FACE TO FACE WITH GOD · 2 OCT 14-15, 2017 Face To Face With God (cont’d from Page 1). COVER...

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CityHarvestChurchhasenteredintoaseasonofseekingGodandencounteringHispresence,andmembersofthechurcharerespondingbygoingdeeperintheirpersonaldevotion.ByDAWN SEOW & MICHELLE HENG

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OCT 14-15, 2017

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FACETOFACEWITHGOD

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FaceToFaceWithGod(cont’d from Page 1).

C O V E R S T O R Y

Songs of Solomon 2:10 says, “My be-loved spoke, and said to me: ‘Rise up,my love, my fair one, and come away.”“ComeAway” is thethemeofCityHar-vest Church’s 28th anniversary. Execu-tive pastor Sun Ho explains that thetheme represents the church’s new fo-cusondeepeningitswalkwithGodandencountering Jesus in His presence. There was a prophecy given byan Indonesian prophet AbrahamJoel to Ho and her husband, thechurch’s senior pastor Kong Hee,which left a deep impact on them:“I see a vision that in 2017, God wants you to be very close to Him. So close with Him that your forehead is touch-ing His forehead. Forehead to forehead ... very close, very close. God wants your heart to be closer to Him more and more … This church will become a mighty people—an army of wor-shippers. Your power is worship ...” “Aswecelebrateour28thanniversaryasachurch,”saysHo,“myprayeristhatthisprophecywouldcometopassinCHC.IknowweareinchingclosertoGod,andaswecomeawaytoHimwithadeeperhunger and renewed consecration, wewill truly fulfil God’s higher calling forus as a church, and see Him as He is.” TocomeawaywithGodisacallthathas been sounding from the pulpit in-creasingly over the course of this year.In her sermon on the weekend of Sep9 and 10, Ho taught the church abouthaving encounters with God. “Encoun-

ters are an integral part of aChristian’swalkwithGod,”sheexplained as she shared herpersonal encounters with Godingreatdetail,giving thecon-gregation a glimpse of what itwas like to feel God tangibly.Onesuchencountertookplaceat the Worship Night servicethatcappedthisyear’sEmergeConference for the youth. AsHo led the youth deeper anddeeper intoworship, she feltaphysical touch from God, likea “fire in her belly”, so muchthat she staggered backwardsfrom the impact, and shefoundherselfweeping. A few weeks later, while ona trip to America to preach atCHC US in Orange County,a church led by pastors Der-ek and Susan Dunn, Ho andmembers of her team paid avisit to Bethel Church in Red-ding, California. At that ser-vice, Ho found herself comingtoGodwithexpectancy inherheart once again. Since April23thisyear,whenherhusbandKong began serving his timefollowing the CHC trial, Hofound herself unable to laugh.But that day, she had a deep

encounterwithGodassheexperienced“moments of deep joy flowing out”,laughing and crying at the same time.

JOURNEY TO THE HEART OF GODGoing deep with God has permeatedCHC’s consciousness this entire year,throughdifferentpreachersgivingcom-pletelydifferentsermons.InMarch,KongdeclaredafourthelementinCHC’smis-sionstatementfollowingtheGreatCom-mandment, the Great Commission andthe Cultural Mandate: Divine Priority. HeexplainedthatGodhasgiventheearth to humanity as their inheritance;when Jesus came, He restored them totheir original purpose. “In Christ Je-sus today, once again the earth is partof our divine inheritance,” Kong said. AChristian’staskisthentorecognizethatheisacitizenoftheKingdomandachildoftheKing.Heisnottobeigno-rantoftheauthoritygiventohim.JesustaughtHisdisciplesthekingdomwayoflivinginMatthew6:33“Butseekfirstthe

kingdomofGodandHisrighteousness,andallthesethingsshallbeaddedtoyou.” TheDivinePriorityistoseekfirstthekingdom of God. “To seek is to pursuewithfervencyanddetermination,”Kongsaid. “Itmeanstonotgiveupuntilyoufindit.WeneedtomakeseekingtheKingand His Kingdom our highest priority.”

On the weekend of the PentecostSundayinJune,executivepastorBobbyChaw brought the church through theOld Testament and showed them thatthroughtheHolySpirit,GodkeepsHispromisethatHewillalwaysbewiththem. “The outpouring of the Holy Spir-it has been mentioned all through-out the Old Testament and it is calledthe promise of the Father,” Chawtaught. “The promise of the Fatheris His presence with His people.” After Jesus redeemed humanitywith His death, the Holy Spirit couldnow live in His people. “We are nowthe carriers of God’s presence,” Chawsaid. “God is with us wherever we go.” At the Emerge Conference on Jul7, district pastor Wu Yuzhuang re-minded the young people aboutthe necessity of being God’s vessel. Inhismessage,WutaughttheyouththattobecarriersoftheHolySpirit,theyfirst needed to be worthy vessels: cleanandempty.Hetoldthemthestoryofthewidowin2Kings4,inwhichElijahtold

thewidow togatherempty jarsandfillthemwithoil.Theoildidnotstopflow-ing until the widow ran out of vessels. “It matters that you stay pure,”Wu reminded the young people. “Justas you will not pour fresh milk intoa dirty bottle, God will not pour Hisfresh oil into us if we are not clean. Inorder to be filled by the Holy Spirit,we need to be clean, empty vessels. Todo that, you need to take out the trashthat is taking up space within you.” Wu closed with this: “The devilthought he had destroyed the vesselthatwasJesusChrist,butnowtherearehundredsandthousandsofvessels thatGod can fill. Now that Jesus has resur-rected—youandI—wearethevesselstobringHismiraclesintothisgeneration.” The three-day conference saw anoutpouring of the Holy Spirit, not onlyon the youth, but also the adults whoattended the weekend worship servic-es. The conference culminated in theworship session on Jul 9, led by Ho. At that session, Ho taught on themindset of worship. “Until you have aginosko (have intimate knowledge of )experience, no fear will be removedfrom your heart,” she told the youth. ThepresenceofGodfilledthehallasthecongregationwentontheirkneesinworship.Eachoftheattendeesencoun-teredGodforthemselvesthatafternoon. MarkKwan,CHC’screativedirectorwaskneelingatthebackofthehalldur-ingthatworshipsession.“ThepresenceofGodwassotangiblethatitfeltliketheHolySpiritwasrunningintous,collidingintous!”herecalled.“ItfeltlikeHewasclaimingHispeopleback—byforce! "IwasblownawaybyhowpowerfullyGodmovedamongus,anditcreatedinme an even deeper desire to encounterHim—as the Bible puts it—to ‘knowHimandthepowerofHisresurrection.’”

CN FILE PHOTOS

Youth at the Emerge Conference in July this year, worshiping God with all their hearts.

“Aswecelebrateour28thanniversaryasachurch,myprayeristhatthisprophecywouldcometopass

inCHC.IknowweareinchingclosertoGod,andaswecomeawaytoHimwithadeeperhungerandrenewed

consecration,wewilltrulyfulfilGod’shighercallingforusasachurch,andseeHimasHeis.”~SunHo

OCT 14-15, 2017 www.citynews.sg 3

C O V E R S T O R Y

“The prophecy given toCHC that we would birthunusual worship hasproven to be an amaz-ingly accurate precursor ofthings to come in the year. “In June, I was prepar-ing my heart to lead wor-ship on one of the week-ends and I was scheduledto teach the song ‘Amazed’.It was an important songtomebecause ithadminis-tered to Pastor Kong in hisprivate moments with theLord during the trial, and Iknew if it meant somethingtohim,itwouldmeansome-

UnusualWorshipMarkKwan,39,creativedirectorofCityWorship

thing to the church as well. “As I was praying, Godspoke into my heart and said,‘I will bring tidal waves ofMy presence.’ That weekend,I sang those words out byfaith without knowing exactlywhat God had in store for us. “Less than a month lat-er, the Emerge worship ses-sion proved to be the firstencounter with the tsuna-mi waves of God’s presenceand power—the flooding ofHis Spirit into His people. “Followingthatsession,I’vefeltGodclosertomethaneverbefore. It’s a constant aware-

nessofHispresenceandpurposein my life and in the life of thechurch.Onmorethanoneocca-sion, I’ve sensed the Holy Spirittell me that ‘the floodgates havebeen opened’ above our churchandourlives.Wehavestruggledthroughalongandarduoussea-sonofpurification.Ifeelasifthatseasonisnowturning,andfrompurification, we are now findingourselves in a season of tender-ness:wenotonlysenseourAbbaFather’stenderhearttowardsus,butwearealsobeingdrawntore-spondtoHimingreatermeasuresoftenderadorationandworship. "The most precious differ-enceIhaveseen[sincewestart-ed spending a longer time inworship] is the spiritual hungermanifesting within our churchfor a greater move of the HolySpirit. I see how the people aremuch more engaged during ourweekly moments of worship inservice—how fully abandonedthey are to worship their Lordand Savior—and that really en-couragesme.Thereisnogreaterhonor as a worship leader thantoseethepeopleyouareleadingencounter the presence of Godpowerfully.Thatisthewholepur-poseofbeingapartof thewor-shipteam,toconnecttheheartsof man with that of our Father. "What seems simple on-stage takes many hours of hardwork, sweat and tears, and it is

no different for the CityWor-ship team. Both the staff andvolunteersofCityWorshiphaveput tons of effort into singingand playing their instrumentsbetter so that skill and talentdo not hinder the move of theHoly Spirit. More than justexercising the talents that wehave been given, our level ofbreakthrough depends on thelevel of our walk with Jesus. "Being at Bethel with Sunand the team made me realizejust how much the Holy Spiritwants to partner with us as weserve Him. Worship is not justsingingasong, it isaboutmak-ing room for the Holy Spiritto move through that song.We saw the possibilities of howGod can move in worship, andare inspired to apply that bold-nessandfreedominouruniquestyleofworshipatCityHarvest "IthasbeenasteeplearningcurvefortheCityWorshipteam.When we first came back fromBethelChurchandtoldthemu-sicdirectorswewantedtomoveinto this 'new flow' of worship,therewasaninitialsenseofhesi-tation and apprehension. Notbecausetheywereunwilling,butit was hard for them to under-standthenewdirectionwithoutexperiencing it for themselves. "Our team has really comea long way over the past sev-en years. We have built up a

strong sense of synergyand trust among the team,so even though this is un-charted territory for many,they were willing to fol-low by faith. I believe Godhas honored this faith-filled obedience with moreof His presence and glory! "Afterlastyear’sCityWor-ship album Draw Me, manyof the more musically-in-clinedinCHChavebeenin-spiredtowritenewsongs.AsGod touches His people, webecomesofullofHisloveandpresencethatwehavetoex-press it.MostoftheEmergeyouth camps this year hadtheir own worship anthems.FollowingthePassionPursuitSongwriting workshop, theparticipants submitted over30 original compositions! "It does take a lot of ef-fort for us work on thesongs before they can beintroduced in church, butI’m excited in my spirit be-cause these songs representthe voice of City HarvestChurch—the voice of thisgeneration of believers whohavebeencalledto takethenationsbystorm.Moreover,I believe that the more wewrite our story out in song,the more our testimony forJesuswillbeheardandcel-ebrated around the world."

