Click to return to Our Leadership

Philip Chen Testimony

It's been an interesting journey thus far...I've seen many things despite my young age that I am so privileged to experience. I've seen true worship, growing relationships, and the fruits of ministry and discipleship. God has shown me things that I cannot truly comprehend the importance of. In the past year, God has tested me and taught me things that I didn't even know the importance of until now. With my years in high school, God has taught me to truly trust him more specifically with the future. As a person with much unrest and anxiety, the future i something I worry about daily. I worry about my future and how what i do now affects it, the future of my friends, the future of my grandparents, and what the culture is going to be like in the future. I found myself at a point where my fear for the future was becoming a hindrance. the future was something i just couldn't let God control. I thought more of the consequences in the future, which affected my behavior in the present. Eventually God showed me that what I had in my mind wasn't his plan, but my own agenda. I've been learning to slowly let go of my "hand" of the future and trust God and his ultimate plan.

Another thing God has taught me in the past year is the importance of a strong community and discipleship. Along with high school, comes a whole new set of burdens and challenges. Now I know that i'm supposed to cast my burdens on the Lord, but that's easier said than done. I know that God is always there for me, but sometimes its just hard when it seems like you're talking to yourself. This is why God gave me a great group of guys to learn and grow with. God has put them in my life to speak wisdom through them to me and to also experience life with. I realize i cannot go through life relying on myself and keeping my feelings and ideas bottled up. I need guys to share what i'm going through with. But that's not all that they're there for. They also make sure i'm on the right path. They make sure i'm on the best path to Jesus. They call me out when i'm wrong and teach me the correct way. In discipleship, God has given the privileged of watching the younger generation grow and learn. It's been a blessing to see God move in a mighty way in such young people, the same way he moved in me.