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Kum Yan Methodist Church: Church with a Missional DNA

2 October 2024 blogpastor Leave a comment

It was with a sense of awe that I read about the history of Kum Yan Methodist Church (KY) in a May 2021 excerpt from the Methodist Message about the 103rd-anniversary celebration: “…. I learned how KY’s founding father, Mr I.C. Lam started the church because he sensed the needs of the people around him. As a teacher at Yeung Ching School, his heart was stirred and filled with compassion for the Cantonese migrants who did not know Christ. So, he started a fellowship and reached out to them with the Gospel. As the congregation grew, they eventually needed a place to worship, so he began a Sunday worship service at the school.” Kum Yan has a missional DNA.

I was invited by Pastor James Chan, their missions pastor, to preach in the English worship service. I knew James from the early years of the charismatic revival of 1972. We were in the same church immersed in an intense outpouring of God’s love and power among students from different schools. Out of that revival, a fierce love for Jesus propelled us into four decades of dedicated ministry. We served together for several years until James travelled to the U.S. and Canada for his theological studies while I completed mine at Tung Ling Bible School and Trinity Theological College. James had extensive and varied experience in churches of different sizes and cultures. He taught and ran a missions training centre (Bethany), led YWAM Singapore as its National Director, and gave member care and leadership training. For several years he was doing missions in China. Later over lunch, I heard that next year he would head to Japan as part of a church planting team. For me, I stayed and served the home church for forty years before I retired in 2020.

Ps James(L) and Pastor in charge Philip Lim (R)

I received a warm welcome at the car park from James and Joanna, whom I knew from my years serving in Church Resource Ministries Singapore. It was with a strange mixture of excitement and anxiety that I entered and surveyed the worship sanctuary. It was a beautiful sanctuary, built like a junior college auditorium with plush crimson seats, and a huge cross as its central focus. The service was about to begin and the worship team and pastors were praying. I met the pastor in charge and recently elected bishop of the Methodist Church, Rev Philip Lim, Pastor Simon Say and Pastor Stephanie.

The songs of praise were a wise combination of new (at least to me) and familiar songs. The over 300-sized congregation comprised a majority of young and middle-aged people (65%) in the 20 to 60 age group, and about 35% who are over 60 years old (the young old and middle old). The age group breakdown is a good mix for inter-generational discipleship and ministry. The prayers and announcements reveal that this church has a missional heart, praying for their missionaries in Lebanon, and giving a report about their recent mooncake outreach event. It also shows there is good collaboration between the English and Chinese congregations.

James had invited Salome Wong our former church missionary to China. He wanted to catch up with her. We walked to a nearby place for an early lunch and a long fellowship together. We had hoped to meet up with Sarah (James’ wife) but she was busy with ministry to the children’s church. That is Sarah: always dedicated and responsible.

Spiritual Direction: What’s Been Happening

23 September 2024 blogpastor Leave a comment

What is spiritual direction

It is not giving direction as in advising people and giving them biblical solutions to what they are seeking. You can get that from pastors, specialized ministers, and counsellors who use guiding questions to help you form your own solutions. It is “spiritual” in that it has to do with your relationship with God, of knowing God and what he is doing and communicating with you through your life experiences. It is “direction” in that the director directs you towards God, to seek and dialogue with God himself for what you are seeking.

I like the descriptions given by Life Direction Singapore (LDS) in its tiny brochure explaining its identity and the meaning of spiritual direction. It describes its identity this way: “Life Direction is an ecumenical community of trained spiritual directors (SD) offering spiritual support and accompaniment to all persons in their faith journey. The SD helps the pilgrim to pay attention to God’s presence in ordinary life experiences and reflections in prayer.”

The brochure then describes spiritual direction: “Spiritual direction is meeting with a trained director to reflect on how God is present and active in your life, and how God might be calling you into a deeper relationship in your everyday experiences. The content of the direction session is simply your life journey: whatever aspect, story or experience you feel moved to bring to prayer and reflection. You the seeker, the spiritual director and the Holy Spirit meet in holy conversation so “you may have life and have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10) The purpose must be a desire to deepen your journey with God as he journeys with you.”

What has happened since the formation program ended

It has been almost a year since I completed my formation program in spiritual direction and went on to accompany others. Thus far, I have found the journey fulfilling. I have learned much from the spiritual direction that I gave to individuals regularly and the supervision I received. In addition, I have learned from providing spiritual direction in a different context – the few short retreats I have been involved in.

