A group of believers show how God can use ordinary folk to fulfill the Great Commission.
Contributed by Clement Chua
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| PHOTO:Jenny Tan |
Members from City Harvest Church rose to the call of the Great Commission and signed up for a mission trip over the period of Dec. 10 to 13, last year. Seven adults from a cell group under the pastoral care of district pastor Wu Yuzhuang visited Harvest Medan Church, Indonesia, an affiliate of CHC, as well as its subsidiaries, Bukit Doa Harvest Church and Binjai Harvest Church. This mission trip was a first for most on the team.
Joining the team were Indonesian-born David Seragih and his Singaporean wife, Rebecca, both from the cell group.
The team hit the road on their arrival at Medan, and prepared themselves to minister at a Christmas party in Bukit Doa Rehabilitation Centre, organized for patients and their families. BDRC is a facility for the mentally-ill.
Despite little sleep, members were enthusiastic about the roles assigned to them by team leader Benjamin Ong. Ong shared an apt message about a character in the Bible known as the prodigal son, who left his father’s house to strike it out on his own, and eventually found his way back home into his father’s love. The message touched many hearts at the party and people went forward to respond to the altar call to be prayed for and give their hearts to Jesus Christ.
That evening, the team ministered at a cell group meeting in Bukit Doa. In spite of a heavy downpour, the team and the cell group members were not deterred from making their way to the meeting. Team member Kuang Zibing shared a message on faith, which blessed all who attended. On Saturday evening, the team went for a gathering organized for all the youths and their friends who had attended the Christmas celebrations held the week before. Kuang and fellow team member, Clement Chua, shared their testimony about how God had changed their lives and they encouraged the new believers to continue in their journey to seek God.
On Sunday morning, the team divided into three groups and each group went to different places. Ong, who ministered at BDHC, preached about the baptism in the Holy Spirit. At the end of the service, two believers were baptized in the Holy Spirit. Chua, who was at BHC, preached on the topic of thriving in Christ through trials and tribulations. God did a miracle and two people were healed of the chronic pain in their back and shoulders. One of the newcomers, who was at the service, accepted Christ as his Lord and Savior. The third group prepared many fun activities for the Children’s Church where the children thoroughly enjoyed themselves. In the afternoon, Ong was at the youth service of HMC, challenging the youths to be more than conquerors in Christ.
The trip was not all work. There was a good mix of fun and relaxation, thanks to the kind hospitality extended by Johnny Seragih, senior pastor of HMC, and brother of team member, David. The team members got to taste the many local delicacies, in particular, durian. They also did some shopping and went home with loads of goodies.
The mission trip was a good experience as the members were challenged to move out of their comfort zone—preaching the Word of God, giving the offering messages, sharing their testimonies, praying for the church members and conducting children’s church. Apart from one individual in the team who is a cell group leader in CHC, the rest of the team are ordinary members in the cell group. Commented Henry Tan, one of the team members, “Initially, I was expecting to play supportive roles—ushering and planning of games. Instead, I did things that I never thought I could ever do, such as ministering to the people.”
Said Wu, who expressed how proud he was of the mission team, “They have displayed a passion for souls, taking time out of their busy schedules and stepping out in faith to apply all they have learned in cell group.”
The team fulfilled its objective of experiencing first hand how God can use ordinary people to do extraordinary things.
