Interview with Joshua Lowe
On 25 Apr 2021, Elder Chuan Xin interviewed Joshua Lowe who has joined the English Congregation Ministry Team as a Ministry Support Worker for Youth Ministry. We catch up with Joshua to find out more about him and his work with the youth.
During the interview on 25 April, Joshua shared briefly with us that he has been with GBC since 2018 when he came to Singapore to get married to Tiffany, who is a member of GBC, and they now have a one-month old baby boy.
He also shared that he will be serving the youth and youth leaders mainly through discipleship and training and will be working closely with the Children's Ministry and Young Adults Ministry as they look at how to minister to children transiting to youth and youth to young adults. We are very excited at the work that he will be doing and decided to catch up with him to find out more about him and his desire to serve the youth:
1. Hi Joshua, before moving to SG, where were you based?
I was born in Brisbane, Australia so I spent most of my life in Brisbane. This is where I studied and got my degree in Electrical Engineering. After university I worked on several engineering projects and before moving to Singapore I was working on an engineering project in UAE based in Dubai.
2. What led you to consider working with the youths full time? Did you have any experience working with youths?
I took on a ministry worker position because I wanted to gain some experience in ministry. I didn't initially expect to work with the youth, but throughout my life, I have always have a heart for Children and Youth ministry in the church. I have been a leader/teacher in both children and youth ministry in my previous churches and have always seen it as an important part in the body of the church. Every church is different though so there is always more that I can learn so I look forward to how I can continue to grow from the Youth Ministry at GBC.
3. How has it been working with the youth so far? What are some joys and challenges?
I really enjoy getting to know the youth and the youth leaders. It has been interesting and a bit challenging trying to understand what the youth have been experiencing and going through. Being a youth has changed since I was a youth (and that wasn't even that long ago!). On top of that, being a youth in Singapore has its own pressures particularly when it comes to school and grades. My concerns for our youth is that they become too focused on their studies that they forget the importance of being a Christian. Its so easy to get caught up in the busyness of school and life that they can forget the more important things in life and how God should take priority in it all.
4. Could you share briefly about how you came to Christ?
My parents became Christians when they were teenagers and so I grew up in the church. I was a typical church kid, I was obedient and well mannered, but internally I struggled with all sorts of pride and deceit. At church and school I appeared to be the "good child" but when I was at home by myself, I would get up to mischief and often found secret ways to rebel against my parents and against God. One day at a vacation bible school event, God helped me understand the gospel for myself. Through a Bible story, I finally understood the gospel and what it meant for me. God helped me see that even though outwardly I appeared "good" my heart was still sinful and this was blocking my relationship with Him and there was nothing I could do to help myself. God opened my eyes and heart to see that it is only through faith in Jesus Christ that God can accept me. From then on, even though I still struggled with a sinful heart, I know that God has accepted me not because of the things I've done, but because of what Christ has done.
5. How can we pray for you, your family and the youth?
For myself and the youth, you can pray that we will grow in our love for God, pray that even as I undertake this position, I will grow in my relationship with God. For my family, pray that Tiffany and I will be able to get some good rest as we look after our son!