Being Christians on this earth, although we have a spiritual relationship with God and our brethren in Christ, we spend much of our daily lives in an environment where most people may not be believers in Christ. Many of us may not have vocations in the church, but we are called to be God’s salt and light no matter where we are. As lay Christians, we are Christ’s ambassadors in the marketplace.
In recognition of this Dr. Timothy Sng has been hosting a Marketplace Ministries series on his YouTube channel. Through his Christian channel, he invites prominent Christian marketplace leaders to share their stories about God’s guidance and blessing in their lives. The hope is that by listening to the testimonies, we can also be blessed, encouraged, and inspired to be faithful and walk closely with Christ.
Dr. Timothy Sng expressed that the Marketplace Ministries series aim to emphasise that all of us in the marketplace – which are most Christians – are ministers and that our rice bowls are our mission fields. Being God’s minister means we bring God’s presence, peace, and love with us. We are Christ’s ambassadors, whatever our age or experience may be.
Some prominent leaders who have appeared on Dr. Timothy’s channel in the past have included Chris Sekar, Dr. Nehemiah Lee, Dr. Alex Tang, and Cyndi Yong. Most recently, Damien Chua and his wife, Lai Mei Ying, shared their stories on the channel.
Damien Chua is the son of the longest-serving health minister in Malaysian history, Dato’ Chua Jui Meng, who is also prominent in the Holy Spirit movement in Malaysia. Damien has himself experienced the hand of God and His deliverance, personally and in his family. A graduate of the School of Acts, and an ordained minister with the FourSquare Gospel Church, Damien and his wife own and run Arrows International School, a Christian-based education institution with over 700 students in Petaling Jaya. God has used Damien and Mei Ying mightily to share their testimonies, teach the word of God, and conduct family camps locally and abroad.
The turning point, and the most well-known story in Damien’s life, is probably his kidnapping and his miraculous delivery by God. In 2004, as he was traveling from a lunch meeting to his office, he stopped at a petrol station to fill his car’s petrol tank. Two men came with parangs, accosted him into their car, and drove off. They were very aggressive, physically assaulting Damien and threatening to kill him.
In that dire situation, Damien cried out to God, claiming the promises of God’s plans for his life and that he knew that his time has not come. The moment he prayed in tongues, the men left him alone, stopping their assaults. Soon after, the kidnappers’ car came to a roundabout where a man dressed all in white came out of nowhere, and with great authority, opened the driver’s door, and commanded the two men to get out of the car. The driver slammed the door in a panic and sped off in a wild direction, eventually crashing the car near two police who were patrolling the same area. (The incident can be read in more detail in one of our previous articles: God sent His angel to rescue me from kidnap! – Rev Damien Chua, Exponential Camp in Taiping)
Just five days before the incident, Damien’s dad, Dato’ Chua had received word from the Lord that his family would encounter a miracle. Six months before, Mei Ying had also dreamed of Damien being in a car crash and in the hospital. The police had brought Damien to the hospital for a checkup because of the car accident. Months before the incident, the Lord had warned the family about it so they could pray and ward off the attack of the evil one even though they did not know about the exact details at the time.
Damien and Mei Ying also shared about the inception of Arrows International School. They had both been accountants. However, after the encounter with God in 2004 and knowing how much God loved them, they searched for a way to serve God more than just climbing the corporate ladder. Around this time, God gave Mei Ying a vision of children behind bars and told her that if there was no one to guide them, they would wander in the wrong direction. She received many prophecies about being surrounded by children and youths even though neither she nor Damien was serving in a children’s or youth ministry at that time. During her prayers, the word ‘school’ would come to the forefront many times.
Initially, they were apprehensive about coming out of their comfort zone but the Lord patiently prodded them toward their calling. In 2010, they finally took firm hold of this calling and established the Arrows International School. Mei Ying shared that after setting up the school, she understood the meaning of her vision. Serving and working with the children, she found that they were struggling with many things, with depression, busy parents, wrong influences, etc… God showed them how to connect with the children emotionally and guide them back to the right way. Damien and Mei Ying shared many stories about how God guided them in their calling.
Dr. Timothy Sng’s series and the channel are a valuable source of insight into the partnerships between God and His ministers. Listening to testimonies brought first-hand, we get an intimate window into the backdrop of many of these ministries.
Links:
- Dr. Timothy Sng’s Marketplace Ministers series can be accessed through his channel on YouTube.
- Damien has previously been featured many times on Christianity Malaysia. You may access these articles at https://christianitymalaysia.com/wp/?s=damien+chua
- To find out in more detail about Arrows International School, you may visit their website at https://www.arrows.my/
Note: This news article was produced on the writer’s personal initiative in raising awareness for a channel he feels is valuable to the local Christian community. The writer takes all personal responsibility for the article.
|Share The Good News|
Leave a Reply