JoannLeong,early

30s,complianceofficer

“The recent style of praiseand worship in the churchisamazing.I’malwaystear-ing by the end of it. I re-member at one of the ser-vices, after we sat down, I

looked at my phone and sawit was 10.57am. I thought tomyself, ‘Did one hour justpassby?Ifeltlikeitcouldgoonforever.’ “It felt like I was in an-other dimension; just sim-ply wanting to stay close toGod and hear from Him. Itisaverytangible feeling, the

“Ithinkto‘comeaway’istoreallytoknowGodmore.Inthis season of my life, I’vebeen reflecting about thenature of God. We all lovetoseetheworksofGod,butwe sometimes forget aboutgetting to know God forwhoHeis.Oneofmyrecentrevelations is in Zephaniah3:17 (AMP), that “God willrejoice over you with joy;

ComingAwayLesterChee,28,first-timefather

He will be quiet in His love[making no mention of yourpastsins],Hewillrejoiceoveryouwithshoutsofjoy.”Thisissuch an extravagant displayof His love—He desires forus to come away with Him! “I am in a transitionalphaseofmylife:beinganewfather, looking for a new ca-reer direction. Forty daysoften marks a watershed in

the Bible and I felt this wouldbe my turning point, doingsomething consistent. I hadlong heard of Rick Warren’sbook A Purpose-Driven Life andthoughtitwouldbeagreatmaterial to have in this 40-day devotional journey that IstartedonSep11.Ihadadesireto fast, so I fasted for the firstseven days of this journey. Ialsopenneddownmythoughtson Instagram (@l.40d)–where I’m also accountableto share my daily takeaways.”

whole atmosphere is chang-ing and it is something Iwould not want to let go of.It helps me especially in theworkplace.Inthemidstofthebusyness, I find myself stop-pingtothinkthroughmynextsteps, asking God to lead theway,andsometimeshummingworshipsongs.”

CN PHOTOS: JASON LEE

TheHeartOfWorship


C O V E R S T O R Y

“Iworkasaserverinacafe.Mycol-leagues—thediningmanagers,wait-ers,chefsandthedishwashers—theydoalotofhardmanuallaboreveryday. As God has gifted me with astrong voice and I can sing a ca-pella, so I thought I could spice uptheatmospherewithmyvoice.Iwasinspired by how Sun held concertsoverseasduringtheCrossover.Ide-cidedtousethesimilarapproachtobring the presence of God to thosewhohavelittlechancetostepintoachurch. "Most people working in theFoodandBeverageindustryhavetowork during the weekends so theycannotattendchurchservices.Ide-

“I encountered God during Lim-itless camp, organized by PastorTan Yah Lan’s zone, in June thisyear. I had just graduated fromHarvest Kidz and this was thefirsttimeIwasworshipingGodinayouthmeetingwithmanyotherswho were very passionate aboutGod. “There was one session wherethe camp leaders encouragedus to step out in faith to sing intongues. I can speak in tonguesbut had never sung before. Atfirst,Iwasverynervous,butafterone of the camp leaders came tolay her hands on me, I really feltthe presence of God and I wasabletosingintongues. “After the camp, I decided toput aside more time to read theBibleandpray,eventhoughthere

“When I became a motherfor the first time, the par-enting journey took meby surprise. It was not asstraightforward as I hadimagined it to be. Often, Istruggled with conflictingfeelings. My heart desiredto fully worship the Lordand serve Him in the ca-pacityIusedto,butphysi-cally, I was drained. I wastorn between my responsi-bilities as a mother and aChristian. "I often felt discour-aged and attending church

GodLovesUsAsHisChildrenMabelLee,inher20s,motheroftwo

MyCupRunsOverEstherTan,inher30s,restaurantworker

became a routine, not an en-joyment. I entered a seasonwhereIfeltspirituallydryanddistant from the Lord. EventhoughIstillattendedserviceregularly, it was nearly im-possible to concentrate whileattending to my child at thesametimeinnursery. “However, deep down in-side, I always knew that Godwaswithme.Duringarecentservice where Sun preachedonencounterswithGod,Ifeltthe tangible presence of theHolySpiritinawayIhadnotfelt in a long time. God be-

gantoshowmethatjustasIloveandcherishmychild,Helovesandcherishesmedeep-lytoo.IbegantorealizethatIhadunconsciouslybeentry-ing to walk the motherhoodjourney on my own. God re-minded me of 2 Corinthians12:9, which says that God’sgraceissufficientforme,andHis strength is made per-fect in my weakness. Duringthatmoment,Itrulyfelthowdeeply God loves and caresfor me, and in my season offaithlessness, He has alwaysremainedfaithful. “From then on, I beganto consciously partner withtheHolySpirit,prayingoftenfor myself and my children.

Through my ownparenting journey, Ibegan to understandhow our HeavenlyFather must feel to-wards His children—His desire to love,protect, and be closeto them, to strength-enandtoguidethemon the right path oflife.Parentingstartedto become more ofa partnership withGod, rather than aseparate way of life.Truly, it is throughencounters with Godthat we can find suc-cess inourmanydif-ferentseasonsoflife.”

cidedto‘bringthechurch’tothem. “Iwouldusuallysingapopsong,followedbyaChristiansong formycolleagues. Each time I do that be-fore the cafe opens, the businesswouldbeextremelygoodfortheday.There would be so many customersflooding in. Something special thathappensalmosteverytimeafterI’vesung is that birds would appear infront of the cafe. Even animals areattracted to God’s presence! Whenchildren pass by the cafe, they lookinside with curiosity and have anurgetocomein.Recentlytwoofmycolleagues received salvation, andit all started with my worship untoGod! “ThepresenceofGodhasbecomemore tangible when there is onlyworship during service. Praise andworship changes the atmosphere.WhenIbroughtpraiseandworshipintomyworkplace,itbrokebarriersof misunderstanding and createdpeaceandharmony. “BringingChrist

into the mar-ketplace pros-

pers the busi-ness. When we put

our heart and soul intoeven the most menial of jobs,

likeservingfoodandclearingdish-es,Godismagnified.IfGodhasgivenyou the gift of serving and you feelhappy doing so, you are glorifyingGodinyourownspecialway.Donotdespisesmallbeginnings—yourfaith-fulnessinthelittlecanpropelyoutomanaginggreaterthingsinfuture.”

AFaithEncounterAltheaTan,13,student

seems tobea lotof schoolwork.MymotheralsoencouragedmewithCo-lossians3:23,whichsaysthatweareputtingineffortsforGodandnotforanythingoranyoneelse. “Recently,thestyleofworshiphashelpedmefeelclosertoGod.Someofthe newer songs like ‘Pure As Gold’and‘JesusILivetoSing’reallyblessme. I am reminded that God lovesmeandhasnotforgottenme.WhenI study in my room, I play worshipsongs in the background and I feelHispeace. “KnowingandfeelingGodisveryspecial to me, because I know thereis Someone who really loves me nomatterwhat,and thatSomeonewillalways be there for me. I want myfriendstoexperiencethattoo.Iftheyget to know God, we can grow to-gether.”


C O V E R S T O R Y

“Asdancers,wearenaturallydrawntomusic,sopraiseandworshipisreallythebestwayforustoencounterGod.Ire-allylovehowthechurchistakingtimetotarryinHispres-ence.IfindthatGodspeakstomethemostduringworship;itisalwaysthenthatIreceiveawordoravision,andGodjust‘downloads’intomysystem. “Personally,2017didn’tstartouteasyforme,especiallyintheareaofmybusiness.WhenIwasgoingthroughsomechallenges,IfeltthatGodwassilentmostofthetime.Iwasbusydealingwithissuesanddidn’thavetimetodigdeeperintoHispresencesandseekmybreakthrough. “Atarecentworshipnightforleaders,Idecidedtoletgoofmydoubtsandworries,andspenttimetoprayandseekGod.ThatwaswhenGodspokesoplainlytome,encourag-ingmetotrustHim.IaskedGodforacleardirectionandspecificinstructionsonwhattodo. “A few days later, the dance ministry had a leaders’meetingwithPastorGaryHeyes,aprophetfromCanada.HeprophesiedovermeintheexactthingsIhadaskedGodfor,givingmenewvisionandspecificstepstotakeformybusiness. “Inthedanceministry,otherthantheperformancesandcompetitionswetakepartin,wearealsoinvolvedinmis-sions.Dancersarelikeanarmypullingdownstrongholds.Whenwedanceinthemissionfield,heavensareopenandpeoplearesetfree.Thepeopleweministertofeelveryliber-ated.Someofthemhaveevenrequestedustogobackandteachthemtheropes.

DancingBeforeHisThroneKhyeLoh,29,danceinstructor

ToTellTheWorldOfJesusTriciaTan,13,student

“Duringoneofourpracticesessions,Ipairedthemupandasonepartydanced,theotherwastoobserveanddis-cernwhattheirpartnerwasgoingthrough,andthenprayforeachother.ThisissomethingIwanttobringinasmuchas I can into our sessions. Last year at our dance camp,weinvolveddanceministriesfromoverseaschurches.Weshared a worship dance for about two hours, taking theparticipantsthroughatimewhentheywereministeredbythedance,andfeltliketheyweredancingwithGod. “Forme,to‘comeawaywithGod’reallymeansputtingasideeverythingandjustbeingwithGod.Godwillmulti-plywhatwehaveinthattimewithHim.”

"I feel that the praise and worshipsongs impact me a lot, especially thesong 'Glory To Glory'. As the songgoes,‘WewilltelltheworldaboutYourstory”—itmakesmewanttotellGod'sstorytoothers.ItalsomakesmewanttoinvitemyfriendstochurchsothattheywillbeabletobetouchedbyGodand experience His love and good-ness.I'minspiredtothinkabouthowIshouldusemytalents toserveHimand help other people to know Himbetter."


C H U R C H & M I S S I O N S

RecordAttendanceIsMusicToTheirEars

TheCHCDialectServicesawitslargest-everturnoutatitsrecentOldiesConcert—abundantlyabovewhatpastorMariaTokimagined.ByDAWN SEOW

PHOTOS COURTESY OF CITY HARVEST CHURCH

(Above) Maria Tok illustrating the "light of Christ" with colorful lanterns.

