I just got commissioned

Hi everyone, thanks for checking out my very first blog post! I’m Soung Hui (or Soung for short), and I just got commissioned as a Church Ministers’ Apprentice (CMA-er) along with 3 other dear fellow workers – Li Qi, Jia Ying and Lucas! The day of our commissioning was definitely a sobering time of reflection as we heard from Pr Robin’s sermon on 1 Peter 5:1-5; and although there was much to celebrate, I also felt the burden of the responsibility I now have as a servant-leader in this role. I know I still have many weaknesses and much room to grow in being able to minister to others; so, to my church, CERC, thank you for allowing me to be trained for these 2 years as we work together for Jesus.  
 

What may be surprising to many of you is that I have actually been in the CMA program for half a year already, that is, since February this year. When I first started CMA, I was immediately assigned to be a SOLIDD staff worker for one of CERC’s own student ministries – SOLIDD Online – a Christian Fellowship (CF) open to students from any university or college in Malaysia, especially for those who do not have their own local university CF. SOLIDD stands for “serving our Lord in dutiful delight”.  

Here’s a picture of some of our SOLIDD Online students and I with our signature “SOLIDD mountain” pose because mountains represent how solid Jesus is as the one true foundation that we want to build our lives upon.😉

We’ve been going through the Gospel of Mark and I’m really encouraged by their desire to learn more about who the real Jesus is from the Bible. SOLIDD Online meets virtually on Zoom every Monday night from 8 pm onwards. If you know any student who needs to be fed solid food i.e. God’s word, feel free to invite them to join us! You can message us on Instagram @solidd_online for more details and follow us for updates too.  

Besides that, I am also an RUF staff worker for Taylor’s Christian Fellowship (TCF) along with Jonathan Chin, another CMA-er and Jerome Leng, one of our newly ordained Pastors. Below is a picture of some TCF students and I.  

The meaning of our signature pose in this picture shouldn’t be too hard for you to figure out (but no, it’s not Ultraman!). It’s been fun reconnecting with students from my alma mater, Taylor’s University. Furthermore, TCF is actually the place where I first understood the Gospel and became a Christian! Hence, being able to contribute and support their ministry now has truly been a privilege. You can find out more about TCF on our Instagram page @taylorscf.  

A lot of people had also asked me what it was like becoming a CMA-er. As I was reflecting on it, I realised that there wasn’t much of a difference other than doing less engineering-oriented work. I think the reason is probably because I was already heavily involved in many church and parachurch ministries even before I started CMA. Although my official role and responsibilities have changed quite a bit, my life has always been committed to full-time ministry for Jesus, whether it is as a CMA-er or as a Christian mechanical engineer in my secular workplace. Besides that, although I am not working in a factory anymore, I’ve found that the skills I’ve gained as an engineer have come in handy quite a few times in my apprenticeship thus far. Perhaps in my next blog post I will share more about how being an engineer has allowed me to serve in unique ways, albeit, at the same time, it has also negatively impacted my service on occasion.  
 

Ultimately, I am looking forward to working and growing with my fellow workers in Christ more and more for the rest of my apprenticeship, and I hope God and you will be patient with me! Please keep me in your prayers.