Summer of South Asian Ministry
In some ways this summer was my summer for significant South Asian ministry, and in many ways a summer of answered prayers for clarity in my role as a minister to South Asians.
I directed the 2014 Bangladesh GUP, and here are a few of my reflections: Being the director of this GUP after serving as a staff for the past two years was adramatic change. Suddenly, I was the one people looked to for answers; I was responsible for booking flights, determining program with our hosts and making sure our team raised all their funds. There were aspects that I loved and aspects that I hated.
LOVED
• Working with a new staff team and figuring out how to free them to lead with their strengths and grow in their weaknesses
• Renewing and deepening relationships with BSFB staff and students
• Relying on God in new ways and seeing the ways He would meet me and call me to trust and partner with Him
HATED
• Making tough decisions on behalf of the team and the ways that would affect relationships between the team and myself
• The all-consuming thoughts about the GUP and the loneliness of leadership
• Needing to always be thinking on my feet and making quick changes due to unforeseen variables
But, now as I look back on the experience, I am grateful for the things that our team learned and experienced, how well we partnered with BSFB, and the ways that I grew as a leader. You can read more of my Bangladesh GUP reflections here.
I also took two Ryerson students with me to the 3rd South Asian InterVarsity Leadership Institute hosted by InterVarsity USA in Boston this August.
To be honest, I was not looking forward to this conference. I believed this would be a deeply enriching experience for the students, but I was tired from the GUP and other summer responsibilities and was sacrificing being part of some significant events in Toronto that week. But, our God is a gracious God. In all the places of need I felt, He met me with abundance. I felt a deep richness of partnership with my colleagues, I was empowered to lead and refueled after a long season of fruitful but tiring work. And I was amazed at what happened for my students. S, a recent graduate, told
me this story on the bus ride home: “I’m a Pastor’s son and have been a Christian my entire life but I NEVER talk about my faith with people. Even when my friends were thinking about becoming a Christian, I wouldn’t talk to them until after they made a decision to follow Christ. I always found talking about my faith awkward. But when we were in Boston sharing our faith with strangers, I realized it’s always awkward when you start but you have to get over it. So I did, and it was amazing!”After S got home, he had started a new job, and within 20 minutes of meeting his
supervisor he shared his faith and asked him to follow Jesus! And N was so excited to reach out to South Asians on our campus. He felt inspired by the ways he can easily build relationships with nonbelieving South Asians and be a witness. Since returning to campus, we have had more South Asians be involved in our ministries than ever before! Praise God!
City/Script 2010
City/Script is an annual Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship Conference that runs May 1-7. It is a time where students from various campuses across Ontario come together for a week of studying scripture manuscript-style and spending some time in the city seeing the scriptures come alive. This year the conference was held at York University’s Glendon campus.
There were four students from Ryerson who attended: Ainsley, Vanessa, Moe and Jenna. Moe and Jenna spent the week studying the first half of the Gospel of Mark, Vanessa spent the week studying the second half of the Gospel of Mark, and Ainsley spent the week studying Genesis. I didn’t attend the conference this year, and it felt strange, as this conference has served as a marker for me in my staff life.
I did go visit the students one day during the week, and had a wonderful time. I went on a day the students had a 6 hour break, and spent most of that time with the students. It was great hearing how God was moving in their lives and speaking to them through scripture. I was also moved by the ways in which the students cared for each other; praying for and serving each other throughout the week.
Vanessa, on a break at City/Script 2010
Vanessa, photographed left, had this to say about the conference:
My second time at city/script was both challenging and encouraging, and surpassed my expectations based on my first experience. I was nervous going in to the week because I was the only student from my campus in my study group and I wasn’t familiar with any of the other students. One of the passages we looked at was Mark 10:29-30 where Jesus promises those who leave house and family for Him that they will receive it back one hundred fold. I really felt this was true for me the more I stepped out in this new community and was so embraced by them. I was even invited to join a Bible study happening this summer in my hometown with the University of Ottawa. It was so exciting to have this initially intimidating situation become such an experience of growth and encouragement and seeing the scripture I was studying play out immediately in my life.