City Harvest Church’s Dialect Service isamarveltobehold.Eachweek,hundredsof dialect-speaking individuals—mostlyelderly persons—gather to worship Godin Hokkien and Cantonese, and to heartheWordofGodpreachedbyananimat-edMariaTok,thepastorinchargeoftheservice. Onceayear,DialectServiceconductsits main outreach event, a big blowoutconcert featuring dancers and singerswho perform classic songs in Mandarinandvariousdialects,dressedtothenines.OldiesConcerthasbecomesomethingofaninstitution,anannualtreatthatbothaudienceandvolunteerslookforwardto. RehearsalsfortheninthOldiesCon-cert began three months before the ac-tualperformance,whichhappenedatthechurch’sJurongWestauditoriumonSep10.“What’smostimpressiveisthatalltheparticipantsputtingtogethertheconcertwere volunteers,” said Mervyn Lim, theCityWorship staffer who oversees theDialectServicemusicteam. Indeed, Dialect Service only has astaffofthree.Itsweeklyservicesarerunbyvolunteers.Thisyear’sOldiesConcertsaw seven dancers, 14 singers, 14 bandmembers,andeightmakeupartistsput-tingtheshowtogether. “I’vebeenservinginDialectServiceas

amusicianforfiveyearsnow,”saysMikeYe,theguitaristoftheband.“Tome,it’smycallingfromGodtoleadpeopletotheholyplacewithpraiseandworship. “Atfirst,Ithoughttheconcertwasashowcaseoftalentsatanevangelisticevent. However, given that this year'sthemewas ‘Love’, I could senseGod's

presenceevenbeforethecon-cert began. I saw God start-ing to heal people's heartsonce the concert started.What impacted me the mostwas how God showed us Hislove in so many differentways—His love is great andunwavering without doubtfor those believed in him.” Bassist Colin Chee startedserving in Dialect Servicebecause he knew that Godwould touch the hearts ofmanythroughthestoriesbe-hindeachsong. “Iammovedwhentheel-derly recall fond memoriesoftheiryoungerdaysthoughthesesongs.Theyclapalong,dance, laugh, shed tearsandsingalong.” The crew, though workingwith a tight budget, lackedno imagination. Two stagedesigners turned hundredsof empty plastic bottles intobeautiful “lamps” with theuse of light bulbs. Theseplayed a part in Tok’s mes-

sagethatday. “Psalm27:1says, ‘TheLord ismylight and my salvation; Whom shall Ifear? The Lord is the strength of mylife;OfwhomshallIbeafraid’.Iwantthesepiecestoremindtheseniorsthateven though they feel useless, whentheyhaveJesusonthe inside,Hewillbringlightintotheirworld,”saidTok,herpointenhancedbythe“lamps”.

GO TO THE HIGHWAYS AND BY-WAYSThe most important aspect of thepreparation work was the outreach.DialectServicevolunteersknockedondoors in estates like Dakota to invitedialect-speakingelderlypeople to theconcert. “They weren’t so interested in ourflyer, but when I showed them thetrailer that we did, that got them in-terested,” said Emily Loo, a pastoralsupervisorinDialectService. The trailer was a short promo-tionalvideoputtogetherbyateamledby Lucas Chia, a creative productionassociate with City Harvest Church.UponhearingwhatTokhad inmind,Chia quickly pulled together MarkKwan, the church’s creative directorandMelvinLee,amediaeditortopro-duceacharmingshortvideofeaturingtwoDialectServicesingersasalovingelderly couple who planned a date totheOldies’Concert. Thevideo,whichwassharedviaso-cialmediaandplayedatCHC’sservic-es,wasinstrumentalindrawingmanytotheconcert. All things work together for goodto those who love God—a verse thatcame to pass when a volunteer wasblessed with a $25,000 commissionanddecidedtouseittosponsorabuf-fetforalltheconcertgoers! Thefruitofallthelaborofthestaffandvolunteerswasgreat:1,334peoplecame for the concert and 74 of themgave their hearts to Jesus—a ground-breakingnumberforDialectService.


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PHOTOS COURTESY OF CITY HARVEST CHURCH

The Oldies Concert was filled with singing, dancing, colorful costumes and props. Maria Tok delivered an encouraging message.

“Doubting God Is A Dumb Thing To Do!”

Early this year, pastor of Dialect Service, Maria Tok was feeling discour-aged. Despite all the hard work of her team and volunteers, the service had not seen a breakthrough in attendance for a long time. Then she read the story of Elizabeth and Zechariah in Luke 1 while preparing for devotion for her staff. Zechariah the priest and his wife Eliz-abeth were “both righteous before God, walking in all the command-ments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren”. Tok realized that Elizabeth’s barrenness was not a punishment from God. The Bible called them "righteous"; God had a bigger plan for the couple: when Zechariah’s lot fell to burn incense (a rare opportunity) an angel told him that Elizabeth would be pregnant with a baby and they were to call the baby John. Likewise, Tok believed that God had a bigger plan for Dialect Ser-vice. She held on to Luke 1:25, where Elizabeth said, “Thus the Lord has dealt with me, in the days when He looked on me, to take away my re-proach among people.” God, said Tok, is the ultimate promise keeper. With that in mind, Tok went knocking on the doors of the elderly with her volunteers, believing for 1,000 seniors for her annual evangelistic meeting, the Oldies Concert. In one night, they knocked on almost 900 doors. Still, Tok doubted that more than 900 would turn up on the actual day. “But who agrees with me that doubting God is a dumb thing to do?” she said with a smile. On the day of the concert, the buses which were sent to bring the people to Jurong West were filled to overflowing and volunteers had to bring seniors to church in taxis—Dialect Service saw its biggest ever at-tendance that day: 1,334.



SchoolofTheology2017:LivingTheFamilyLegacyWhatisitlikegrowingupinafamilyofspiritualleaders?City News Weekly findsoutfromfourSOTgraduates.ByDEBORAH LIM AND JARETH TAN

OnSep23and24,CityHarvestChurch’s School of Theologygraduatedits23rdintake.Amongthem was a group who grew upas children or grandchildren ofpastors. City News Weekly spoke tothese international students tofind out what it was like beingraised in a spiritually-saturatedenvironment. The students can-didly shared their struggles asChristiansandexplainedhowanintimate relationship with Godremains a personal convictionandcommitment.

HATSUHO NAKAMURA: TEARING DOWN THE WALLS OF THE HEARTTheoldestdaughterofYojiNaka-mura,founderandseniorpastorofKumamotoHarvestChurchinKumamoto,Japan,grewupinahouseholdcentered aroundGodand the teachings of the Scrip-ture. “When I was 7, my fatherstarted the church,” says Naka-mura, 22. “The first service wehadwasheldinmyhouse.Inthemorning,wemovedallthechairsand the tables from the livingroomtooutsidethehouseforourchurchmeeting.” Nakamura fondly recountshow she used to help her father

CN PHOTO: DANIEL POH

(From left) Yoel Adino Octafian Sianto, Cindy Olivia, Hatsuho Nakamura and Kenneth Handojo are graduating from SOT this weekend.

conduct and organize variouschurch meetings from a veryyoungage. Livinginahomethatwasthelocationforchurchservices,Biblestudy sessions and prayer meet-ings, serving and helping out inministrywerepartofNakamura’slife. Despitethis,shefailedtode-velopapersonalrelationshipwithGod.Thatcausedhertoquestionher beliefs and childhood faithduringherteenageyears.Inthosetimes,herpastencountersinthetangible presence of God keptdrawingherbacktoHim. However, upon gradua-tion from university, Nakamuramoved away from home, hermainsourceofspiritualsupport.She went through a season ofspiritualdrynessandthatspurredhertoenrolintoSOT.Shewantedto develop an intimate, personalrelationship with God as well astogrowinherunderstandingandknowledgeofScripture. Nakamura found what shecame for. At SOT for the pastsevenmonths,sheexperiencedapersonal breakthrough not justinherwalkwithGodbutalsoherrelationshipwithothers. “Iusedtobeanintrovert,”sheadmitted.“Ididn’twanttospendtimewithmyfriendsasIfoundit

troublesome.ButinSOT,Itriedto be close to my friends and Ilearnedhowtobemoresociable.Duringmymissiontrip,Iexperi-enced holy laughter for the firsttime,whichstartedmyemotionaldeliverance!”

YOEL ADINO OCTAFIAN SIANTO: OBEDIENCE TO GOD’S CALLINGYoel Adino Octafian Sianto, 21,servesactivelyinBethanyMalangChurchinMalang,Indonesiaasayouthpastor.Fuelledbyhispas-sion for Christ and his heart forthe youths in his church, Siantoregularlypreaches in thechurchfoundedbyhisfatherSamuelSi-anto. “I have known Jesus ChristsinceIwasbornandIwasreallyinfluencedbymyfather’slife,hisfaithandwhatheisdoinginhisjourneywithGod,”Siantosaid. Sincehewasyoung,ithasal-waysbeenSianto’sdesiretochaseafter God’s calling for his life.ThisledhimtoenrollintoSOT. ThedecisiontopursueGod’scalling did not come without aprice.Siantohadtogiveuppur-suinghisdreamofbecominganactortoserveGodandbuildHischurch.God isnotonetoshort-changeHispeople.WhenSiantochose to sacrifice his personal

dreamsandambitions,GodgavehimnewfoundpassionandvisionforthefurtheringofHiskingdominIndonesia. “IhadavisionofGideon,”saysSianto.“Butthisisthereverseofthat story. The first thing thatGodwantsmetodoistofindthe300 warriors, to take back theother 9,700 warriors. I have tofindthatsmallgroupofpeopletohelpmeandworktogetherwithmetowinotherstoGod.”

KENNETH IMANUEL HANDOJO: REBEL NO MORELife as a pastor’s kid was notalways glamorous for KennethImanuel Handojo, 23. “Peopletend to place expectations andpressuresonyou, forgettingthatyou are a normal human being,whojusthappenstohavepastorsasfamilymembers.” Handojogrewupina familyof pastors. His grandfather Ya-hyaHandojowas the founderofGBIFiladelfiaBlessingFamilyinMakassar, Indonesia. His fatherDrJusakHandojonowservesastheseniorpastorofthechurch. In his youth, Handojo hadmanyvicesbutGoddidnotgiveup on him. He received a touchfrom God on a plane that pro-pelled him to turn back to theLordandgointofull-timeminis-try. Onthatfatefultrip,theplaneHandojowasinwashitwithse-vere turbulence suddenly. “Dur-ing that time in the air, God re-vealedHimselftomeandIfoundmyselfspeakinginnewtongues,”he testifies. Looking back, hewishesthathehadbeenabetterrolemodelforhispeers. Today,Handojohasthevisionto reach out to youths in differ-entpartsofIndonesia.Hewantsto build a generation of youngChristian believers who live anauthentic Christian lifestyle.HandojofeelsthattheSOTexpe-riencehasfullypreparedhimforpracticalministry. Handojo says that the thingthatdrewhimtoSOTwasCHC’svalues, which closely reflect thevalues held dear by his churchand his family. The graduate isgoing home with much morethanhehadexpected.“Ilearnedto be responsible and account-able, to lead a more authenticChristianlifestylelikesomanyinCHC,”saysHandojo.“Thisisbe-yondmyexpectationsoflearningtheskillsandknowledge tobeagoodpreacher.”

