IT ONLY Takes a spark
Hello. My name is Kham Mun Zeel. I am from Myanmar and 30 years old. I am currently the youth pastor at Bethel International Church in Yangon, Myanmar. I just began the first offering of a Master of Art in Youth Ministry course at Myanmar Evangelical Graduate School of Theology. I would like to share how Youth Ministry International (YMI) not only inspired me, but also the impact it had on me and how it transformed the young people to whom I minister.
I have been participating in youth ministry for decades. Most of my time is spent with young people between 15 and 20. The more I engage with young people, the more I understand the importance of biblically and theologically sound youth ministry within the church that we may reach beyond the church.
The YMI program has changed my perspective of youth ministry to a broader and wider perspective. It has helped me understand what youth ministry really ought to be. To be honest, even though I have been in the youth ministry many years, I see now that I didn’t really understand what or how to do youth ministry. What I understood, before joining YMI, was that it was all about programs and activities within the church and it never reached outside and beyond the church.
But youth ministry is all about fulfilling the great commission; it is all about the gospel, evangelism, winning souls, and equipping young people to able to equip the others. I get excited as I write this!
This change in perspective and new principles of youth ministry has come from my classes with YMI. Now, there are lots of changes, a new vision of appropriate approaches and new goals within my ministry. And I strongly believe that youth ministry in my local church will make a huge difference that will impact communities and many young people who never heard of the love of God.
Furthermore, what I have learned from YMI also benefits the individual youth in my local youth ministry. After sharing what I just learned from the program offered by YMI, our individual youth are challenged to share the gospel in every possible way. I am confident that the youth ministry in my church will have greater results for the gospel and will impact our community as we culturally adopt the principles given by YMI.
My prayer is that God will ignite and revive the whole nation of Myanmar through every believer – old, young, children, men and women – as we hunger and cry out for the great spiritual harvest. As well, I strongly believe that YMI is equipping many youth workers for the kingdom’s purpose and their contribution, passion, sacrifice, and love for the souls will make a difference in Myanmar.
Last, YMI has my gratitude for equipping us with the biblical principles, knowledge, experience, and importantly, the spark that you have put in me, in all of us, that will shine through the darkness and bring light to the nation.