After the elections held in March 2011, the following members were elected as members of the CCF Executive Committee for the year 2011-2012:
- Li Chen – Chairperson
3rd year – Pure Mathematics
Li Chen: Candidate Statement Testimony
I was born in a non-Christian family in Kunming, China. My mind was much corrupted even in my childhood. Not knowing the holiness of the Lord and not fearing the almighty God, I was left to my own desire. Much immoralities and idol worshiping was associated with my life. My mother moved to Canada when I was in elementary school. In a couple years times, the Lord had mercy on my mother and she became a Christian. In grade seven, I moved to Canada with my mother. During the first couple of years, I was very rebellious. My mother tried to bring me to church, but I showed much contempt. In the mean time, I befriended, for our purpose, James. We went to another church where the Word of God was preached differently. I was actually baptized in that church. But the Lord had mercy on me. James and I ended our friendship in a bitter fight. And I stopped going to that church. My mother, thus, brought me to the current church I am attending in Calgary. However, partly because I lived in my pride and my sins, and partly due to the foreign nature of the church, for many times, fellowship at church becomes agony to me. Still the Lord kept me going and gave me friends. In high school, I met J-.K. He has been a huge encouragement to me in my spiritual walk. I suppose that I did not really take my faith seriously until around that time. I thank God that He brought me someone to encourage me. (By His grace, I reconciled with James later.) About the end of high school, I started serving in my fellowship on campus. On one side, I wanted God in my life. On the other, I wanted control, power, and prestige. This caused jealousy and evil in my heart as I served. I felt much pain while serving. As I moved to university, I brought along with me all my sins. But the Lord had mercy. As I live with J- and T-, the Lord used these people to shape my life. He teaches me to love. He teaches me to decrease and let Him increase. He teaches me to flee from sexual immoralities. Although there is much pain in all the lessons, the Lord brought me through and gives me understanding. He provides all of my needs, whether be it tuition, job, or friends, or just about everything I can possibly need. He loved me and draws me near to Him. And as for now, I just want to make myself available for Him to use, a living sacrifice.Spiritual gifts
I believe the Lord has given me two spiritual gift in particular. One is knowledge and a quick mind. The other is leadership. I have served with the Christian fellowship and take part in the Students’ Union in my high school. Moreover, I led different project in many science events in high school.
Fruit of the Spirit
God has been helping me to develop faithfulness recently. The Lord has worked so much miracles in my life. He desire me to trust in Him. Although I often fall short of it. Time after time he showed His faithfulness to me and brought me back to Him. When I was young, He allowed my parents to separate for the sake of salvation of both. When I was in high school, He took different people away from me for the sake of my relationships. In university, he provides me all the marks I need. He provides my tuition and my job. He basically sustains me. For the Lord has mercy on the fatherless. He made His Words faithful.
Recent Struggle
Recall the parable of the workers in the vineyard. The landowner goes out at different time of the day to hire workers for his vineyard. At the end of the day, he paid all the workers the same amount. Some workers complained. But the landowner says he has the right to his own money. One thing that I had so much trouble to understand is the concept of grace. In my mind, I always ask for “equality”. I expect others to do as much as I do. In every aspect of my life, I always try so hard to be exceptional. I make my rigid time table and uses my strength to build myself up. But God always raise up some one stronger, more intelligent, or something out off my reach. Yet, in all my weakness and in all things I cannot achieve, the Lord has shown me so much grace. Furthermore, as I observe many frosh, I see faithfulness in them. Although they are just first year, but they have so much eagerness for the Lord and seek Him fervently. And God has showed mercy to them and grow them so much. Indeed, it is not by work that I can live for God, but only by His grace, so that I have nothing to boast, but boast in Christ alone.Purpose of CCF Committee
I believe that the purpose of the CCF Committee is to spur the fellowship toward God. I believe it is God who leads the fellowship and not men. The Committee is nothing other than sinners who is willing to make themselves available for God to use.Why Serve?
I have a passion to see the Lord working in our fellowship and bringing awakenings to our campus. The Bible says “The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God. They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one.” I want to see an unified fellowship putting all it has for the Lord’s glory. I want to see fire burning our hearts and abandoning all we have for God just like the parable of the man who finds treasure in the field and sold everything he has and bought the field.Vision
My specific vision for CCF is a heart after God’s own heart. I want to see all my brothers and sisters be genuinely concerned about the Lord’s affair (Rom 8:5-8). To put this in practical terms, it would mean· Unity (Rom 12:15)
· Repentance (2 Cor 7:14-16)
· Be filled with the Holy Spirit (John 14:26)
· Live in accordance to God’s Will (Mat 6:10)
· Outreach (Mat 28:16-20)In a year’s time. I would like to see my brothers and sisters putting down their academic, their dream, and their plans, only to trust God that He will provide and will lead each one of us to glorify His name.
Leadership Characteristics
I have served on leadership for outreach ministry this semester and have led several Bible studies. In the past, I have served in my high school’s Christian fellowship. Moreover, I was part of the Students’ Union at my high school for a year. And I have actively led several projects for Science Olympics in high school.However, I have failed many times in leadership. I had been prideful, arrogant, and selfish. I believe my leadership characteristics are the lessons I have learned from my past experiences. What I understand is that it is not I who lead, but God takes the role of leading. I need to examine my motive before I act. Moreover, I believe that the Spirit does not divide the body. I believe that all committee members should reach agreement on most major decisions.
Time Management
I think time management is a key. This means diligence, self-control, and accountability. The former two are things I need to develop and ask God for. This implies seeking God for help on my sinful state. The later is from accountability from my brothers and sisters, most likely through DG.
