Six young adults from Campus Ministry interned in four departments across Trinity from May to July and reflect on their journey of growth.
By Anna Chan, Campus Ministry
During the May holiday break, six young adults from Campus Ministry signed up for Campus Summer Track (CST), an inaugural nine-week internship program comprising discipleship by Pastors and Ministers and on-the-job training by various departments at Trinity Christian Centre.
NUS students Andrew Wu (22), Jost Png (23), Tammy Koh (22), and Deborah Yeo (22) joined Bryant Toh (22 and waiting admission) and me (21 from SIM), in completing CST on July 9, 2021.
According to Brothers Poon Chong Lin and Nathanael Leng, the pastors in-charge of CST, this internship was birthed out of prayer by the Campus Ministry Pastoral Team and Trinity’s leadership with the vision to raise up young missional leaders for God’s service.
Growth and Self-Discovery
When I first heard about CST, I gave it thoughtful consideration and decided to give it a try. I wanted to know God’s calling on my life and hoped to get an answer from the Lord during this attachment.
During our first week, we were posted to different departments within Trinity. Andrew was posted to Church Operations, Tammy to Church Management, Bryant and Deborah to Broadcast, and Jost and I to Communications.
We all, however, convened for times of devotions and sharing, which greatly encouraged us as we helped each other overcome difficulties. Together, we also read Every Good Endeavor by Timothy Keller throughout our internship, which helped frame our perspective on God’s intention for work and how He desires to redeem the world through our work.
At the onset of the internship, we each had very different expectations. Some hoped to see how it felt like to work in church while others simply wanted to learn and grow spiritually. However, what we gained in the end exceeded our expectations.
For Bryant, CST was not only an opportunity to expand his skills but to give his time and talents to serve God and His people. Deborah found her work to be more than just a job and meeting deadlines; every assignment was building God’s temple and creating something that would bless church members and glorify the Lord.
CST was an eye-opening experience that allowed Tammy to see that so much takes place behind-the-scenes of church activities. Her main takeaway is that being called to God’s house is not about pursuing self-interests. When she was assigned tasks that she was not initially keen on, she learned to look first to God’s will and lean wholly on His grace to carry it out with His strength and joy.
Andrew was impacted by the unity and partnership of many different roles and giftings within the house of God. While some roles have the spotlight, other positions receive less limelight yet hold equal importance.
Jost and I both interned in Communications; he worked on social media content while I helped with Trinity’s website and the Trinity App.
During June’s Life Conference, Jost was tasked with regularly updating Trinity’s social media accounts with new posts and captions about the conference program. With no prior experience in social media, he was stretched and learned to rely on God’s grace for the challenging workload. Even though he was not engaged in direct “ministry” work, he needed to continually turn to the Lord and His guidance for his daily to-dos.
Step-by-step
My work felt meaningful and fruitful, especially as I learned more about digital media and how to maximize it to reach wider audiences for Kingdom purposes. God revealed to me that every single task I was given – no matter how big or small – was crucial in edifying the church.
Even though I did not receive a direct answer from the Lord on where He is calling me, a huge takeaway for me from CST was learning to trust Him to guide me step-by-step as I chose to abide in Him moment by moment. I may not know where He’s taking me, but it’s the journey with Him that truly counts.
During these nine weeks, 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 kept me anchored whenever I needed the Lord’s encouragement to finish strong:
“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
CST offered the six of us an opportunity to serve the Lord and His church in unique ways that stretched our spiritual mindsets and sharpened our natural capabilities.
Brother Chong Lin, our mentor throughout the program, witnessed God molding our hearts and characters as we carried out the tasks entrusted to us with diligence and Spirit-led creativity.
Throughout these weeks of discipleship, we were challenged to step out in faith at work and serve God selflessly. As the pioneer cohort of CSTs, we rejoiced seeing God surpass our expectations. We are grateful to God for this opportunity and thankful to the leadership at Trinity for guiding us in our faith and equipping us to be thoughtful and wise workers for Christ.
Reflect & Respond
What has been your favorite serving opportunity at church?
How can you glorify God in your workplace?