The youth of City Harvest Church received a fresh touch from God during the March school holidays.
Contirbuted By Billy Ong
The March holidays spelled a short break from school and homework for many students. While some traveled overseas for a short trip, young people from various zones in City Harvest Church chose to immerse themselves in the things of God, through zone meetings that included outreach activities, prayer meetings and fellowship.
About 150 youths led by zone pastor, Goh Yock Kiang, was the first group to kickstart the weeklong activities with its own youth meeting on March 12. More than 150 students from 11 different cell groups gathered for a time of fellowship, worship, and Bible teaching. The meeting began with fun—a mass dance that had all attendees “move to the groove,” amidst much laughter and smiles.
One of the highlights of the meeting was a testimony by Alicia Leo, 19. Once a youth with no purpose in life, she met God and her life took on direction and meaning. Now, she is a connect group leader and also a leader in City Harvest Children’s Church.
Goh’s key message was taken from the Book of Ezra, in which he shared about how the people of Israel rebuilt the walls of God’s temple and how three individuals brought about a revival of God in their generation. Goh then challenged the youth from his zone to take a step of faith and influence their generation in a positive way. Towards the end of the meeting, the youth went down on their knees in worship, asking the Lord to consecrate their lives for His holy call.
Following the success of the youth meetings, the zone will be planning more activities for the youth, which includes an upcoming camp during the June school holidays.
YOUTH REVISED
Another youth event was “Revive,” organized by three different zones in CHC, under the pastoral care of district pastor, Wu Yuzhuang and zone supervisors Kelvin Tan and Ong Wei Ren. The meetings were held with the aim to ignite great passion in the youth and to encourage the members to dedicate their lives to Him. In every session, the youths witnessed a mighty move of God as Tan preached about passion and commitment, and later prayed for each one of them. Many responded to the altar call to commit their lives to God and to the purpose of shining in their schools for His glory.
Fun came in the form of an interactive question-and-answer Bible trivia segment for which members had to delve into the Word to find the answers. Tan said, “The youth were extremely participative in the Bible trivia segment. I feel that youths can be very interested and grow in God’s Word as long as it’s shared in a relevant way.”
The final session was led by zone supervisor Ong, 28, who preached on the importance of having a purpose-driven life for God. The youths learned about having a spirit of excellence, passion for soul winning, and having a vision from God for their lives. The message was warmly received by all at the meeting. Tan Yun Ting, 19, said, “I felt the best part of the meeting was the message preached by Wei Ren and Kelvin. It makes me want to do more for Him while I’m still young.”
GOOD TO GO: SUNTEC
Seventy-one youth under the pastoral care of Amber Tan held their meetings with a focus on CHC’s move to Suntec Singapore. To commemorate the shift of the church’s worship premises, every attendee was given a badge engraved with the words “Good To Go: Suntec.”
The youth put up a short comedy skit depicting some of the funny moments and incidents that usually take place in typical cell group meetings. The re-enactments had everyone in stitches as they recognized the familiar scenes from their own cell group meetings. The organizers of the meeting also put together a video montage of the group’s past events, following which, Tan shared a message on having unity. She stressed that in order to see a revival of God in their midst, there must first be love and unity. In anticipation to the church’s move to Suntec, Tan encouraged the youths to “look out” for one another and care for one another’s emotional and spiritual well being. “As we move to Suntec Singapore, let’s be sure not to “leave anyone behind,” she urged.
GOD ENCOUNTERS
The activities might all have been different, but all three youth events had one thing in common: they created an opportunity for young people to experience the reality and presence of God through the preaching of the Word.
Goh Shu Xian, 16, a member in Kelvin Tan’s zone, concluded, “I have never encountered God so real in my life before. It makes me want to keep staying on [in church] and know Him more.”