Commitment means dedication and the fact that one has already weighted the cost. I believe if it is necessary, then I might have to reduce my course load and difficulty. - Matthew Wong – Vice Chairperson
3rd year – Science and Business
Matthew Wong: Candidate Statement Share your personal testimony
I can sum up my testimony into 3 stages. Understanding, Seeking, Journeying. I grew up in the church understanding all of the norms and stories associated with Christianity, but I never got to understand what the Gospel was. It wasn’t until The summer of grade 9 when I was asked this one question, by a man I dearly respect, "What is God’s Love?". I can recall giving the crappiest Sunday School answer, saying… ‘Jesus’ and then fumbling everywhere not knowing but trying to prove it to look good. I broke down crying after class, and I asked him, what is His Love, and how do I find it? He told me these very words, pray and ask God himself. That lead to my seeking stage of life. As I seeked and I was on and off struggling here and there with a lack of commitment and desire at times. It lead to one day in grade 11 when I was walking home after fellowship. I shouted out a prayer asking for him to just show himself to me because it is so hard to believe that he is real. So I was then stopped by a few guys who wanted money from me. In that moment and time I felt so helpless, I tried to talk my way out and everything. When all means were exhausted I pulled out my wallet to give them money, but somewhere in mix one of them convinced them to leave me and go where they needed to go. As I stood there and walked away I didn’t know what to say. I live in Richmond Hill… where there are no thugs… i did nothing and I was about to give them the money… but i was spared. Grace was given to me. So it was from that moment that I knew that He was real. Since then I was baptised that summer, and the journey began.What do you think is your spiritual gift(s)?
I believe that one of my gifts is encouragement. I see this because I have been blessed with the ability to understand and empathize with those I have come to talk to. To have a heart for them, and to share kind words. One thing encouragement entails is correction, because in order to build another up it must be a foundation built on the Gospel and His word. Another is of wisdom. I have believe discernment and wisdom come hand in hand. This is something that is rooted deep into who I am, as is the always ask the question why. It affects my actions and how I see them. I have been able to bless others with my thoughts and experiences in periods of great trail where discernment and wisdom were needed to serve Him.Which fruit of the Spirit is God currently helping you to develop?
Faithfulness is what comes first to my mind. To be faithful to him in all areas of life, and to be self-controlled in my actions. I feel like I am being tugged at in all areas of my life. To honour him with my finances, to be focused and intentional in how I interact with my friends, and many more. Arguably all the fruits of the spirit are so intertwined so I would like to say that I need to be more obedient to the Spirit and His tugging in my life. The spirit demands control of all areas of life. To use an example from above, say if I embodied a love and kindness I will have the heart to honour him with my finances.Share a recent struggle and how God has helped you through it.
This co-op term I was unemployed until the end of January. It was quite the struggle because daily all I did was follow up on leads and do cold calling strategies to find a job. As time progressed during my month and more of unemployment, I lost hope and had a period of depression. Being unemployed and many other factors played into my depression, but it was in that time that I was rebuked by Him. I idolized being employed and made that my identity. It was in that time that I was exposed and repented of mounds of sin I harboured in my heart. The desire for status from a well paying job, the lack of humility to Him and his Will, my righteous work mentality (referencing the older son parable of Lost Son), and mounds more. He graced me with that lesson, and prepared me to be truly grateful for the blessings he provided. I am now employed at an amazing hospital (Markham Stouffville Hospital) where I can be a blessing to others and learn and grow in my faith in a very unique way.In your own words, what do you think is the purpose of the CCF Executive Committee?
Corporately, I believe that the role of CCF Exec is to lay a foundation and direction that is rooted in God’s Word (Bible), embodies the Gospel message (Jesus), and is lead by the Holy Spirit. This involves assessing the current health of our fellowship so that we may grow in our relationship with Him. Individually, I believe Exec members should be faithful believers who exemplify Christ’s love, actively journey with others, and humbly walk with God.Why do you want to serve on the Committee? What can you do on Committee that you cannot do via another ministry in CCF?
Exec serves a different function than other ministries. In the body of Christ the Exec role is to complete the background working of fellowship administration and the forefront work of vision setting and leading the fellowship. The function of other ministries is for those members to serve and grow more with the gifts they have. (i.e. Those gifted or seeking to grow more in outreach will go to Outreach ministry, etc.) I believe that it is in my gifting to help and contribute to the vision setting and direction of CCF, but to also be willing to complete the administrative work that is needed and crucial.What is your vision for CCF? Where do you want to see it in a year?
My vision is to cultivate gospel centered lives. Where we understand and love Him and then love others. In my statement I focused on basics of a relationship in Christ and how there is a need to have a solid foundation in Him. My reasoning is because our actions are because of the consequence of our heart and how it affects our thinking. If our heart is focused on him everything will follow. I am in no way discouraging us to not go and share the gospel because we are not meeting a standard. We will always be sinful but remember that we are redeemed through Jesus, so go in faith and preach this simple and amazing news!How have you demonstrated leadership characteristics in other ministries (not necessarily in CCF) in the past?
I have lead a bible study this past term in second year cell, but I am currently facilitating the planning for my CCSA softball team together with Jeffery Yeung (Head Gov). We have been vision setting and praying hard for our team as we are setting a new direction and foundation for our team. Our current obstacles is receiving more church support as we have been a separate entity that did our own thing which generally turned out to be a softball team before ministry and outreach. Our faith is tested as numbers are low, but we have peace in knowing that it’s up to Him if the team will carry through or not. There is always next year, but all we are worried about is laying the ground work for a team that will be rooted in Christ and has support from our Church.Committee can be a very time-consuming ministry to participate in, and Waterloo’s programs tend to be very academically challenging. How will you balance school and Committee work?
