiming God’s Word and power to the generations to come. God seemed to be saying, ‘ask me and I give you the next generation!’ O how we need to have generations that would fear God, walk reverently in His Presence and be committed to lay down their life for the Lord. I also remember the words of our forefather, Rev. Bishop Thoburn (1892) who felt God’s Word burning in his heart as he entered our land, “not by might, nor by power but by My Spirit, says the Lord” Indeed, we have a great legacy left by our forefathers.

posted by Pastorpher at 12:20 pm 2 comments

Friday, August 19, 2005

Visitation to Penang Trinity


Our visitation to Penang Trinity Youth Fellowship was exciting and fun. The programme was preparing skits from bible passages. Guess what, yours truly became an angel rescuing victims from gangsters. Hahaha....was interesting, although story plot, theologically questionable. I was reminded again that Youth Groups should be a place where relationships are built and communities established. It should be a place where "everybody should know your name." Thanks Penang guys for a great time of fun and laughter.

posted by Pastorpher at 2:07 am 1 comments

NECF Youth Worker's Consultation

Had a long day. Started with NECF Commission Meeting which began at about ten in the morning. The discussion in the meeting was very much centered on the coming YOuth Workers' Consultation meeting in Genting Highlands (September 26 - 28). The following are the sessions to be conducted at the Consultation:

1. The Landscape Of Youth Ministries In Malaysia
2. Staying on in the Youth Ministry
3. Building the 2nd Generation Christian Youths
4. The Way Forward For Malaysian Youth Ministries
There will also be round table talk to get feedbacks and discussions from participants. The followings are topics to be tabled:
1. Raising Youth Ministers
2. New Ways to reach non-Christian youths
3. Being Salt & Light in the Schools
4. Youth Ministry in Tertiary Institutions
5. Partnership - NECF YouthNet & You

What's exciting about this Consultation:

It is 'homegrown', relevant and significant in the Malaysian context.

Pray that the key 'players' in Youth Ministry would be able to see the importance of this Consultation & be committed to participate in this Consultation.

Pray that the Churches in Malaysia would unite with One passion & commitment to reach out to the Youths in this land.

Pray for God's Presence through out this Consultation, for the building of meaningful relationship & networking.


posted by Pastorpher at 1:37 am 1 comments

STM Youth Curriculum

For those who would be wondering about the Youth Ministry Course that STM would be offering in the near future, the following some of the modules that would be offered:

5 Core Courses (28-30 hours)

  • Intro to Youth ministry
  • Development Psychology, personalogy
  • Spiritual Formation & Discipleship
  • Strategic Development & Implentation
  • Practicum

  • Possible Elective
    Youth Leadership Development
    Homeltics for youth
    Youth curriculum development
    Spiritual Warfare Reloaded
    Creative discipling through Media & Arts
    Missions & Social concern in a Globalized world

I believe STM will come up with a good brochure introducing this Course.

posted by Pastorpher at 1:21 am 1 comments

Youth Ministry Training, Penang



Praise God that we had a good turn out at the Youth Ministry Training Module two Seminar in Penang. I think, by God's grace, our follow ups and visitations to various Northern District Churches has in a way contributed to this success. Praise God! Herbert shared about how to broaden leadership base among Youths. The seminar was well attended with 21 participants, most whom were from Penang Wesley, Trinity and Alor Star Wesley. Some thoughts that really hit me today were:
· Give youths the space and opportunity to fail & help them to learn from the experience
· Never give up hope in someone who looks to be a ‘failure’ today. Recognise God’s work in a person’s life. Always give a second, third….and many more chances. After all this is what God did for me!
· Don’t categories people. Be open to give everyone an opportunity to learn and grow
· The importance of growth in a Youth Worker's life. After all, you can only pass on what you have!
· Core of leadership development is the development of a person’s character. Don't focus so much about leading others but invest in character development.
· Be intentional in developing leaders
· Work out a blue print for leadership develop for specific people
I think one of the most useful attitude that a worker of God can develop is the passion to learn and grow. This is so critical to effective ministry!

posted by Pastorpher at 1:04 am 0 comments

Thursday, August 18, 2005

STM Curriculum Development on Youth Ministry


It was exciting to meet up with a few key leaders in Youth Ministry to work out the Youth Ministry Curriculum for STM. One important lesson that I am constantly learning is the importance of listening to the opinion of others and not being afraid to share in a non-threatening manner my personal convictions and views. Sivin was good in sharing his thoughts with the group, and what I really appreciated about him was his honesty of sharing about unclearness of his thoughts and ideas. Annette from FES was really an excellent negotiator. She really makes one feel heard and introduces objective & clarity in her discussion. Boy, I think I would really like to learn that from her.

posted by Pastorpher at 3:38 pm 1 comments

Thursday, August 11, 2005

Shocking!!


I was shocked to hear that one of my fellow Seminary mate, John Mark passed away in an accident two days ago. According to a friend, John Mark was on a motorbike with another visiting Pastor from India. A lorry hit them, and John Mark died that night. This is really unbelievable. I can still remember talking with him in the seminary about assignments….This can’t be happening! I am really shocked.

