Change in MJD Campus & Youth Ministry Structures
With effect from 1st January 2017, Melaka-Johor diocese will be separating the Youth and Campus Ministry into two distinct ministries. Permanent deacon Adrian Ng retains the Campus portfolio while Bro. Jason Wong, who will be ordained a transitory deacon on 21st February will take over as Head of Youth Ministry.
After 8 years, Deacon Adrian is grateful to the Lord for the growth in the Youth Ministry structure. The Persons Are Gifts (PAG) camps became a cornerstone to boost the parish youth ministries, even translating a Mandarin version. He also introduced Focus on the Family’s No Apologies workshops and created the Project David leadership training. This year, the diocese began to support the catechetical ministry in the Confirmation Camps. And the Mission Discovery has become a crucial transitional camp for youths entering into Campus Life. He has led the diocese through 3 World Youth Days, 2 Asian Youth Days and Diocesan-level camps (Lead to Mission and Melaka-Johor Youth Day).
“I’m grateful for the trust that Bishop-Emeritus Paul Tan and Bishop Bernard had in me to serve in this ministry. I have a better value for organisational structures as diocesan level Youth ministry has more meetings and documentations. Definitely enjoyed the friendships that I made especially when a few of these young people tell me that they want to become full-time youth ministers too. There’s a certain sadness of course, but I believe that this is the right direction as it will enable me to focus and develop Campus Ministry to the next level.”
The Incoming head, Jason Wong hails from Johor Bahru and has just finished his seminary training in Taiwan. Bro Jason shared his hopes for the MJD Youth Ministry:
“We plan to have a committee for the Tamil, Mandarin, English and Bahasa speaking youth. These committees will be made up of youth from all three vicariates to help the other youths in their process of encountering God, enlightenment, empowerment and evangelisation in their own respective languages. Apart from the respective language committees, each vicariate will also have meetings of youth leaders from all language groups occasionally to update matters and to share and discuss the progress of their Ministry. This will help to build bridges among the different language groups and to find creative ways to work together”.
The plan for 2017 will focus on:
- Visiting each parish to survey the needs of the youths of all languages
- Setting up committees in each vicariate in four languages to foster greater cooperation and fellowship
- Organising pre-existing events, eg. Mission Discovery, Project David and assisting in parish-run events like Persons Are Gifts and Confirmation Camps.
- Running formation sessions for Asian Youth Day MJD Representatives and leading our delegation to Semarang, Indonesia this year