I agree that it will be difficult. There is no denying. But I believe that by his grace I will be able to be more disciplined. Without him and a heart fully focused on serving him I will not be able to balance it, honest. So it is my prayer that I will be disciplined for Him, so that I will honour him by setting time aside for others outside of CCF meetings and school. Practically I will commit to finishing work ahead of schedule to free up time, so that the excuse of "I have work" will get in the way of spending time with my friends, on ministry, and for the fellowship. - Jenny Ho – Program Coordinator
3rd year – Accounting and Financial Management
Jenny Ho: Candidate Statement 1. Share your personal testimony
As someone who grew up in church and lived in a very conservative Chinese family, it was easy to live what seemed to be the life of a ‘good Christian girl’. Until I came to university at Waterloo, I was never strongly challenged by my faith before. And unfortunately, I never felt that I had to outright choose between Christianity and things of the world (because I wasn’t exposed to many ‘tempting worldly things’, since I lived a very sheltered life). Coming to university, I was exposed to many temptations of the world, so I tasted for the first time, and I was disgusted. At that time, God led me to attend the CCF discipleship workshop, and my faith (or more, God) truly challenged me for the first time. It was at that point when I finally REALLY understood that the things of this world are unsatisfying and shallow. I then made the decision to truly start seeking after Jesus and to obey Him wholeheartedly. After starting to commit to attending CCF, God opened doors and blessed me with a spiritual home filled with brothers and sisters. As well, He led me through many pathways to learning about Him, and I learned more than I could ever imagine. Fast forward two years later, I am changed, and am continuing to be changed, shaped, and sanctified by God’s grace and power.
2. What do you think is your spiritual gift(s)?
I feel that God has given me the gift to easily connect with people (both Christian and non-Christian). I also think that God has given me the gift of being able to encourage others. Having not really realized that I had these gifts until coming to university, I am continuing to pray that I can be a good steward of these gifts, and that I will obey the Spirit’s calling to where He wants me to use these gifts.3. Which fruit of the Spirit is God currently helping you to develop?
God is currently helping me to develop faithfulness and self-control. Faithfulness, because He is showing His faithfulness to me through my recent struggle (see below), and through that I am learning how to be faithful to Him. Self-control, because God is showing me that no one half-heartedly runs a race if he or she desires the prize (1 Corinthians 9:24-27). I am learning to walk every step of my faith with purpose, I am learning to constantly remind myself to look towards the heavenly prize, and I am learning to discipline myself for Christ like how an athlete trains his or her own body.4. Share a recent struggle and how God has helped you through it.
A recent struggle for me has been trying to understand God’s grace and love. For me, it is very easy to accept that I’m a sinner, and that I deserve every form of punishment and wrath from God. However, it was hard for me to wrap my head around God’s grace and His forgiveness for some of the things that I have done in the past. No matter how many prayers of repentance I prayed, I felt guilty, and didn’t feel the joy from knowing God has forgiven me, because I didn’t really understand it (Psalm 32:1-2). After feeling like this for a long time, a sister, and a Sunday school teacher, reminded me that God has defeated sin, and we are no longer held captive to it (Romans 6:6-7). The sin of Adam was great, but the grace of God through His son Jesus is immensely greater (Romans 5:15). I then started to pray for God to show me and make me understand just how great His grace is. All this time I’ve been praying and focusing on the extents of my sin, but I also should have been praying and focusing on asking God to help me understand the extent of His love and grace. I don’t know what God did but one day I felt the weight of the guilt lift off me, and I finally understood (in my heart, I felt it) that God’s grace forgave me.5. In your own words, what do you think is the purpose of the CCF Executive Committee?
The CCF Executive Committee is to be an instrument used by God to lead a group of students towards Him through obeying the Holy Spirit. The Committee handles the logistical matters related running the fellowship as well. The Committee is there to encourage the fellowship and to direct them towards Christ and a Christ-filled life through leading by example.6. Why do you want to serve on the Committee?
(A brief re-cap of my election speech): I want to serve for CCF because I feel that God desires for my obedience and my submission to two things which He has heavily placed on my heart: inreach within the fellowship, and outreach to students around us. During this past school year, God has been teaching me a lot about these two aspects, and I have been realizing the importance of making an effort to keep the unity of the body of Christ, and also the importance of spending time and building friendships with friends who do not know Christ. I originally thought that these were more personal reflections and personal goals which God desired for me, but God told me to take a step back and to look at the bigger picture. I then realized that God had so much in store for this fellowship as well as other fellowships on campus. With the prayer thread that ran earlier this term, then Jesus week, I realized that God was at work in terms of both inreach and outreach at UW. With these realizations, I feel that God is calling me to obey Him, and to let Him use me to do His work in CCF, which is why I have decided to run for the CCF Committee for this upcoming school year.7. What is your vision for CCF? Where do you want to see it (in a year)?
My vision for CCF is that God will use us to shine Jesus’ light and glory, and that we won’t be a city on a hill that is hidden. Instead, I hope that CCF can be a city on a hill that is shining God’s glory, rejoicing because we know Christ, so that others who see our attitudes and this light, may come to know Him too. I pray that the fellowship will take the love, the warmth, the friendliness, the homey-ness, that we have found in CCF and not just store it away for ourselves, but bring it out to our non-Christian friends, classmates, families, and to everyone we meet. I also pray and hope for more inter-fellowship gatherings and events to remind us that we are one body, and to encourage us to keep meeting together until the day comes.
