Our Stories

Growing Youth Ministry in a Pandemic: Getting to Know Our Youth Pastor-in-Training

Posted on 2 Oct 2021 by CERC News

*Some of the youths with* Pastor-in-Training, *Jerome during one of the weekly physical meetings 2 years ago before the pandemic hit*

With the COVID-19 pandemic lasting for an indefinite period, the youth ministry at CERC has continued to meet faithfully each Saturday at 10AM to grow under God’s Word! Amidst the shift in conducting youth ministry from a physical to virtual mode, we are thankful to God for a small group of 15 — 20 youths (aged 13 — 17) who continue to meet regularly online as they adapt to the changes. They meet weekly to dig deep into Scripture, talk to one another about God, strive to love and build each other up in the Word, and invite their friends to hear the Gospel of Christ! One of our youth leaders, Jimmy Lin, elaborates the challenges — as well as the unique opportunities of youth ministry in the pandemic:

“Doing youth ministry online isn’t easy. Getting them to engage with us (and each other) is already challenging, let alone reading the Bible and learning together as a group on a weekly basis. But it’s been encouraging also to see some growth among the youths, and online ministry certainly has its perks as well – we get to minister to youths outside of Klang Valley too!”

*A screenshot of the youths with PiT Jerome as they meet virtually for the Ephesians series in the COVID-19 pandemic period*

Despite the struggles with virtual church (like getting youths to unmute on Zoom and talk to each other online), the youth leaders continue to work hard at preserving the heartbeat and core of our youth ministry, that is, our passion for these youths to know who God and Christ is from Scripture. Our desire is for these young men and women to be genuine disciples, growing up to love Jesus and follow after Him which leads to love for His people, His church! One of our youths, Solomon Tan shares about his growth here in CERC youth:

“Personally, youth group has helped me a lot! I am able to understand the Bible better and go deeper into the text rather than just brushing through the surface of it. I grew in knowing what it means to be a Christian. It’s not so much of “Oh I accept Christ” and then, just going about life like I am still living my old life and nothing has changed. But, it’s about “I accept Christ. So, how should I live for Him now?”. At times, I still find it hard to change, put off my old life, and live for Him, but at least now I know that we should not live for ourselves. Instead, we should live for this bigger, objective reality outside of ourselves that is found in Christ.”

Here is a short clip featuring our youth Pastor-in-Training (PiT), Jerome Leng as he talks about how the youth ministry has been doing!

In this video, you will find:

00:04 — Sam Ye Han introduces PiT Jerome Leng, with a brief background

00:45 — PiT Jerome’s joy, reminiscing his past 11 years in CERC

01:22 — PiT Jerome’s brief update about how he and his family have been doing so far

01:59 — What is PiT Jerome’s experience with CERC youth for the past year and why is the mission field in Youth so important for the church?

04:55 — What is the age range of someone who attends CERC Youth?

06:11 — The trajectory of youth ministry

07:12 — Ways the church can support the youth ministry

09:36 — Closing of the interview with a word of thanks

We pray that God will sustain the youth ministry as it seeks to carry out Christ’s commission as part of the church.

“And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.”

Matthew 28:18-20 [ESV]

Click here to find out more about CERC Youth!