Since God touched him, Andrew Yeo has lived to worship Him.
Contributed By Christopher Ow
Andrew Yeo says his service to God is to usher the congregation into worship. PHOTO: Benjamin Ng.
Today he is a well-known worship leader, pastor and songwriter in Singapore, who most recently led thousands in praise at the Festival Of Praise. But Andrew Yeo spent his teenage years as a rebel.
“Growing up in a less than favorable family environment, my childhood was one of hurt and rejection; I found life to be meaningless and often questioned my purpose in life. Looking for acceptance, I fell into bad company and was involved in street gangs and took to drinking, smoking and glue-sniffing; these left me no clues to life but an emptiness in my heart,” he tells City News.
Young and cynical at 15, Yeo’s life was transformed when a close friend invited him to attend a Sunday church service. “It was my first time attending church. I heard a voice say to me, ‘You will be like that guy on stage one day.’ I had no idea this meant I would lead multitudes in worship in the future. That day, I invited Jesus into my heart and [since then] He has truly shaped my being into one of purpose and destiny.”
What was once a dream became reality as he stood at the edge of the Singapore Indoor Stadium stage during the festival. “It is an indescribable emotion. After being a participant of the FOP for a total of 18 years, it is by God’s grace that I am able to stand on this platform and share my love for God, through my music, with the masses.”
Yeo has been to every FOP since he received salvation. “I distinctly remember queuing up for at least two to three hours before the meeting. As there was no such thing as an overflow room then, so a mini worship service was usually conducted outside the stadium. But that wasn’t the same as getting a seat in the hall! I was truly fortunate enough to attend every FOP and to be a part of the main congregation.”
Yeo is an artiste with Integrity Music Asia, and his music is well received all around Southeast Asia and has been translated into languages such as Mandarin, Bahasa Indonesia, Tamil and Tagalog. His latest album All Things Beautiful draws inspiration from Ecclesiastes 3:11, a verse that declares the omniscient nature of God and the beauty of His creation.
“Many songs in this album express my experiences with people and my personal devotional time with God. Everything under the sun is fearfully and wonderfully made, and All Things Beautiful reflects this,” says Yeo.
Apart from his music ministry around Asia, Yeo also serves as pastor and lead worship leader in The City Church, a church plant of Cornerstone Community Church. Founded in 2009 with 40 youth and 20 adults, the congregation has tripled in size and comprises youth and young families.
Yeo also co-ordinates Worship For Ignite, a national youth network of more than 50 churches from different denominations with a vision to impact and empower youth ministries.
“I hope to see, in the near future, more Singaporeans share their musical gifts, talents and abilities, through writing songs and also through my page,” says Yeo, explaining that his website serves as a platform for fledgling songwriters.
