Singapore churches – Page 7

Category: Singapore churches

An Evening With Covenant Pastors

1 August 2023 blogpastor 2 Comments

I attended a Covenant Pastors fellowship recently. This was not my first time experiencing the gracious hospitality and welcome in the home of Pastor Justin. He has been doing this for many many years. Long ago, I was a regular, until the pressures of ministry drew me away. Now that I have stepped down from pastoring I found myself gravitating to the fellowship. Of course, it is because I have more time and less responsibilities now. I even bring my wife these days to this and other pastors’ fellowship.

Covenant Pastors is a fellowship of pastors and ministers from church and marketplace that has as its main focus fellowship, bonding and ministry to one another. They also focus on Singapore and the nations, and the wider Body of Christ. The fellowship is led by Rev Amos Jayarathnam, a humble but bold prophet, whom I got acquainted with in the late 1970’s. We were from World Revival Prayer Fellowship. He is the real thing, a prophet: authentic and gentle, but a lion when he delivers the word of the Lord.

Pastor Justin Leong and his wife cooked up a sumptuous dinner for about 25 of us. It was pleasant to meet and get to know other ministers. I sat beside pastor Clare and she shared about her ministry with another church. Then we sang and worshipped the Lord (always led by Pastor Isaiah). I always loved this part – the anointing of worship helped me become keenly aware of God’s presence and always lifted up my spirit. Pastor Beulah had a vision of a high priest with the gem stones on his breast-piece, and those gemstones had our faces reflected in them.

Jacob Sim, a prophet and an effective marketplace minister shared a word in season from his heart. It was about how to reach the omega generation by looking from God’s PERSPECTIVE, and facilitating PERSONAL ENCOUNTERS with God, and POSITIONING.

Amos then shared with us stories of his ministry in Russia and Estonia, and prophesying over Russia, and in the spirit, over Putin. His testimonies were astounding and inspiring. I never get tired of the stories of his prophetic encounters.

Pastor Henry then prophesied over me, and while he was prophesying, I felt a fire and heat rising up within my belly, and he too was moved by the Spirit. Later when we broke up into groups to pray for Ukraine & Russia, Singapore, and the Singapore church, I went to Henry and shared what I experienced while he was prophesying over me. There and then, Pastor Andrew shared what he saw. He saw the mantle of Isaiah 11:2 upon me: the Spirit of wisdom, understanding, and counsel. I received all their words with joy and reverence. I was indeed surrounded by prophetic ministers all around me. I will sit with these words before the Lord and continue to wait on Him. I left the fellowship that night in animated conversation with my wife, and walked with energy to the Tanah Merah MRT station. I pondered, “What does all these utterances point to?”

Have you been ministered to by prophets or prophetic ministers? Share your experience with us in the comment box.

From CRMS to NOVO Singapore

29 July 2023 blogpastor 2 Comments

CRMS (Church Resource Ministries, Singapore) is now NOVO Singapore. CRMS was founded by James Creasman, and it was affiliated to CRM (US). CRM US decided to change their name to NOVO, which means “make new”, and invited other countries using CRM to change theirs too. The committee in Singapore decided to follow suit, and with that change of name a new emphasis on being missional. Read more about this in their website HERE.

I was blessed by the CRMS’ Focusing Leaders and Coaching programs and together with others facilitated a few runs of Focusing Leaders Network in the church I served as well as outside. I also served in their committee for a few years, and before I left, I recommended Abraham Sim(Vice President, NOVO), a senior leader of World Revival Prayer Fellowship, who loves and honours pastors, with the right spirit and abilities to help CRMS, and I was pleased that he has so faithfully served in this mission for these many years. Thus when he personally invited me to the 20^th Anniversary celebrations, I simply could not say No.

I enjoyed renewing contact with old comrades like Pastor How Beng (a stalwart of CRMS), Pastor Andy and Pastor Charles(the President, NOVO). Furthermore, I was surprised to meet again with missionary Mike Crow, who was the special guest. The program was ably and smoothly chaired by Abraham Sim. I heard exciting stories and presentations about the ongoing ministries that NOVO are doing from missional work in a specific community and sports outreach, to missions mentoring and member care, focusing leaders networks, coaching, and some new ones for making disciples. There was also a thanksgiving for the founders of CRMS, James and Kimberly Creasman. After the program, we had a lavish Peranakan lunch, and I sat down with marketplace leaders from other churches and listened to their stories of how the NOVO helped them. It was a happy and meaningful morning for me and I felt pleased with all that the Lord has done for and through them.

