Members fulfill the Great Commission in 2010.
 |
| CN FILE PHOTO |
In 2010, City Harvest Church made 200 mission trips abroad to minister in 13 countries, involving some 988 church members.
The inception of missions and CHC’s Great Commission came from Matthew 28:19, in which Jesus commanded believers to “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations.” To go on a mission trip is to go overseas with the mission in mind; to spread one’s faith to places untouched by the gospel. There in the mission field, members have to be ready for anything and everything, be it to lead praise and worship, share their testimony or even preach the Word of God to hundreds, and sometimes thousands.
Back in CHC’s early days, senior pastor Kong Hee received the mandate to fulfill the Great Commission. Since then, Kong, together with various volunteers of the church began traveling out of Singapore to different parts of the world to spread God’s word.
Based on statistics from Christian organization Gospel For Asia, there are approximately 2.77 billion unreached people in the world today. Just in Southeast Asia alone, there are about 312 million unreached people. Keeping this statistic in mind, CHC actively sends out volunteers into the mission field.
Evelyn Yong, a homemaker who went on four mission trips this year shared, “In the mission field, I experienced how God can use me as His vessel in praying, deliverance and touching lives with His mercy and love. Through this, I grow to understand more and more about the Father, and why missions is always in His heart.”
Vincent Tan, 23, a full-time student reminisced, “During a recent mission trip to GBI KIA Jakarta, I was tasked to share at a cell group meeting, churchwide Bible study class and a youth service. That trip deepened my love for God and His people more than before.”
This year, CHC members collectively reached more than 70 churches. Often, miracles, signs and wonders would follow as members step out in faith to minister to the people there. Taking the gospel beyond the coastlines of one’s own country is clearly not for the faint-hearted—it forces one out of his comfort zone. But ultimately, it is all well worth it when churches are strengthened, lives are touched and these churches experience the tangible presence of God.
Bobby Chaw, a zone pastor with CHC, says, “The Bible tells us we shouldn’t say ‘there are still four months and then come the harvest’, when the fields are already white for harvest! I pray that we will not forget about the harvest field but that more people will participate in mission trips, to bring in the harvest of people into the kingdom of God.”
