Discipleship Through Creativity, Mission Through Culture
I Am Willing to Be Used by You
I never imagined I would become a minister; much less that one day I would disciple young people through creative arts and establish a cross-cultural missions platform.
I currently serve full-time at Ambassadors for Christ (AFC). I am a minister and also a promoter of cultural mission. But 12 years ago, I was just a music conservatory student, a young person only thinking about achieving personal success.
The turning point came at a missions conference I hadn't even wanted to attend.
At the end of the Winter 2012 Student Bible Reading Camp, the speaker extended an invitation for commitment. I felt a powerful shock, my heart filled with emotion and fervor, but immediately a thought arose: "Can I say no?" At the time, I was afraid of losing my freedom, afraid my future would be defined, afraid of bearing too heavy a responsibility.
At the 2013 Chinese Missions Convention, I heard the same call again. When the missionary said in a voice both resonant and gentle, "Are you willing to give your whole self to the Lord and serve Him full-time from now on?" In that instant, the 2012 call flashed through my mind, as if God were asking me: "This time, are you still going to run away?"
I couldn't help but cry. I stood up and walked toward the front of the stage. "Lord, though I don't know what I can do, I am willing to be used by You." It wasn't a heroic sacrifice, but rather a child finally responding to their Father's call.
From Misunderstanding to Walking Together
God's call not only changed my life trajectory but also miraculously transformed my family relationships.
Growing up, my relationship with my father was never close, filled with both heated arguments and cold wars. When I decided to serve full-time and apply to seminary, my parents didn't explicitly object, but their silence spoke louder than words.
Through prayer, I surrendered time and again, and step by step moved toward obedience. God's faithfulness strengthened me, and He quietly did marvelous work in my family.
When my parents came to the United States for my graduation, they also had deeper contact with the church. They witnessed the change in my life and personally experienced the genuine love among members of the body of Christ.
For my father, the most shocking thing was seeing this son who once "would talk back after three sentences" no longer arguing or acting impulsively, but quietly arranging every detail, calmly accompanying them on outings, and patiently explaining matters big and small in daily life. He must have sensed that this wasn't the son changing himself, but the gospel changing him.
My parents also met a Christian couple who proactively hosted them, prepared abundant meals, drove us around, and through listening and companionship, allowed my parents to deeply experience the sincerity and warmth of a spiritual family. Before returning to their home country, this couple invited them to their home once more and wholeheartedly shared their own faith journeys and life stories. These acts of love left an indelible mark on my parents' hearts.
I had tried many times to share the gospel with my father, always hitting walls. Unexpectedly, God arranged for several pastors and elders with backgrounds similar to my father's to have natural, deep conversations with him. Those dialogues helped my father lower his long-held defenses against faith and truly begin listening and reflecting.
The night before they returned home, a brother led my father in a prayer of commitment to accept Jesus Christ as his personal Savior. My heart was filled with shock and gratitude—God Himself had opened the way, at the most appropriate time, through the means most personal to him, touching his heart. Now, my father has also become a supporter of my ministry path.
From Struggling Student to PhD
If anyone was least likely to become a "doctor," it would probably be me.
During my student days, I often felt inferior due to my grades and ADHD attention issues. I once seriously doubted my abilities because of learning difficulties, feeling ashamed and powerless before my studies. Yet God chose the most unlikely path and led me into doctoral classes.
When I first began studying theology, I was often overwhelmed by language assignments and research writing. Not only that, I also had the least ministry experience in the class.
Just when I was most frustrated and beginning to doubt myself, God personally brought several brothers in the Lord to study with me and encourage each other. When I felt powerless, they pulled me up; when I was confused, they prayed with me. God also prepared an extremely loving and patient mentor who didn't despise my clumsiness but was willing to guide me, correct me, and encourage me again and again.
I deeply understand that being able to stand where He has placed me today is testimony that the Lord's grace is greater than my weakness.
Observing, Crying Out, Taking the First Step
During seminary, I volunteered with AFC, deeply participating in multiple ministries and later becoming involved in serving the North America sojourners youth community. Over those years, I accompanied countless young people struggling with culture shock and identity confusion, witnessing souls who longed to know the faith yet struggled to find ways to express it. This experience became a window for understanding generations and sensing cultural disconnection.
Through studying Christian education, I also saw the tension contemporary young people face regarding cultural disconnection and faith confusion. I kept asking myself: Shouldn't everything I've received be transformed into a practical model for reaching youth?
From observing the youth demographic in North America, I've noticed that in many people's minds, "discipleship training" always seems to be equated with Bible study courses, sermon notes, and spiritual disciplines. Young international students or working professionals long to know God but don't know how to live out their faith in the world they're familiar with—a world with music, theater, social media, and visual language, but not necessarily space to genuinely express faith.
I pondered repeatedly: If we don't guide them to reflect and express using their own language, the world will teach them to turn faith into silent dogma and mere head knowledge. This became a cry deep within my heart.
