Shaped by the Cross (III)
This is Part 3 of my personal testimony and my spiritual autobiography.
Spiritual Pilgrimage & Ministerial Experience, continued…
Near the end of my first year at Ryerson, the Worship Coordinator began talking to me about whether or not I was interested in taking over his responsibilities as “Worship Coordinator” the following year. He said it was a logical step considering I was a inviting worship leader and seemed like a very caring servant to CCF. I was humbled by his remarks, and soon enough, I was nominated to be on the following year’s CCF Planning Committee as Worship Coordinator and voted into the position on election day. It truly was a gift of God to be given such an opportunity to serve my brothers and sisters at Ryerson CCF, and yet at the same time, a great responsibility had been put on my shoulders to be a mentor and leader of a people whom I considered to be my equals.
That first year I was on committee became a great learning experience for me due to the fact that I initiated many changes to the musical worship ministry. I first started a more planned and structured worship teams schedule, as well as a mandatory devotional and prayer time at the beginning of all worship practices. This all came from my understanding that all the songs we lead others in singing during fellowship are meaningless unless we first discuss and prayer about the life story behind the songs. As that year progressed, the fellowship and I started growing deeper into the heart of God as we reflected more deeply into the songs we sang. The music was only the soundtrack to the story of our lives—evidence of the amazing work of God’s mercy and grace in His chosen people. Through leading worship during fellowship gatherings, talking to individual leaders, coordinating events and organizing the winter retreat worship, I learned a great deal about worship as a lifestyle even as I lead others in the learning process.
When the end of the school year drew near, I had a yearning to step up and stay another year on the planning committee. As much as I knew I had contributed to the growth fellowship through leading the worship ministry, I also felt that my job was not finished. Even though I spent a great deal of time fellowshipping, making new friends, and discipling others in worship, I did not take enough initiative to mentor anybody to take over as Worship Coordinator. As a result, I told the fellowship during election night my mission for my second term in the ministry if re-elected: to continue growing the musical ministry upon the foundation of God’s word and to build up the next generation of leaders before passing on the torch.
Being elected for a second term was like being a given a second chance to accomplish all that God wanted me to accomplish for Ryerson CCF. God taught me through my second year as Worship Coordinator that even though the ministry itself was very important, mentoring the next generation of leaders was just as important for me as the shepherd of the flock. In my first year on committee, I saw some good potential in one individual to pick up the responsibility, and so, my second year on committee was spent building upon our friendship and nurturing his leadership skills. As easy as mentorship seemed in books and at conferences, it was a tasking job in reality and required me to put a lot of additional time and effort into it.
(To be continued…)
In this series: (Download PDF of the entire autobiography)