CINDY OLIVIA: REST AND RESETCindyOliviadidnotgrowupre-

latedtoapastor;shemarriedone. The 39-year-old propertyexecutivereceivedthecallingtoenrollintoSOTin2008duringthe inaugural Asia Conferenceorganized by CHC. She recallswatching the SOT promotionalvideo and standing in front ofthescreenpretendingtoreceivethegraduationcertificate. God spoke to Olivia duringthe conference and asked hertostoprunningwildsothatshecan run the course He had setfor her. She started to do herresearchontheSOTcourse,ar-ranging foran informationses-sion with a former graduate oftheschool. “IwantedtograduatewithaSOT certificate but I ended upgetting a marriage certificatefirst,”shejokes. Olivia’sjourneytoSOTtookanunexpecteddetourwhenshemetandmarriedRaymondFer-nando Arijanto, founder andsenior pastor of GPdI Pillarsin Christ in Jakarta, Indonesia.WiththeirplantostartanewlifetogetherandheedingGod’scallto set up the church together,her SOT plan was shelved. Shefound herself juggling churchministries,growinghercareerinpropertydevelopmentandbeinga good wife—there simply wasno time for SOT. However, thisyear, she made the decision toleaveherjobandenrolintoSOT. “The SOT experience is re-ally like a spiritual screening,learningthedoctrineandtheol-ogy of the cross and bearing iteverydaytoleadtrulyvictoriouslives,”Oliviasaysofher time inthecourse. She adds, “I discovered mypassion to build lives.” The im-partation of faith and skills,as well as interaction and fel-lowship with other students,formed a purification processthat brought her back to herearlyrelationshipwithGod.Sherediscovered child-like faith inthe Lord, one devoid of fleshlyintentionsandmotives. Matthew 6:33 reads, “ButseekfirstHiskingdomandHisrighteousness, and all thesethings will be given to you aswell”.OliviaisthankfulthatsheobeyedGodandranHiscourse.Bydoingso,sheiscomingoutofSOT hungrier for the works ofGod. Oliviaseesaneedintheareaof education and hopes to putwhat she has learned to goodusebydevelopingthechildren’sministry and other education-relatedworksbackinherhomechurch.


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Bok Seng CityNews Advert-2017 Anniversary.pdf 1 03/10/2017 1:34:18 PM



WhatItMeansToBePropheticPropheticministerGaryHeyesonthedos,thedon’tsandthepurposeofprophecytoencourageandedifyotherbelievers.ByYONG YUNG SHIN

It was through mutualcontacts in Fukuoka, Japanthat Canadian minister GaryHeyes connected with CityHarvestChurchanditsleaders,including senior pastor KongHee, in late 2016. Since thebeginning of 2017, Heyes hasvisited City Harvest Churchnumerous times to ministerprophetically tovariousgroupsof members, cell groups andzones, releasing powerfulwords which have broughtaboutdeliverance,healing,andprovision. TheCanadianministerwentthroughaturbulentlifestylein-volvingdrugsandalcoholisminhis youth before an encounterwith God altered his life for-ever. Even as a young believer,Heyes embraced the promiseand manifestation of spiritualgifts as written in 1 Corinthi-ans 12:1-12. Today, he travelsaroundtheworldtoministerinthepropheticofficeandreleaseotherstoactivatetheirspiritualgiftsinarelevantway.

Why do some people receive many prophecies and some none at all?If you don’t get something,maybeyoudon’tneeditatthatmoment, or maybe it’s becauseyou’re already hearing fromGod; He’s already speaking toyouonaregularbasis. I’vehadtimeswhereIhungoutwithamazingprophetsandI badgered them but they gaveme nothing—and then Godspeaks to me, “You don’t needit, you’ve got Me.” Some sea-sons,allyougetareprophecies,and it’s because God knowsyouareat thepointwhereyoucanstewardthewordsyouget.Needcouldbeonereason,ma-turity is another. The peoplewho got the most propheticwordsweretheoneswhostew-ardedtheprophetic.

What does it mean to “stew-ard the prophetic”? For me, stewarding the pro-phetic is to do the practicalthings.Ihavehadmanyproph-

eciesspokenovermeinthelast32 years. I would write themoutintothreeareas:one,“WhatdoesGodsayHe'sgoingtodo?”IremindHimofHispromises.

Two,“WhatdoesGodsayIneedto do?” These may be simplethingslike,obey,seekHisface,fast and pray, change an at-

titude, etc. Three, “What doesGod say about me?” This hasto do with my identity—who Iam or who I am to be, be it aprophetofhope,afather,asonor daughter. These are what Iremindtheenemyofashetriesto condemn and criticize me.Keepthewordsinyourspiritatalltimes,keepyourheartopen.

What if the prophecy I re-ceived doesn’t really resonate with me? It’sokay,becauseyoustillhaveGod’s Word, you still go tochurch.ThemainthingisthatyouarereadingyourBibleandhearing from God on a dailybasis. What has happened alot is that we focus so muchon the taught word that wemiss the activity of the HolySpiritandHisgifts;wedimin-ishthembecausewefocustoomuch on the teaching as op-posed to the demonstrationandmanifestationoftheSpir-it.Counselling,Biblestudy,allthesearegreat,butthereisnosubstitute foryoureading theBible every day and gettingalonewithGod. It’s also important thatyou don't let prophecy be thefoundation of a decision—it'sa supplement. The Bible saysprophecy is for edification,exhortation and comfort. Itdoesn’tsaydirection.Youhaveto know in your heart whatGodhasbeenspeakingtoyoudirectly. So, as you mature in yourwalk with God, He will get aword to you. The Bible says,“You will hear a voice behindyou saying, “This is the way.Follow it, whether it turns to

therightortotheleft.”(Isaiah30:21) The Holy Spirit is thegreatest teacher and lover ofoursouls.

How do you deal when your friend gets this great word of prophecy and you don’t get anything and you’re feeling bad for yourself ? Well, that says somethingabout your walk with God,doesn’t it?Wheredoyouneedto let God work in your life?Maybe you need to let the“seasoned word”—God’s wordsfrom the Bible—season yourheartandkeepworkinginyourheart before you get the wordin season. Again, prophecy issupplemental.It’snotthemainthing. I have to trust that if Idon'tgetaword,maybeIdon’tneedit,ormaybeGodneedstoworkinmyheartmore.

What are some general guidelines to prophesying for others? Scripture gives us boundaries:1 Cor. 14:3 says, “But he whoprophesies speaks edificationand exhortation and comforttomen.”Everythingyoudohastobedonethroughloveforthepeopleyou’reprophesyingto. You also don’t want to getso dogmatic and preface ev-erything with “Thus sayeththe Lord”. What happens ifyoudon’tget itright?Youcansay, “I sense” or “I feel”. Thisway, you give the person theoption to tell you if what yousaidmakessensetohimornot.Youhavetoputyourselfinthepositiontoprophesy.Faithisamuscle—it stretches by reasonofuse. It’sgood topracticeonyourfriends! Sometimes people makethepropheticmuchmorecom-plicatedthanwhatit is.IntheNew Testament it is all aboutencouraging, building up,edifying people. Anybody cando that, but what a propheticpersondoesisthattheyinten-tionally do it. They are alwayslooking around at the counte-nance of others: “Who can Ibless, who can I minister to?”Becauseit’sneveraboutus;it’saboutGod,andwhoHewantstobless.

What if I believe I have a word for someone that may be a little harsh? Again, it’s important to re-member that we prophesy toencourage, build up and edify.It doesn’t say direction, and itdoesn’t say correction. Theseare for people who carry theoffice of the Prophet. There’sthe spirit of prophecy—whichis for believers generally, thenthere the gift of prophecy for

"Sometimespeoplemakethepropheticmuchmorecomplicatedthanwhatit

is.IntheNewTestament,itisallaboutencouraging,buildingup,edifyingpeople.

Anybodycandothat,butwhatapropheticpersondoesisthatthey

intentionallydoit.Theyarealwayslookingaroundatthecountenanceofothers:

“WhocanIbless,whocanIministerto?”Becauseit’sneveraboutus.

It’saboutGod,andwhoHewantstobless."

CN PHOTO: DANIEL POH



InEzekiel36:26,theLordsaidtoIsrael,“I will give you a new heart and put anewspiritinyou;Iwillremovefromyouyourheartofstoneandgiveyouaheartofflesh.” This verse quite literally came topass for Kevin Wong, 27, a service en-gineer who suffered a life-threateningheartconditioncalleddilatedcardiomy-opathy.IntheearlyhoursofJun26thisyear,hereceivedacallthatanewheartwaswaitingforhim. Dilatedcardiomyopathyoftenstartsintheleftventricleoftheheartthatop-erates as the main pumping chamber.The heart muscle begins to dilate andcausestheinsideofthechambertoen-large.Eventually,theheartmusclecan-notcontractnormallytopumpthebloodwell,resultinginaweakenedheartorfa-talheartfailure. In 2012, Wong, then a tertiary stu-dent,hadanear-deathexperienceafterasteamboatdinner.Uponexperiencingextreme stomach pains, he was rushedtothehospitalwheredoctorsdiscoveredhisheartwasonlyfunctioningat25per-cent.Hehadanoperationrightawaytohave a pacemaker fitted, but the pace-maker did not help—Wong fell into acoma.Hisdoctorsthenimplantedame-chanicalheartdevice,theHeartmateII,tohelphisheartpumpmoreefficiently.Wong regained consciousness, andeventuallywasable togobacktosomesemblanceofanormallife—hecouldgoto school,buthewas forced togiveupbasketball,asportforwhichhelived. The average waiting period for aheart transplant is 18 months. But duetothelargesizeofWong’sheartandthedifficulty involved in finding a suitableheart for him, his wait has been fourtimesaslong.Ontopofthat,Wongex-perienced some medical complicationsbeyondhisheartfailurethataffectedhisfunctioning,includingaburstbrainves-sellastyear. Ithasbeenamostchallengingjour-ney for the young man, but through itall,hekepthisfaith.Despitehisphysi-cal limitation, theCityHarvestChurchmemberisalsoamemberoftheDramaMinistry backstage crew and is alwayshappytoserve.Healsooccasionallyvol-unteerswithCHC’sservicefortheintel-lectually-disabled, Jesus for All Minds(JAMs). WhenCity News WeeklyinterviewedWonglastyear,heboldlydeclared“JesusdiedtosaveusandbyHisstripes,wearehealed.”Hisfaithhasmadehimwell.

