Pre Shunmugam – assistant minister, MBM Rooty Hill

I grew up in South Africa and my family comes from a Hindu background. So when someone became a Christian, spiritual warfare and demonic stuff would happen. My Dad was really involved in ministering to Hindus and would see this, but it was just stories for me.

I grew up knowing about Jesus, but he was like a distant uncle to me who you would see every Easter and Christmas.

When we moved to Australia, I tried to figure out how I fit in. In high school, I rebelled. I would identify as the prodigal son.

In 2010, my uncle visited from South Africa and was praying for a family member. This person used to be a Hindu. While he was praying, there was a demonic manifestation in them and the demon spoke through them. I was scared, and I thought,

Wow, everything I've heard growing up and reading in the Bible is true. There's more to this world than what we can see.

I trusted in Jesus, but out of fear. I didn't want to go to hell. As I started connecting with other Christians and studying the Bible, I realised Jesus doesn't want me to come out of fear. He wants me to come to him and find safety.

When I became a Christian, I was scared to go off track again, so when I started to stumble, I thought, "What's happening?". When I opened the Bible, I began to understand grace.

My big passion for youth ministry and for ministry in western Sydney is driven by the fact that there are so many people here with a similar story. They know Jesus, but there's a lot of shame about what they've done. I want to explain the gospel simply to them, this spiritual warfare stuff is real, hell is real, and this is why Jesus came.

I want to help them see Jesus is calling them to come as they are, and then they'll see the grace he offers and how that transforms.

In the lead-up to my ordination, I reflected and wrote letters to the people who influenced my faith journey.

I was not nice to my parents growing up. But to see my Dad's grace along the way, he modelled what a loving father is, which helped me understand God's love. I thought Mum and Dad gave up on me. When I became a Christian, they said,

We never stopped praying for you.

I encourage our youth parents: "Don't forget that you are the primary disciplers. Don't forget, prayer works. Never stop praying".

When Dad read the letter [I wrote him], he was emotional. My Dad isn't normally emotional – when I say, "I love you", he says, "Okay". But he said to me he read the letter right before the service started, and he couldn't even concentrate as I walked down the aisle to be ordained.

Pray for all of us deacons. Pray that with all the busyness, we would remember our main goal and preach the word in season and out of season and keep pointing people to Jesus. We want to do that faithfully no matter what happens in life.