Sharon Fong became a Christian one year ago at RICE Rally. Eternity caught up with Sharon to hear her story, and what it’s like being a Year 11 high school student and a Christian.

Who invited you to RICE Rally 2014? Why did you decide to go?

I was invited to RICE Rally by friends and leaders from my youth group (BLAZE) at Central Baptist Church.

What did you think about Jesus and Christianity before you went?

My mother became a Christian in 2007 and really encouraged me to join her at church. At first I did reject Jesus, however I did start to commute weekly to church in 2014. So before I went to RICE 2014, I want to say that I took Christianity lightly and didn’t realise what being a Christian involved.

Did you make a decision to follow Jesus at the Rally? Can you remember why you made that decision? Was there something in particular that stood out to you?

I did make the decision to follow Jesus at the Rally and I can indeed remember what helped me make that decision. We had Francis Chan preach at the Rally (which I thoroughly enjoyed) and what particularly stood out was when he mentioned that our Universe is so large and amazing; if the Earth was a certain distance further or away from the Sun, the Earth wouldn’t be what it is today.

He then went on to say something along the lines of ‘if you went on to say that this amazing world was all an accident, I wouldn’t be able to believe that’.

I had never looked at the world with this mindset so it really made me think and realise that God’s work is apparent everywhere in our lives and as small insignificant beings, we need him in our lives.

What’s it been like being a follower of Jesus?

As a follower of Jesus it has changed how I have lived my life. Before, when things wouldn’t go my way or how I desired it to, I would be angry and not accepting of the situation.

However after accepting God into my life, I have come to learn that God has amazing plans already figured out for all of us, and we live by his will, not ours. So I would hope that being a follower of Jesus has made me more tolerant of situations when they don’t turn out as I would have liked.

What do you find most exciting about following Jesus?

The most exciting thing about following Jesus is definitely meeting other brothers and sisters in Christ who share the same love for him and being able to do fellowship together.

What do you find hard about following Jesus?

I find it hard to follow Jesus in our society right now. You have so many temptations and current ways of thinking that it really does test your strength as a Christian.

Did you go to RICE Rally this year? Did you invite anyone?

I did go to RICE Rally this year! I struggle with inviting my friends to Christian events, so I don’t often invite anybody.

However this year I decided to ask my best friend; she isn’t religious and I did invite her to attend, unfortunately she had other commitments so turned down the offer. Inviting friends is definitely something that I would like to work on; that I will have the strength to share the word of God with others.

RICE Rally was held last weekend (August 1). Check out this short clip showing young people answering the call of Jesus and giving their lives to him. An evangelistic call from the front spurred hundreds to walk under the ‘Welcome Home’ banner to pray with volunteers.