Name: Koh Jia Mei
Age: 33 years old
Church: Ulu Tiram Chinese Methodist Church
Praise the Lord, through this opportunity to share, I am able to reflect on how God has worked and led me in my life and to count my blessings! Even though Youth For Christ (YFC) is a youth ministry, I am thankful that I was able to get on this ‘train’ during the last few months of being a secondary school student. Before, I was confused and had no direction, I was set on a completely different destination. My life journey now is one that has a motive and direction. And for me, this is so important because if I were to get off at any stop, this new focus and purpose would greatly influence my views and decisions I make.
There were two turning points in my life. One, when I was in Primary one and I began attending church. The other was in my last year of secondary school when I was introduced to YFC. These two turning points laid the foundation for my faith at different stages of my life, but they both have something in common; street evangelism. My first encounter was when we were moving to a new place and my parents met an older man doing door to door evangelism. Soon after, he brought us to church. When I was in secondary school, I rarely went out to meet up with friends but because I had made plans to meet a senior from school, my friends and I decided to meet her at McDonalds at Plaza Pelangi. During that one outing, we were approached by a YFC staff who shared the gospel to my non-Christian friends, and I was invited to participate in the Christian training, “Project Serve 1”. These two street evangelism encounters gave me much encouragement whenever I reflect on the purpose of doing street evangelism.
I was very busy in secondary school and even though the pastor’s wife encouraged me to join YFC multiple times, I always rejected the idea on the grounds of being too busy with schoolwork. This continued until I was 15. I felt in my heart that I must join YFC because I wanted to be a fervent Christian. When I was in secondary 3 that year, my pastor was always encouraging us to share the gospel and I knew it was something I needed to do. Unfortunately, I did not know how. All I knew about evangelism was handing out Christian movie pamphlets to my entire class. Although one classmate who had attended church before responded negatively, I told myself that what I was doing was enough. At the same time, I met a junior and she began asking me about faith and religion. I wanted to teach and guide her and again, I did not know how and was troubled by it.
God knew the questions I had, and He knew what I was seeking. That day at McDonalds, He allowed me to see with my own eyes what sharing the gospel is like. Through the trainings and serving at YFC, my relationship with God has been strengthened, and I am able to understand what a Christian life is about. YFC has helped me understand that what I witnessed at McDonalds that day is leading students to study the bible and doing follow up. The Lord used this ministry to show me what serving God is like and helped me to understand this Saviour better. At that time, I was receiving and growing so much that it was a huge leap in my spiritual life. Even though I missed out on the opportunity to share the gospel to my secondary school classmates, I have still been given many opportunities while serving in YFC to share the gospel with many secondary school students. I did not know how to do follow up with my junior back then but now, I not only am confident to conduct follow up, but I also understand the meaning and purpose of it. Praise the Lord, I was also able to have follow up sessions with her, accompanied by the staff, before she left to further her studies in Germany. At the time, we used a follow up material, Basic Christian Living to study the bible with her.
God’s plan for my life is more than I can ever plan for myself. He gave me the opportunity to serve in YFC, allowing me to grow and learn there and allowing me to pay it forward to influence lives, just as the staff did for me. Now, I am working as a tuition teacher and although the environment is different, what remains the same is living out the Great Commission and Great Commandment. I admit that it isn’t easy. I pray that God will help me not to neglect my relationship with Him because of my own selfish desires and busyness. May God always renew my life and give me the strength to bear witness for Him.
Praise the Lord for different people and situations that help me grow at the different stages of my life. In my thirteen years of knowing YFC, I really appreciate the role and influence this ministry has played in my life. If it were not for the foundation that YFC helped lay in my faith, I doubt I will understand the importance of sharing the gospel and would not see the treasure that is God’s Word. I hope that the ministry can continue to influence young people’s lives and that I may continue to apply what I’ve learnt in my current field. I am very grateful for this platform that encourages me to share the gospel and study God’s Word. May the Lord continue to help the YFC staff, volunteers and students serve faithfully!