8. How have you demonstrated leadership characteristics in other ministries (not necessarily CCF) in the past?
A ministry which I have served as a leader in the past would be the Chinese Christian Softball Association (CCSA) ministry. In the past two summers, I served on my home church’s junior softball team as the assistant governor for one summer, and the head governor for the next summer. My role on the team was to govern the team’s spiritual well-being and to encourage their walk with Christ. Some leadership characteristics which God has allowed me to learn through this opportunity was, the ability to lead with a clear conscience, the ability to step back, remember the purpose of the ministry, and recognize God’s power, and the ability to encourage by example.9. Committee can be a very time-consuming ministry to participate in, and Waterloo’s programs tend to be very academically challenging. How will you balance school and Committee work?
I will balance school and committee work not with my own skills, but with the mindset that I am a servant of God in everything I do. I believe that through prayer and through trusting in the Lord, God will bless me with the capability of being able to balance both school and committee work. I also believe that God will bless me with the ability to be able to discern how I should use my time in order to be able to fulfill my academic and committee commitments. To me, the mindset of being a servant of God is very important. By having this mindset, I think that it will help me to not be swayed by the stresses and pressures of the academic life at UW. Through trusting in the Lord, I won’t be burdened by the thoughts of “I don’t have enough time to study”, but instead, I know the Lord will provide me time to do both academics and Committee work, if I trust in Him and serve Him in everything I do. - James Ng – Communications
4th year – General Science
James Ng: Candidate Statement 1. Share your personal testimony.
I grew up in a non-Christian home but my mother brought me to church every Sunday from a very young age. Because of this, “Christianity” was really only part of my life; Sunday School was just something I went to every Sunday. My family didn’t pray or do anything “Christian” together (only my mother, my brother and I went to church). I understood and learnt about many biblical stories and concepts but it didn’t change how I lived significantly. This didn’t change until my high school years. I moved to Ajax from Scarborough in 9th grade and as such moved to another church (I attended SCBC in Scarborough before). The new church I went to was a lot smaller, so I was able to get to know almost everyone in the church (whereas before, my relationships with people were limited to my fellow students in Sunday School). I began to see real fellowship and love between people in the church because of the close, small community. I first committed to Christ in the spring of that year after going to the church retreat. I would say that was the first time I learned and truly accepted the gospel in my life. I began to seriously consider the things I was learning in the Bible and serve in church. As university approached, I was really excited to go and find a fellowship to join. God brought someone from CCF to my church to visit one Sunday in the summer before university, and invited me to a frosh event. From that point on, God blessed me with being able to get to know a lot of CCF upper years as well as my fellow frosh year and as such I was pretty involved in the fellowship.God has definitely taught me so much since coming to university. Through the people He’s put in my life and the experiences He’s given me, I’ve learning to understand the gospel and His grace more and more each day.
2. What do you think is your spiritual gift(s)?
I feel I am still discovering in my walk what God has given me when it comes to spiritual gifts. Some gifts that I feel that I’ve shown are gifts of encouragement and ability to listen and empathize with people. I have passion in just hearing people share about their experiences and the lessons and struggles they are going through. I may or may not have something encouraging to say in response, but listening and encouraging go together. I also feel I have the gift of knowledge to a lesser extent.3. Which fruit of the Spirit is God currently helping you to develop?
Currently, one major fruit that God is working in me is the fruit of self-control. God has shown me that there are many times when I “lose” myself and get out of control, doing things or saying things without thinking enough about them. I feel we should constantly be controlling and suppressing any sinful or worldly desires in us by the power of the Spirit.Other fruits I’m learning are joy and peace. To have peace and joy in everything that you do no matter what the circumstances appear to be is definitely something that requires faith.
4. Share a recent struggle and how God has helped you through it.
One major thing that God has been drilling in me the past few months has been how much grace there is in everything aspect of our walk with Him. There are so many times when my flesh fails (Psalms 73:26), and I am unable to love or desire God as much as I should be. But sanctification is by grace and without God we can do nothing. “Salvation comes from the Lord!” (Jonah 2:9b) To trust and find hope that God is working in us and will continue to do it each and every day until it is finished is something I am learning (Philippians 1:6).This has been especially relevant for me because in the previous year. I found that I had fallen into a sort of legalism. I was serving and doing a lot of things because I knew that as a Christ follower, I didn’t want to be idle. I needed to serve in the fellowship, I needed to be more intentional to preaching the gospel, I needed to pray more, I needed to read the Bible more, I needed to stay in touch with people and see how they were doing, etc. Those things are good, but when they start to become just “religious acts” and not fruits done in response to the love and grace God has poured on us, then they are meaningless (Isaiah 1:13-15, Hosea 6:6). I can’t create in and of myself a desire for God or a love for Him. It is as we rely on God, walk and develop our relationship with Him (through prayer and reading of the Word) that these desires grow in us, given to us by God.
C.S. Lewis in Mere Christianity puts it this way,
“On the whole, God’s love for us is a much safer subject to think about than our love for Him. Nobody can always have devout feelings: and even if we could, feelings are not what God principally cares about. Christian Love, either towards God or towards man, is an affair of the will. If we are trying to do His will we are obeying the commandment, ‘Thou shalt love the Lord thy God.’ He will give us feelings of love if He pleases. We cannot create them for ourselves, and we must not demand them as a right. But the great thing to remember is that, though our feelings come and go, His love for us does not. It is not wearied by our sins, or our indifference; and, therefore, it is quite relentless in its determination that we shall be cured of those sins, at whatever cost to us, at whatever cost to Him.”At the same time, it does not mean we just sit idle and “let God change us”. We need to work out our salvation; God is working in us and willing us to do His will (Philippians 2:12-13). I work and live out my faith, but it is only by the Spirit.