Ryerson’s year-end banquet
Group shot of Ryerson's year end banquet
After spending a year off-campus, I was given special permission to attend Ryerson’s year-end banquet in April. I was excited to see the students and hear stories of the past year. In addition to this being the final meeting for the year, it was the final meeting for a few students who were graduating; all of whom I’d had the pleasure of knowing and working with all four years they had been students. The banquet consisted of a potluck-style meal, a time for sharing stories of the year, a send-off for the graduating students and a few fun interactive games.
Though I was a little nervous seeing the students again after being away for some time, I was happy to be there. When the time came for sharing stories of the past year, everyone in the room said something, and I was astounded; everything they were saying about ways God had ministered to their hearts and to this community were the exact same ways God had been ministering to my heart and to my regional staff team community! This is the second time a realization like this has happened this year. The first time it happened was at Urbana. For even though I wasn’t working with Ryerson students, I did spend my free time with them, and found that despite my absence there were still many things that connected us and drew us together. It served as confirmation, that when the day came for my return to campus that the transition will be relatively seamless, that just living in the fullness of who I am in Christ will provide connections with students.
I was especially struck by the ways students were stepping into risk in the coming year. Each member of the new leadership team: Jenna, Moe, Brian, and Vanessa; are all responding faithfully to the call to leadership, despite some great costs. Jenna will be serving in leadership in her second year of her degree, and is one of the youngest and newest members of the community; she is also serving on a team of students who will all be graduating in the coming year. Moe will be serving in leadership for the first time with this community and he will have time constraints as he serves in leadership and finishes his fourth year of his New Media degree. Brian is the only returning leader from this past year and will be facing time constraints as he serves this community and finishes the fourth year of his Business degree. Vanessa will be serving as President even though this will be her first year in an official leadership position in this community; she is also entering into the fourth year of her fashion degree. What further amazed me is that each of these students accepted these roles without any confirmation about whether or not they would have a Campus Minister with them next year, stepping out in faith that they will be met by God as they follow His call! Please keep them in your prayers for the coming year.
As part of the send-off for graduating students, I was asked to present an award. This award had been in the Ryerson community since before my time, it is called the Richard Baker Award. Richard Baker, now a Ryerson alumnus, was president of the fellowship many years ago, and served as a model for younger students of what it means to be committed to being part of and serving the IVCF community, especially in one’s senior years. The award is presented to students who have been part of the community and have served in various capacities throughout their years at Ryerson. I was proud to present this award to all 5 graduating students: Ainsley, Reuben, Kelly, Iven, and Joel. Each has used their gifts and talents to serve this community in so many ways and have blessed my life and the lives of those in the community.
After the graduate send-off, we played a few interactive games and ended the evening. Though the banquet lasted almost 4 hours, the time flew by! I was full of life afterward and further excited for the day I return to campus!
2010 Grads: Kelly, Reuben, Ainsley, Iven. Missing from photo: Joel
Life-giving work with students
After a long day staring at a computer screen and hoping a cup of coffee will make me more alert, nothing brings life into my day like working with students and hearing how Jesus is working (and sometimes interrupting) their lives towards his purposes.
A few weeks ago I was sitting at my desk at my part-time office job. It was just after lunch and I was hitting the “3 pm brick wall”. It was my first day back after a week away and I was waiting for my third cup of coffee to kick in so I would be more alert. The day wasn’t particularly stressful; in fact, I had actually been able to complete some projects and do some needed maintenance on others. It was a day when I had minimal interruptions and distractions, and was experiencing one of my “ideal” days at the office. Yet, by mid-afternoon, I could barely stay focused on the task at hand.
Just then I received an email from one of my students, she had spent some time at a conference the week prior and had some very significant conversations and time in scripture. What came out of this week left her spinning, and as she was processing these encounters and an invitation to ministry, she asked to meet with me to discuss her options.
Now, this email came as a complete surprise, and also filled me with complete joy! This was the type of invitation I had hoped to make to this student but sadly was not able to during the school term! It was super exciting to receive this email, and also see that some of my hopes for this student were fulfilled despite my absence, and yet to still be invited in the process!
It was after this email and making plans to meet with this student, that I was alert and had the energy to push through the rest of the day! It became clear to me that nothing else in my life truly compares to the life-giving work of working with students and walking with them as they encounter Jesus and respond to his call!
The Arch 