What an amazing Festival of Faith (FOF) that Asia-Pacific experienced at Muak Lek campus!
Started from Monday, September 10, 2018 — in the morning and evening sessions — 11 senior and junior students from the Faculty of Religious Studies spoke on different topics related to the theme “Steps of Christ”.
Overall, the content of the FOF messages gave a positive impact. Luke Morley, Education major, commented that in addition to song services, he was also deeply moved by the student speakers’ sharing. “The speakers’ messages were really motivating”.
Biology major Junnamel Gara shared that what she learnt from FOF personally encourage her to renew her spiritual life. “The message really opens a way for me to have a spiritual change”.
The method of presentation also helped students like Sophat Thach, English major, to grasp the topic better. “I like how the presenters use simple and easy-to-understand English words,” mentioned Sophat. “The topic about repentance really hits me. It tells me that either I need to stop and repent, or continue doing sin”.
The student speakers — most of them speaking at FOF for the very first time — expressed that the preaching appointment was a humbling one as the preparation did not come easy.
For Pastor Suan Lian Kham, he commented that the experience to speak for FOF is different from any classroom experience. “It was more real,” said Pastor Kham. “Thus, I needed more honest prayer”.
Ville Suutarinen also shared the same sentiment. “It got me down on my knees, because I felt the importance of preaching God’s word. I learnt more that prayer is very important for spiritual growth”.
The speakers expressed that it was not easy to preach in front of so many people. However, they could feel the power of the Holy Spirit working through their weaknesses to push them through.
“Standing in front of the public is nervous for me because every person will look and listen to us on what we are going to share with them,” shared Rikho Jaffry. “But, I experienced the power of the Holy Spirit to help me recall every single word as I spoke to the congregation”.
For Junniel Gara, what started out as nervousness and stress became a joyful experience. “When I started preparing and talking at the front, I really enjoy it — praise God!”
The speakers conveyed their gratitude to be given opportunities to speak at FOF, and expressed how the preaching experience trains them for future work in the field.
Bancha Wongyangpita shared, “Speaking for FOF will help me a lot for my future ministry because my audience in the future will be Christians and non-Christians”.
Racheal Pang also commented, “It helped me a lot in developing the skills and the style of preaching — in fact, it helped me realize my interest in preaching!”
Stalin Moses Penumaka also shared a similar response. “FOF prepares us to gain confidence and to explore our skills and abilities. It is also an opportunity to learn from the lessons to be better in the future”.
In response to the FOF event, the speakers prayed that the congregation had an uplifting spiritual experience as they take steps towards Christ.
“For non-Christians, I hope this will be the beginning for them to know who Jesus is, and what they should do to experience Jesus in their lives,” shared Noah Agustin. “For Adventists or Christians, I hope the FOF served as a great time for them to renew their faith”.
The week-long event culminated on Saturday morning, September 15, 2018, with Pastor Suan Lian Kham’s message “The Privilege of Prayer” at the University Church. The congregation then witnessed the baptisms of two students and one staff.
