Resilience Starts with Rest
Leaders’ Party (LP) 2026 was held on 9 May 2026 at Trinity Theological College and centred around building resilience in our new student leaders. The day’s programmes included being rooted in shalom as our mission, recognising the reality on our campuses, learning rhythms of rest in mundane routines, and rejoicing in ministry. The segment of the programme, Rhythms of the Mundane, resonated with many of the participants. Three student leaders share their reflections about rest as part of resilience.
The programme consisted of various stations that reflected different parts of the day, from our waking up to lying down. I was able to see how I can incorporate the daily routines of school life into my relationship with God by practising simple yet meaningful actions that help me live out being salt and light on campus. This broadened my understanding of serving with resilience, reminding me that God is an integral part of our lives and He desires to be involved in every aspect of it, even in the mundane and unseen moments.
After attending LP, I feel encouraged to continue serving in my CF and to seek God faithfully in both the significant and ordinary moments of life. I am grateful for this reminder that following God is not limited to special occasions but is something that can be lived out every day. All glory be to God. Amen.
– Tong Hon Hymn, SP CCF, Media, Arts, and Design, Year 2
Initially, I thought that being a good leader was to be responsible, always knowing what to do, and being mindful of others. But all these only put more pressure on me. The constant pressure caused me to neglect rest when I needed it and push away God when I should be bringing my worries and tiredness to Him. As a result, I tend to put God and rest at the bottom of my priority list. But through this workshop, I learned two things: rest is important because it gives us energy and rejuvenates us, and that it is better to offer our problems to God.
After the workshop, I realised that when serving starts to feel heavy, I shouldn’t keep it to myself and distract myself from it, but I should seek God and rest so that I can continue serving with the right mind and attitude.
– Victor Immanuel Kurnia Tengadi, SIM ISCF, Computer Science, Year 2
Before this workshop, I had not considered rest to be a crucial aspect of ministry. I was very surprised when the first ‘game station’ I walked into was filled with air mattresses, and the objective of the ‘game’ was just to rest, with our facilitator even telling us, “it’s okay if you fall asleep”. That station taught me the importance of starting each day slowly and intentionally, to notice what is around me, meditate on God’s Word, and be grateful for the new day He has provided.
I also really liked that my group was made up of leaders from various CFs and that I could hear about their experiences in their CFs. It made me realise that while our school and CF contexts may be different, we are all united by the same purpose – to serve the same God.
Through LP, I learnt the importance of depending on God as my source of strength and to trust that He will provide for me. I hope that I will never lose sight of why I am serving in the CF, and to remember that in God, there is true shalom.
– Rosabelle Tan, NTU ECF, English, Year 1
