For most of my years as a Christian, I have never really been passionate about evangelism or missions.

I have always seen evangelism as the weakest area of my faith. After all, I’m not good at talking to strangers, I am extremely shy and personality tests have also told me that I am a 97% introvert.

As such, I held myself back from sharing the Gospel, especially if I had to do it with someone face-to-face.

Hence, seeing how God led me to serve at Thir.st almost felt like a blessing because I realised I could now share about God through writing and not speaking.

I even believed I could fulfil the Great Commission whilst staying in my comfort zone, not having to confront my fears and talk to strangers. 

I continued thinking in this way until God sent numerous parties to challenge that perspective of mine. I didn’t know it at the time, but He would use various life circumstances and conversations to lead me to my first mission trip this year, the first of which was…

Jo Chean’s passing

Somehow, hearing about the accident broke something in me. While I never had any personal or extended conversations with Jo, he was no stranger to me. I had always known him as the “face” of missions.

In fact, I had just heard his sharing at the Antioch Summit two months before where I enjoyed a memorable lunch specially curated by him – curry rice with a hard-boiled egg.

That was Jo’s way of teaching others to understand the challenges that missionaries in less-fortunate countries might face.

Jo’s impact on my life didn’t end there. As I attended Jo’s wake services and heard his stories from various people, it made me relook at my perspective on life.

Back then, I was still in the thick of my mental health struggles and I often had thoughts of giving up. In that season, Jo’s passing came like a wake-up call to me.

What am I doing with my life when there is a missionary out there like Jo who gave his life fully to God?

I was struggling to find true purpose. And it dawned upon me then, that there is no greater purpose in life than fulfilling the Great Commission.

Jethro from Antioch Campus

Through a friend who participated in Antioch Campus last year, I connected with Jethro who leads the organising team. I reached out to have a conversation with him to explore the possibility of creating content together.

Sometime in June, we met up for a meal. But what was meant to be a discussion for ministry became more like a catch-up on life.

I was pleasantly surprised by how humble and relatable Jethro was, even though he came from a missionary family and had much more experience in missions.

As I shared with him honestly that I didn’t feel very passionate about missions in my own life, he simply encouraged me and affirmed my heart.

“I think you do have a heart for missions and for youths because you reached out to me and wanted to find out more about Antioch Campus,” he said. “I’m more interested in what God is doing here, than what content can birth out of this.”

His response struck me because he didn’t look down on me even though I had zero experience in missions. He simply challenged me to take the next small step by bringing missions into my writing.

Jethro’s friendship and simple words of belief planted a small seed in my heart, which God would continue to water in the coming months.

Joses from Cru Singapore

I got to know Joses because he was attached to our team earlier this year, and he sat next to me for a few months. However, missions had never once come up in our conversation.

But after seeing my cover of a worship song on Instagram, he asked if I wanted to join him for a mission trip to Japan to help lead worship at a training conference for pastors.

While the trip was eventually cancelled due to logistics issues from the host, his invitation made me look deeper into what God had been speaking to me with regard to missions.

He had unknowingly watered the seed that was planted earlier.

Eventually, at the Antioch Summit this year, it became clear to me that God was leading me to take my first steps towards missions by going on a short-term trip.

I realised that there were no longer any reservations in my heart after all that God had done through various people and circumstances. In fact, I was actually excited to look for opportunities to go!

Thankfully, Joses’ previous invitation had introduced me to the short-term missions opportunities offered by Cru Singapore under their #GO campaign.

And after a few confirmations, I finally signed up for a mission trip to Osaka, Japan from 17-25 December!

As I reflect on my own journey, I also notice a few gaps that could be filled if we are to really empower young people for missions.

While various reports have shown us that the mission workforce is ageing, we can’t be too quick to make the assumption that young people are just not interested in missions.

I have heard from some friends that they are quite open towards missions, but simply don’t know where to get started. Going for a mission trip myself as a young adult also makes me realise the financial costs that come with mission trips, and how challenging it might be for youths to bear such costs.

Perhaps, many young people just need someone to believe in them, to challenge them and to support them — just like what Jethro and Joses did for me.

I have also heard from a couple of ministry workers that Jo’s passing had created a great momentum for missions as more young people are starting to get involved.

I think this is because young people are looking for role models to follow and to learn from. When someone shows them what it means to live for God and gives his whole life for the Great Commission, it inspires young people to do the same.

And so, as a member of Gen Z, I would say this to the generations preceding my own: would you come alongside us and journey with us in the area of missions?

We need you to be our role models. We need you to be our mentors. We need you to inspire and encourage us, so that we can serve the Great Commission together.

#GO is Cru Singapore’s missions thrust to send 200 teams to impact 20 nations in 25 months, beginning in December 2023. The goal is to bring hope to humanity and witness lives transformed through obedience to the Holy Spirit. Click here for more information.