With Pas Eliza coming back on staff and Emily Yue joining w.e.f. 1st August, we can expect some changes to staff’s roles.
PS EMMANUEL AND SERENA IN RECENT PHOTO TAKEN WITH OUR YOUTHS
I have already shared about our appreciation for Joy He’s contribution last Sunday. Pas Emmanuel was appointed as youth pastor in 2013 and Pas Serena joined him in 2017. We appreciate their exemplary heartfelt commitment and love for our youths. Many have grown in their faith and some into leadership responsibilities. This; in no small part; is due to their oft quiet work and pastoral commitment to each of them.
There is a Malay proverb: “Sedikit Sedikit jadi bukit.” Little by little, a hill is formed. This indeed is what it means to journey with a person. As St Paul will say:
“Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.” Colossians 1:28,29
The work of pastoring and discipling is hard work indeed. In the short-term, sometimes one do not see results. And such is life: we all have our ups and downs. We imagine that growth is like a rising chart. In reality we often see ourselves growing and then regressing, often with the need to pick up the pieces again. There will be seasons in our lives when we will need others to journey more with us. Someone we can pour our hearts to.
Here lies the heart of a pastoral staff work. Why are we “fulltime’? Yes, there are important admin work which is just a spiritual. We lay out the chairs, design/print the bulletin, plan rosters and so on. We serve that others may also serve with us. But that full time is there that we may also pray, read His Word, hear His voice and spend time with members under our care. We visit the sick. We prepare and lead in bible studies. We do a lot of listening (the hardest of ministry work!). We minister to those who are broken, struggling in sin or experiencing depression. We need to forgive that they may be forgiven. We simply need to minister the way Jesus did. All our training, whether professional in Theological/Bible Schools or in-service is for these pastoral leadership and ministry roles.
In these, many “lay” leaders also serve with us. Some may serve to the point where you become a “non-stipendiary” or bi-vocational “pastor.” A parish like MPCC has limited finance as manpower costs forms the largest portion of our budget. We need to find the optimal point and as the parish grows, this point is a moving one.
So coming back to our Phuntsog couple, we need to show our appreciation. They will now be overseeing our Cell ministry. I have good things to say about other members of our staff team but let’s keep that to other occasions.
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