Have you been blessed by this ministry? If you have been blessed, do drop a comment and share your personal thanksgiving or well wishes for NOVO, to celebrate their 20^thanniversary on 8^th July 2023.

Church of True Light: “Church Camp” or “Church Retreat”

21 June 2023 blogpastor 6 Comments

Where did the term “church camp” originate? In USA in the 1880’s where summer camps were organised for boys who grew up in the cities and parents wanted them to toughen up and reconnect them with nature. The camps ran for a few months. The first camp to introduce spiritual growth was done by the YMCA with outdoor religious services on Sundays for the boys. In the 1930s the American Bible Society funded church camps. In the 1940s and 1950s church camps began to spring up in all the denominational churches, becoming shorter and packed with spiritual input and more organised. It impacted many youths with the gospel and revived the church members. The Singapore Church is very much influenced by the US church, so we too use the term “church camp”, to describe the few days of programmed spiritual input usually in a hotel or conference grounds, with the intention of reviving and strengthening the faith of believers, young and old.

In my recent engagement with the Church of True Light as the guest preacher in a “church camp” I had an interesting chat with their Vicar, Canon Barry Leong. The interesting thing was that Barry was insistent on eradicating the use of the term “church camp” among members. “Its “church retreat” not “church camp””! The schedule reflected his strong views about changing terms to reflect a change in purpose, spirit and schedule that he advocated. He advocated a schedule with a better balance of bonding among members, Bible teachings, and time for leisure and rest (see below).

This was what the schedule was like: on the first day, everyone got to the hotel, settled in, and at 8 pm attended a short briefing and prayer. No Bible teaching. On the second and third days, they could sleep in if they wished, because the spiritual input of worship and teaching was from 10am to 12noon. They could have a leisurely breakfast and catch up with church friends or get to know other church members. After the morning spiritual input, they had a leisurely lunch and a free and easy afternoon, followed by a leisurely dinner. The night spiritual input was from 8pm to 10pm. On the last morning, the same time schedule was followed but the spiritual input was worship, thanksgiving, holy communion, and a final lunch before everyone goes back.

I had preached in their “church camps” before and I have seen an evolution of their camp programmes. The first time I preached in their church camp: two Bible teaching sessions in the morning, one workshop in the afternoon, one Bible teaching session in the night. This was the programme each day. I almost died. They too almost died from listening to me. The second time I took the “church camp” it got better: there were no afternoon workshops. The third time I spoke for them in a church camp it was already better: one session in the morning and one at night. I thought it would not get any better. This time round, I felt it had a very good balance. Good at getting the best out of the invited preacher, even better for stressed Singaporean church members who came to the “church camp” to “come away to a desolate place by yourselves to rest”.

If the name was changed from “church camp” to “church retreat” without any change in purpose, spirit and schedule, it would be mere cosmetic spin, words without action, and futile change for projecting a new image that meant nothing.

Anyway, enough about this. I enjoyed teaching in this recent church retreat because the theme is dear to my heart, one that I believe the Singapore church badly needs. It was also a joy because the people were responsive and I have gotten to know this congregation over a few decades of on and off teaching ministry to them. The anointing was present in all the meetings.

I noticed that the pastoral team had a good gift mix and oneness about them. I was happy to meet up with former WRPF church member, Jude, and his wife, Kaining, both of whom now are in the pastoral team. I believe they are in a place where they can develop, thrive and blossom. I met them over a breakfast and was very happy for them.

I was also blessed by the helpfulness of Rev Aaron and Jennifer Cheng (above) and Pastor Matthew and Susan (below) and Gasper for transportation arrangements. The church retreat is certainly a June ministry highlight for me personally. Not to forget, one of the members sponsored a truckload of durians for the members to enjoy during one of the afternoons at the outdoor hotel carpark.