SINGAPORE, 22 NOVEMBER — THE SATURDAY MORNING provided a short mid-conference breather for Asia Conference delegates were relaxing after three intensive days of messages, competitions, workshops and performance. But for church pastors from India, Sri Lanka and Cambodia, Saturday morning was the time for a much-anticipated Meet-the-Pastors session with City Harvest Church’s (CHC) deputy senior pastor Tan Ye Peng.
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Although the session was scheduled to begin at 8.30am, most of the pastors had already arrived by 8am, clearly full of anticipation for the meeting. K Yogarajah of Smyrna Church in Sri Lanka said he was keen to learn more about CHC’s ministry work, especially in his own country.
Before the meeting started, Bobby Chaw, the Dean of School of Theology (SOT), spent time getting to know the foreign delegates. It was heartwarming to see different nationalities engaged in hearty conversations, united in a common goal of bringing the glory of God to their respective nations.
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| PHOTOS: Daniel Poh |
When Tan addressed the pastors, he affirmed that CHC treasured the relationship it shared with every foreign delegate. Driven by a desire to strengthen the churches, he stressed the importance of sending their members to CHC’s School of Theology (SOT). He further challenged the pastors to set aside a budget and send one to two church leaders every year to better equip them to serve in their churches. This will also go towards creating a stronger connection between CHC and those churches, which will lead to more effective overseas mission work.
Before the session ended, Tan briefly touched on CHC’s strong mandate in reaching out to the lost in Asia. Tan said it was CHC’s privilege to render help to their foreign friends when circumstances allowed it. However, he emphasized that it must not to be done in haste, because whichever church CHC works with, that must prove to be a growing church.