THE MIDNIGHT CALLOnJun26,anursefromSingaporeGen-

He’sGotANewHeartKevinWong’ssix-yearwaitforahealthyhearthasfinallycometoahappyend.ByINESSABELLE LEE

eralHospitalcalledhiminthemiddleofthenighttoinformthattheymighthavefound a suitable heart for him. Sleepyand disoriented though he was, Wongwas exhilarated at receiving the calldespite waking up from his sleep half-way. But he was also cautious—he hadreceivedasimilarcallaweekbeforeanditturnedouttobeafalsealarm,whichwasbitterlydisappointingforWong. This time, however, things movedfast. Following the call, Wong was im-mediately admitted to the hospital fora health check, and right into a hearttransplant procedure. The medicalstafftoldhimthistimethatthesurgerywould have a 90 percent success rate.Tenhourslater,Wonghadanewheart. Itwasthebeginningofabrandnewexistence for Wong. “After the surgery,I was hospitalized for another 10 days.Duringthisperiodmanynicenursesfedmesnacks,suchasicecreamandchoco-lates,whichwerenottobefoundinmypast dietary plan,” he smiles. “I gainedweight—seven kilograms just in those10days!” Previoustohistransplant,Wonghadtocarryatwo-kilogram,battery-operatedcontrollerallthetimetoensurethathisHeartmateIIcontinuallypumpedbloodthroughouthisbody.Itwaswithgreatre-liefthatWong’snewhearttookwell,andwas found to have a regular heartbeat,soWongnolongerneedstheHeartmateIIdeviceortheheavycontroller.Head-mits, “I still forget occasionally that thecontrollerisnotbymysideanymore.” Having a new heart, Wong has hadto make some adjustments in his dailylifestyle.Atotalof10to14differenttypesof immunosuppressant drugs are to beadministered daily for a period of sixmonthstopreventhisbodyfromreject-

ingthenewheart.Hewillhavetotakesomeofthesedrugshisentirelife. Sincehistransplant,Wonghasalsobeen obediently following his cardi-ologist’sinstructionstoattendphysio-therapysessionsandwearafacemaskin public and avoid large crowds incasehecatchesanyinfections. There are some restrictions fol-lowinghistransplantbutanewhearthas brought great hope to Wong. Heis eagerly looking forward to basket-ball,pickingupcyclingandevengoingforavacationwithafewofhisfriendsfromchurch.Hisbossatwork—Wongworksforthecompanythatproducesthe Heartmate, the device that kepthim alive—has a pending date withhimtogojoggingafterwork. “There is hope for patients likemetoreceiveanewheart.Ifyouarefacing the same situation as I wasin,pleasedonotgiveupyet!”Wongsaysencouragingly.“Irealizedsincemy transplant that I have becomehappier and do not feel as un-comfortable physically as before.” Wong is filled with gratitudetowards God and all family andfriendswhohavestoodbyhimandhelped him all these years. “I’mgrateful to my parents, my friendfrom the medical support group,and my cell group E448 for sup-portingandtakingcareofmedur-ing thisperiod.And thanksalso tomany others out there who havebeenprayingforme.” Though time is still needed forhiscompleterecovery,Wong isop-timisticthathewillsoonbeabletoleadanormalorrather,anextraor-dinary life for the God who gavehimanewheart.

those who are particularly gifted inthisarea,andthenthereistheofficeofaprophet.But italsodependson thecontextandyourrelationshipwiththeperson—nobody loves correction butpeople will give you more latitude iftheyfeelyouvalueandlovethem.Al-waysspeakoutoflove.

How do we become more sensitive to giving accurate prophecies?There are two things here—sensitiv-ityandaccuracy.Tocultivatesensitiv-itytoGod,youhavetowaitonHim,lettingHimworkinyourlifeandlet-ting your heart be changed. Some-times,thisishowitworks—themoredifficulty you have in your life, themore sensitive you become, becauseyourhearthasbeenbroken,becausehow do you understand the heart ofmanifyouhaven’tgonethroughwhattheheartofmanhasgonethrough? Onaccuracy,Scripturetalksabout“by reason of use”, which is exercis-ing.Iwasn’tdoingthisfiveyearsago.The more I got in situations wheretherewasademandputonmylifetoprophesy,themoreIexercisedthegiftandgotbetter.Youhavetobewillingtofail,youhavetobeokaywithmak-ingmistakes.PaulsaidtoTimothyto“stir up the gift”, that means, be in-tentional about it! Your gift will notoperateunlessyouactivateit.

How do we stir it up? Readbooksabouttheprophetic,readtheBible—it’s the foundationforev-erythingwedo.Youcan’tprophesyifyou'vegotnothinginyou,soyouhavetogetGod’sWordinyourheart.Andpray in tongues—the Spirit activatesthe Word in your heart so that youcanministerprophetically.

How would you sum up what it means to be prophetic? The prophetic lifestyle is the pur-suit of the supernatural, the beliefthat God is always speaking, thatHe’s a good God, and that He has agood future for us. As David says inthePsalms,“Howprecioustomeareyour thoughts, O God! If I wouldcount them, they are more than thesand.” Ultimately, we’re not just hu-man, we’re spirit. Deep calls to thedeep and spirit unto spirit. 1 Cor.2:9-10 says: “Eye has not seen, norear heard, Nor have entered intothe heart of man The things whichGodhaspreparedforthosewholoveHim.ButGodhas revealed themtous through His Spirit.” So it is pos-sible for us to hear God speaking,for us to tap into His thoughts andspeakthemout.

Gary Heyes is married to Sheila, and they have a son Joshua, who is mar-ried to Melissa. Visit speaklifecan-ada.com for more information on Heyes’ ministry, Speak Life Canada.

“Thereishopeforpatientslikemetoreceiveanewheart.IfyouarefacingthesamesituationasIwasin,pleasedonotgiveupyet!”

CN PHOTO: GARETH GAY


C O M M U N I T Y

TheCalled-OutOneFromthetimehewasnewlyborn-again,KennyLowwascalledbyGodintoalifetimeofservice.ByTHERESA TAN

KennyLowismanythingstomanypeo-ple. To the students of City College, heis Mr Kenny, school principal and, un-tilrecently,ateacherhelpingthosewhoneedasecondchanceatpassingtheir‘O’Levelexams.TothedancersofOSchool,he is themanwhostarted itall,givingstreet kids a purpose and significancethrough dance. To the beneficiaries ofCHCSA (City Harvest Community Ser-vices Association), he is the executivedirectorwhoisleadingtheorganizationthrougha timeof renewal.Tohis fam-ily,heisthesteadfasthusbandofSerinaWee,who iscurrentlyservingtimefol-lowingthetrialofCityHarvestChurch'spastorsandleaders. LowfirstcametoCHCin1995,whenserviceswerestillbeingheldatWestinHotel.Althoughheneveradmittedittoanyoneelse,hehadbeenseekingaGodthat was real. A tutor, Miss Yang, whotaught him in his primary school dayswould share the Gospel with him andbringhimtooutreachmeetings.“InPri-maryFive,IprayedtotheChristianGodbecauseIwantedtobetopthreeinmyclass,” Low recounts. “It came to pass,andIthought‘IoweHimone’.” When Low stepped into the WestinHotelroomforthefirsttime,“thethingthat struck me during praise and wor-shipwasthatthesepeoplearesingingtoSomeone.Youfelttheywereinsidethisspace and you were standing outside.ThisChristianGodwasverypowerful—it was the first time I could feel some-thing.Ithought‘IfYouaretherealone,there’snoneedtolookfurther.’ThenSe-rinaPerera(thenWee’scellgrouplead-er) came to me and said ‘How? Wouldyou like to receive Christ?’ and I said,‘Idon’tmind.’Butshewasnotsatisfiedwithmyanswerandshesaid, ‘YouwillbecomeaChristian.’I thoughtabout itfortwoseconds,andIsaidyes. “Fromthebeginning,whatwasveryclear to me was God’s Lordship,” saysLow. “You become very eager to serveHim, but He is more interested thatyougettoknowHim.HewantsyoutounderstandHisvalues,Hisways.” When God gave CHC’s senior pas-tor Kong Hee the call for the ChurchWithout Walls movement, Low foundhimself in deep. “That really spoketo me, bringing the Kingdom outsidethe four walls.” At the 1996 Festival ofPraise—Lowhadbeen inchurchaboutnine months—Kong preached aboutfull-timeministryandgaveanaltarcall.“Iheardthreewords:‘Areyouwilling?’”recalls Low. “Time froze, and I had tomakeachoice.”Whenhewentdownforthat altar call, he heard another three

wordsfromGod:“Isawyou.”“Thatwasit. I knew that it was a promise [I hadmade]. I didn’t know what I was sup-posedtodo;IjustfeltlikeI’dsignedoffonsometitledeed.”

DIVINE ASSIGNMENTSThe first year Low was in universitystudyingtobeanaccountant,hehadanepiphany during a lecture and decidedtochangehiscourseofstudytoBusinessand Applied Economics. He had muchlessstudyingtodo,andcouldleadfourcell groups during his undergraduateyears.Plus,tothisday,Lowsayshestillapplieswhathelearnedinuniversity. Before he graduated, Low wasofferedajobbythechurchtoruntuitionclasses. Part of the Church WithoutWalls movement included a tuitionministry where tutors coached youngmembersofthechurchandhelpedthemto excel in school. It was the start ofLow’s lifetime ministry of helping theneedy,particularlyyouths. Oneday,whenhewaswalkinghomepast Bedok Reservoir, where buildingswerebeingconstructed,LowaskedGod,“Whatdoyouwantmetodo?”Thean-swercame,“Buildmeaschool.” He obeyed. City Harvest EducationCentre(CHEC)wasregisteredwiththeMinistryofEducationin2002andwas

setupasasub-departmentunderCHC-SA.ItwasalsothefirstyearoftheCross-overProjectinwhichLowwasinvolvedasadancer.CHEChad20studentsinitsfirst year and it flourished despite himbeingawaymostofthattime. Then Kong told him, “Plan me aconcert.” Low found himself producingSunHo’swholeconcert—theshowthatplayed across the Asian region andreapedaharvestofover140,000souls. As theprojectgrew,Lowfelt that itwasgoodtohaveaSingaporeanchore-ographer who could grow with them.SomeonetoldhimaboutRyanTanandLow attended one of Tan’s classes, of-feredhimthepostofchoreographerforthe Crossover concerts, and that beganabeautifulrelationshipthathascreatedarippleeffectthatresultedinOSchoolbeingsetupin2006andadancemove-menthappeninginSingapore.OSchoolbirthedcompetitionsliketheSingaporeDance Delight and the popular Super24, as well as the lauded Asian urbandancecompetitionTheBigGroove. In2016,CHCSAfounditselfinasea-son of change, and Low found himselfreturning to the organization where hebegan—this timeas itsexecutivedirec-tor.Theorganizationhadbeenthrougha lot, particularly in the years of theCHCtrial;ithadseenadeclinenotonly

inworksanddonationsbutalsoinvol-unteernumbers. “ThefirstthingItriedtodowascon-nect CHCSA back to the church,” saysLow. “CHCSAwasbirthedtocarryouttheChurch Without Walls vision, bringingthegoodnessof theGospelbeyond thefour walls of the church. To enter intothesocialservicespace,wethoughtthatputtingasideourChristianidentityandassociationwiththechurchwouldhelpustobemore‘considerate’ofthemulti-religiouslandscape.However,nomatterhowmuchwetriedtoseparateoriden-tifyourselvesas‘CHCSA’thecommuni-tystillsawusas‘CityHarvest’.Tothem,thesetwoareoneentity. “Solet’sembraceit.WeareCityHar-vest.Andifthecommunitytrustsusandisopenforustoserve,weserve.Iftheyareapprehensive,werespecttheirdeci-sion.” CHC and CHCSA are interdepen-dent, says Low. “We are the social ser-vicearmofthechurch,anextensionofCHC in a non-religious landscape. Wecarrythevaluesofthechurch,wearere-sourcedbythechurch;butforCHCSA,the harvest is not souls, but Kingdomvalues.” Low took on the role and began toparedownandbuildupagain.Hestart-ed by making sure that the organiza-tionwasable tooperate onabalancedbudget.Nexthestrengthenedtheteam,whichhadenduredanumberofdepar-tures. The current team is smaller, butwell-focused. Low also began build-ing bridges with the community andgrassroots leaders such as the Memberof Parliament over Pine Close, whereCHCSA’sHouseofJOYisnowlocated. The return to the heart of ChurchWithout Walls saw church staff andmembersvolunteeringforvariousactiv-ities,fromEnglishclassestoexcursionsandfestivalactivities.WithclarityinitsmissionstatementandamoreinvolvedBoard, Low feels CHCSA is now posi-tionedtogrowbydoingbetter. “WhenpeopletalkaboutwhatCHC-SAshouldbedoing,Iask, ‘Whatisthepain you feel? How would you like toserve?Whatisstoppingyoufromserv-ing?’” he says. “Every work [CHCSAdoes]hasitsgenesisatChurchWithoutWalls:itstartswithonepersonhelpingone,justasJesusreachedouttopeople,onebyone.” Low says concerned friends andfamilymembershaveaskedifheisokayandifWeeisokay.“Honestlytheanswerismorecomplexthanyesorno.Imissher.Thekidsmissher.Herparentsmissher.Butwealsoknowthatshewantsustobewell,andshewilldoherbesttobewelltoo,andtowalktowardsthedaywecanbetogetheragain.” He adds, “You cannot measure theChristian life by what happens to you.The core thing is, He is the King, andyouarethesubject.”