我問自己：為甚麼門訓不能透過創作？為甚麼文化不能成為宣教的場域？我出身於音樂劇，深知創作的力量，也知道它如何影響思想、塑造生命。不斷禱告：「主啊，祢給我這些藝術背景與教育裝備，是為了甚麼？」
God gave me increasingly clear conviction—to accompany disciples through creativity; to pioneer frontiers through culture. Thus, after I began full-time ministry, I founded COMPOSE Music Project in 2020, the first ministry segment of Creative Studio Ministry, with the core vision of "Creation as Discipleship, Culture as Mission," beginning a brand-new journey.
That year coincided with the pandemic. Many international students and young graduates, due to prolonged restrictions on going out and church activities, bore the psychological pressure brought by uncertainty. At that time, I partnered with Pastor Timothy Lu, Director of AFC's Disciple Training Resource Center, to help establish the United Student Outreach platform, connecting campus and church resources across North America. Through this platform, COMPOSE Original Music Community held its first online event, inviting young people to participate in music creation, writing songs and recording testimonies with their stories. When they organized their lives through creativity and expressed their struggles and faith reflections, they not only opened up to each other but also experienced spiritual formation.
When we first started, we indeed faced many doubts. Spiritual elders worried: Is this ministry too entertainment-focused, too lacking in spirituality? Friends in the music industry felt I was sacrificing work quality just to nurture non-professional creators. Some even said this was just a "mutual praise group," warming each other without depth.
These words hurt me, but when I quieted down and continued cultivating, I knew this wasn't a plan I had thought up myself, but a vision God had given me. I also believed that while this form of discipleship was unconventional, it didn't lose its essence. I asked the Lord to prepare co-workers. Soon, a group of participants went from "I just came to write songs" to "I want to lead a small group," and even later voluntarily enrolled in theology courses. They have now become community mentors, gospel outreach team members, worship leaders, or have returned to their own churches to take on ministry responsibilities.
Over several years, I've seen God's faithfulness, allowing the ministry to bear fruit in His timing.
Building a Cultural Mission Ecosystem
When COMPOSE Music Project first started, we posted activity information through WeChat groups and AFC networks, attracting international students and young professionals from across North America. Many participants initially joined out of interest, but gradually opened their hearts through creation and fellowship, experiencing faith renewal.
Online, we conduct creative discipleship and theological exploration; offline, we invite members to go out—participating in music evangelism, transforming creativity into testimony, and testimony into gospel. Creativity is not merely a result, but the process of discipleship, the practice of life.
In this community, we value companionship and authenticity; creation isn't just about presenting works but expressing faith life. Youth creative ministry is no longer my personal ministry but a spiritual cultural movement—where young people speak for themselves, building faith foundations through creation and proclaiming gospel glory through culture.
I began to experiment more, using small creative communities to accompany young people's growth, continuing to develop Joy Script Drama Community and CAPTURE Mobile Video Community—three major service platforms—perfecting the online and offline integrated service structure. Young people went from creative conception to work presentation, from faith dialogue to cultural voice; not only producing works, but more importantly, emphasizing walking alongside faith life and spiritual formation.
By the end of 2025, the three major sections of the youth creative ministry—music, drama, and photography—had each developed their own ministry strategies.
COMPOSE Music Project—has held eight seasons of online activities, 12 weeks per season; each season revolves around a faith theme, inviting youth to co-create hymns and testimony stories.
Joy Script One Grain of Wheat Drama Community—has held three seasons, using improvisational theater and testimonial narrative to create dramatic works that can be performed in churches, and promoting the establishment of drama evangelism ministry.
CAPTURE Mobile Video Community—has held three seasons, with activities using mobile video creation as a medium to record fragments of faith and life from a Christian perspective.
The Lord also allowed me to see results. By 2025, COMPOSE Original Music Community's YouTube channel has published over 35 original hymns and multiple music videos, with over 17,000 total views. We've produced over 30 podcast episodes with more than 2,500 listens. At the same time, COMPOSE has successfully held four original music evangelistic concerts, touring in collaboration with Chinese churches in over a dozen North American cities, with live audiences exceeding 2,000 people.
Joy Script One Grain of Wheat Drama Community has created 7 gospel short play scripts tailored for Chinese church outreach, and held the highly experimental "Faith in Drama" life story deep experience camp, receiving widespread acclaim and a special feature on GoodTV. During the camp, participants needed to learn in a very short time how to write their faith testimonies into short plays, and through teamwork, ultimately take the stage.
These ministries are not only for artistic expression, but also for integrating life and faith in creation and service. Many in-person and online audience members gave feedback: "I truly felt God's love in the music." Many said the original melodies and lyrics rekindled their worship and passion for the Lord. Some audience members specifically mentioned: "These hymns are not performances, but testimonies; they moved me because I felt these songs came from real experiences." Some brothers and sisters also said: "I clearly remember those lyrics, and now they've become reminders in my daily life."
