Monthly Prayer Letter

mpanions of FES,

I remember meeting with Rev Timothy Au, an honourably retired teacher of CGST, at the end of last year. Besides discussing the arrangements for staff retreat camp, he repeatedly expressed to me and my co-workers, “The work of FES in this era proves to be very important and crucial, therefore, you must persevere!” I wholeheartedly agree with this, especially at a time when youth ministry is seeking for a way out, and the mission and ministry of FES to build up student evangelical communities on campuses shows a great deal of significance. If youth ministry fails, how can we possibly see a future for the church?

「中學聯校團職訓練日」

We all feel the challenges brought by the current situation in the past few years. Yet when I closely count God’s faithful guidance in the FES team, I am greatly thankful for the fruitfulness of all our ministries. During the pandemic, we started the “idontdevotion” Instagram, which allowed secondary school students to learn about the Lord of Life through daily Bible reading and prayer. By the end of last year, the number of people reached by “idontdevotion” rose to 15,000 per month, including secondary school students, tertiary students and youth instructors, and the number of participants continues to rise. Over 250 students participated in the Inter-School Orientation (ISO) for fellowship committee members in October, the largest number of participants in the last ten years. We witness that the “Lord of the harvest” is sending young people to serve Him on campus in urgency (Mt. 9:38).

Dear companions of FES, 

This week we held our annual Staff Retreat Day and Ministry Planning Camp at Breakthrough Youth Village. Led by William, Associate Director of the Fellowship Department on the first day, all staff members put together a personal “ministry journey”, meditated on the story of Jesus’ call to Peter, and reflected on how the Lord is gradually leading us. The following day, we invited Rev Timothy Au to lead a retreat for our staff team to practice listening to each other and reflecting on our roles, gifts, and mission in the organization. On the third morning, we shared our plans and needs for the new year in each department and prayed for each other. When we left the camp, we went shopping for “souvenirs” which were Breakthrough’s latest publications Why Can’t We Become the Ideal Adult? A Report on the Face of Youth in Hong Kong + Breakazine (Unfinished Adult Ceremony), which summarize the results of its youth researches for more than a decade. With the significant attrition of young people in Hong Kong churches nowadays, we need more solid local researches to help us understand the youth situation in a more  well-rounded way.

In recent years we started to promote listening movement, organize non-violent communication training, and mental health first aid courses. This month, our Inter-College Department collaborated with Virtue

Dear companions of FES,

During the Christmas season this year, I believe we all had many gatherings with family and friends, and perhaps some of our brothers and sisters in Christ from overseas came to visit us. The fellowship of facing each other in person and sharing our experiences in recent years, and encouraging and supporting each other in the Lord, is truly invaluable. May we all be in the same spirit of anticipation for our encounter with Jesus Christ this Christmas. Luke records a relatively unnoticed meeting when Mary, having received the angel’s report, hastened to visit Elisabeth in the hill country of Judah (Lk. 1:39-45). This “haste” on Mary’s part suggests two things: perhaps she was concerned about the pregnancy of the aged Elizabeth, or more likely, Mary wanted to share the experience of the Lord’s presence with her as soon as possible. Elisabeth’s response was, “But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” (Lk. 1:43). If the Lord were to come to us today, how would we react? Would we meet the Lord of our lives with great anticipation?

The year ahead is hardly a year of optimism in terms of the general situation of international relations and the prospects of Hong Kong. But where is our strength and hope? Not in the experts who chart or analyze the world, but in the Word of God that comes to us through the messenger, “The Lord should come here”. “Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfil his promises to her!” (Lk. 1:45) The world is to be ……

Dear companions of F

Dear companions of F

Dear companions of FES,

I recently had the privilege of speaking with several seminary teachers about how to shape a trauma-sensitive church, and we all affirmed that this pastoral issue is of great concern at this time and place. Conventional churches are accustomed to placing objective truths above subjective emotions; to make their congregations obedient to certain teaching principles, the churches do not intentionally create space for emotional dialogue, which can easily lead to indifference and even conflicts in interpersonal relationships. Failure to address these emotional drivers will eventually bring some damaging harm to the church community.

