Pastor Rony Tan went home to his Lord and Master on the 16th of September 2023, aged 79 years old. He passed away peacefully after suffering from sciatic nerve pain for two years and a recently discovered complicated tumour. For the joy of meeting his Master, whom he served faithfully, he endured the pain and suffering. His longing to be with his Lord for eternity is fulfilled. His passing is a great loss to his family, the Lighthouse Evangelism church family, and the whole church of Singapore, but there is much comfort to be derived from reflecting and celebrating a life well lived from start to finish.
Greatly gifted
Pastor Rony Tan is a man greatly graced and gifted by God. He was saved by grace. He was healed and called to his mission by grace. He was a faithful pastor, a passionate evangelist, and an effective channel of God’s healing power. I dare say that he is the greatest evangelist that Singapore has ever witnessed. Over four decades of healing evangelism, his effectiveness is cumulatively greater than any other foreign evangelist invited to our shores, including Billy Graham, Luis Palau and Reinhard Bonnke. The number of healings that have been witnessed during his miracle services and rallies in Singapore are greater in number and quality than the many other healing ministers that have preached in our country, including Reinhard Bonnke, Carlos Annacondia, Roy Durham, Benny Hinn, Randy Clark and Daniel Kolenda. I state all this in worldly terms of comparison, to debunk our tendency to admire the “foreign talent” and to forget our local “prophets”. Let us appreciate what God has gifted Singapore with and be thankful.
What a life and ministry!
I watched the online memorial service and I was moved listening to his daughter Tracy’s eulogy. She shared personal and intimate snippets of her father Rony, which otherwise would never have been known as widely. I felt inspired and gratified that we finally have an authentic testimony of a megachurch pastor who lives out his faith- a godly pastor and evangelist, a loving husband, and a wise and nurturing father. After all the unsavoury news about the fails and falls of megachurch pastors, I am pleased that we have someone here who lived with considerable congruence between what he preached and practised.
Pastor Pacer’s eulogy was less intimate but more instructive and insightful. Many pastors and evangelists would benefit from noting the ingredients of effectiveness and longevity in the ministry. I particularly resonated with his point that his father was very focused and highly disciplined. This would have been something we who do not know him would not have known. I recalled a conversation when I joined Lighthouse Evangelism in one of their Miracle Crusades in Bangkok. Pastor Rony was hospitable and invited my wife and me to his table during lunch. He was relaxed, approachable and friendly. I remembered one thing about that conversation. He mentioned how as the church grew larger and larger, some of the long-time members of the church pined for the early days when the church was smaller. Pastor Rony would be more readily available to be with them, having fellowship over durians. He said, “Who wouldn’t want to have durians and chat with them? I would love to. But now I have to take responsibility for the miracle service every Saturday. I needed to spend much time in prayer and message preparation. I have to pay the price.” I never forgot that conversation. The son’s eulogy triggered my memory of that conversation.
Though Pastor Rony made himself available to the needy masses on Saturdays and Sundays to minister to the unsaved and saved, he was willing to minister to individuals. We had a precious girl of about seven who suffered from an aggressive cancer and I inquired if Pastor Rony could pray for her personally. I was thankful he made time to minister to her on a weekday afternoon in the Tampines office.
Humble and wise
Pastor Rony was a high-profile pastor of a megachurch and this visibility gave rise to a problem. Someone complained to the government authorities about a sensitive comment about a certain practice of another religion in a sermon he preached. Officials spoke with him. It was a critique of idol worship that many pastors would have thought about and even mentioned it. Even the prophet Isaiah mocked the idolatry of Baal. In Pastor Rony’s apology, I saw his humility and reconciling spirit. It was not a compromise as some would have thought. It was wise to contextualise the gospel to society without giving up the freedom of declaring the good news of Jesus Christ. Read more about this HERE.
End of an era?
I wonder if we are witnessing the end of an era. Will we ever see such an outstanding healing evangelist raised in our midst? Or is the era of mass rallies in urban centres a methodology that has passed its expiry date? What do you think? Use the comment box.
If you have personal stories or snippets about Pastor Rony and his ministry that you wish to share with our online readers, please write in the comment box below the title.