CHC sent out many mission teams during the past two months and made a difference in the lives of many abroad.
Contributed By Gideon Foo Ce Chao
Missions is an integral part of City Harvest Church, and every year the church sends about 200 teams abroad to minister in various churches. In early 2000, CHC’s founder, Kong Hee, received the message of the Great Commission to send the whole church with the whole gospel to the whole world, making disciples of all the nations.
Through its missions and outreaches, CHC aims to bring the gospel of Jesus to Asia and beyond to meet the spiritual and social needs of humanity. CHC believes that the strength of the church is not measured by its seating capacity, but by its sending capacity. Thus far, teams have traveled to Indonesia, Malaysia, Taiwan and India to strengthen and edify the churches through Bible studies, cell group meetings and church services. Teams have also helped to organize large-scale events such as the youth Emerge conferences in those places.
During mission trips, miracles, signs and wonders accompany the preaching of the Word. Those who have witnessed the power of God move in such meetings have returned with their lives changed, becoming more fervent, anointed and effective workers for the kingdom of God.
Malang, Indonesia
One of the recent mission trips was to Malang, which is the second largest city in East Java province, Indonesia. The team, comprising seven School Of Theology students, led by Jasmine Yen, visited GBI Dampit Church over the weekend of July 22 to 25. The mission team ministered in three services of mainly adult congregations.
The SOT members were given the opportunity to step on stage and preach the Word of God during the services. Audrey Yeo, Grayson Tan and Yen took up the challenge and preached on faith, servanthood and the love of God to the 200 church members. There were approximately 50 decisions in response to the altar call for ministry. During the last session when Yen preached about faith, a healing miracle took place and a man who could not stand was able to move his legs after they prayed for him. Yen remarked, “After the mission trip, I’ve gained more confidence and I also learned to depend more on the Holy Spirit. The team was really moved by the hunger of God among the people there.”
Kota Kinabalu, East Malaysia
From July 22 to 26, 22 SOT students were sent to Glory Christian Centre located in Kota Kinabalu, East Malaysia. The church is led by senior pastor William Vun who carries the apostolic mandate to bring a freshness of expression to the Body of Christ.
The SOT members were involved in various cell group meetings during the first day, and they practiced what they learned during SOT, experiencing the move of God there. In one of the English cell group meetings, deliverance and healing took place. Other members also received the baptism in the Holy Spirit.
Victoria Tham shared, “I practiced what I learned on how to lay hands when praying for people. Amazingly, everyone I laid hands on fell [under the power of the Holy Spirit].” She and another member also witnessed ministering angels during the session. Suresh Viji recounted, “During praise and worship, I saw three angels of the Lord ministering and encamped around our meeting. It was an awesome experience.”
The mission team had the opportunity to minister to GCC Senior Citizen Chinese Ministry and GCC Discovery Club of 300 youths too, with Tan Kim Hock, pastor of CHC and academic dean of SOT, sharing the Word.
Bandung, Indonesia
A group of four SOT students went to El Shaddai Church in Bandung, Indonesia in July. This growing youth church of 1,500 members is led by senior pastor Nala Widya, an Indonesian Olympian sprint cyclist and appointed International Olympic Committee member. Lim Yuan Tai, one of the SOT students who was there, shared that Widya would pray together with the athletes before they started their day training and would have dinner together at the end of the day.
The members took part in fund-raising activities for an outreach orientation program by selling drinks, cakes and donuts. They also joined in the outreach barbecue events, one held on the outskirts of Bandung and another at Widya’s personal residence the following day. There, the team interacted and fellowshiped with the members and new friends.
Lim and fellow student, Alvin Goh, also attended a meeting with the leaders who were overseeing some young working adults and discussed topics such as cell group leadership, growth and discipleship. They also took part in a children’s cell group and performed a skit about overcoming temptations.
Penang, Malaysia
Twenty one SOT students led by Debbie Huang went to Penang, Malaysia to minister to the Christian Fellowship groups among some of the universities there from July 30 to Aug. 2. The ministry is part of City Light Church located within the campus itself, and is led by Abby Hee who is the president of Inpi College Christian Fellowship group. The senior pastor, Daniel Lau, is an SOT graduate.
A youth conference known as Unite 2010 was held with approximately 80 participants. There were also various workshops conducted over the full day event. During the night session, the members put up a mime performance entitled “Lifehouse Everything” which was very well received among the Malaysian students. The story was about a girl who faced many temptations in life and wanted to commit suicide but was later saved by God’s love and grace.
The simple but powerful message of God’s love and salvation touched the audience and many responded to the altar call. “It is a very different experience, seeing how the church service is held in the university, and being given the opportunity to conduct the concert inside the college itself,” said Huang.
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| PHOTOS: Liu Yuan Tai & Paul Chia and Kenneth Tan |
Lippo Cikarang, Indonesia
While Singapore was celebrating National Day during the long weekend from Aug. 6 to 11, a mission team from CHC set out to GPdI Lippo Cikarang Church located in Jakarta, Indonesia. It is a 691-strong congregation led by senior pastor Daniel Martono, who was formerly from GPdI Bethlehem and attended SOT in 2003.
The team of 24 church members, led by Victoria Yee, took part in their Emerge 2010 conference which drew participants from four different schools. The Emerge conference was held in conjunction with a three-day-two-night camp comprising students age 16 and under. The mission team helped to organize a wide variety of workshops such as shoe-painting, percussion and drama, which was popular among the students.
Darren Tan, one of CHC’s pastors, preached on the topic of maximizing one’s talents to bless others. He encouraged the students to make full use of their giftings to express their creativity and share the love of God to others.
Team member, Damian Wong, was thrilled to be involved in helping to conduct the percussion workshop. He shared, “I play the percussion and it was a unique experience [to be able to] contribute in this way during the mission trip.”