Jonathan Edwards says,
“In efficacious grace we are not merely passive, nor yet does God do some and we do the rest. But God does all, and we do all. God produces all, we act all. For that is what produces, viz. [namely] our own acts. God is the only proper author and fountain; we only are the proper actors. We are in different respects, wholly passive and wholly active. “To understand that God Himself is in you willing you to live according to His will is humbling and awesome.
5. In your own words, what do you think is the purpose of the CCF Executive Committee?
I believe the purpose of the CCF Executive Committee is to guide and lead the fellowship to where God wants it to be. There needs to be a seeking of God’s will in terms of what the fellowship needs growth in and what needs to be focused on. It is everyone’s part to keep each other accountable and unified, but committee has more responsibility to look after the well-being and spiritual health of the fellowship.Committee is also responsible for the logistical and administrative work that a university club/fellowship such as CCF requires.
6. Why do you want to serve on the Committee? What can you do on Committee that you cannot do via another ministry in CCF?
CCF has been such a big part of my life and I want to be able to serve the fellowship back. The things that I’ve learnt and experienced are things I want to be able to share with the fellowship. When God shows and teaches you things, it gives you even more joy to be able to share and lead others to the same revelations. Being on committee will allow me to be more able to guide and influence the fellowship.7. What is your vision for CCF? Where do you want to see it in a year?
As I shared in my committee election speech here, God has recently reminded of how beautiful the body of Christ is. For Him to bring us all here together in one university, one fellowship, each with our own gifts, experiences, values, etc, so that we could together do the things He has called us to do in the campus. CCF isn’t just a group of people who meet up every Friday, to worship and study God’s Word; it’s so much more. My spiritual growth the last few years has come from living life together with my fellow brothers and sisters. Sharing in our joys and trials and learning from them. I have a passion to see people experience the same and in doing so grow closer to God. CCF is more than just a community of people who love each other; otherwise we would be no different than a lot of other close groups or clubs on campus. We worship the same God, and we share a bond in Christ and the Holy Spirit lives in us as believers. The same power that raised Christ from the dead is in us. We have supernatural comfort, peace, joy, faith.8. How have you demonstrated leadership characteristics in other ministries (not necessarily in CCF) in the past?
God has blessed me with being able to be pretty closely involved in CCF since the very beginning in my first term in Waterloo. As such I feel I have a good knowledge of the administrative and logistical aspects of CCF. In terms of leadership, I was also blessed to be able to serve in many ministries in the last 3 years. Organizing events, being involved in the planning process of events, leading Bible studies, as well as getting to know other CCF leaders and upper years have helped me to gain experience in this regard.9. Committee can be a very time-consuming ministry to participate in, and Waterloo’s programs tend to be very academically challenging. How will you balance school and Committee work?
This is one aspect that I asked myself a lot before I decided to run for committee. Before this current term, I was not doing very well in terms of academics. In short though, God has been amazing and has changed and motivated me to do well this term. My marks are a lot better and even though my work ethic still needs work, it has been a lot better (for more info see my blogpost here).I know I have the time and ability to do well in school and serve in fellowship at the same time. I don’t feel a fear of failing again in the future should be an excuse not to serve, especially in light of God’s grace in terms of academics this term. I place my trust in Christ, believing that He will continue His work in me. My desire is to do well in school and be able to serve the fellowship; two things of which I know is possible for me to do by the grace of God. Time management and discipline is something that God is constantly developing in me as I discover my calling and the purpose to which He has called me. Learning to prioritize and not underestimate the amount of work that there is with school (ie. don’t procrastinate) is something that I’ve seen improvement in this term and that I believe I will only get better in by relying on God’s power.
10. Please feel free to share about anything else (optional).
I just want to emphasize again the point that people who step up to leadership positions (committee, ministry leaders, etc) are just like everyone else in the fellowship. We have the same weaknesses and struggle with the same things. We are merely following and obeying what we feel is God’s call for us to step up and lead."Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.”
James 5:17-18 - Andy Tse – Devotional Leader
3rd year – Biomedical Science
Andy Tse: Candidate Statement Share your personal testimony
I was around 5 when I came to Canada, and knew Christ and what He has done at around age 6. As I continued living my life, God continued to refine me. At age 7, I was introduced to swearing and I got really into it until grade 3 when I came to my senses that swearing is stupid. As a professing Christian, I decided to turn from swearing. As I grew up, I continued living my life. In grade 7 I went to Teens Conference (Jon Ting was my captain :O). During the second night, the pastor says that he wants us to leave TC and tell people that we have met God.I really wanted to say that, but I didn’t see God… So how could I even say that? So after that experience, I was convinced that as a Christian, I have to be different. But I didn’t know how, I just continued living my life. After grade 8 Teens Conference, I decided to read His word to know Him more. Claiming to be a Christian and not even knowing about God? I thought being a Christian means I have to have a relationship with God? Where’s my relationship? So I started to seek Him through His word. Since then, my journey as a Christian became more exciting as He continues to reveal my sins and tell me that I have to surrender myself to Him every day.
What do you think is your spiritual gift(s)?
I think I have the gift of evangelism and knowledge.Which fruit of the Spirit is God currently helping you to develop?
