Servanthood is the mark of greatness in the Kingdom of God. City Harvest Church relaunched its Church Without Walls movement with fresh initiatives that meet needs and heal hurts.
Senior pastor of City Harvest Church, Kong Hee, taught this recently: “Greatness in the Kingdom is not measured by possessions, power and prestige, but by how we serve others. Especially the marginalised, the outcasts, specifically, the little children.” Jesus, in His earthly ministry, served the poor and needy. As His disciples, Christians must do the same.
For this reason, CHC embarked on its Church Without Walls initiative in 1996. Back then, CHC was housed at Hollywood Theatre along Tanjong Katong Road. Members young and old answered the call of God to take the church beyond the four walls of their building, ministering to the poor and needy, first around Haig Road, then Geylang, and further beyond to estates like Ang Mo Kio and Jurong.
By 2008, the church was helping more than 15,000 people. Today, many they have helped are no longer poor, but successful, with families of their own.
In August this year, Pastor Kong once again shared with the church on the importance of reaching the poor and needy beyond its four walls. Out of this clarion call, 11 initiatives have sprouted, starting with the four inceptive Church Without Wall ministries—Harvest Kidz, the ministry to the elderly, JAMs (the ministry to the intellectually-challenged) and youths at risk.
As you are reading this, CHC members are currently involved in serving those in need in one or more of these initiatives:
1. HARVEST KIDZ
CHC’s ministry to children, HarvestKidz, began as one of the first CWW initiatives in 1996 and has grown into a big ministry with many arms, serving various categories of young person. On top of all that it has been doing, HarvestKidz has launched a programme to help low-income children with their studies. Earlier this year, the ministry called for 70 volunteers to serve these children through weekly reading sessions, tutoring sessions as well as providing them help with their homework. Cell group members can also come together to befriend a family in need. Members can also sign up to deliver 100 “Box of Love” to needy children.
2. THE ELDERLY
CHC’s Dialect service has been serving the elderly since 1996. In this new reboot, the ministry has called for 80 volunteers to serve twice a month. Their job: to befriend seniors who live alone and to accompany them to buy groceries.
Cell groups can also come together to clean the house of the elderly once a month or to bring the elderly for outings. They can also “Adopt A Wish” of the elderly during Christmas and make it come true for them.
3. JESUS FOR ALL MINDS
Jesus for All Minds (JAMs) is CHC’s ministry for the intellectually-disadvantaged. The ministry seeks 150 volunteers to befriend people with special needs by visiting them at their homes or through Zoom. Members can also sign up as a cell group to bring these persons with special needs for outings or to reach out to their families.
4. YOUTH-AT-RISK
The youth-at-risk ministry reaches young people who are vulnerable to substance abuse, dropping out of school and getting involved in gangs and fights. The ministry now aims to help ex-offenders reintegrate into society. It needs 15 volunteers to work with young ex-offenders, providing mentorship.
5. TUITION MINISTRY
CHC’s Tuition Programme focuses on students preparing to sit for their GCE ‘N’ and ‘O’ Levels. This year, 15 volunteers provided online tuition to these students before the national examinations which ended early October.
6. NURTURING CIRCLE
The Nurturing Circle is a ministry that aims to reach out to unwed mothers, some of whom are pregnant. Many of them are struggling with life and feeling vulnerable, hurt and lost. The ministry seeks to support 30 unwed mothers with the help of 50 female volunteers. They will be offering emotional support and practical help to unwed mothers. The ministry also seeks five families to open their homes to house an unwed mother and her baby temporarily.
7. THE BLESSING PROJECT
The Blessing Project aims to bring birthday surprises to 70 underprivileged children and persons with special needs. The initiative needs 20 adult volunteers to transport birthday cakes, and 40 youth volunteers to facilitate birthday celebrations for the beneficiaries.
8. CITYHOMES
CityHomes is a foster care initiative. Foster care, unlike adoption, is a temporary arrangement to meet the emergency care needs of a child. CityHomes is looking for 10 foster families to help care for 10 children, and 20 volunteers to support the foster parents until the end of 2021.
9. STREET-LIGHT
Street-Light is a ministry to sex workers in Singapore. This group of women is often marginalised and vulnerable to sexual abuse, health risks and physical assault. Some of them get pregnant, and their children grow up in a risk-filled environment.
Street-Light needs 20 female volunteers to reach out to 15 sex workers until the end of the year. The outreach involves befriending them and conducting workshops to equip them with skills, in the hope that they can exit the sex trade and enter another industry.
10. CANCER CARE GROUP
Cancer Care Group wants to reach out to people suffering from cancer. It aims to provide practical help and financial aid to cancer patients, and also offer group support to patients and their caregivers. The initiative calls for 40 volunteers to serve twice a month, befriending and offering practical help and emotional support to cancer patients.
11. OUR FELLOW WORKERS
Our Fellow Workers is an initiative that aims to reach out to low-wage migrant workers in Singapore. In light of the current pandemic, many of these workers are not able to return home—some have also been placed in isolation. This ministry aims to reach these workers by befriending them and providing practical help to them.
OFW needs 60 volunteers who are fully vaccinated and are willing to take regular ARTs to befriend the migrant workers. They will be connecting with the workers over meals, giving counselling and Bible study as well as extending practical help.
12. CITYOUTLOOK
CityOutlook aims to support low-income or single-parent families by refurbishing their homes. Even small improvements to the home can greatly uplift a whole family’s outlook on life, as experienced first-hand by a mother-son pair whose home was CityOutlook’s inaugural project.
The initiative calls for 20 volunteers who are trained to do repair works in homes. It also needs six cell groups to clean and buy materials for the refurbishment.
13. PRISON CARE MINISTRY
Prison Care Ministry aims to rebuild the lives of ex-offenders, to help them reconcile with their family members and reintegrate into society. They need 20 volunteers who are fully vaccinated to connect with the ex-offenders and do outreaches in prison. They are also looking for business owners who are willing to provide short-term employment or teach these individuals culinary skills.
If you wish to be part of Church Without Walls, please visit www.chc.org.sg/cww.
