Stages in Service

On her retirement, OMF Third Culture Kids Advisor Helen Lyttle asked for readers of the May 2022 edition of Billions magazine to pray that God would help her to find the best way to continue supporting and encouraging Third Culture Kids back in Northern Ireland.Thank you for praying! We are delighted that Helen can now share how God has answered those prayers.

God gives different kinds of opportunities to serve him at each stage of life. We asked three short-term mission workers serving in different stages of life about their experiences and the blessings of serving across different generations.

Many churches have youth pastors, but fewer have someone dedicated to serving older people. Over the last few years, OMF worker Lucy Eastwood has been developing ministry to and with older people in Taiwan.

It’s often said the students of today are the leaders of tomorrow. It’s why OMF has been supporting student ministry in Thailand since the 1960s, a legacy Singaporean OMF worker Cherlyn Oh has been continuing with Thai Christian Students (TCS) since 2016. She has had the joy of seeing students grow in their faith while at university as well as how that time has prepared them to live for Jesus in whatever they do after graduation.

When I walk into the living room, my teenage daughter can sometimes be watching a TV show, listening to a podcast episode, scrolling on a social media site, sending a friend a text, or recording a voice note…and all whilst reading a book!  Listen to this article by Paul Robinson as he shares the opportunities that putting God honouring content on media platforms can produce.

When we moved to Meishan, a small rural town at the foot of a mountain range in Taiwan, locals were curious—why would anyone choose to live here? We weren’t elderly or retiring, and had no relationships (“guan-xi”) in the area, they said. Hear more of Kat's story here. Audio from OMF Billions Magazine January- April 2025: 'Generations of Faith'.

The children of OMF workers are an essential part of the family’s ministry. We asked two OMF (UK) children to share about their day-to-day life. Audio from OMF Billions Magazine January- April 2025: 'Generations of Faith'.

As a man in my mid-40s, I still remember and put to practice things others taught me about the Bible when I was a teenager. I pray that this would be true for the young people I work with in Taiwan as well. Listen to find out about Nathan's work with youth in Taiwan. The encouragements and challenges, and how you can pray. Audio from OMF Billions Magazine January- April 2025: 'Generations of Faith'.

In Christ a worker God is revealed. Ancient religions and philosophies thought of God as static and indifferent, or as a kind of Eastern ruler made into a god, who lay lazily in his high heaven. Christ draws back in himself the curtain of heaven and shows a God in shirtsleeves, a God busy with the hard work of guiding the destiny of a world in which the sinful and rebellious will of people creates infinite problems and difficulties. See what OMF are doing to advance the gospel within the workplace in East Asia. Audio from OMF Billions Magazine September - December 2024: ‘Imagining the Eternal City’. Read more at ⁠⁠https://omf.org/uk/resources/billions/

For many Filipinos in rural areas, cities are a place of hope for a better future. Sadly, they often end up living in difficult and dangerous conditions in slums, struggling to make ends meet and dealing with broken relationships, addictions and other issues.  Hear Fred's story of transformation as he found his joy in Christ. Audio from OMF Billions Magazine September -December 2024: ‘Imagining the Eternal City’. Read more at ⁠https://omf.org/uk/resources/billions/