I was at Antioch Campus‘s last campus session, where members from five mission teams shared their experiences and encounters from their trips to various countries. 

Having gone to the mission field before, I resonated with their testimonies deeply. Thereafter, I was stirred to approach a few youths close to my age for their stories and I was pleasantly surprised to find they shared my passion for missions! 

It was so amazing to hear these stories from my generation about how young people are stepping into the mission field. With that, let’s get into the first one.

1. Our purpose is to make Him known

Joanne Chua (22), Core Team Member of Antioch Campus

I first joined Antioch Campus in 2021, during a difficult season in my life when I felt lost and purposeless.

It was through Antioch Campus’ six-month programme that I caught a glimpse of God’s vision for the nations and His heart for the lost. God’s vision is to see every tribe and tongue come into His throne room and worship Him as their God and King.

That made me realise that my ultimate purpose in life is to make Him known. This realisation kickstarted my missions journey.

By God’s divine orchestration, I got to know Jethro and Heather (who serve as Antioch Campus leaders) and our friendship grew over time.

As I saw how God worked through the programme to meet me in one of the lowest seasons of my life, I was convicted that the Antioch Campus Programme is a platform for many other youths to be awakened to His call. Hence, I expressed my interest in helping out with the programme. 

From then on, God placed a heart of mobilisation in me – a heart to love the youth and journey with them, so that they can be activated into their unique destinies to step out for God’s Kingdom. It has also been my joy to witness growth and transformation in many of the participants!

Through my involvement in missions and Antioch Campus, God has reshaped my life with a renewed purpose. I believe that as disciples of Christ, we are called to make God known by being salt and light to the people around us, both locally and globally.

Our purpose in life is found in our relationship with our Heavenly Father; He invites us to encounter Him in the nations and be a part of His Kingdom work!

2. Don’t waste the seasons in your life

Joseph Wee (20)

As I entered a stage of life that most males in Singapore would deem as “a waste of time”, I wanted to dedicate this season of National Service to the Lord. My only hope was that wherever He was leading me, I would follow. Interestingly, God led me to the mission field.

For the past few years, the Lord has been placing this conviction in my heart: to not waste this life but to give it all to spread the renown of Jesus Christ.

For that reason, I signed up to be a part of Antioch Campus this year, even though it meant using up my remaining annual leave to go on a mission trip.

Initially, I doubted whether this was worth the sacrifice and I kept second-guessing my decision — but I felt a sense of peace and assurance from the Lord.

Therefore, I committed to devote my youth to God. I wanted to go to the hard places and reach the unreached, so that the glory of the Lord may fill the earth as the waters cover the sea. 

Partnering with Wycliffe SG, I went on my first-ever mission trip to Thailand. Seeing how broken our world is helped me to catch a greater glimpse of God’s heart for people. I realised that there is a great harvest of souls to be reaped for the Kingdom.

The Lord humbled me to grasp this simple truth: We are simply His vessels that plant the seed of the Gospel, and it is God who gives the growth (1 Corinthians 3:6) at the end of the day. 

3. My life is not my own

Danielle Wong (20)

I was 18 when I first heard the song “Missionary Anthem” at an interschool prayer meeting. The chorus goes like this: 

Jesus You’re worthy
Of every tribe and tongue
All for Your glory
Till every soul is won

While I knew nearly nothing about missions, I was stirred by the lyrics and also by the young people around me who were passionately declaring their dedication to the Lord.

Subsequently, when I was going through the transitional phase after Junior College, I started to question my purpose in life. Was it just to get a degree and do well in my career?

Deep down, I felt that such a pursuit was void of meaning. Such uncertainty led me into a spiral of worry and frustration, and fear constantly gnawed at the back of my mind.

Interestingly, things took a turn when I chanced upon an introductory missions programme on Instagram. With one of Joseph Chean’s sermons on missions lingering in my mind, I decided to sign up for the Antioch Campus Programme, with the hope of learning more about missions.

Thankfully, it turned out to be a transformative journey as God revealed to me that my purpose was to draw people to Him and to love them! After that, I finally understood the depths of the lyrics I sang during the prayer meeting a year prior.

Indeed, Revelations 7:9-10 is the desire of God’s heart. My vision was no longer constrained to what I could get out of my own life; God gave me a new vision to see that my life is a puzzle piece to God’s redemptive story in our generation.

As I went on several mission trips, I began to see how God was raising a generation of God-loving, God-fearing young people. He reminded me that He works powerfully through fully surrendered lives, and it challenged me to do the same with this life that He has given me.

4. Missions isn’t just for “some people”

Chua Zi Yi (22)

“Go make disciples of all nations” is the last instruction and assignment Jesus entrusted to humanity. 

While I’ve heard this verse many times, I was desensitised towards this commandment because of the questions I had about missions:

• How impactful can short-term mission trips be if it is just a week? 
• Wouldn’t it be enough to serve locally in Singapore?
• Why do I need to go out to the nations? 
• Why explore missions when I do not have a mission calling?

It was not until Joseph Chean’s passing that my bubble popped and I was forced to confront all the misconceptions I had about missions. 

While I was unfamiliar with Joseph Chean at that time, what caught my attention was the streams of testimonies about him. He had impacted so many lives locally and globally by reflecting Christ’s love to others. Even in his death, God was glorified.

Not long later, I chanced upon a sermon about cultivating a “friendship with God”. It helped me to understand that missions is such an important part of our walk with God.  

Often, we would ask God for help when we are drowning in the worries of life. But how often do we pause and ask God what is on His heart and to let Him confide in us as well? 

God is always looking for people who would make time to hear His heart, His thoughts and His dreams about the nations, the people and their future.

“The Lord confides in those who fear him, he makes his covenant known to them.” (Psalm 25:14) 

My heart was stirred, and I decided to sign up for the Antioch Campus Programme to go on a mission trip. But since it was my last summer break in university, taking up this programme meant giving up my summer internship. 

It wasn’t an easy decision. It was a wrestle between caving into my fears for the future or taking a step of faith and trusting in God’s leading. Yet, this was also when I realised what it means to live a life consecrated for God – it is a life of trust, surrender and obedience.

God is always looking for people who would make time to hear His heart, His thoughts and His dreams about the nations, the people and their future.

The mission trip turned out to be one that has broadened my understanding of God and evangelism.

Meeting Christians from all over the world made me see how magnificent and powerful God is. He is not just the God of Singapore, but the God of the nations and He uses His way to reach out to people in different parts of the world.

Being exposed to the Bible translating ministry during the mission trip has also given me more perspectives on how we can practise evangelism in Singapore, especially since our homeland is uniquely blessed with a multilingual and multicultural society. 

Yet, God didn’t stop there.

God was so gracious to me that He blessed me with another chance to participate in an internship programme after the summer break! From there, I was even given a job that was way better than any other jobs I would have potentially taken up during the break.

Truly, it was worth it to obey the nudging from God because He has led me on such an amazing journey exploring missions and understanding His heart.

It is indeed the call of all Christians to be disciples of all nations. Will we partner with God in His mission, so that we will eventually see every tribe and tongue standing before the throne of God, worshipping Him together?

Inspired by these testimonies? You serve the same God, so why should the story of your life sound any different? Come and hear more about missions at the upcoming Antioch Summit, happening from 3-5 October 2024, at St. John’s – St. Margaret’s Church! Find out more and register here.