Progress of Next-Gen within CPC
Hard to believe, but it’s been 11 months since I’ve joined the CPC community. Although it hasn’t even been a year, I’m grateful to God for the community Xin Yu and I have experienced, the friendships that have been formed throughout the year and also the progress within the Next-Gen ministry.
We’ve come a long way since January of 2021. When I first arrived, our Next-Gen space was facing some significant challenges. We had gone through a season where our young adults and young families were finding it challenging to engage with our community, whether through Ignite Small Groups or Service. This meant that some were choosing to leave, while others faced the discouragement of seeing others disengage; resulting in a Next-Gen space that wasn’t capable of bringing challenge and renewal into the culture of CPC. Our evening service was a service of only 12, despite faithfulness of the members within it. As with many Asian churches, the theology and application of transition to and empowerment of the next generation was not well articulated.
The goal of myself and the Evening Service Committee and CYA leaders was not just to shift the structures of our ministry, but to transform the culture of our Next-Gen into one which focused on the flourishing and engagement of our inner lives in Christ, and also to create spaces where our young people can explore their voices and spiritual identity. As of the end of 2021, our Evening service has a regular attendance of 40 young adults and young families, with a vibrant community. Around half of them are from Ignite or outside the church, without direct ties to families within CPC. I would like to thank all of you who have been praying for us and supporting us. I believe that as we keep following God, there will be many more spiritual wins ahead. I hope the progress of the Next-Gen is as encouraging to you as it has been to me, a reminder of God’s life and faithfulness within our church.
雪梨華人長老會「下一代青年」的進展
真的難以置信，我加入了雪梨華人長老會已有11個多月了。雖然還不到一年，但我為我和善瑜在這個群體的經歷、在一年中所成立的友誼、及「下一代青年」事工的進展而感謝上帝。
從2021年1月至今，我們已經走了一段很長的路。當我初到雪梨華人長老會時，我們「下一代青年」的空間正面臨一些重大挑戰。我們經歷了一個時期我們的年輕人和年輕家庭發覺無論是通過「燃點職青」小組還是通過教會崇拜，要投入我們的教會群體是很有挑戰性。這意味著一些人選擇了離開教會，而另一些人則看到其他人的離開而沮喪；導致「下一代青年」的空間無法為雪梨華人長老會的文化帶來挑戰和更新。我們的晚間崇拜曾經只有十二人，儘管其中的成員都很忠心。這與許多亞洲教會一樣，在神學理論和運用於下一代的過渡和賦權都沒有清晰說明。
我和英語事工委員會，以及雪梨華人長老會英語青少年團組長的目標是，不僅僅改變我們事工的結構，而是將我們「下一代」的文化，轉化為專注於我們在基督生命裡的蓬勃發展和積極參與，以及創造空間讓我們的年輕人可以探索他們的聲音和認定他們的屬靈身份。截至2021年底，我們的晚間英語崇拜定期有40名年輕人和年輕家庭參與，是充滿活力的群體。其中大約一半來自「燃點職青」小組或教會以外，與雪梨華人長老會成員的家庭沒有直接關係。我要感謝一直為我們祈禱和支持我們的人。我相信，隨著我們不斷追隨上帝，未來會有更多的屬靈勝利。我希望「下一代青年」的進展能對你有鼓舞，就像對我一樣，見證著上帝的生命和信實在我們教會裡。
