2023 Graduation Testimony—Ryan Kang

Hey everyone!

My name is Ryan and I’m here to share my graduation testimony! Sadly I wasn’t able to make it because I am currently on vacation but I am here to share my story of being in the seed and being part of the youth ministry. Before I start off, glad to see some new faces have come up from rocket kids and became part of the seed! So it has been exactly 6?7? Years since I’ve been part of the seed and around 9 years since I joined this church. I was known as a very loud kid coming from up to the seed but due to the new environment I struggled to really be myself and felt I didn’t fit in. I think this was especially because when I was in grade 7 I had to be with high school kids during sharing and hc In addition I struggled with my faith because coming up to the seed I felt my faith was strong but the sermons and seeing my 형스 and 누나s showed that I had many flaws in my early beliefs of god!  I was wondering if the time I spent at church was even worth the while and felt like I was wasting my time I would struggle to answer any of my friends questions related to faith or the seed as I wasn’t even sure what I was doing there or my role being part of the church. This would lead my to hide my Christianity in places outside of church because of my uncertainty regarding it which also affected my relationship with god  I struggled to remember god or anything related throughout my week and for me god would be something I would be only remember when I came to church. And Due to my weakened relationship with god and Christianity I tended to dozz off during sermons (sorry Caleb) and tend to not share deeply  with god or my hc I was unable to find importance in coming to church and church tended to be more of a chore than something I enjoyed and sometimes I would not come because I didn’t feel like it. And that’s when Covid hit! Being further away from the church made me feel more lost regarding my faith and what my role in church was. Thankfully church was able to open up after around year as Covid went away and I was able to attend on site I really ethink this time away helped me find the importance of church as it allowed for me to gain more clarity and really showed me that every sermon will have a message even if it’s just a few words that really speak out to you and god really try’s to talk to you through pastor Caleb. I also became my house church’s sermon summarizer which additionally helped me to focus more on sermons and the key points pastor Caleb would say.  It also allowed me to reread the sermons and take it in more personally I was able to share more deeply with my new hc as you know how we always end up finishing after 3 even though we have the smallest group and was able to really feel like it was my second home where I could share anything without judgment.  Then came the retreat. I think it was my second main turning point and that is where I was really able to embrace my Christianity and allow for myself to look for a way to serve others as I have learned from everyone here!  Through this I was able to join service team and become the person who sets up all the lights u see around you (p.s, join service team!!) anyways taking on this role really helped make me feel like I belonged and I was able to learn how I can use my skills to help others. I was able to really be myself and really connect with everyone on a deeper level and also take on new journeys regarding my faith such as taking starting point and doing early morning prayers and qt every morning.  Sooo speaking on that I would like to thank some people. Starting off I would like thank Stan the man who really helped push me to new levels of my relationship with god and really pushed me to partake in many things such as starting point. Through your help I was able to grow more as a person and a Christian and I thank you for that. I would also like to thank all my noonas and hyeongs for really being the support that I need through tough times and really showcase what it means to a Christian and serve others. I would also like to shoutout my fellow graduates Estelle Lucas Esther and Ben  or as Jen says “the loudest graduation group ever” who had been with me through my journey and really was the ppl I can share my struggles and happiness! Starting point gsng for life! I would just like to thank everyone and especially my father in heaven god for really being part of my journey as a person and a Christian! Thank you for listening! Love you guys!has context menu