by Jesstina (Brunei Darussalam)

I am Jesstina from Brunei Darussalam, and I work as a full-time worker at St. Andrew’s Church. I help provide church programmes, especially in my native congregation (Bahasa). I am the chairperson of the Sunday School Ministry, and recently I was appointed as a lay reader. I was also appointed as the church’s coordinator for the Youth and Young Adult Ministry. I teach certain classes such as Baptism class and Confirmation class, and occasionally share the Word of God in the Ladies Ministry and Fathers Ministry.

With the main purpose of attending AGT, I wondered what exactly this training was. I wanted to see more deeply and broadly what this mission is. At the same time, I wanted to gain experience, to sharpen myself, and to be equipped.

The AGT training benefited me so much personally. Participating in the training for a few weeks taught me that there is a lot to learn, especially in the field of missions. The definition of mission is very broad and widespread; mission is not just going somewhere and stepping out to bring good news; it is more than that. When we step out, we are the mission itself—our character, our way of thinking, our way of life. The truth is within us; that is the gospel.

The issue that opened my eyes and surprised me was, “Do I know everything about Christ?” When asked, I found it difficult to answer. This question had never occurred to me, and I couldn’t answer it. So where was the shortage? Had I been misinterpreting the Word of God? It turns out that the knowledge of God is a never-ending process. No one in human history can understand everything; it turns out that humans are very limited.

For the past few weeks, we have been teaching to look at texts or situations more critically theologically, bringing something new to the Word of God. As a leader, I need to bring something new to share with the congregation to declare the truth clearly and correctly, so that they are also renewed and have a broader spirituality.

What is even more interesting is that Christian missions are also developing among non-Christian societies and within human culture. God works in human belief systems because He is God in that history; He is not a silent God. As missionaries, our priority is to build relationships by making friends and telling them what Jesus has done in our lives without any agenda to change them. What distinguishes Christianity from other faiths in this world? The answer is Jesus Christ.

The training not only emphasises the theoretical but also the practical. We were taken to the temple of Taoism, Confucianism, and Buddhism, one of the largest in Seremban. We were given knowledge of the teachings of these three faiths. Personally, it amazed me, and there are also similarities with Christianity, such as sacred places, creation stories, beliefs about spirits, and so on. With this visit, I was able to relate to their beliefs and backgrounds and recognise their beliefs as having Christian values. Combining the theoretical and practical was very useful and helped the training to be perfect.

I was also blessed by the integral mission lesson. This lesson made me realise that a mission is not a task or project. The mission is not an activity. The mission is the nature of each Christ-follower, God’s calling us to be, living as witnesses to the whole gospel of the kingdom of God. We are called to participate in the mission of God with the gifts He has given us.

A meaningful lesson in AGT is the friendship and bonding between all participants. This relationship not only strengthened the bond between fellow believers but also built friendship between countries, especially about the mission. This opens the way for all of us to help each other, share our thoughts, cooperate, and strengthen each other. A valuable experience. I believe all this is the goodness of Jesus; without His miraculous design, none of this would have been possible. I pray that all the learning, testimonies, and knowledge that have been given in this AGT will bring something new to my ministry. Amen. Shalom Elohim!

Love from Brunei,

Jessy