Past Year testimonials

Hello everyone! Below are three testimonials from Yuan Tying, Yvette and Xue Qian from past alpha camps when they brought their friends. If you have something to share feel free to email any Alpha Camp Comm member :) Your experience might inspire another to bring their friends!

Yuan Tying

Heys!

Here's my testimony..doesnt have to be v long right? hope it comes in handyand hope it's not too late..haha

Hello! I'm Yuan Tying:) If you don't know me, i am a 22 year old, attending church at BPMC.I've been going to alphacamp for many years and also served as part of the planning committee too.Alpha camp has always been one of the highlights as the year approaches the end and I've always enjoyed myself there, be it the games, the outings, fellowshiping with the other youths and also experiencing His bountiful provision for us. However, alpha camp is not just camp for us to enjoy, but a camp for us to bring our friends along, so that they too can know God and have fun at the camp.

Many years I've always thought inviting a friend seems quite daunting.There are many things that goes through my mind: what if my friends reject me? what if they don't like the camp? or maybe they wouldn't be free at all? And the thought of being rejected would seem quite disappointing. But in 2007, i managed to invite 2 of my friends for the camp. I told them about the camp, and prayed that they will be open minded to come join us, and God answered my prayers. Both my friends came and enjoyed the camp a lot. I'm glad I invited them to come:) God used me to invite my friends and it became a chance for them to know more about Christianity too. Even though my friends did not accept Christ that year but I believe, the seed of the gospel is planted and they know that there is this God who loves them, who waits for them to come back to Him. If i had been hesitant to invite my friends, they would not have had the chance to know God more at the camp and enjoy it just like how I always do. And I would have also restricted the ways how He uses me to bring my friends to know Him.

So, if you're thinking of inviting your friends, fear not, just go ahead and ask. Don't limit God's work with your limited thinking/worries.And if you're thinking of coming for the camp, please do! cause you'll be enjoying yourself loads, like how all of us always do, and also get to know more friends.On top of that, you'll be able to know more about this amazing God and experience Him through the camp. Curious about who He is, how He is like and why this big hoo haa about Him? come and see for yourself.:) Hope to see you there!

Yvette

It wasn’t hard inviting my friends because if one of my friends came, the others would follow suit.

But what I felt was shocking was that they were very easy-going. Whenever I tell them about the money they have to pay when they attend this camp, my immediate thought was that they would reject. But they just replied, “Ok ah.” I guess maybe God is at work? But what was the tough part is that when one of my friends is not going, the others would follow suit too, and usually during the December holidays, most of my friends are going overseas. Some of their parents also oppose them attending alpha camp as it is a Christian organization. I wanted to invite my friends because I hope they can get to know Christ and know that there is always someone for them whenever they are down. Most of them became more receptive to stuffs about Christians and they are all attending City Harvest Church now. :D I feel very happy when they told me that they enjoy the camp.

No matter what circumstances, I think our job is just to ask them whether they could come for alpha camp, and leave the rest to God. Because we should sow the seeds and God will grow them in his own way!

Xue Qian

I apologise that 4 year old memories appear vague in my mind. This is just some of my experience and what I learnt from bringing my friends to Alpha Camp.

Not being exposed to religion before, being a Christian might seem like another role that newcomers have to don, other than being a son, a student, a leader. Some of them may already half-believe the faith, yet they might think if it is necessary. Can they handle the additional burden? Perhaps Christianity can wait. I tried really hard to explain to my friend that being a Christian was different from a commitment or another task to be completed, and why the solution of ‘waiting’ is an indefinite excuse. Coming to church every Sunday is not compared to having to go school every day.

I learnt that it takes time. It really does. I found myself repeating things I mentioned before, trying to explain things from different angles. But it means that we should never give up! I saw Christ in other ways too. Because I seemed to gain so much more in all the conversations with my friend and the advice I gave. It seemed that the more I was trying to affirm him and clarify his doubts, I was also answering my own doubts. I was surprised how these answers came to me. The greatest takeaway for me is that evangelism is not a one way thing, that through reaching out to our friends, we unknowingly grow to be better Christians ourselves.

Perhaps many of our non-Christian friends fear the label of a Christian. What does it entail? I tried to explain to my friend that like him, I too was learning. I say I’m a Christian not because I already know the answers to everything. I genuinely do not, but I hope and believe that this is where I will find them. Being a Christian does not mean you have to first be perfect, it is the precise understanding that we are not. You do not need to score straight ‘A’s or help a thousand needy people before you can be eligible to be a Christian. I think it helps to not preach from a higher pedestal and let our non-Christian friends see how we are just ordinary people who have our failings and weaknesses. The difference is that we have someone from whom can we draw strength and find direction.

Reaching out does not stop from the moment our friends accept Christ. There is another long journey after that. But for now, I would like to encourage all of us to actively approach our friends and invite them for Alpha Camp. I think the best method is to find out what is the main obstacle your friend is facing, and then seek to address it. You never know what God might be doing through you. As the cliché goes, it just takes the planting of a seed. I believe that God will work in his own ways and own time. All we have to do is let Him.