“Nomatterhowmuchwetriedtoseparateoridentifyourselvesas‘CHCSA’thecommunitystill

sawusas‘CityHarvest’.WeareCityHarvest.Andifthecommunitytrustsusandisopen

forustoserve,weserve.”


GlorifyingGodThroughSquashMultiplyingone’stalentrequiresdedicationandsacrifice.PamelaChua,aSilvermedallistattherecentSEAGamessharesherjourneythroughcompetitivesquash.ByTHERESA TAN

When Pamela Chua was just 9,she picked up squash as a sportand discovered she had a knackfor it. “I first started competingwhenIwas10,”shesays.“Itwasa mixed category match in theUnder-11juniortournamentandI remember losing tooneof theboysquiteeasily!” Butthatdidn’tdeterher.Shesays,“IstartedrepresentingSin-gapore insomeregional tourna-ments around age 12. I wouldtrain three to four times a weekafter school. Sometimes train-ing would be from 7 to 10pm.Tryingtojugglebetweenstudiesandsquashwasachallengebutitdefinitelyhelpedmetobuildmycharacter and determination, aswellastimemanagementskills!” Chua, now 27, has come averylongwaysince.Shewasoneinateamoffournationalsquashplayers to compete at the 2017SEA(SoutheastAsian)Gamesin

CN PHOTO (LEFT): MICHAEL CHAN. (ABOVE) PHOTO: PAMELA CHUA

Pamela Chua (extreme right) with her SEA Games squash teammates (from left) Wai Yhann Au Yeong, Shihui Mao and Sneha Sivakumar.

KualaLumpur,MalaysiathispastAugust. The women’s team tooktheSilver—aniceadditiontothefirstGoldthatthemen’steamhadwonin22years. Chua faithfully built on hertalent:shewaspartoftheRafflesGirls Secondary School squashteam,andcontinuedtobeintheschool teams when she enteredRaffles Junior School and later,StanfordUniversity. The support and sacrifice ofher family kept her going. “Myparentswereverysupportiveandencouragingofmypassion,”saysChua. “Given that I spend a lotof time training and competing,I had to prioritize and give upsome of the other things in mysociallife.Myparentsalsohadtosacrificeandtaketimetoaccom-panymeonmysquashtrips.” Her hard work paid off.Chua’s team came in fifth atthe 2009 Asian Junior SquashChampionships, and she was inthe Top 8 of US College Squashin 2011-2012. She also won theRichey Award in 2013, whichis awarded to the Stanfordwomen’s college squash playerwho best exemplifies the idealsof squash. That same year, shewaspresentedtheDickandAnneGouldCaptain’sAwardin2013—this award is presented to theseniorcaptainwhohasexhibited

uncommonleadership. This year’s SEA Games wasChua’s return to the sport aftershe started working a few yearsago. “Coming back to competeagain this time for the Games,I had to figure a way to juggleboth full-time work as well astraining. Ibasically spentall mytimepurelyonworkandsquashforthemonthsleadinguptothecompetition,”shesays. The 2017 SEA Games wasspecial to Chua. “It was the firstmulti-sport event that I was apart of. It was one of the mostmemorable ones because theatmosphere was great as wecheeredonour fellowSingaporeathletes in the other sports aswell,”shesays. TheSilverthewomen’ssquashteam won was a great achieve-ment.“Wewereveryhappyaboutthewinasitwasanimprovementinourstanding,comparedtotheSEA Games two years ago,” saysChua. “Our match in the finalswas also pretty tight, so overallweweresatisfiedwithourperfor-mance. “I want to give a shout-outto our family, friends and col-leagues—wecouldn’thavedoneitwithouttheirsupportanden-couragement!”

THE MIRACLES OF GOD IN HER LIFE ChuafirstcametoCityHarvestChurch at the age of 12, whenher sister, a member, broughtherandherparentstochurch. “IgrewupinSundayschooland knew the Gospel from ayoungage,butIonlyreallygrewin my faith when I was a bit

older when I experienced first-handthemiraclesthatGodhasdoneinmylife,”saysChua. Overtheyears,Chuahaswit-nessedGodhealinghermotherofanumberofhealthproblems,evenone thatwasvery serious.Chuaherselfhadtogothroughkneesurgerywhenshetoreherligament at age 17. “I thoughtthatitwouldbehardtocompeteatahighlevelagainbutIcameback even stronger and playedat the top position in Stanfordsquash,”shetestifies. She adds, “It was throughthese difficult moments thatmademerealizehowrealGodisandthatHeisindeedourHeal-erandRedeemerineverysitua-tionthatweface.Thathasmademe bolder even as I constantlyfacechallengesandobstaclesinlifeandatwork. “Ialwaysfeltthatsportswasone of the ways I could glorifyGod and that was very impor-tanttome.WhenIgetnervousbefore a match I would alwayssay a prayer before going intothe court, knowing that Godwasincontrol.Evenwhentherewere disappointing momentsand unexpected injuries, beinga Christian and knowing HisWordwasmypillarofstrengthandGod’sgracewasalwayssuf-ficient to lead me through allthedifficultmoments.” After junior college, Chuawas awarded a full scholarshipto Stanford University in theUS. “This was a miracle as itwasin2009whiletheeconomywas still going through the fi-nancialcrisisandthereweren’tmanyorganizationsthatwantedtogiveoutscholarships.Myun-dergraduatedegreewasMathe-maticalandComputationalSci-ence and Masters in FinancialMathematics.” Chua was keen

on Stanford because “it was aplacewhereIcouldplaysquashatarelativelyhighlevelandalsoget a great education—not tomention the amazing weatherandcampusinStanford!” Today,Chuaworksinanin-vestment bank in global mar-kets as a structurer, deliveringcustomized products and solu-tions.ThedecisiontoreturntotrainingfortheSEAGameswasnotaneasyone. “I had to overcome self-doubts,injuriesanddisappoint-inglossesintournaments,”saysChua.“ThereweretimeswhenIlostthemotivationtotrainbutIwouldalwaysbesoencouragedwhen I mediate on His Wordandlistentothesermonsduringchurcheveryweek.IknewthatIhadtosubmitallmyanxietiesand worries into His hand andHis grace will be sufficient forme. Having the full assurancethatGodknewexactlyhowIfeltandthatHecaresformelikealoving Father was what reallycarried me through the chal-lengingmoments.” Chua also had the supportofhercellgroup,ledbypastorAriesZulkarnain.“PastorArieswasveryencouragingandalsoprayed for me before I wentto the Games. Other memberssentmeencouragingtextmes-sages as well. [Harvest Kidz]PastorEileenwasalsouphold-ing me in prayer during thegames,”shesaid. In sharing her story, Chuahopes“toinspirethenextgen-eration to keep believing inthemselves and that all thingsare possible with God. WeshouldneversetlimitsonwhatwecanachievebecauseourGodisabletodoexceedinglyabun-dantlyaboveall thatweaskorthink.”

M A R K E T P L A C E



DanielTehwasonceatroubledteen.ButcomingtoCityHarvestChurchtransformedhimintoasocialentrepreneurwhoemploysthedisabledtorunhisrestaurantPopeJaiThai.ByTHERESA TAN

“I believe I made it because ofPastor Kong Hee’s teaching.Whenhepreachedthatwemust‘find a hurt and heal it, find aneed and meet it’, it went intomyheart.” DanielTeh,29,isunabashedabout his faith and his church.“My roots are in City Harvest,these are my fruits,” he saysof his work. “I’m not afraid ofsayingIamfromCHC.”Heac-knowledges that, sometimes,thereactionstothatfactarelessthanfavorable. TehrunsaThairestaurantatScapecalledPopeJaiThai.Thenamemeans “comfortheart” inThai, and the business’ taglineis“Fromtheheart,foracause”.That’s his interpretation of“find a need and meet it”. PopeJai Thai currently has a staffstrength of 30, 90 percent ofwhich are people with disabili-ties. Coming from a troubledbackground where he had tofend for himself from a young

age,Tehexperiencedatransfor-mationatCHC.“Ialwaysantici-pated going to service—I neverforgot to attend service at Ju-rongWest,”herecalls.“ItwasatCHC that I was first mentored,by my cell group leader MarlinXu.Shebelievedinme.” The former gang mem-ber first came to City HarvestChurch in 2000, when he was13, a Normal Technical studentat Montfort Secondary School.He leftschoolafterhis ‘N’Lev-els—he had already been work-ing at Kentucky Fried Chickenwhile studying, and was evenmademanager. “Someonetoldmetogoandfurther my studies, that KFCwasasteppingstone,”hesays.Heheededthatadvice,andenrolledintoSHATEC(SingpoareHotelandTourismEducationCentre)afternationalservice,whereheenhancedhisculinaryandfoodbusinessmanagementskills.Hethen joined the St Regis Singa-poreasacommischef,finetun-

inghisexpertise.TehbecameachefatMandarinOrchardhotelfortwoyearsfollowingthat,be-fore leaving the hotel industryto work for Thai Express as acustomer manager. “I was pro-moted to area manager in lessthan a year,” he remembers. “Iwas23andmakingareasonableincomeeverymonth.” While others might havebeencontenttostayinthatcom-fortable position, Teh wantedto do more. “I looked for ElimChew when I was studying atSHATEC,”herecalls.“Iwantedtofindoutmoreaboutrunningmy own business. At the time,Elim was a board member ofACE (Action Community forEntrepreneurs)andsheencour-aged me to sign up for ACE.”That one meeting with ChewspringboardedTehintobusinessownership. In 2010, with two partners,Teh set up his first restauranta Thai restaurant in Kim TianRoad. The restaurant flour-

ished,winningfansamongfoodreviewers. But less than a yearlater, his partners decided topartwayswithhimastheydis-agreedwithhisideaofrunninga social entreprise instead of aprofit-onlybusiness. Undeterred, Teh startedPopeJaiThaibyhimselfin2012.His first location was at PearlCentre—but high rentals drovehim to look elsewhere. “I triedJurongWest,butthatfailed,”hesays. “I didn’t study the marketwell.” Finally, Teh was offered alocationatSerangoonAvenue3in early 2014. “The rental wasnotcheap,thoughitwasadeadtown,”hesayswithawrysmile.Hisentrepreneurialspiritcouldnot be quenched: Teh and hisstaff—he had begun hiring theintellectually-disabled and thedeaf by then—built up the res-taurantover theyears,growingaloyalcustomerbasebyextend-ing delivery services to nearbyoffices.ThequalityofthefoodatPopeJaiThaiwasadefinitefac-torinitssuccess. But as it panned out, PopeJaiThai’slocationatSerangoonhadtobevacatedthisyearduetoahike in rental.For the sec-ond time in his life, Teh calledElimChew.Thoughthetwohadmet justoncebefore,Chewsawthat Teh was an entrepreneurwhomadefulluseoftheadvicehe received. With her help, TehsecuredaspaceatScape—rightacross from Chew’s family res-

taurantIMKimJunior.