God continues telling me to surrender myself to Him. A problem I’m working on right now is to be selfless. If love is to be selfless, then I’m having problem with loving. I think I’m a pretty selfish person and right now God keeps telling me to give it up to Him.Share a recent struggle and how God has helped you through it.
I struggle with doubt. I believe that God is big, I believe that God can do anything because He is God. But I doubt how He does it. I put Him in a box. In my prayers, when I’m confused with whether it is God’s will or not, I ask God to “do this… if it’s in Your will.” I’m not condemning this way of praying, but my mentality in saying this is to put a safety net under God (as if He needs one…), just in case He doesn’t pull through… then I can say “it wasn’t His will”. It’s like, I believe in a God that can do anything, but I’m backing Him up with a safety net… So do I believe or do I doubt?Then a brother presented James 1:6-7 to me, “But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt”, on facebook, I saw a sermon link on prayer. Reaffirming to me that God is pretty BIG. Everything that He has done throughout the Bible was pretty BIG. In the sermon, I was challenged to keep a prayer journal (which I modified to a normal journal) so that I can look back and see what God has done in my life and be encouraged to not doubt this God.
In your own words, what do you think is the purpose of the CCF Executive Committee?
The purpose of CCF Executive Committee is to guide the fellowship biblically to the vision that God has given them, and to encourage fellow believers to live out their faith as they continue to be students for God.Why do you want to serve on the Committee? What can you do on Committee that you cannot do via another ministry in CCF?
I want to serve on committee because I am not a boy anymore, I need to take the initiative to step up and lead. That was the wakeup call that I had. I had all those doubts and fears about sin and stuff that will overtake me. But I was also reminded that God will shape me and prepare me for His work, it’s a step of faith. I want to be a part of God’s work in equipping and encouraging each other to be unashamed and share this GOOD NEWS to people on our campuses.What is your vision for CCF? Where do you want to see it in a year?
My vision for CCF next year is for believers to be unashamed of Christ (Romans 1:16, Luke 9:26). Edification happens between believers, building each other up in Christ through sharing, encouragement and carrying each other’s burdens. I want to emphasize the part on encouraging, that we as believers should be encouraging each other to go back out bold and unashamed of the gospel. That individual may develop a heart for Christ. When people ask for prayer requests, it wouldn’t be “I don’t know, I don’t have any.” but instead, we can say with confidence to each other to “[p]ray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should” (Eph 6.20b).How have you demonstrated leadership characteristics in other ministries (not necessarily in CCF) in the past?
Through CCF outreach leading not by words, but by example. I can have all the knowledge in the world in how outreach works, what are good ways in sharing the gospel, but if I can’t show what I’m saying through example, that wouldn’t work. I think that would be the most important one that I battle with everyday. Saying it and thinking about it is easy, but if no action is put into anything, then nothing can be done.Committee can be a very time-consuming ministry to participate in, and Waterloo’s programs tend to be very academically challenging. How will you balance school and Committee work?
Honestly, I don’t know how I will manage committee and school. Usually, it everything just works. I think the most important thing I see is to seek first the Kingdom, and everything else will be given. This is what I plan to do, but this may not be what I will be able do on my own without the help of God and accountability from other brothers and sisters.I think as a student and as a Christian, my first priority is school and then fellowship. As a student, I must honour God in my studies. Taking up this leadership position, it will raise my priority in fellowship to be equal to schoolwork. That means I must discipline myself next year even more. Above all, seek first the kingdom and everything else will be given.
- Michelle Pugne – Devotional Leader
3rd year – Systems Design Engineering
Michelle Pugne: Candidate Statement 1. Share your personal testimony
I grew up in a Christian family. For most of my childhood, I just tried to listen to my parents, and to please them. They brought me to church but they didn’t really talk about God to me that much. Christianity was more of something we did on the side. But at a Christian conference, a speaker preached about the love of God. The fact that God loved me just transformed me. In a way, I felt that I had to earn my parents love so in the same way I felt that it was the same with God. After knowing that God loved me as I was, I realized that I didn’t have to strive to earn that love and a huge burden was lifted off of me. I had so much joy and peace knowing that God wanted me just as I was, even though I was so broken. He satisfied my longing of being loved. Ever since, I’ve been growing more and more, and been having more of a desire to serve Him.2. What do you think is your spiritual gift(s)? (see 1 Corinthians 12:8-10, Romans 12:6-8, Ephesians 4:11-13)
I think my spiritual gift is exhortation/ encouragement. It’s always a joy for me to see someone turn back to God because there is so much joy in having a relationship with God. It hurts me to see people who think they’re worthless or who are lonely. Because of God’s love for me as well as them, I naturally want to remind them that they are worth something to God and that He is by their side. Encouragement isn’t just about cheering people up but also challenging them to move forward as well. When I talk to friends about their spiritual life, I try to challenge them to examine the purpose behind their actions and help guide them along the path that is aligned with God’s will. And if they know what they should do but have no motivation, I remind them why God is worth their time and energy. I feel like through committee, I’d be able to encourage CCF as a whole as well as individually. I can also encourage other committee members when the job is getting tough and stressful and to remember the reasons why we decided to run for committee in the first place.3. Which fruit of the Spirit is God currently helping you to develop? (see Galatians 5:22-23)
God is currently helping me to love others. I realized that I should not turn a blind eye from what hurts God. Since I have the gift of encouragement, I usually try to be an optimistic person. So I never really allowed myself to fully sympathize with another person’s struggles because I always wanted to see the bright side of things. So God has really opened up my eyes to the pain that this world is going through and to cry with them when I do see that pain. When I see that pain and sympathize with them, it helps me realize how much more the world needs God and how blessed we are to have Him.4. Share a recent struggle and how God has helped you through it.
