A great number of Chinese churches in North America are seeing more and more teenagers in their midst and circle of influence. These young people have high ideals, deep spiritual interest, enormous potential, and boundless energy. Upon reaching them with the Gospel, the Church would harness a huge driving force for impacting society and furthering the Kingdom of God. It would also guarantee a strong leadership for the Church of Tomorrow as well as for the Church of Today.
However, despite a common ancestry, these young people are growing up in a culture very different from that of their parents. Although many have been exposed to Christianity since childhood, the adolescent years beckon testing and validation of their inherited faith. Traditional ministry approaches — successful with the older generation — simply miss the target when applied to them. Limited resources and tight budgets also hinder ministry efforts.
Acts 20:7-12 records an incident during Paul’s ministry in the city of Troas:
"Paul spoke to the people... Seated in a window was a young man named Eutychus, who was sinking into a deep sleep as Paul talked on and on. When he was sound asleep, he fell to the ground from the third story and was picked up dead. Paul went down, threw himself on the young man and put his arms around him. ‘Don’t be alarmed,’ he said. ‘He’s alive!’... The people took the young man home alive and were greatly comforted."
Eutychus did not respond so well to conventional methods of ministry. But imagine his perspective on God after he was raised from the dead! To make this happen, Eutychus had to be ministered to with focused, individual attention. This is the basis for our name.
Born and raised in Hong Kong, he became a Christian while a teenager. Pastor
Ian received a Bachelor's degree in Fine Arts from the University of Hawaii.
After several years of working in the graphic design industry, he furthered
his ministry training and obtained a Master of Divinity degree from Gordon-Conwell
Theological Seminary with an emphasis in youth ministry. He has been
involved in the Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship, the Chinese Lutheran
Church of Honolulu, and the Board of Trustees of the Bible Institute of Hawaii.
Over the years, Pastor Ian has led a number of youth mission trips to Richmond,
VA; Dorchester, MA; Detroit, MI; Washington, DC; Mexico; Trinidad and Tobago;
England; and Hong Kong.
Pastor Ian was the Assistant Youth Program Director of Ambassador For Christ's
Chinese Mission Conference in 1995, Youth Program Director in 1998, Youth Program Director/Interim English Program Chairman in 2001, and will
serve as Program Director in 2004.
Pastor Ian Ma served as Youth Ministry Intern, and later as Youth Minister,
of the Chinese Bible Church of Greater Lowell, MA from 1989 to 1995. He has
been the Youth Pastor of the Chinese Christian Church in Somerset, NJ from
1995 to present. Pastor Ian is also a regular contributing writer for the
Faith Column in the Courier News.
Pastor Ian Ma has been ministering Christ to Chinese-American youths since
1985.
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Biblically-centered |
| With Scripture as the foundation, Eutychus Youth Ministries exists in obedience to the Great Commission of Jesus Christ (Matthew 28:18-20.) | |
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Culturally-sensitive |
| Eutychus Youth Ministries operates within the context and an understanding of the Chinese, North American, and youth cultures (1 Corinthians 9:22.) | |
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Relationally-oriented |
| Eutychus Youth Ministries follows the model of "incarnational ministry", as demonstrated by Jesus Christ (Philippians 2:6-8.) |
Eutychus Youth Ministries, Inc. is a non-profit, non-denominational parachurch organization founded upon the Kingdom vision of supporting the youth ministry of Chinese churches in North America.
To foster better understanding and more effective ministry to adolescents, Eutychus Youth Ministries seeks to provide:
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Workshops and literature to empower clergy and layleaders. |
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Consultation and networking for local churches that seek to develop youth ministries. |
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Seminars for parents and teens to promote inter-generational communication and harmony. |
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Short-term missions to nurture adolescents through discipleship and leadership training. |
| Postal Address: |
Eutychus Youth Ministries, Inc.
P.O. Box 1037 Somerset, NJ 08875-1037 |
| Phone: | (732) 951-9711 (Prompt 4) |
| Fax: | (732) 951-9711 |
| E-Mail: | Info@Eutychus.org |