A KITCHEN FIT FOR THEMCommercial kitchens have onecommon factor: they’re smalland maximize use of space. Insome, there is barely space tostand. Pope Jai Thai has thecomplete opposite: its kitchenis spacious, the walkways wideenough to accommodate awheelchair. Stations are spacedout, each clearly labelled. Therefrigerator is filled with clearboxes containing meats, sea-food, vegetables, condiments,each one labelled. Printed in-structions—inlargeprint—withdiagrams or photos are placedat eye level. The whole place isspotless. Teh proudly shows off theextra-large,lowsinkwithanex-tendablefaucetontheleft.Itwascustom-built for Uncle Poon,Pope Jai Thai’s left-handeddishwasher-cum-deliverymanwho goes everywhere—evenintoMRTstationsandtoofficebuildingsmanykilometresawayfromScape—onhismobilityve-hicle. WemeetTayAnnShun,whois intellectually disabled. TehhascustomizedkitchentoolsforTay, including a unique “chop-ping board” with nails set atequal intervals toenableTaytocutlongbeanstoequallengths—ataskheperformswithrelish. The kitchen and the restau-rant was fitted and furnishedwiththestaffinmind.Tehalsohas a deaf server who doublesup as cashier. To facilitate cus-tomer-staff communication,placardsareplacedatthetableswith diagrammatized instruc-tionsonhowtoorder“chicken”,“pork”andotherfooditemsus-ingsimplesignlanguage. Pope Jai Thai succeeds inenabling these staffers and ac-cording them dignity. Interac-tionsbetweenTehandhiscreware filled with mutual care andconcern. Currently, Teh hires acrosseight groups of beneficiaries:those with intellectual disabili-ties,physicaldisabilities,mentalhealthissues,thedeaf,thevisu-ally-impaired,youth-at-risk,thedisadvantaged and the vulner-able.ManyarereferredtoPopeJai Thai by Touch CommunityServices, Society for the Physi-cally Disabled, Project Dignityand SG Enable, a governmentagencythatenablespeoplewithdisabilitiestofunctionindepen-dently.PopeJaiThaiiscreatingsocial impact by offering em-ploymentandtrainingopportu-

CN PHOTO: MICHAEL CHAN

Daniel Teh, owner of Pope Jai Thai, which employs workers with special needs.

FromGangMemberToSocialEntrepreneur



nitiestothosewithspecialneeds. “Iamtheirboss,theirtrainer,theircounselor,”smilesTeh. Headds, “Weworkvery closelywiththeirfamiliestodothreethingsforthem:one,equipthemwithlifeskillsandbuildtheir confidence; two, teach them to beindependent and self-sustaining; andthree,weempowerourbeneficiaries.Ournextphasewillbecommunitybuilding—it’s through interactionthatbarriersareremoved.Wewanttochallengesociety’smindsetbymakingsurethefoodisgood,andit’smadebythedisabled.” Teh is quick to say that he has notcome to this point alone. One wall atPopeJaiThaibearsthelogosofsponsorsand partners who have supported Teh’sendeavors.HecreditsChewforherbusi-ness mentorship and Koh Seng Choon,the founder of Dignity Kitchen, for hissettingthestandardwhenitcomestoen-ablingthedisabled. RunningPopeJaiThaihasnotbeendevoidof challenges,despiteTeh’seffer-vescent countenance. The business is a24/7endeavor,sohehasscarcefreetimefor himself and his family. He has nopartner in this business, and so he con-stantlyhastobeawareofmaintainingabusiness mindset. He is also searchingfor skilled workers like managers andmarketingstaffsohedoesn'thavetodoeverythinghimself.Yet,hehastowatchhis costs because he doesn’t have muchfinancialsupportalthoughhisfamilyhas

beenhelpful.Andnaturally,workingwiththedisabledisdifficult—theyarepronetomeltdowns.TheweekthattheCityNews

teammetTeh,hehadjustlostoneofhiskitchen helpers to suicide. She sufferedfromamentalillness.

CN PHOTOS: MICHAEL CHAN

Clockwise from top: Teh with some of his kitchen crew; Tay Ann Shun cutting long beans using a customised board; a deaf waiter provides good service.

“The majority of the staff have mul-tiple issues,” Teh admits. “We take inpeopleotherorganizationswon’t.Iknowwe cannot get overly emotional whensomething like that [suicide] happens.Wehavetokeepgoing.WhenI’mtired,IlookatAnnShun:he’ssojoyful,hekeepsmegoing.” Tehsharesatestimonyfromagroupofat-riskyouthsheengaged.“Therewerethreeofthemwhocametoworkparttimeformehalfayearago.Ihadanotherkidfrom the same secondary school work-ingforme,Zach(nothisrealname)whohas intellectual disabilities, and he wasalwaysbeingbulliedbythem.Onetime,during peak hour, Zach came to helpthem clean the table. He said, ‘Come, Ihelpyou,yougoandtakeasmokebreak.’Whentheysawthat,theystartedtoun-derstandhimbetter.Nowtheyaregoodfriends;theyaresoprotectiveofhim.” Indeed, the fruits of his labor aremanyandvaried,andtheyhavenotgoneunnoticed:PopeJaiThaihasbeennomi-nated for the2017President'sChallengeSocialEnterpriseAwards.

Pope Jai Thai is located at #03-03, Scape, 2 Orchard Link. The team also conducts Simulation With Disabilities workshops to raise awareness and teach people how to be effectively inclusive. Workshops are priced at $45 (with lunch) and $38 (with-out lunch). Email [email protected] or call +65 6634 1238 to book.



EverythingsocialentrepreneurElimChewhasdonecanbetracedbacktoherhighSQor“sensitivityquotient”.ShesharesaboutthisconceptthatshepresentedlastweekatTEDxNTU.

“I had a staff member at 77thStreet who used to be in con-struction.OnedayweneededaGothic-styletableforourbrand,Gothic Princess. We couldn’tfinditinanystore,sohehand-made it. For my sister's birth-day,hebuiltamobilebarcoun-ter that we could mix drinksanywhere in the office. I havemany jackets, so he built me acoatstand.Weneveraskedhimto do any of this—he was justsensitive and found solutionsfor these needs. And he didn’tjustdoit,hediditverywell.Hecamealongononeofourbuy-ing trips and ended up beingourmenswearbuyer.Whenwegotback,hebecameourvisualmerchandiser and handled ourdisplays.Today,herunshisownbusinessbackinChina. “So,when youexercise sen-sitivity and work with excel-lence, take action and deliveryourbestwork,youwilleventu-allybesuccessfulinlife,wheth-eryoubecomeanentrepreneuroraleaderinyourcompany. “People say ‘That’s not myjobscope.’Earlythisyear,therewas a report about an AlaskanAirlines stewardess who no-ticed a well-dressed man sit-ting with a disheveled teenagegirlandfeltsomethingwasnotright. She signaled to the girlto go to the toilet, where the

girlleftheranotesaying‘Helpme’.Thestewardessalertedthepilot who contacted the police.The man was arrested whenthe plane landed—the girl wassaved from being trafficked.What the stew-ardess did wasbeyond her jobscope, and itsavedalife. “People say‘I’m not paid todo that.’ That’sgoing about itbackwards. It’swhen you gobeyond whatyou are paid todo, that’s whenyouwillgetpaidmore. “These days, when we seesomething happening, our im-mediateresponseisnottohelpbut to take photos or videos.Lastyear,a12-year-oldboywastheonlypersontogototheaidofvictimsofacaraccident,be-cause theotherpassersbyweretoo busy taking pictures. Thepeoplewho takeactionare theones with high sensitivity quo-tient. “We’refosteringacultureofinsensitivity with our phones.People say, ‘I’m going home tospendtimewithmyfamily’butevery family member is on his

or her mobile phone! I watchhowkidsarejustgluedtotheiriPhonesoriPads,withthemaidfeeding them.Theyarenotex-periencing the food, they arenot engaged, they are totally

unaware of their surround-ings.Incontrast,Irecentlysawa2-year-boyeatingbroccoli inmy restaurant, eating with hisfingers,feedinghismother.Hewas present and enjoying hisfood.That’swhatImiss.Whenwe become unaware of what’shappening around us, we losecommunication. “I have found that the In-ternet generation tends notto put their hearts into whattheydo.ButI’malsosurprisedwhen I meet people like theyoung TEDxNTU volunteerswho worked so hard the last

eight months to deliver theannual talk on such a profes-sional level. I see this also inthe volunteers in [City Har-vest]church—everythingisde-liveredwithexcellence. “SohowdowebuildupourSQ? It starts with being awareof people around us, beingsensitive to what is going on.By doing that we become lessselfish.Weseethistrait invol-unteers, social entrepreneurs,changemakers. If we can bringthismindsettowhatwedoev-eryday,wewillexcelandotherrewardswillcome. “Thepersonwhotaughtmeto be sensitive was my teacherat Fairfield Methodist GirlsSchool, Miss Yee. She wentbeyond her job scope. I was13 when she asked me what Iwantedtobe.ItoldherIwant-edtostartabusinessby21,beamillionaire by 25 and retire by45.EveryyearafterIleftschoolshewouldmeetupwithmeandbuymemyfavoritechickenrice,andshewouldalwaysaskmeifIhadachievedmydreams.Sad-ly,shediedinthe1997SilkAircrash. “Because of that spirit thatsheplantedinme,IcontinuetomentorasmanypeopleasIcan.Once,ImetayoungmanatanF1event.Iaskedhim,‘Whatdoyoudo?’andherepliedthathewasapart timewaiter.Iaskedhim what Miss Yee asked me,