A recent struggle, which is more of an ongoing struggle, is my pride. More specifically, this has affected me on how I evangelized to others. I started to rely on my own strength to be able to bring someone to Christ. Because I did not like getting stumped by others’ questions (again because of pride), I tried to find answers. But I looked for answers to prove to the other person that I was right. I started not doing this out of love or for God but out of protecting my own ego. God showed me 1 Corinthians 2:4-5 where Paul says “My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on man’s wisdom, but on God’s power.” And God further humbled me by asking me why was I talking to non-Christians as if I saved myself by being “smart enough” to choose Jesus? It was ridiculous for me to even think that. God did all the work by sending Jesus as the sacrifice for my sins and I didn’t deserve it. So now, I try to make sure that my motivation to preach the gospel comes from realizing that I don’t deserve something as good as the gospel and that I’m no better than the non-Christians around me. We are all in the same boat with the same disease called sin. The only difference is that we have the cure.5. In your own words, what do you think is the purpose of the CCF Executive Committee?
I think the purpose of the CCF Executive Committee is to lead and serve the members of CCF and to have a vision for CCF. This includes things like being accountable for the spiritual well-being of each member and attendee of CCF and to encourage them to grow closer to God. It also includes leading and encouraging the fellowship to further God’s kingdom. Leading all of this inherently involves discussing and planning the logistics as well so the executive committee also has to plan out what goes on during the Friday fellowships and other events. And this is all to serve CCF and to serve God.6. Why do you want to serve on the Committee? What can you do on Committee that you cannot do via another ministry in CCF?
One of the reasons why I want to serve on committee is because I want to make an impact on people’s spiritual growth. I have so much joy in seeing people turning back to God and growing closer to God. Being able to teach, encourage, and impact a person in that way is such a blessing from God. I would love to be able have this role in this part of God’s plan. The second reason why I want to serve on committee is because I want to make an impact on where CCF is headed. I have a passion for outreach and I feel like there is so much we can do to make ourselves more available to the non-Christians on campus. I really want us to be more involved with Jesus Week as a fellowship because I feel that there’s so much potential in something like Jesus Week to reach out to people who are curious, skeptical, or even ignorant about Jesus. I also have ideas like ways to bridge newcomers or non-believers to CCF. Or even ideas to encourage regular CCF members to start up their own ministry that is tailored to their talents and to the needs around us. These are questions and ideas that come to my mind from time to time but I cannot fully use them to their potential unless I am on committee. I have a passion for CCF, the campus, and of course, God so I would really like CCF to grow and make a difference on campus for the glory of God.7. What is your vision for CCF? Where do you want to see it in a year?
I really want to see CCF grow closer together spiritually. I want to our reason for coming together to really be centered on God. Hanging out with each other is good but I feel that shouldn’t be the main purpose why we come together. The church, which includes this fellowship, should be the place where we encourage each other and spur each other on. It should also be the place where we find healing and comfort. I want us to understand that we should challenge each other as well as comfort each other. “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” – John 13:34-36. I think that if we do this, the fellowship would naturally grow stronger and will be ‘a force to be reckoned with’ on campus.8. How have you demonstrated leadership characteristics in other ministries (not necessarily in CCF) in the past?
I honestly feel like this is an interview question (lol) but it’s probably necessary to answer. Outside of CCF, I’ve been a co-leader of the small Christian fellowship in my high school. As well, I have helped out with the Vacation Bible School (VBS) at my church a few times with action songs and arts and crafts. Within CCF, I’ve talked to people during clubs day and Jesus week and I have also lead Bible studies. I have also showed leadership characteristics informally just by encouraging people in general and asking people if they’d be interested in serving God one way or another.9. Committee can be a very time-consuming ministry to participate in, and Waterloo’s programs tend to be very academically challenging. How will you balance school and Committee work?
I think setting and reminding myself of my priorities helps me a lot. I don’t wasting my time or procrastinating as carelessly when I do that. This is really about time management. And I’ve learned to prioritize sleep as well because I function so much more efficiently (xD). I’m sure that there will be times where I will be stressed if I’m on committee. But with God’s help, He reminds me to “not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God” (Phil. 4:6). I know that whatever the outcome, God is still sovereign. Worrying and stressing about things doesn’t help because it doesn’t allow me to focus on what I have to do. “Each day has enough trouble of its own” (Matt. 6:34). And if there’s a point where I do need help, I would ask for help. I will communicate how busy or free I am with other committee members so we can cover for each other. And if we’re all busy, I’d suggest that we allocate some logistical work to someone we trust, if possible. A part of me honestly doesn’t know if I can handle all of the work, but I pray that God will be faithful and that He will provide for me when I am in need. - Rosanne Borja – Devotional Leader
4th year – Bioinformatics
Rosanne Borja: Candidate Statement 1. Share your personal testimony
I had an entirely ordinary Christian upbringing, but that’s alright—I serve a very extraordinary God.
