Are We Impacting the Next Generation?
Our third NextGen seminar, Are We Impacting the Next Generation?, was held at St James’ Church on 3 November. A total of 128 participants attended this engaging discussion on how to build stronger biblical worldviews in the next generation.
Dr Calvin Chong from Singapore Bible College started off the evening by presenting a qualitative report on the strengths, weaknesses and challenges faced by youth ministries from his interviews with various youth pastors and ministry leaders.
Jose Philip from Ravi Zacharias International Ministries presented the keynote address, entitled “Lighted to Lighten: Living Right Side Up Lives in an Up Side Down World”. Noting that what one generation ignores, the following generation will take for granted, he highlighted areas of our modern lives where we have wrongly divided what should be united, and where we have wrongly levelled what should stay separate.
He also noted areas where the modern world has wrongly divided: the sacred and the secular, the issue of faith and knowledge, and the public and the private life. Citing 1 Corinthians 11:1, he reminded leaders and parents to embody and live out the Christian faith as an example for the next generation to see, rather than just teaching and telling them what to do.
A lively Q&A discussion followed with Dr Calvin Chong, Jose Philip and Ng Zhi-Wen (TeamZero/Zion Bishan B-P Church). Zhi-Wen shared about his experience in youth ministry and the need for the whole church to minister the whole Word to the whole person. He shared about the relevance of teaching good theology to our youth, and the need to minister to the brokenness in our youth by sharing openly about our own weaknesses.
One participant mentioned after the seminar, “I’m inspired to teach my biological and spiritual children to follow me as I follow Jesus.”
About the Speakers
Dr Calvin Chong is Associate Professor of Educational Studies at Singapore Bible College. His current teaching and research areas relate to youth, urban missions, and oral preference learners. Calvin is a board member of The Evangelical Fellowship of Singapore and HealthServe, a community development NGO.
Jose Philip is currently serving as an Evangelist and Apologist with Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (Asia-Pacific). He also lectures on Apologetics, Christian Ethics, and Gospel & Culture at Singapore Bible College, Baptist Theological Seminary and Bible College Malaysia.
Ng Zhi-wen serves on staff at Zion Bishan BP Church and is an associate with ETHOS Institute and Singapore Center for Global Mission. Zhi-wen helped to co-found TeamZero, a dynamic group of young adult Christians. Previously, he served as deacon for his church's youth ministry, and was a youth discipleship leader for six years.