The East Asia Member’s Mission Forum provides not just a platform for various Council for World Mission (CWM) member churches of the region to discuss and discern contemporary issues and challenges; it is also a way for the voices of the youth delegates to be heard. CWM speaks to Lee Jie Xi, a 22-year-old youth delegate from Gereja Presbyterian Malaysia (GPM) for some candid thoughts on the challenges facing young Christians.
Hi Jie Xi, thank you for availing yourself for this quick interview! Please introduce yourself.
Lee Jie Xi (JX): Hello everyone, I am Jie Xi. I am 22 this year. Currently, I worship at the Logos Presbyterian Church in Selangor, Malaysia, which is a member church of GPM. I am studying Accounting and Finance at Sunway University.
What are some key challenges facing young Christians in Malaysia today?
JX: I cannot speak for the entire country but I can certainly illustrate the dire situation in my local church which is the decreasing number of young members in the youth ministry.
This has perhaps to do with the youth fellowship in my church not being attractive enough to retain them. The lack of youths has also impacted the leadership of the youth fellowship, where some are already in their 30s. These leaders might also appear to be preachy and unapproachable, resulting in members leaving.
The exodus of youths may also be due to them not returning after attending tertiary education overseas or, for some of them, the Gospel has not fully touched their hearts even though they have attended church with their parents since childhood.
What do you think can be done to keep youths in church?
JX: In terms of the youth fellowship, I feel that there should be a leadership renewal where available youths are encouraged to step into the role rather than having the usual overaged leaders present to restore the vibrancy of the ministry.
More events like casual gatherings outside of church and team-building events may also help allow individual members to bond in a more comfortable setting. Ultimately, I think the goal has got to be getting the youths to realise that they do need God in their lives and return to church.
Turning to the bigger picture, how can Christian youths further God’s mission, especially in Malaysia with religious restrictions?
JX: Actually, to clarify, the laws just spell out that it is illegal to proselytise to Muslims. We can still evangelise to others. My take is that Christian youths should bravely go out into the public space to proclaim the redemptive message of God boldly.
The youth fellowship in my church has previously organised street preaching and the results were very encouraging. We had people who were initially reserved about attending church or even believing in God but through the building of a relationship with them, some of them have since accepted Christ and have stayed on in my church! The key to sharing the Gospel is certainly about building sincere friendships and relations.
With the rise of AI, how do you think youths can use it as a mission tool?
JX: AI does allow the Christian message to be shared in a more attractive way as it can create, on the fly, visually and textually arresting materials. I do feel that the church has a role in reclaiming this space for God by using it as a stepping stone in presenting the Gospel in an engaging and easy-to-understand manner while also being able to be produced at a cost-effective and efficient pace.
I feel that this presents a very strong case for AI use and youths should be adopting it—albeit with understanding and caution—as it is still a new platform with various associated software and applications that may present a high barrier of entry to some of the youths in the community.
I think a solid education on the use of AI including the ethical aspects has to be in place so that the youths can learn to use AI responsibly. This I feel should be taken as a first step before everything else.