by Joyce Peh
Serve programmes have always been a key feature in the SYFC calendar. Every year, we welcome different groups of young people to use their long holidays to learn what it is like to serve God in a full-time capacity.
However, over the years, the number of participants has dwindled. Have our Serve programmes become irrelevant and is it time for SYFC to slaughter this sacred cow?
One morning, ministry leaders came together to answer this. Richard Tan, National Director, who also plans our yearly Project Serve raised this hard question, “Why should we still organise our Serves?” Sarah Koh from the Secondary School and Junior College Ministry replied, “Project Serve helps younger ones catch a vision of the harvest field and God’s heart for souls. Those who join become labourers in the harvest field. It’s also a place where young people find a Christian community that encourages them to do good.”
Joshua Goh from the ITE Ministry echoed Sarah’s sentiments and added, “Evangelism is what every Christian should do and Project Serve ensures young people are trained and given the opportunity to do so.”
Reggie Ng, Poly Ministry Coordinator, shared that based on Proverbs 3:9, Grad Serve gives polytechnic students a chance to offer their first fruits to the Lord upon graduation.
These are good reasons to carry on running Serve programmes but do young people feel the same way about them?
I spoke to Seet Seow Chee, 20, who joined Project Serve in 2020 and 2022, after her O- and A-levels exams respectively. Seow Chee candidly admitted that at first she wasn’t very keen after her A-levels. She had plans for internship and didn’t want to be tied down. In her mind, three months was “a very long time”. Her response reflected a typical Gen Z youth who is “more reticent to commit than previous generations were.”*
After Seow Chee entered medical school, she continued to volunteer with the Secondary School and Junior College Ministry till today. She suggested that to get more of her generation’s young people to join the Serves, the programmes must be “more flexible”.
In response, Titus Wong, from the organising team, revealed the adjustments. “In 2024, Project Servants are only expected to report three days each week to give more time for family, church involvement, rest and exploring other opportunities. The training modules will be condensed to focus on learning the gospel for themselves and how to share with others. In the first week, they will be exposed to different ministries and be involved in reaching the group of youth they choose to work with.”
What will not change is the attachment of a supervisor or mentor to every Project Servant. Wang Qiuyue, one of the executive leaders, affirmed that “extended time of daily conversations and devotions between supervisors and Project Servants help to shape the Project Servants’ values and influence them for evangelism.”
Richard noted that the younger staff who joined us in recent years have all passed through the gates of Project Serve. It is encouraging that “their lives were impacted then.” Titus, himself a Project Servant in 2010 and 2012, said, “Even if the number of participants has reduced, I hope we will continue with the Serve Programmes since each young person who comes is a life God will make an impact in for the gospel.”
So, Serve programmes are indeed still helpful and relevant. The challenge is to find the balance between staying relevant to the needs of this generation and being able to teach them that serving God involves suffering and giving up our preferences. Please pray for the Project Serve organising team and for more Christian young people to join us in 2024.
If you know any young people who are keen to hear about Project Serve to a youth you know, please share this Project Serve 2024 brochure with them!
