Christian Outreach & Social Concerns (COSC) Weekend was on 22 and 23 February 2025 and it was also the launch of Wesley @ Jalan Besar.
At the Youth Ministry (YM) Service on 22 February, Director of COSC, Loke Ai Mei preached at the service on its strategy to impact the communities where we are serving through the 3Bs: Blessing, Belonging and Believing. It was an appeal to the heart and not the head, to challenge the youths to step out of their comfort zone to engage in acts of kindness in society.
That Saturday, we were thankful to hear from four youths on their involvement on the ground with COSC and what their motivation for volunteering is, if they had seen God at work and what difference it had made to their discipleship or faith journey. And what they hope to see happening in YM in the next five years in outreach as part of their discipleship journey.
Here is their sharing:
Natania Leow :
Natania volunteers with Park&Play at Wesley Youth Centre which happens from 2 to 5pm every weekday except Wednesdays and she was more involved over her school break. However, since school started, she could only go when she can, for example, participate at Christmas events.
“I decided to volunteer because I realised I was serving a lot in a leadership capacity within the four walls of Wesley, which quickly became my comfort zone. I was convicted that I should be going out into society, just like Jesus did.
Through becoming friends with kids from five to 12 years old, I realise my role is to just be a loving friend to them. God had provided opportunities for me to talk about Christianity, like when they see my cross necklace and ask if I am a Christian? It was a chance to plant some seeds even though as primary schoolers, they would lose interest quite fast.
I hope that more of YM will understand that being a Christian is more than fellowship with brothers- and sisters-in-Christ, it is about being salt and light to the world. I think one main concern we have as youths is that we “don’t know enough about Christianity” to do outreach, but I hope we will realise that it’s not our job to save people, it’s our job to point them to the Saviour. If we’ve experienced God’s love even once, displaying that same unconditional love to others is outreach in itself!”
I was convicted that I should be going out into society, just like Jesus did. ~ Natania Leow
Charmaine Chua:
“I am a YMOVE member – if you don’t already know, YMOVE is the mission’s arm of YM, it is not really a sub-ministry, but we are a committee who coordinates and arranges outreach opportunities within YM and keep up with the relationships we have with our ministry partners.
I’ve been on a couple of mission trips, local and overseas with YM and did some community outreach such as food distribution.
My motivation is Revelation 7:9 ‘After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb’. This overarching motivation has always been this image of people from all nations and all parts in life coming together to worship the Lord and only focusing our gaze on the glory of God.
My overarching motivation is divided into several key aspects:
- Obedience to God’s commandment of making disciples of all nations
- Overwhelming transformation and love for God, for I know He is so beautiful, so I want people around to see that too
- God’s love and care for these people, which inspires and transforms my heart, and my desire to grow in understanding God’s heart and love through all His creation
Personally, I think one of the biggest things for me in going for mission trips is the practice of asking “what is on God’s heart”, which could be a place, person or structure. To get in the practice of always seeking to see where God is and to ask what is on his heart for His people. It stretched my perspective of what being a Christian looks like, from the lives and faith of others, and from the way I learnt to be a blessing to others. It showed me a glimpse of what “breaking my heart for what breaks God’s heart” could look like and it showed me how powerful it would be to constantly seek and dig to catch glimpses of God’s heart.
The people we reach out to are vastly different and are going through vastly different things, but when I seek to look at it from God’s lenses, it reveals so much sin in myself, and it reveals so much glory and heart in His creation.
I hope youths could see God beyond the walls of YM, Wesley, school and family and for a genuine desire to seek for the day when God returns and when all the nations praise His name. I think this is how I see our community could be most united, to desire for the most beautiful and glorious thing and seek for His name to be praised outside the walls of our church and, of course, to learn to connect and seek God’s heart through that process.”