I first came to know Christ at a very young age, when it first occurred to me that Death was real and that I didn’t know where I was going afterward. At such a young age, though, I didn’t fully grasp what it meant to be a Christ-follower. As I grew older and learned more about God through His Word (the Bible) and His church, I realized that I only called myself “Christian” because I wanted an insurance of Heaven after death. I became more and more uncomfortable with this so-called “faith” of mine, because I knew that a relationship with Jesus was more than just waiting for an eternal home prepared for us when we pass away. It kept bothering me until I couldn’t take it any longer, and decided to fully dedicate my life to following God and knowing Him more on June 15, 2002.As if to test this statement of faith, a month and a half later, God pulled my family out of its comfort zone—the Philippines—to a country that had a different climate, a different lifestyle, and was a couple thousand kilometres away from relatives and friends: Canada. It was here in Canada that my spiritual walk was really tested. I was challenged to share my faith with new friends who did not know Christ, and to continue living a God-fearing life while adjusting to this new environment. I stumbled in my faith very often—doubting God’s authority whenever life gave me hardships, or becoming complacent with my current spiritual walk. But every single time I faltered, God would pick me up; through family issues, stress, losses and pain, He always, always, made a way.
God continues to allow challenges to come into my life now that I’m in university, but because He always was and always will be faithful, I am encouraged to keep serving Him and reaching out for Him to my utmost ability.
2. What do you think is your spiritual gift(s)?
I believe my spiritual gift is serving people—God has given me a strong desire to tend to the needs of those around me. Caring for others through different means—cooking, cleaning, tutoring, keeping company—and being able to spread God’s love and fragrance both directly and anonymously has always brought me deep joy and fulfillment.3. Which fruit of the Spirit is God currently helping you to develop?
Recently, God has been helping me develop gentleness. Growing up as the only girl between an older and younger brother, and having been blessed with academic success in my early years, I was always the brash, non-effeminate child who liked having—and usually got—her way of things. I wanted to show that I was capable of taking care of myself, so my personality became arrogant, controlling and “unladylike.” I am only now learning how to let go of the steering wheel of life, and to let God take control of things like my studies, relationships and family. Trusting Him with my life, changing my brash attitude and making myself vulnerable to the changes He wants to make are still quite scary, but I take comfort in the fact that all things work together for the good of those who love Him, according to His purpose (Romans 8:28).4. Share a recent struggle and how God has helped you through it.
My mom recently switched workplaces to take on a more challenging job, and it became so stressful for her that she would not be physically able to sleep for multiple days. Since I was on a co-op term and was the only one among my siblings who wasn’t burdened with homework at night, I had to drive my mom to and from work (because she was not in a condition to do so herself), give up my free time with friends in order to do chores at home, and encourage her with prayer and verses. In a way, it was like our roles had been reversed: she became the dependent, and I became the caregiver and support. This extra work, along with the long commute hours to and from my co-op job, stretched out my patience and energy so much that I felt I was at my limit. This was compounded by the worry I felt for my mom, who was very vulnerable to other illnesses induced by sleep deprivation. I started to resent my parents for taxing me with such “unfair” responsibilities.But God is gracious. Through His Word (Ephesians 4:2), He allowed me to see that the reason I felt so burned out was because I was not serving my family with the correct attitude. He also blessed me with dear sisters in CCF who encouraged me and prayed for my mom’s health. Eventually, not only was my mom healed, she was also able to gain confidence and adjust better to her new job. Praise the Lord!
5. In your own words, what do you think is the purpose of the CCF Executive Committee?
The purpose of the CCF Executive Committee is to keep the fellowship’s overall spiritual health in check, and to help give the fellowship a direction in its spiritual growth.6. Why do you want to serve on the Committee? What can you do on Committee that you cannot do via another ministry in CCF?
I want to serve on Committee because I believe God has given me the ability, the desire and the opportunity to be a leader for this fellowship. I have thoroughly enjoyed being a younger-year and receiving guidance and wisdom from my upper-years and leaders, but now it is time for me to pass on what I have learned and step out of my comfort zone—and into God’s comfort zone. I want to show others, especially younger-years, what a joy and privilege it is to serve God in a leadership capacity, and use what God has taught me to build up the next generation of CCF. It would be an act of disobedience—a sin by omission—if I did not follow this calling.Something I can do on Committee (that I would not have been able to do otherwise) is planning for events for the entire fellowship, especially non-Friday-night events. It would be good stewardship of my given skills and experience.
7. What is your vision for CCF? Where do you want to see it in a year?
I envision a fellowship wherein all the members demonstrate care and love not just for each other, but for the Waterloo community as well. I want to see its members rise up out of their complacency and take their own initiative in encouraging one another and building each other up (1 Thessalonians 5:11).8. How have you demonstrated leadership characteristics in other ministries (not necessarily in CCF) in the past?
In Spring 2010, I had the opportunity to serve as Program Coordinator on the CCF Executive Committee. I facilitated weekly Friday night programs (among other events) and made sure they ran smoothly by communicating with Committee, different CCF ministry leaders and individuals outside CCF. It was in this capacity that I developed the time management, organizational and decision-making skills necessary for leading a fellowship of such a large size.I also served as a Frosh Cell Leader in the study term before that (Fall 2009), helping first-years adjust to university life, challenging them to pursue God’s heart in the midst of school busyness, and taking initiative in following up with them even after Frosh Cell ended.
9. Committee can be a very time-consuming ministry to participate in, and Waterloo’s programs tend to be very academically challenging. How will you balance school and Committee work?
Since the courses I am taking next term are said to be some of the hardest in the CS and Science departments (and even harder now that I’m taking them together; what was I thinking?!), I am planning on taking only four courses and one lab (as opposed to the usual five or six courses) to be able to devote more time to my role in Committee. As well, I will continue some of the habits that have allowed me to succeed in previous terms: starting work early, taking guitar and doodle breaks to keep myself sane, and keeping myself grounded in the Word.
