October is Pastor Appreciation Month! As we come to the final week, we share what three cell group leaders feel about their pastors.
Our pastors are very special people—they have been appointed by the Lord over us. Our relationship with our pastor is a precious one, and this month, we have been celebrating each pastor in City Harvest Church.
Pastor Lin Junxian is “Baymax” to his leader, Madeline Chua—he is wise, calm and a great comfort. Pastor Veron never failed to stay connected to her member Sandra Tan and her family, even when they lived in Australia for four years. Pastor Meng How made the effort to visit his member Valerie Lim when she moved to New York City for work, bringing a sense of home to her in the big, strange city.
What else do they share about their pastors? Read on!
PASTOR LIN JUNXIAN, AS DESCRIBED BY MADELINE CHUA
Pastor Junxian (left) with Madeline and her husband Ryan
I will always be grateful to my Pastor for…being like my loving older brother and always taking care of me and my family. I first got to know Pastor Junxian 14 years ago, and since then I have grown so much stronger spiritually, and become more rooted in City Harvest Church because of him. He has taught me what is faith, hope, love and commitment. I always love his sermons and his words of wisdom. I have the assurance that he will always be there for me and my family whenever we need help.
One thing my Pastor always says is… “Today’s meeting is not going to be long.” Haha!
What drink or food never to order for Pastor… He eats almost anything as long as there is fellowship. And he loves durian very much! But one of his daughters doesn’t like durian at all, so he tries his best never to eat durians at home. So please don’t bring durians to Pastor’s house!
PASTOR VERONICA TANG, AS DESCRIBED BY SANDRA TAN
Pastor Veron (right) with Sandra (centre) and her husband Nicodemus
My Pastor would never say… “no” to anyone in need, no matter the hour, or even if her schedule is busy. I am appreciative of Pastor Veron’s constant willingness to meet and talk to members and leaders who are struggling.
I’ll never forget when Pastor… dropped me a text message to ask me how our family was. From 2013 to 2017, we lived in Sydney. That was a challenging time for the church, and although she must have been so busy with so many things in Singapore, she would regularly text us to make sure we were okay. She would ask how she could pray for us, and encourage us consistently throughout those four years. Each time we were back in Singapore for a short break, she always made time to fellowship with us over a meal. It must not have been easy to take care of members who were so far away from the rest of the fold, especially since we had only transferred to her zone not too long before we had to leave Singapore.
What drink or food never to order for Pastor: Any alcoholic beverage!
PASTOR TEO MENG HOW, AS DESCRIBED BY VALERIE LIM
Pastor Meng How (right) with Valerie when she worked in NYC
One thing my Pastor always says… is “You will receive more than you give when you serve. So serve God as long as you can. Don’t ever quit.” Pastor MH is a walking testimony of this. Twelve years ago, he went through major setbacks and personal life transitions. While he had every reason to take a break from serving, he did just the opposite: he served even more by stepping up to pastor a new group of leaders and to go for mission trips on his own to minister to small churches around the world. That was how MH zone was formed.
At that time, I was looking for a zone to join. When I saw how Pastor went against all odds to serve even more in that trying season, and how he encouraged others never to quit, it fuelled the fire in me to continue serving the Lord even more. I pray the Lord continues to give me the grace to serve Him throughout my life, for as long as I can go!
My first memory of my Pastor: When I asked to visit his zone, Pastor MH and I met to chat in this small office corner before a Tuesday night meeting. He was very wise to say that I should find a spiritual community where I can serve and grow, and not base my decision on which leader I want to be under. He said that if it was just dependent on the pastor or leader of the zone, my spiritual growth would depend only on him or her.
His words opened my eyes to see that I should intentionally build deep friendships with the co-leaders and do life together. Until today, I am thankful that one key distinctive of our zone is how close we are because we spend time connecting and serving together. My friends in the zone have made serving the Lord a pleasure and joy!
The most sacrificial thing my Pastor has done: When I was working in New York City and missed my home and family, Pastor MH specially came to visit me when he was in Europe and US for his mission trips. He was the first to come from afar to spend a week fellowshipping with me. He even had meals and ice cream with my friends there. I really appreciated it.
