Qn: Tell us something about yourself. How long have you been with your church?

I’m currently in my second year of ministry, heading worship, music, & audiovisual at Zion Serangoon B-P Church.

Qn: What first got you thinking about going into ministry? Any reservations or objections faced?

The idea of ministry came out of nowhere, really. After I got laid off from my orchestral musician job in 2020 during the pandemic, ministry was the furthest thing from my mind. Between scrolling through job listings and internally panicking as days went by, it never occurred to me that I would be applying for a job at church. And yet, God worked in wonderful ways, speaking through His Word and through His people.

Considering that I’d spent most of my youth working towards fulfilling my musician dreams, it was hard for me to consider when my pastor first brought it up- that the Lord might be calling me to give that up and answer the needs of my church by going into ministry. Honestly, I was quite skeptical. Skeptical that God would choose someone like me, barely equipped with any experience fit for such a role. Skeptical because deep down in my heart I didn’t want to give up on my dream of getting back into the orchestra again.

Yet, it was also God who assured and assuaged my doubts one by one. He told me to surrender my original dreams to Him so I could say yes to His new ones for me. He spoke to me through 1 Peter 4:10, that He would not call me to something He’d not equipped me for.

“As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace” 1 Peter 4:10

Qn: Any word to those considering ministry or praying for those in ministry?

For those considering full-time ministry, I would like to encourage you to continue to seek God and His presence, allowing Him to speak to you and guide you. I really like what Os Guiness summarises in his book 'The Call'- once He has called, there is no other response than to trust and obey.

Qn: Tell us something about yourself. How long have you been with your church?

I’m gladly married to Charis and we are joyful parents to our exuberant little 17-month old, Talitha! I love going for walks with the little one, watching basketball and reading. When Zion Bishan was planted 30 years ago in our neighbourhood, my family joined the church family. So, I grew up in this church since as long as I could remember.

Qn: What first got you thinking about going into ministry? Any reservations or objections faced?

As much as I enjoyed work and the wonderful fellowship with my colleagues as a criminal lawyer for some years, it was really in the ministry of the Word where I found my greatest joy and most fulfilling moments in life. I felt the deepest joys and my Heavenly Father’s heart most when proclaiming God’s Word and helping another person understand Jesus Christ more.

During my time in university and early years of working life, I increasingly began to explore the realms of teaching and preaching in church. As I delved deeper into Christian ministry, I recalled all the times in my younger years where the Holy Spirit stamped on my heart the unstoppable power of God’s Word. Personally, I was persuaded that there would be no better work to spend my best and waking hours on than to build up the Body of Christ for the work of ministry to bring the Gospel to the lost.

In terms of reservations, they came in the form of questions from others around me: What if you truly enjoy your vocational work when many of your peers don’t? How can you leave a job you love, one where you can “shine for Christ” and still “serve in Church”? Why can’t you do both: earn a decent income and still fulfil God’s will for your life? Isn’t it such a waste – all your legal training?

I wasn’t too fazed by the questions, to be frank. At the same time, they were important ones to work out and answer for myself. It also became significant to me over time that I could provide a proper response to these questions that helped others to understand the worth and value of the Gospel, and why all of us should be ready to make sacrifices for Christian ministry whether we get paid to do it on a full-time basis or not!

Personally, I was and still am wrestling more with my own godliness, sinful failures and hence, my readiness to shepherd others to Christ. I’ve increasingly held Paul’s words to Timothy close to my heart: “Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.” (1 Tim 4:16).

Qn: What are you doing now in preparation for full time spiritual ministry?

I was privileged in the sense that I was given insight into the inner workings of the structures that support the work of Christian ministry in our local church when I served as a deacon for 6 years from 2015.

As part of my own exploration and preparation for Christian ministry, I joined the Zion Bishan ministry apprenticeship program (https://www.zionbishan.org.sg/discipleship/theological-education/apprenticeship/) in 2019. The main bulk of my training comes in the form of personal ministry and discipleship of the saints in the local church.

I strongly believe that one-to-one or at least small group personal ministry centered on the Word of Christ is the bread and butter of Christian ministry in a local church, and that the best way we can communicate the whole person and the unsearchable riches of Christ is to model it intimately and relationally to others over a sustained period of time.

Part of the discipling ministry at Zion Bishan also involves training and shepherding our small group leaders. I assist two of our pastors along with another ministry staff in training our leaders to handle the Bible and teach it to their small group members. On occasion, I preach and run an equipping course for small group leaders as well. Safeguarding or prevention of abuse in our church family is also a critical ministry on my heart and a growing area of focus for me and my team in Zion Bishan.

As part of my apprenticeship training, I also joined some of our brothers and sisters in our partner churches for training in Bible handling (https://www.gospel360.org/) and also completed a Graduate Diploma in Christian Studies on a part-time basis BGST.

I converted to a full-time ministry staff in 2021 and have been serving in the same ministries as mentioned above. The biggest change my family and I are expecting in recent times is my shift to full-time theological education as I undertake a Masters of Divinity at the Evangelical Theological College of Asia (ETC Asia). God-willing, I hope to complete the MDiv in the next two years.

Qn: Any word to those considering ministry or praying for those in ministry?

Continue in the work of ministering to the saints, building up the Body through the speaking of the Word and witnessing to the lost wherever you are with patience and prayer.

It is true that Scripture tells us we have differently gifted saints given to the church for the building up of the Body and the glory of the Lord (Ephesians 4). However, the reality and therefore the privilege for all of us is that every single follower of the Lord Jesus is in Christian ministry, one way or another.

I think the best way to find out if you are ready, gifted and convicted to well, change your employment status and give all your daily hours to the service of the local church is to see it expressed in the grit and grind of week-in-week-out, ordinary, sometimes mundane, sometimes fruitful Christian ministry.

At the same time, do what every Christian should already be doing anyway – continue to be discipled under the word of God and the spiritual authority/maturity of other saints; intentionally seek spiritual friendship and community as a means of growth in godliness and continued repentance of sins; give like the Crucified Christ and pour your life out for others in personal ministry. I think that it is in this manner of Christian living and community that both you and your local church will know how ready you are to take a slightly different path into full-time Christian ministry.