The people we reach out to are vastly different and are going through vastly different things, but when I seek to look at it from God’s lenses, it reveals so much sin in myself, and it reveals so much glory and heart in His creation. ~ Charmaine Chua
Aaron Lau:
“I am serving in Philotheos, YMOVE and in COSC together with my friend Jayna.
My motivation in serving is to be able to point people to Jesus. For me, seeing God at work is hard especially because of all the rejection I faced when trying to share the gospel. Even so, God is indeed working internally within the people I talk to as much as I would like to see the outward change of them. Through all the rejection, I know God is still good seeing some people taking the step to pray to God to receive Him into their life. But even through the rejection, God is still good as He uses me in His eternal plan to save His people by letting me sow seeds into people by first sharing the gospel with them and leaving it up to God for Him to give them understanding in the truth through the Holy Spirit.
A verse that reminds me of God’s sovereignty in serving Him is 1 Corinthians 3:6-7. This verse really humbled my expectations when I serve. It is only God who gives the growth and salvation of His people despite how hard I try. So, when serving God, I try my best, then let go and let God do the rest.
I hope to see YM be a place where youths grow in humility of wanting to walk closely with God in their lives. I hope that God allows us to see how much grace He has given to everyone so that we may fear Him more and see the need to share the good news to everyone.”
It is only God who gives the growth and salvation of His people despite how hard I try. So, when serving God, I try my best, then let go and let God do the rest. ~ Aaron Lau
Jayna Hoong:
“I’m part of the More Than Conquerors Small Group in Young Adults. I serve with COSC at Jalan Berseh, connecting with the elderly at Block 118 with my friend Aaron. We play games, sing and recently brought one to Alpha, hoping they would come to know Jesus.
My motivation for serving is simple: I believe people need Jesus. That’s why I do what I do. One of the biggest lessons I’ve learnt is that serving is not about performing perfectly, but about the posture of our hearts. I remember a time serving as a worship leader in my previous church, feeling empty because I was relying on my own strength. I wanted people to experience God but forgot that it was God working through me. I realised that serving is not about proving myself but following God’s lead and partnering with Him.
I also learned the importance of finding my identity in Christ, not in my work. Early on, I tied my worth to how well I performed. But God showed me that He doesn’t need me to prove myself to Him, He just wants me to serve out of love for Him. My identity isn’t in what I do; it’s in being His child.
Lastly, I learned that serving is a joy, not a burden, when we understand the grace that saved us. In Ephesians 2:8-9, it says, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.” Serving is an overflow of gratitude for His grace. It’s a privilege, not a duty.
Looking back, I realise the changes in my life didn’t happen overnight. It took time, struggles and God’s steady work for me. I learned that serving God isn’t about being perfect or achieving great things on my own. It’s about having a willing heart, finding my identity in Him and responding to His grace with joy.
As I look ahead, my prayer is that more youths in YM will embrace this mindset—serving with humility, knowing their worth in Christ and experiencing the joy that comes from serving Him. It’s not about what we do, but who we are in Him and how we respond to His calling. God saved us by grace, and when we remember that we can serve with joy, knowing it’s not about us, but all about Him.”
I learned that serving God isn’t about being perfect or achieving great things on my own. It’s about having a willing heart, finding my identity in Him and responding to His grace with joy. ~ Jayna Hoong
It was very heartening to hear the sharing from these youths. I am glad their volunteering journey started early, and hopefully they will have a longer runway to serve God and do His will. The clarion call to serve is not only for the young, but also for all of us, young and old. There is really no excuse; if we can’t do the physical work, we can pray or give. Ai Mei ended her sharing by asking us to think if there is someone we know whom we can bless this week. Are there acts of kindness you can do this week?
And if you are looking for an opportunity to serve this year as it is Discipleship in Society, you may consider signing up with a group of friends to do Home Cleaning on 14 June, Saturday from 9am to 12.30pm.
Photos courtesy of Christian Outreach & Social Concerns
Read also: Looking Up, Reaching Out: Launch of the Jalan Besar Project on Wesley’s 140th Anniversary
