It was an important milestone for City Harvest Church (CHC) over the weekend on 1 and 2 November 2008. It was pledging week for the church’s fourth Arise & Build campaign — a building fund for CHC’s next church, one to be built in, for and to penetrate the marketplace.
This night, there was a palpable sense of excitement in the atmosphere. Most of the City Harvesters City News spoke to had already prayed over and decided on the amount they were going to pledge.
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| PHOTOS: Yan JuYi |
“That amount may increase, if God speaks,” smiles Janelle Tan, 30. This willingness to give was evident in many in the congregation.
When asked about the personal sacrifices she had to make, Janice Lai, 25, customer service officer, said, “You definitely have to forgo all the extra comforts and little luxuries,” She was not alone in this. Many cited entertainment and leisurely activities like shopping and movies as some of the areas which they plan to cut down during this season of the building fund.
David Lum, 52, a private medical practitioner, believes that Arise and Build helps him build his faith. “This is an opportunity for us to trust in God’s word. When we begin to see God’s promises coming to past, our faith will be strengthened.”
After a stirring testimony by husband and wife Colin Lim and Tee Wai Wai, Pastor Kong shared a message on manifestation; how the believer needs to manifest the promises of God into existence, to bring out what is written in the Word of God, what is written in our visions and dreams, into our reality.
How then do we turn the Word into flesh? For every biblical manifestation, it always takes an unusual response. Pastor Kong illustrated this with Mary’s willingness to let her reputation suffer in order to bring Jesus Christ into the world. Nothing will happen when we do what we usually do. It takes an unusual response to bring manifestation of promises into our reality.
The message was clearly a powerful reminder to the church that our God is one of abundance and prosperity and it is an atrocity for us to live in poverty and lack when we believe in a great God.
Pastor Kong challenged everyone in the church to reach for a breakthrough. “This is going to be a home run,” he declared as everyone pledged their amounts. It was momentous as he gathered the ushers onstage, all clutching the pledge cards of every single church member, and prayed over the people’s sacrifices.
Howard Cashin, 88, a retired lawyer was one of those who pledged generously. He is confident that “the Lord’s generosity has no bounds and no limits.”
For the promises of God to manifest in our lives, let us follow in the footsteps of Mary and choose to do the unusual — even if it requires a change in our lifestyle. Let us come together as a church to arise and build the house of God.