SJSM Anglican cell leaders

I led a preached retreat in March 2024 for cell leaders in a zone with St John’s -St Margaret’s Anglican Church. It was a preached retreat and I introduced them to meditative prayer using a few passages with the theme, “Let God Love You”. It was an overnight retreat at Orchid Country Club near the Lower Seletar Reservoir. I could only give each person one session of thirty minutes each. Not the most ideal, but it is what it is. The priest, Rev Vincent Hoon, is a friend of mine who is also trained and experienced and could have conducted it but I suppose it would be wholesome and enriching to have a retreat leader from outside his church. It was a privilege to listen and converse with the committed leaders of the zone he pastors.

Trinity Theological College retreats

In September 2023, soon after we completed the same SD formation course, Seng Chor and I provided support in spiritual direction, as Dr Jimmy Tan led the retreat with Trinity Theological College students who had attended his course. I had written about the retreat HERE. This year, we helped out in a similar retreat with a new batch of seminary students and I was delighted to see one of the church members, Jean Lim (see above) . I found it a privilege and joy to have this opportunity to be fully present to listen and discern what God has been doing in the retreatant’s lives.

The two Dianas – key leaders of the SD formation program

Praying at the threshold Day of Prayer

The Life Direction Singapore continued to form us after the SD formation program. They went the second mile to ensure all the SDs had opportunities to accompany others. They organized days of prayer every few months, creating opportunities for us to accompany the participants who signed up. Each of us could offer ourselves to serve in two of these Days of Prayer.

Recently, I was involved in one. The theme was “Praying At The Threshold”. The purpose was to guide people to pray and ponder during times of transition. These are the in-between times of uncertainty, impatience and anxiety. It was a long day but I enjoyed the whole day of prayer particularly the spiritual direction with the participants assigned to me. It was always my desire to accompany pastors and both men assigned to me were pastors. It was satisfying to hear the takeaways of most of the retreatants. The next Day of Prayer is on the 26th of October. The prayer theme is “Gift Immeasurable”. Lord, bless those who signed up with your loving embrace and surprises.

I now desire to experience accompanying retreatants in silent retreats for a week as I believe it would be an even deeper and more meaningful accompaniment.

Pentecostal Christian Community: Beloved Little Flock

11 September 2024 blogpastor 2 Comments

I have known Pastor Douglas Goh since we met during one of the Love Singapore Prayer Summit in Malacca. Or perhaps in some other earlier meetings. He struck me as a thoroughbred Pentecostal, proud of his roots in the Assemblies of God Singapore, and deeply committed to being more like his Master and helping his members to follow Jesus. After not seeing each other for many years, we bumped into each other at the hospital pharmacy twice. We exchanged numbers and kept in contact. I discovered that recently on 24^th May 2024, Pastor Douglas was honoured with a lifetime membership for being an ordained minister with the Assemblies of God Singapore for the last 40 years: a mark of faithfulness and loyalty. Our two God-incidental meetings prompted him to invite me to preach in his church. I gladly accepted and enjoyed my time ministering to the church. They must have found it edifying because they invited me a second time.

Finding the church at Village Hotel Bugis was easier the second time. I was early and had time to grab coffee and biscuits. The members trickled in and the worship service began, led by Pastor Maureen, the wife of Douglas. There was a lone musician at the keyboard and a lone backup singer. Despite the skeletal worship team, I found myself sensing the presence of God and a sense of holiness and peace.

I am always pleasantly surprised even though I know that Jesus said he is present even if two or three are gathered in his name. Why do we always associate God’s presence with huge crowds and big worship bands? God is pleased to be wherever his children are. “Don’t be afraid, little flock. For it gives your Father great happiness to give you his kingdom.” (Luke 12:32 NLT)

The gathering was small, and I connected easily with this congregation the size of two large extended families. The Lord was present and enabled me to teach them about “Discerning False Prophets & Teachers”. They were appreciative of the teaching and I was glad they caught it. The members were committed to the church, some for many years, even decades.

I joined them for lunch fellowship. I noticed and admired the deep bonds of love. It felt like family. I could see that in the way they treated each other. I was warmed by their hospitality. Noticing that I limped from a bout of gout, they asked me what I wanted and went to buy the food and drink in the food court as I sat and chatted with other members.

I heard some members talking in Malay and I asked, Are you guys Peranakan? Yes. And so too is the pastor and his wife. I had unknowingly stumbled into a small Peranakan Christian community. I found this so interesting, being a Peranakan myself.

I left them after the lunch fellowship filled with the joy of the Lord. The Father loves his little flocks and there are millions of little flocks around the world, in rural villages and small towns, in megacities and slums, in restricted countries where Christians are persecuted, and in prisons and concentration camps. We need “little flocks” – small churches where the bonds of love are strong and deep in an increasingly fractured, digitally impersonal, and polarized world. Fear not, little flocks, the Father’s eyes are upon you!

To know more about this church go HERE.