Dear friend,
Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest.’ (Matthew 9:37–38)
Singapore Youth for Christ (SYFC), together with other Christian groups and churches involved in youth ministry, seek to reach about 418,000 youths from ages 10 to 19 years old1 in Singapore. This is by no means a small number and so the need to pray for more workers to be in this harvest field is great. Over the years, I have come to appreciate the important role that paid Christian workers play in reaching youth for Jesus Christ.
Currently in SYFC, we have about 65 full-time and part-time staff. Because of our availability, much of the work in contacting and meeting with students rest upon the staff. Just simply hanging out with the students, playing board games or friendly badminton matches with them are so precious since it is during those moments where we get to hear the young people’s victories and challenges. And this goes a long way in us building relationships and sharing the gospel with them.
40% of SYFC staff are considered junior staff whereby their age gaps with the students are relatively smaller. With rapid technological advancement, the games students play, the social media they consume, and the Artificial Intelligence (AI) they are exposed to are very different from those of the previous generations. Hence, younger staff can relate more naturally to students because of similar shared experiences. We wish to have a steady inflow of younger staff members, but it is becoming increasingly challenging for young adults to consider Christian ministry as a possible career option because of the high cost of living. We know that the concern is real, especially for young families. So, the leadership is weighing the needs and costs involved to help those who are thinking of joining the staff team. Please pray for us to know how best to support those who are considering joining the staff team.
While it is important to bring in younger staff, having the more experienced senior staff members around is equally important. Their faithfulness in serving the Lord, their commitment to sharing and teaching the gospel to the youth, and their sacrificial love for the young people are not only good examples for the young staff but testimonies of the Lord’s good work in and through their lives. However, it is easy for them to feel displaced when they no longer have the energy to run with young people or speak the same lingo as them. Hence, the leadership need to come alongside them and craft out appropriate roles for them. Again, I seek your prayers for wisdom as we do this.
We need more staff workers in reaching youths. Hence, we ask that you pray with us, as the Lord encourages us to pray, for more men and women to answer His call into His harvest field.
With gratitude,
Richard Tan
National Director
1 https://www.statista.com/statistics/624913/singapore-population-by-age-group/
