President's Gallery: For This Purpose I Was Born
Photo taken by President along Trinity Methodist Church, Singapore, September 2021.
“FOR THIS PURPOSE I WAS BORN”
- “For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth.” (John 18:37 ESV);
- “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45 ESV);
- “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” (Luke 19:10).
1. Disciple-Making Conference Task Force
What have we learnt from these two years of the pandemic? How has it impacted our understanding and running of ministries? Will we emerge stronger after the pandemic?
When many church ministries and activities that used to be held onsite were not permitted, we had to ask ourselves how we could continue to live out our faith, connect with the body of Christ, grow, and be Jesus’ disciples.
Our identity is not about our church membership, and neither is it about the ministry position in which we serve. We are the disciples of Jesus Christ. That is our identity when we stand before our Lord. We are also called to make disciples. The Church exists for this primary purpose!
The Conference Executive Board set up the Disciple-Making Conference Task Force (DMCTF) in October 2021, with the intention of sharpening the Conference’s focus and developing a disciple-making pathway that all churches can take reference from and follow. This is crucial for our itinerary appointment system and our connectional relationship.
Becoming a Disciple-Making Conference would require much coordination, and the coming together of several Boards; there will also be assignments that do not fall under the scope of any existing Boards. DMCTF was formed under the President’s office and its members include Vice-President, Mr. Guan Yeow Kwang; Conference Lay Leader, Dr. Benjamin Leong; District Superintendents, Rev Dr. Niam Kai Huey, Rev Lek Yong Teck, Rev Chua Ooi Suah, and Rev Philip Lim; Dr. Stephen Yeo, Mr. Khoo Hock Yuan, Rev Cynthia Choo, Dr. David Ang, Ms. Kwok Wan Yee, and Ms. Amy Goh.
DMCTF has two workgroups – Disciple-Making Pathway (DMP) and Disciple-Making Pastors and Leaders (DMP/L), headed by Dr. Stephen Yeo and Mr. Khoo Hock Yun respectively. The Taskforce will meet quarterly starting 2022. The two workgroups will meet separately and report back to DMCTF for synergism.
Churches are welcome to contribute their constructive insights and experiences with us; we will be happy to hear more from our local church leaders. 67 pastors-in-charge and leaders from 17 churches gathered online on 6 November 2021 for CAC’s Leaders Fellowship, where we got to hear about Bukit Panjang MC’s disciple-making model from Dr Stephen Yeo. We enjoyed a good Christian conferencing and could feel the grace of God dwelling among us. In God’s grace and mercy, I look forward to running this exciting journey together with all.
Our identity is not about our church membership, and neither is it about the ministry position in which we serve. We are the disciples of Jesus Christ. That is our identity when we stand before our Lord.
2. Explore the Bible in Chinese (EBIC)
The Four Denominations Council of Chinese Churches initiated the EBIC project after they organised a forum to discuss the needs of Chinese Sunday schools. One of the main challenges identified was the lack of suitable Chinese Sunday school materials. Till today, we have been using materials from Hong Kong and Taiwan publishers, where contents were written to cater to those with Mandarin as their first language. This poses a great challenge for Singapore and other regions where Mandarin is not our first language. The need to develop Sunday School materials suitable for our local context was mooted at the forum. It was a clarion call that activated churches to collaborate and mobilise efforts to begin the EBIC project.
This ground-breaking initiative, headed by Rev Dr. Lim Teck Peng from the Trinity Theological College, aims to support Chinese churches with a set of Sunday School materials for children who take Chinese as a Second Language (CSL). The project has begun and the curriculum will cover classes from Pre-school to Secondary 4. The first launching, projected to be in March 2022, will consist of teaching materials for Kindergarten 1, Primary 3, and Secondary 1.
To assist churches with forward planning, an online introductory session was also organised on 30 Oct 2021 to (a) explain EBIC’s features, teaching resources, and support system for teachers and leaders in charge, and (b) discuss the curriculum implementation process. This initiative has received many positive remarks and churches are excited to see it introduced.
The bulk of the project’s publication cost has already been raised, and the plan is to raise another S$400,000 from churches to cover the operations and teachers’ training costs over the next three years. Each denomination has been entrusted with raising $100K. I encourage churches to donate generously towards this project; and as a Conference, we can make our contribution in the next budget year. More importantly, let us pray for the EBIC teams as they explore the pedagogy, content, design, editorial, training, and many other work aspects of this project. May God use this project to bless our future generations.
This ground-breaking initiative … aims to support Chinese churches with a set of Sunday School materials for children who take Chinese as a Second Language (CSL).
3. Faith and Sexuality Forum by BoFL and truelove.is (7,14,21,28 Sep, 5 Oct)
I thank God for the successful running of this 5-session forum by the Board of Family Life (BoFL) and truelove.is. The sessions were very beneficial and touching. A total of 483 participants signed up for the forum – 382 from CAC, 50 from TRAC, 46 from non-Methodist churches, and 5 observers from another faith. We will continue to partner with different organizations to further equip our churches to be the salt and light of Christ in our world through this ministry. We have a dedicated team in BoFL who have put together various resources to help the Conference and local churches. I urge all churches to take this ministry seriously and make it one of your church’s “must-do” pastoral ministries.
4. One MCS Cross Conferences Christmas Outreach
The Council of Presidents has divided the churches from all 3 Conferences into clusters, according to the geographical location of each church. Cluster churches are encouraged to undertake a joint Christmas outreach project together within this quadrennium. The hope is to promote relationships and trust between churches as we serve the community together.
When do you think we will hear WHO’s official declaration that the Covid-19 pandemic has ended? Does it matter? I asked myself.
5. World Federation of Chinese Methodist Churches (WFCMC) 8th Mission Conference – Living A Missional Legacy
We are the organiser of the 8th Mission Conference, which will be held online from 9 – 13 June 2022. The Conference is held once every five years, and each Conference member will take turns in organising. We hosted the 3rd Mission Conference 25 years ago, in 1997, at Telok Ayer Chinese Methodist Church. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we will have to move all the programmes online. If the invited representatives of various countries are able to travel to Singapore, we may have the AGM on site, with a limitation of about 50 people.
For the first time, the WFCMC Mission Conference will have an English keynote speaker: Bishop Emeritus Dr. Robert Solomon. His talks will be interpreted into Mandarin. There will also be many workshops and sharing by missionaries. The details of programmes and registration will be released soon, and I encourage churches to add the 8th Mission Conference into your church calendar and invite members to register.
This Mission Conference will replace our annual April Pastors Retreat, and full-time attendance is expected of all CAC pastors. Churches are to take note and ensure that no church events will clash with this Conference. The BoYM Methodist Young Leaders’ Conference (MYLC) will also be suspended for a year as the youths are encouraged to join the Mission Conference.
Conclusion
According to the WHO Coronavirus statistics, the world now has had over 5 million deaths, and more than 251 million confirmed cases. When do you think we will hear WHO’s official declaration that the Covid-19 pandemic has ended? Does it matter? I asked myself.
Let us live our days with purpose on this earth like what John Wesley has taught us: “You have nothing to do but to save souls. Therefore, spend and be spent in this work. And go always, not only to those that want you but to those that want you most.”
May God grant us wisdom and courage to live out a life of difference on this earth.
Rev Dr Gregory Goh Nai Lat
President, Chinese Annual Conference