A sister who had been battling cancer for 12 years said through tears: "God gave me music as a gift to accompany me through the most difficult days, and now I want to use music to witness for Him."
Multiple pastors responded that seeing young people invest in creation with an attitude of worship and spread the gospel together was deeply moving. This model allowed congregations to see the connection between gospel and culture, art and spiritual life. They were very willing to collaborate long-term with COMPOSE to hold music evangelistic concerts.
The lives of co-workers and participants also underwent significant transformations. Several who were previously considered "fringe people" in fellowship—rarely appearing and unwilling to engage in ministry—actively participated in evangelism and studied worship theology because of COMPOSE. Some even returned to church to serve as worship leaders and ministry co-workers.
At the first "Faith in Drama" camp, some shared for the first time in front of others the process of reconciling with God; some were deeply moved by God during stage rehearsals and received a calling to serve the Lord through drama. Some participants also rekindled their connection with God and began creating for the Lord in response to His love.
These experiences made me convinced once again that this ministry is not a temporary activity, but a genuine spiritual journey. God's love flows through music, drama, and video; faith is strengthened in testimony and creation; and young people will continue the mission of spreading the gospel.
Cross-Boundary Influence
Based on the ministry strategy of youth creative ministry, the subsequent "American Drifters Cultural Festival" was dedicated to using art as a language and creation as a bridge, encouraging North American Chinese youth to witness the gospel in culture. Dozens of creators participated, with works covering music, poetry, video, and painting, among others, accumulating over 2,500 views on platforms like Zoom and YouTube. This experiment broke down the boundaries between church and culture, fostering cross-church, cross-city creative communities, bringing spiritual renewal and cultural impact.
Simultaneously, I collaborated with over 20 Christian artists from North America, Asia, and Europe to produce cross-media Original Gospel Illustrated Audio Drama Series, including "Euphrates" and "Encounter: A Miraculous Journey." The works combine scripts, narration, music, and illustrations with multi-layered audio narrative and visual design, presenting stories rich in Christian faith and artistry.
During production, team members spanning music, drama, illustration, sound engineering, and theological education jointly developed a new format of "novel narrative + audio theater + illustrated imagery," allowing audiences not just to "hear a story" but enter an immersive journey walking with God.an immersive journey walking with God.
At the mission level, these works use global online platforms as carriers, allowing the gospel to enter the digital cultural context familiar to non-believers. At the artistic level, this is a narrative form combining theological thinking, dramatic language, and visual and sound aesthetics, which can be seen as a pioneering sample of "Chinese faith audio drama." At the discipleship level, all voices, music, and illustrations were completed through collaboration by young Christian creators. In the creative process, they learned to listen, forgive, and complete one another.
One listener shared: "I'm very willing to forward this kind of gospel story to friends who haven't believed yet, because it's not preachy, but very real and powerful." Pastors and missionaries also gave affirmation: "This type of work can help churches open their imagination about ways to present the gospel." This feedback echoes the core of my ministry: "Creation is not decoration, culture is not a stage, but the frontline of mission."
These creations are artistic works, but also letters of testimony, young people's response to God, saying to the world: I too am willing to be used by the Lord. The real journey these young people walk daily is: discipleship → creative collaboration → content presentation → gospel evangelism → more discipleship, establishing a replicable cultural discipleship model and building a Christian cultural ecosystem for young people.
Vision for International Expansion
My dream is not to establish a "studio," but to build a cross-cultural creative discipleship network: allowing young working professionals on the West Coast, international students on the East Coast, and cultural workers in Europe to develop creative discipleship teams with local characteristics based on their own contexts.
My co-workers and I are continuing to expand the next themed event for COMPOSE Original Music Community, the original music evangelistic concert, the American Drifters Cultural Festival, and are preparing a Christian Film Festival. We hope to ultimately build a broader Christian cultural ecosystem for young people, continuing to cultivate disciples and transform culture through creativity.
Looking back, from the call at the Missions Convention, to my father's prayer of commitment, to young people now boldly telling their faith stories on various platforms... I know God has never left. Step by step, He has led me to experience Him more deeply, confirming: Whom He calls, He will bring to completion.
Because of these experiences and convictions, I can accompany, encourage, and train those willing to serve the Lord with various wisdom and gifts. I pray that what we do is not just works but seeds of Christian faith; may every creative act be a response to His commission.
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About the Author
Chen Ming currently serves as a full-time minister at Ambassadors for Christ in the United States, dedicating himself long-term to discipleship cultivation and mission work among the youth demographic in North America. For more about Pastor Chen Ming's ministry philosophy, please see the interview in New York Art Life Magazine (https://nyartlife.com/the-architecture-of-faith-ming-chen-on-building-a-creative-ministry-for-the-next-generation/).