Building For Life

Members in City Harvest Church rise to the occasion to build God’s house.

Contributed By Lee Wei Fang

Over the last six weeks, the phrase “My Church, My Life” has become a familiar refrain embedded in the hearts of City Harvest Church members.

Last weekend, Nov. 5 and 6, was the culmination, with members coming to service, ready to pledge for the building fund, and the extent of “My Church, My Life” was captured in this special service that showed, through every aspect of the service, from worship to preaching, how the life of the believer and the house of God are meaningfully and powerfully intertwined.

The worship team started the service with the opening number, “Yahweh,” and set the tone for the rest of the service to bring everyone’s focus on God, from first-time givers to long-time members. Tan Wye Lynn, 26, a dentist who was participating in giving for the first time was excited to do so. “Even before the Arise  and Build campaign was launched, God impressed upon my heart an amount to give. I feel excited to finally be able to give,” she shared.

The church watched a special video, prepared by the media team, which featured testimonies of people from diverse backgrounds, whose lives had been touched by God in CHC. This was followed by a rousing rendition of the building fund theme song, “My Church, My Life” to celebrate another chapter in the life of CHC.

CHC’s founder and senior pastor, Kong Hee, shared a word on what it meant to build the church for life. L.I.F.E. was an acronym for Love, Intercession, Family and Eternity and Encounters.

Said Kong, “We are building our church to have unfailing in-reach, and unconditional outreach. I pray that when people look at CHC, they will see a church that truly loves, and teaches others to love.” When one strips away the creative, loud and vibrant exterior that CHC is known for, what is found is a church that makes love the order of the day.”

Intercession is prayer, which, Kong said, should be the trademark of the church. The senior pastor exhorted that his aim was to build a church that is not cold, but heated up with passionate fervent prayer, where every member hears from God.

In his third point on family, Kong quoted from Proverbs 13:22, which teaches that a wise man leaves an inheritance for subsequent generations. Likewise, in CHC, what is passed on to the next generation is not just a building or a ministry, said Kong, but something that is precious and tangible: the members’ faith and hope in Jesus Christ. “In future, we will be known as the generation who was full of faith and walked closely with the Holy Spirit, and had heaven open over us,” he declared.

Lastly, Kong touched on the two areas of eternity and encounters. “Building the church is not a project that lasts for just a generation, but holds eternal value. The church is a house where precious souls are reached for the kingdom of God, and it is a mandate that no amount of wealth can quantify,” he said.

The last point is a calling that even the young stand by, as 10-year-old Joel Low, who participated in Arise and Build last weekend, declared, “I feel happy to give as more people will get to know God!”

THIS IS OUR CHURCH

The highlight of the service was when members began penning down their amounts in faith to God. The energy of the offering emanated from the people, as members held up their Arise and Build cards and prayed fervently. Ushers collected the cards and poured them into boxes at the front of the hall. Some members even ran forward and gave above and beyond what they had written: some dropped in cash, while others increased their faith giving amounts.

For some, giving is the expression of their thanks and praise to God for His goodness in their lives. Husband and wife, Damien and Christina Ang, 26, who are both bankers, told City News, “We give with thanksgiving for His providence in all aspects of our lives through all these years. We believe that if our giving can be used through the church to win souls, every dollar is worth it!”

At the close of the service, the worship team led the congregation again with its theme song, praising God loudly and joyfully. Joselin Chng, 19, a student, echoed the heartbeat of CHC when she said, “I decided to give to the building fund as it is for the house of God. As Pastor Kong says, it is not about building buildings, but building lives. I believe that through our giving, the blessing of God will also flow through our lives.”

About The Song “My Church, My Life”

An anointed five-man team produced the building fund theme song: CHC’s assistant creative director, Mark Kwan, Andrew Naylor (a close friend of CHC from Australia), CHC’s music director-in-training, Jessel Yam, worship leader, Teo Poh Heng and CHC musician, Mervyn Lim.

Yam, who composed the music for the song, shared that it was written in three days. The lyrics were written specifically to convey the meaning of the theme for the members and to glorify God for all He has done in the church.

To capture the meaning of the song, motion graphics were designed to play on the church’s LED wall. Visual effects editor, Thomas Poi, 30, spent two weeks brainstorming with the creative team and came up with an extensive range of photos and videos that captured the essence of life in CHC. A three-man team filmed the planned scenes and the finished product was enjoyed by all last weekend.

CHC pianist, Gloria Lim, told City News, “What makes a church song meaningful is that it accurately captures and expresses a common sentiment that the congregation is experiencing at that moment in time. And when everyone sings it, there is a resonance in our hearts with what the song says. ‘My Church, My Life’ captures this time and season that we as a church are at—and for that reason, it’s powerful.”

Worship leader Annabel Soh added, “This song speaks of the heart of CHC at this juncture of our journey together. It makes it even more special when the team came together to write. This song has brought our hearts together, and we hope it does the same for the people!”