2006 TNG Season of Worship
The Reason For Our Being
Alan Fong and Josephine Liardon
The Season of Worship (SOW), organised by the The Next Generation (TNG) in the month of September 2006, was born out of a desire to put God back at the centre of our lives. All too often in our lives, whether it is in school, the workplace or even in ministry, our priorities become misplaced. SOW was a dedicated season for all the youths of TNG to once again declare that the reason for our being is to worship Him and enjoy His Presence.
The SOW publicity poster shouted: "Prepare for a month of heart stomping, heart throbbing, soul grapping season of worship!"
And indeed, it was a month-long event of special programmes, held over several Saturdays, which included “Face Down Worship”; worship led by songwriter Brent Chambers and his son, Nathan; and “Radical Worship Transformed Lives”. The youths were also encouraged to express their worship through creative means such as music, media, dance and song writing. In addition, a worship retreat was held for the worship and music ministry team.
“True Worship Transforms Lives”
Pastor Barnabas Chong opened the SOW month with this key understanding. The youth were challenged to know God more intimately in creative ways, besides singing and music. To illustrate this, an old African worship song “Kum Baya” was creatively expressed in a contemporary dance piece, collaborated by 3 voices and a musician, at one of the TNG services. None of the team really understood the exact meaning of the phrase until it was explained that it was how the African slaves pronounced “Come By Us, Lord”. We were pleasantly surprised at the exact meaning of the song as it echoed the cry and desire of all of us at TNG for the Lord to "Come by Us”.
As Allan led the corporate prayer in that same service, he prayed the same phrase without knowing that the song would be performed at the service. Those of us who were preparing for the worship presentation felt our hearts strangely touched. We realised that when we place our gifts in the spirit of serving and worship, the Lord blesses our gifts of worship.
At the TNG worship retreat, held on 16 - 17 September 2006, the TNG musicians were blessed with the ministry of Brent Chambers and his son, Nathan. Brent shared about what attracts God's presence and what we can do to get it. He said that God blesses those whose hearts are pure. One of the youth participants who attended was challenged about being responsible with our TIME, especially in the area of punctuality. Punctuality reflects our respect for others as it means that we consider that their time is as valuable as ours, and we need to honour God by honouring others.
To emphasize the fact that intimacy with God is about setting aside time to know Him more intimately, and that it involves a partnership, the closing service of the SOW month featured a specially commissioned Latin dance entitled “Songs of Songs- My Beloved is Mine and I Am His”. The choice of dance style was deliberately chosen to express the way God feels towards us, His passion and His Love.
The dance team of adults and youths were not only taught the routine, but learnt spiritual principles of commitment, determination, trust and discipline as they mastered the challenging piece. The experience reflects our relationship with our Father God, who is our eternal "dance partner” and choreographer of our lives. He is gentle, patient and kind even when we stumble, fall and make mistakes in this partnership; He forgives and waits patiently, eagerly. This was one of the final lessons impressed upon the participants, and to all who will appreciate and enjoy this partnership with God - a testimony of the commitment of Christ towards His Church, His Bride, for He loved His Church and died for her.
Throughout the SOW month, a group of youths also gathered at 6.15 am every Saturday to pray and intercede for our youths and our church.
SOW has definitely been a positive experience and for many, this was the first time they worshipped with such earnestness and passion. God's Presence made all the difference. And at each TNG service, many youths responded by making choices to live a life pleasing to God.
Indeed, many were blessed during the SOW as they learnt that worship is not only about music but it is a lifestyle of singing and speaking praises to God, of active obedience – listening with our ears and serving with our hands and feet.
To God be the Glory.
“SOW has been a great experience for me, I learnt the true essence of worship and I returned to the heart of worship. It's a great opportunity for the entire congregation, regardless of age, to fully comprehend and grasp what true worship really is all about, that it's not about music or getting the so-called “high”, that at the end of the day, it really is all about God.
The spiritual climate has been awesome, I could really feel God moving and touching hearts while we worshipped. I think God is raising up a new generation of leaders, who truly have a passion for Him. When it comes to serving God,"heart" is a crucial factor and when we truly love God, we would want to obey Him, to serve Him with passion so that our service may be pleasing to Him. When young people set their minds on doing something, they go all out to do it. If they serve God with the same intensity and passion with which they do everything else, God would be able to work mightily in Singapore."
- Testimony by Sharon, TNG leader