As I thought about this incident, I am reminded of the reality of death. I am reminded once again that I must make good use of the time and opportunities that God has given me, today. I must pray like Moses did when he asked God to teach him to number his days so that he may gain a heart of wisdom(Psalms 90:12).

I must also stop putting off things to tomorrow, for tomorrow may never come. You will never know when your time if up….

posted by Pastorpher at 11:25 am 0 comments

Sunday, August 07, 2005

Reflection on the "Word"

Last Saturday we were in Seremban Wesley attending the Youth Meeting (MYF). It was their bible study week and my good friend, Edwin was leading it. I must say that it was great seeing them getting excited abt reading and studying God's Word.
One word that came across my mind was the word, "challenge". I think we need to see the scriptures as something that challenges us, and demands a response from us. Otherwise, the study of God's Word would seem to be boring and irrelevant to our life.
Another thing that struck me was that young people need to see the reality of Scripture in the life of those who are around them. I think they are just looking to see whether the Scriptures are real and whether this reality can be seen in the lives of those who read it and practice it. I guess at the end of the day our lives becomes the "billboard" in which God's Word is engraved. I wonder, when people look at us what message do they really see? Is the Word a central theme in our life?

posted by Pastorpher at 7:28 pm 2 comments

Saturday, August 06, 2005

Just a thought

Problem often times is that we are too inward looking. We may need to see beyond ourselves to get a proper perspective of life. We need to use the God given energies and resouces such as time to do what God desires us to do. Strangely, when we start doing this we will find significance and purpose of our own.

posted by Pastorpher at 11:30 am 1 comments

Friday, August 05, 2005

PRAYER NEED!

Rhema and I visited Kristen who is currently with her seven year old son in HUKM (hospital). Kelvin has been under severe pain. When he gets this attacks, his hands and legs will begin to shake. Kelvin told this with tears flowing and our hearts simply broke! As we prayed with them, we sensed God's Presence and so did Kristen. Please pray for Kristen and Kelvin. They are really in need of God's deliverance and healing. Btw, the doctors are unable to dignose the problem yet. So you may want to pray that God will reveal it to them. Visiting them was also a work of God in my own heart. Lately, i have been thinking and feeling the burden to reach out to those who are in need with the love of God. God answered our (Rhema & I) prayer when we asked Him to open our eyes to see the needy who live among us. Indeed, i am beginning to think that if we really see what God sees in the world, our heart will break!

posted by Pastorpher at 11:35 am 3 comments

Spiritual Exercise: Blogging


Sivin onces told me that he takes blogging as a spiritual exercise. He tries to do it daily. I have been thinking about that, especially since we talked about blogging on our drive down to Singapore. Yes, i must admit that i am beginning to see this truth. At the same time, i am beginning to see the value of reading friends' blogs. You will never know how God will touch someone else through a comment you leave.
Sometimes i wonder whether there are people who read what i write? This morning was a time like that. Frankly speaking, i did feel discouraged. i wondered whether i should go on or not. Until I opened Friendster and had a reply to a comment that i wrote in someone's blog. I guess this was God's way of saying to me that i am going in the right direction. I hope that by blogging i would be able to share what God is doing in my life to others, and in someway, encourage someone else.

posted by Pastorpher at 11:08 am 2 comments

Wednesday, August 03, 2005

Gems in secret places

I think it was on Monday, I had an opportunity to watch this TV programme called "Bersama Mu" (With You). The show featured this family which was mentally disabled. What was amazing about them was the kindness and love they had for one another. Even though, they were not able to function has 'normal' people would, great pain and trouble were taken to express the concern they had for one another. The parents for example (who were themselves disable) took the job of toilet cleaners in order to support their kids, financially. I think that God has got a lesson to teach us through such people, if we are willing. Sometimes we might be thinking that we are doing a service to them by helping them. But the reality is that without them we would forget what it means to be humans.

posted by Pastorpher at 4:51 pm 2 comments

Tuesday, August 02, 2005

Teluk Intan Visitation

This is the first time we are at Teluk Intan to visit the Youth Groups. Upon arrival, we visited the Boy & Girl Bridgade. We were introduced to the group (i think abt 100 ppl) and i was invited to say a few words. I shared with them my own testimony of how i came to know the Lord and challenge them to make the prayer: 'Lord, if you are real, reveal yourself to me.' (At this point, i felt that God gave me the opportunity to be like the Apostle Paul who shared his conversion story with his audience.) I was really very excited to know that abt 2/3 of the group were non-Christians. Wow...what an opportunity and privilege.
The church is doing a great job with the youths there. On sunday morning, i took a short session with the youths. Abt. 13 of them were present. I shared with them the need to hear the voice of Jesus. One interesting thought, is that when the Lord called the disciples, he simply said, 'follow me'. Wow....he did not explain what was his mission / work or what would become of them. And the strange thing is that they responded to his voice! I guess, only God can do that.

posted by Pastorpher at 2:20 pm 0 comments

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