Thanks to God's leading, I joined the ministry team at St Phil’s in November 2021. Although I have only just begun my ministry here, I have already experienced many things for which I am especially thankful. First, I would like to thank Bruce for his help in this process and for making my transition into St Phil’s ministry as smooth as possible. I am grateful to have Clarence and Christine as pastors in the Chinese ministry and to have the opportunity to work with them in developing the Chinese ministry. I am also thankful for the prayers and support of the Mandarin committee and the brothers and sisters, so that I could quickly integrate into the Mandarin congregation and build relationships with brothers and sisters.
Although the Mandarin congregations still experienced many impacts from COVID in 2021, we are thankful that the closure of the lockdown ended at the end of October, and that brothers and sisters began to return to onsite worship. We also saw a steady increase in attendance at the onsite services in the weeks following the opening.
In terms of ministry, I am thankful to be able to start the Foundations of Faith/Baptism class, which helps brothers and sisters preparing for baptism to understand clearly what they believe and prepare themselves for baptism. We are thankful that a total of 10 brothers and sisters (8 adults and 2 infants) were baptised at the Christmas joint Mandarin service, and we thank God for giving us the opportunity to experience the joy of the harvest.
These are the grace of God for the Mandarin congregation that I have experienced in my short time of ministry. Looking forward to the new year, I hope that God will lead our brothers and sisters to continue to know the Word of God, grow in faith and that the Mandarin
congregation will continue to move towards maturity. Just like the mission of our church: to make everyone mature in Christ (Colossians 1:28).
Lane Sun
Associate Pastor (Mandarin)