At a recent Marketplace Ministry dinner, nearly 500 business owners and professionals learned that they are anointed for work.
CN PHOTO: Michael Chan
“Faith feeds on the impossible. You can only build your faith when you do impossible thing,” said Kong Hee, senior pastor of City Harvest Church. “So, start doing something you ‘cannot’ do.”
It was Friday the 13th, a night of fright for some, but not this group of some 480 business owners and working professionals who attended the Marketplace Dinner held in Suntec Singapore. It was a night of faith-building for those present.
Wu Yu Zhuang, a division pastor in City Harvest Church and the one in charge of the Marketplace Ministry explained, “The Marketplace Ministry is built upon two paradigms of CHC2.0— Paradigm 9: the Cultural Mandate is the strategy to fulfill the Great Commission; and Paradigm 10: the Cultural Mandate is only completed when the character and presence of God is ushered in.”
He added, “Our work is worship. The Hebrew word avodah means work, and in the Book of Genesis, God asked the people to worship him, and He called it avodah.”
The Marketplace Ministry of CHC exists to support and strengthen Christians in the marketplace. It conducts monthly fellowship sessions for business owners and professionals at different locations in the Central Business District. Response has been good, said Zhuang, and the Ministry is looking to expand these sessions across the island in time to come.
“We want to raise up godly business owners and professionals in City Harvest who will usher the character and presence of God into the marketplace,” said Zhuang, “to empower, to engage and to evangelise.”
Two business owners were invited to share their testimonies on how they have applied their faith and Word of God into their businesses. Dave Ng, Group CEO of Bok Seng Logistics Pte Ltd and Chairman of Singapore Transport Association, shared his testimony of how God led and guided him in his business. He told the audience, “I hope to see many other [business owners] on fire for God! No matter what position we are holding in the marketplace, God is real and miracles always happen. So we should focus on Jesus, just believe, and allow God to lead us! As business owners, we are in our servant leader positions because God has placed us here to shine for His Kingdom and lead by example to direct people to Jesus through our daily lives.”
Serial and social entrepreneur Elim Chew spoke of the days to come. “The next lap is greater influence [of believers] in the marketplace during such a difficult economy period [as we are beginning to experience]. This is where the Marketplace Ministry will shine and be able to be of support and help to many businesses out there. There will be greater breakthroughs and people will see God’s hands in the marketplace,” she said. “Through prayers, Godly principles and values, our experiences shared in the marketplace will help one another to grow in business.”
CN PHOTOS: Daniel Poh
WORD-BASED FAITH FOR BUSINESS
Kong shared a short message on faith, quoting from Matthew 9:29 that Jesus acts according to the faith we have. Thus, it is not race, skin color, educational level, the state of one’s bank account or one’s family background that decides a person’s success. Kong also emphasized the importance of building up one’s faith: it connects one to the power and ability of God. He explained that in business one deals with money, but in the Kingdom of God, the most important currency is faith.
Kong spoke of two animals that symbolize the marketplace minister: one is the eagle, which has powerful vision and the other is the lion which has an attitude of faith. Kong encouraged all to be like the lion, full of faith, confidence and boldness. He reminded the attendees that the tribe of Judah lives inside of them. “When lion sees a strong and huge elephant, it sees food, not a strong enemy!”
At the end of his message, Kong urged all in the ministry to operate in faith at God’s level, and not to worry but to rest in God and His promises.
The dinner ended with a heartfelt worship session. Attendees shared and prayed with each other, and Kong and his wife Sun Ho also ministered in prayer. Many stayed on to fellowship after the session.
WHAT THEY LEARNED
“I was keen on meeting business owners and executives who share the same vision as the church,” said Lionel Choong, 27, co-founder and coach of Innervate CrossFit. “I learned from Elim Chew how to be versatile and adaptable when it comes to shifts in industries and market conditions. I was encouraged by the message shared by Pastor Kong and will apply my faith by truly going for the impossible in my business.”
Edwin Yap, the principal consultant and owner of Untamed Collective Pte Ltd, 32, told City News: “It is beneficial for us business owners to share and seek wise counsel. After attending tonight’s dinner, I realize that it’s not just the vision, mission or the value of one’s company, but it is the purpose of the business that matters. I believe that my company will begin to embrace the purpose of reaching and impacting the life of each employee.”
Those who are professionals were equally touched. “I was blessed by Dave Ng’s testimony, especially when he said that the vision of his company is to improve people’s life by delivering goods,” said Renata Triani, a high school biology teacher. “It’s always a good reminder that God has put me in my marketplace to deliver knowledge and values to our next generation. Going forward, I want to stay focused on sowing Biblical values into my students’ life.”
