Everyday student: John Lim

Junior John Lim from Singapore, an interdisciplinary studies major studying ministry by focusing on Bible, communication and English, is well-known for his leadership in chapel and amiable personality.

WHY HARDING “I was certain I wanted to do ministry, and Harding started sending summer interns to my congregation through Global Outreach. Along with stories from the alumni in my congregation, I realized that this was a good place, the kind of place I want to tell my stories about. So I applied, got the Trustee Scholarship, and found myself for the first time on campus three days before classes began in Fall 2017. I had never seen the place before, and I fell instantly in love with it.”

INVOLVEMENT On campus, John is a beau for women’s social club Delta Gamma Rho, intern for the Original Rock House, member of the SA Chapel Committee, peer guide for Bible professors Gary Jackson and Dr. Phil Thompson, and tutor for University College.

PASSION “My passions revolve around people, worship, ministry and writing. I just love to be where people are. I believe that I have something to learn from everyone I meet and the potential to share something from my own life that will bless them. I keep a blog (thewildernessvoices.org) where I write personal reflections from my experiences. I see my blog as a means to speak life and build up others instead of criticizing and tearing down.”

CHAPEL “When I’m on the Benson stage, I look out and take in the thousands of faces staring back at me. I realize that every one of those faces has a story, a joy, a burden, or some combination of them. Ideally, I want to lead a worship where everyone leaves talking about how God rejuvenated or comforted them, or what they heard him say. Ideally, they won’t remember the worship leader because they were so enraptured by the God whom they beheld.”

GRACE & PEACE “Grace and peace to you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” is John’s often-heard greeting to those in chapel. “While preparing to share a devotional message when I was studying abroad, I realized that the apostle Paul was always using this phrase in his letters to greet his audience. First, I just love the idea of using a biblical greeting to greet the people of God. Second, grace and peace are things that our college community could use a lot more of. The third reason stems from the history of the phrase. Grace was the word of greeting in the Greek language, and peace was the Hebrew greeting. That the apostle Paul combined these into a single greeting meant that he acknowledged the Jew-Gentile diversity of the church and that both groups were welcomed into one united body. We need to be reminded that we live in this Christian narrative where we affirm our unity and embrace the diversity that gives that unity so much color and vibrancy. That’s what I pray something as simple as a greeting can encourage people to think about.”

MINISTRY After graduating, John plans to return to his home congregation in Singapore to take on a full-time role as youth, worship and media minister while pursuing a Master of Divinity. He knows he wants to follow God wherever he calls, living his life by the words found in Galatians 2:20. “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me, and the life that I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

— Megan Stroud