Dear Ushers,
Wow. Let’s get started with this exciting entry competition that Nadine came up with! Nadine is forever full of great, funny, extraordinary and all-powerful ideas.
Usher Ministry is about serving, the key to receive discipleship, to change oneself, building your character, to catch the fruit of the spirit = our character and attitude, love, peace, joy, patience, faithfulness, kindness, goodness, self control, gentleness, etc.
I first joined usher ministry when I was 16 years old and I’m 20 years old this year. I will be “celebrating” my 4th year of ushering in Heart of God church this year. Indeed it had been a great journey serving God in this ministry for the last 3 years. I learnt so many things as an usher.
Background:
Like most of you, I joined this ministry because my leader put me in this ministry. Pastor How. It was Pastor How who put me in this Ministry! How many of you want to know how did it happen?
Before I joined usher ministry, I was serving in the Sound Ministry and on the worship team. It was only when Pastor How noticed that I love ushering. I remembered clearly when the church was like only 100 people small and I was on sound duty at the sound console, mixing the sound, etc. As the doors are open for the 100 people to enter the auditorium, I started ushering people even when I was at the sound console. Pastor How noticed it and decided that I had an eye for usher ministry.
So I joined Usher Ministry as a Chief Usher.
The very first thing that I learnt from Pastors about usher ministry is to learn how to run usher ministry. I still remembered those long hours at pastors house discussing about usher ministry, the attire, processes, structure, etc. It is the making of who we are today. (Yes..we decided in wearing black attire at pastors’ house!)
Today, I learnt so much more about what it takes about running usher ministry and I’m in the process of coming up a list of things about “What it takes to run Usher Ministry?”
Honestly speaking, there’s so much that I see and learn in Usher Ministry. It will be never ending if I’m going to start sharing about all my experiences and incidents. I will just share ONE! So that I will be penalized from this competition! (:
Experience:
Ushering at Ignite conference with 800-1000 people in Year 2005. This is the most exciting duty ever. For 3 days, we reported at 7am every morning and did ushering until 11pm for 3 days and 3 nights. It was a non-stop ushering. We will wake up at 5am and sleep at 2am every night.
It was through this experience, I started to increase in my capacity and abilities to lead and usher 1000 people. I remembered that Pastors always share with us that we can only be a church of 1000 if we operate at a church of 1000 today. We must be pregnant in the spirit. Ushering for Ignite Conference’05 was like a preparation for where we are today. We are not struggling with our normal services now because of the breakthrough we experienced few years ago.
Today, as we do ushering, we must begin to see ourselves operating at a church of 3000. So that when 3000 comes soon, it will not be a problem for usher.
If you ask me what’s the greatest experience ever, the answer is that the greatest experience in my ministry is that I begin to see people seeing their destinies and walking towards their destinies in God. This is the greatest experience.
Through this experience, I remembered that many people are walking towards their destinies in God, even the ushers.
Shan Yong was still a new crew when he ushered 1000 people! Today, he’s one of our Chief Usher in this ministry who just ushered 1800 for the recent conference.
Lim Jia xin – A great Team Leader in Zone F. She was once an usher. I remembered clearly that she was only Primary 6 when she was on duty and during the ushering at the conference, someone older in the congregation started to make fun of her and make things hard for her as she ushered. Never despise youth!! I got some of the Usher ICs and Securities followed me and we confronted the guy who was making fun of Jia xin. Afterward, we found out that the guy was just a new Christian, so we forgive me and taught him.
Today, Jia xin sees a new destiny that she walking towards for God in Zone F. This is one of the greatest joy in usher ministry. You don’t know what our God is up to sometimes but definitely it’s good for He loves us.
Jeremy Lim – One of our always on duty Chief Usher! Seeing him grow up in this ministry is the greatest joy. From a normal crew who runs up to the stage to collect offering (within 3 seconds) from pastors in Henderson days, taking charge of one section in FTMS days to today, commanding, planning and guiding the ushers how to fit themselves in this ministry.
Arrhh.. I can really just go on and on. Maybe when I’m not so busy, then I will share more with all of you. I will just end of with these.
Lastly, I want to take this opportunity to inspire some of you.
I am not what I ought to be,
Not what I want to be,
Not what I am going to be,
But I am thankful that
I am better than I used to be.
Are you better than what you used to be? This is the question that I want to leave you thinking. (:
I love usher ministry but more than that, I love you guys too!
With love,
Jian Ming
Head Usher
No comments:
Post a Comment