We need to transform ‘dogmatic faith’ into a ‘presence-based faith experience’. We need to be aware of the Lord’s presence in our daily lives, likewise we need to be open to the needs of others. Jesus said, ‘Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and ……

Dear companions of FES,

This busy summer is drawing to a close. Apart from the intensive summer ministry, I had wonderful time to catch up with some of my dear friends who had returned to Hong Kong. We enjoyed the bonding of the Lord’s Fellowship. I hope that you could have some rest this summer, and also get together with your family and friends to feel the grace of a physical life of fellowship in the Lord. Only in the spiritual fellowship given by the Lord we can live out our true self-image and values. This loving relationship is not hindered by geography, social status, or identity (Gal. 3:26-28).

Before the new school year began, I had the opportunity to lead a few teachers’ retreats, and I realized that it is not easy for teachers to enter a quiet and steady rhythm in their careers. They are facing a lot of unrealistic expectations and ……

Dear companions of FES,

June and July are the busiest months of the year for us. Our ministries are in full swing and our staff are in high gear. Yet in the midst of our ordinary human busyness, we are amazed to see the marvelous works of God. We would like to share the experience of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students’ East Asia Regional Conference (#IFES #EARC2024): We thank the Lord for leading 19 student delegates and 4 staff members to participate in this year’s EARC in Bangkok, Thailand, from July 3-9. All participants returned highly enriched. The theme of this year’s conference is Voice Matters, and the conference aims to help participants discern our God-given mission, enabling them to hear the voice from above amidst all the noise in the world.

EARC participants are mainly college fellowship leaders and fellow workers from the East Asia Region. With daily hymns and worship led by representatives from different movements, it was indeed an opportunity for us mortals to have a taste of ……

Dear companions of FES,

In the history of mankind, the days of light were no more than the days of darkness; existing mankind may still recall the scene of the atomic bomb falling on a densely populated city, the blinding glare of which was the beginning of the spread of darkness once again. I recently shared with a fellow believer that the church must admit that the scope of the world’s unredeemed is vast. This refers not only to a geographical area, but also to ourselves, and even to the Church itself. We should not be stagnant and unwilling to face the reality for fear of falling down. True faith should confront reality without fear, like Job who dared to question (e.g., Job 13, 16) and speak to the Lord (e.g., Job 40) in the midst of dark perplexity. While we, like Job, are often unable to find the answers, we still need to thoroughly face all the realities and burdens of the Christian life and let the Lord Himself scrutinize them and ……

Dear companions of FES,

I recently had a valuable opportunity to attend a course on psychoanalysis and psychotherapy, and the instructor mentioned that some clients would engage in abnormal behaviors, such as hurting themselves physically, in order to find a way out of their unbearable situation. The first step to support them is to actively listen to their life stories and understand their underlying thoughts and purposes. Mentors need to be patient in caring for the struggles of young people as they grow up, so that they have the space to express their emotions and feel valued in order to build a worthy life for themselves. I am reminded of the female lead in the movie The Lyricist Wannabe, who, instead of pursuing an accelerated career path after graduation, chose to follow a path full of setbacks in pursuit of her dreams. If you encountered such a young person, would you support her to step out bravely?

When God sent Samuel to choose the king of Israel from among the sons of Jesse, God was not looking at the outward appearance of a man’s physical features or behavior, but at the heart of……

Dear companions of FES,

A philanthropist recently decided to “invest” in college students by donating a large sum of money to a New York medical college that waived tuition for all its students. Nearly half of the College’s students are of Asian, Hispanic, and African-American backgrounds, and many have graduated with about $200,000 in debt. This donation sets students free not only to attend medical school, which would otherwise be unaffordable, but also empowers the community for future growth and renewal. I also learnt from a report that six students from a secondary school in Tin Shui Wai participated in an innovation and technology exchange conference in Tokyo and heard the Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry speak in person. As young researchers with a passion for science and technology, they were inspired by this rare opportunity to broaden their horizons and ……

I hope you enjoy a peaceful and loving Christmas. Apart from celebrating the birth of our Savior at Christmas, I also meditate on the life of the baby Jesus. According to the Gospel of Matthew, the newborn baby Jesus went from the “holy scene” into “exile” to escape from King Herod. Herod was so determined that this king of the Jews would not survive that he killed all the boys in and around Bethlehem who were two years old and under (Mt. 2:16-18). After Herod’s death and the succession of his son to rule Judea, Joseph, still afraid to go there again, moved his family back to Galilee and settled in the city of Nazareth, where Jesus became known as “the Nazarene” (Mt. 2:23).