‘What is your dream?’ He re-plied, ‘I hope to be an actor, ahostandastand-upcomedian.’Iaskedhimwhatwasstoppinghimandhesaidhewasastreetkid and wasn’t very well-ed-ucated. I told him the steps totaketosucceed. “Seven years later, at anSG50 event, the same youngman—his name is FakkahFuzz—cameuptomeandsaid,‘The15minutesyouspenttalk-ing tomechanged my life.To-day, I’m an award-winning ac-tor,hostandcomedian.’ “It hit me that 15 minutes

can create a change for some-one. I’m starting a movement—#15MinutesChange—to getpeopletotake15minutesonceaday,week,month,tostepoutof comfort zone to talk topeo-ple around them, to help any-one who needs help. That willbuildupyourSQ. “I set up FastFast Deliveryin mid-2015 with three otherco-founders. We saw a need inthe SME (small and mediumenterprise) market becausewe don’t have our own driversanymore. I sit on the board ofanorganizationandtheywouldsendastaffertomewithdocu-mentstobesigned.Icalculatedthe money spent on cabs, plusher salary for those few hours,anditamountedtoquitealot.Ialsonoticedthatinthelastfewyears, there are many peoplewho cannot find work or can-not work full time. So, I wenttoAdrianNg,whorunsCodigo,and asked, ‘Is there a way tomatchdriverstotheneed?’andhereplied,‘It’sveryeasy.’ “Today we have 3,000 on-demand crowd-sourced driv-ers, making 3,000 deliveriesa month. Of what FastFastmakes,90percentgoesbacktothedrivers.Wekeep10percentto maintain one admin stafferwho also teaches the drivershowtousetheapp.Sheisasin-glemotherwiththreesons. “One professional wrote tousrecentlythathehad losthisjob, and FastFast helped sup-plyhimanincometillhefounda job. It’s little moments likethesethatmakemefeelencour-aged. “At my family business—weown GoroGoro Steamboat, IMKimKoreanBBQ,IMKimJunior—wetakeinthehearing-impaired,theelderlyandhigh-functioningpeoplewithspecialneeds to work alongside theable-bodied staff. All our staffare trained to be sensitive tocustomers’needs. “I started ElimChewTV inSeptember 2016. Our programChangemakers features peoplewhoseeaproblem,findasolu-tion,takeactionandimplementthesolution. “Oursecondprogram,whichisscheduledfortheearlypartof2018,isPitchForChange.It’sarealityshowacrossAsiathaten-courages people to start socialenterprises. You have an idea,youpitchforfunding.Wewantrealsolutionstoproblems. “We plant to seed a thou-sand seeds. We want to raise agenerationofyoungpeoplewhowillpitchforchange.”

PHOTO: SANAM@TEDXNTU

Elim Chew spreading the idea of developing one's Sensitivity Quotient at TEDxNTU on Oct 7, 2017.

WhatIsYourSQ?

Thesedays,whenweseesomethinghappening,ourimmediateresponseisnottohelpbuttotakephotosorvideos.Lastyear,a12-year-oldboywastheonlyperson

togototheaidofvictimsofacaraccident,becausetheotherpassersbyweretoobusytaking

pictures.Thepeoplewhotakeactionaretheoneswithhighsensitivityquotient.


E Y E O N S O C I E T Y

OutOfTheAshes,JapaneseChurchesUniteIntheaftermathoftheworstearthquaketohittheislandofKyushulastyear,seniorpastorofKumamotoHarvestChurchYojiNakamurafoundcollaborationsforgedanddoorsopeneduptohimandhispartnerstobeablessing.ByYONG YUNG SHIN

Baby Showers . Birthdays . Weddings & Engagement . Anniversaries . Events & Functions . Dessert Table . Party . Workshop

Website:www.bakersheart.comEmail: [email protected]: 6385 4776Address: 1 Irving Place #02-04 The Commerze@Irving S(369546)

Find Us at:

Bespoke Cakes and Pastries for All Joyous Occasions.

www.facebook.com/bakersheartswww.instagram.com/bakershearts

I am truly thrilled and blessed to be able to use the baking talents that God has given to me for all the people around me,and best of all, for my church!Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!Happy Birthday City Harvest Church!

Zach LeongFounder of Baker’s Heart

During the School of Theologygraduationceremonylastmonth,Yoji Nakamura, founder and se-niorpastorofKumamotoHarvestChurch in Kumamoto, Japan,came to City Harvest Church tocelebrate the graduation of hisoldest daughter, Hatsuho. What

are his expectations ofhernowthatshehasbeentrained? “I just want tosupportherinhervisionsand dreams!” he repliedwithalaugh.Nakamuratalkedaboutthe rebuilding works inhistown,Mashiki,inKu-mamoto,intheaftermathof the April 2016 earth-quake. One of the worst-hit areas had been thattown where KumamotoHarvest Church, a CityHarvestaffiliatechurch,islocated. In January this year,Nakamura, along with

several other pastors, set up anevangelistic network in Kuma-motoinvolvingsome20churchesin Kumamoto, to collaborate onfuture outreaches and consoli-datereliefaid.“Beforethis(earth-quake),therewasnocollaborationbetween the churches in Kuma-

moto;now,wegathermonthlytopray,” said Nakamura. The net-workhasalreadyreceivedpositiveresponse for support from mis-sionariesfromtheUS,ChinaandKorea,whowillhelpinthecrucialwork of church planting work inJapan. In addition, Nakamura hascollaborated with other commu-nity and church leaders to set upanon-profitorganization,KyushuChrist Disaster Assistance Centeras a platform to coordinate moreconcerted relief efforts in the lo-cal communities. Most recently,the group has been entrusted bytheJapanesegovernmenttoassistwith rebuilding works in Kyushuand Fukuoka after serious floodsthis past July caused more than500,000residentstobeevacuated. With the forging of new part-nerships and newly opened doorstoserve,Nakamurarecallsthetestof faith he had faced just a yearago,andhowfarGodhascarried

himsince.Shortlyaftertheearth-quakelastyear,Nakamura’sfatherdied tragically in a fire accidentat home. The pastor questionedGod and asked why all thesebad things were happening allat once. God then spoke to himthrough Ecclesiastes 3:11, “Hehasmadeeverythingbeautifulinitstime.Hehasalsoseteternityin the human heart; yet no onecan fathom what God has donefrombeginningtoend.” Godalsosenthimencourage-mentintheformofavillageheadand his daughter from Sendai,whomNakamurahadhelpeddur-ing the2011Tohokuearthquake.Nakamura had brought 100 bi-cyclesdonatedbyCHCtoaidwithreliefwork.Thevillageheadandhis daughter had received salva-tion when Nakamura witnessedtothem. The duo paid Nakamura avisit after the 2016 earthquake,bringing 10 kilograms of oysters

from their farm and cooking forNakamuraandhisteam. “Most of the time, especiallywhenhardshipscome,welookatthingsinthepresent,butwehavetocommittotheeternityofGod,”Nakamura said. “That is how wehave hope to overcome the chal-lengesthatarerightinfrontofus.” Nakamura also shared thatthe CHC song “Miracle”, whichwas translated into Japanes inamusicalbumcollaborationbe-tween CHC and Fukuoka Har-vest Church last year inspired aJapanese Christian songwritertoproduceanalbumwithotherartists, which was later distrib-utedtovariouslocalchurchestodrive fundraising efforts for on-goingrebuildingworks. Outofmuchlossandheart-ache,God’speople inJapanarecoming together in unity andfaith,meetingneedsandbring-ingthegoodnewsofsalvationinChrist—slowly,butsurely.


L I F E S T Y L E

CHCSingersDebutSingles

You’veseenthemleadworship.NowyoucanhearthemoniTunesandSpotifytoo.MeetCHCbackupvocalistsMaximilianLowandCarmenAng,whohaveeachlaunchedtheirownsingles.BySERINA PERERA

For as long as he can remem-ber, music has always been apart of Maximilian Low’s life.The 27-year-old, whose stagename is Max Low, fondly re-callsatimewhenhewasonly6,lugging around a mini ampli-fierandbeltingouttunesfromThe Lion King.By the timehereached his teens, Low wasvery confident that he was go-ing down the path of a musiccareer. He has met with manycomments and criticism alongthe way—all of which he takesinhisstride. Low’s musical talent hasblessed City Harvest Church:heisthewriterof“GreaterAreYou”, “Generation” and “Re-joice”, three songs that are of-tensungduringchurchservic-es.Itseemsonlynatural, then,thathewouldwriteasonglike“Lenses”, which he debuted onSep29thisyear. Writing songs is a naturalfruit of his passion and disci-pline. “I would say that song-writingismoreofaskillandahabitthanitisatalent.WhenIsitdowntowriteasong,Ioftenneedtobequiet,awayfromthenoise,andallowtheHolySpirittospeak,”saysLow,whodraws

CN PHOTO: MICHAEL CHAN

Maximilian Low performing his single "Lenses".

inspiration from his mentorsin CityWorship as well as popfavorites like Bruno Mars, EdSheeranandJasonMraz. “Lenses” speaks of howpeople’sviewsoflifearecoloredby different perspectives andideals. “We see it happeningon a daily basis: people judgeothers through the lenses theythemselves wear,” he explains.“This song speaks about thecourage to overcome thenegativity that comes our way;to be bold and to step out infaithtodowhatyouaremeanttodo.” He could well be singingtohimself.Manyhavewarnedhim that a musical career is“unsustainable” and that itis not considered a “real job”in Singapore. Low appreci-ates these people mean well,but “what counts is the lensI am wearing. Belief and de-termination versus worry anddoubt?That’suptous.” His parents, fortunately,are“verygivingandwillingtoletmemakeapathformyself,andthey’rereadytocatchmeifIfall,”saystheonlychild,add-ing that his mother even pro-motes his YouTube videos to

herfriends. Low first came to CHC atthe age of 14, when a friendinvited him to an evangelisticservice at the Singapore In-doorStadium.Attheageof15,he wrote his first song, aboutcoming to a crossroads in lifeand overcoming difficulties.The guitarist shares that theinspiration for “Lenses” camefrom a February 2015 sermonpreachedbyDrARBernardatCHC. The single was writtenoverthreesessionsbeforeLowbrought it to United Records.Producers Eric Wong and Ca-reenThamfellinlovewiththesong and the trio worked forsixmonthstoarriveatthefin-ishedproductlastmonth.“I’mvery grateful to United Re-cordsforbelievinginmysongandmyvision.They’velaboredwith me through late nightsand early mornings to bringthisdreamtopass,”saysLow. His dream is to break intothe internationalmusic scene,as a singer and a songwriter.Hesays,“Ireallyhopetocon-tribute to the music scene inSingapore and put Singaporemusicontheworldstage.”

A MESSAGE OF EMPOW-ERMENTMusic has the ability to moti-vate and encourage the soul.CarmenAngwrote“StandTall”,her first single, as a reminderto herself to lift up her eyeswhenshewasgoingthroughatoughtime. The petite 23-year-old,who is a deejay at radio sta-tion Power 98, recalls, “OnceI started writing, it developedinto a song that I wanted tosing, not only for myself, butforanyonewhoneedstoknowthat they are truly not alone;thatthroughdifficulttimes,it'sokaytotaketimetoencourageandempoweryourself.” Ang was only 15 when shelosthermother tocancer.Hermother,NicoleLai,wasavocalcoachand theonewho taughtAng to sing, ushering her intotheworldofmusic.“Beingableto create music and expressmyselfthroughit,isthegiftmymothergaveme,”saysAng.“Itmakes me feel like she’s nevertoofaraway.” Earlier this year, Ang per-formed with Stefanie Sun atShenzhen’s New Year’s EveCountdown (2016/2017),which was broadcasted onZhejiang TV. More recently,shewasaback-upvocalistfor

theSianChayCharityEventinSingapore supporting artistslike Vivian Hsu, Samuel TaiandStefanieSun. “Stand Tall” grew wingswhen Ang shared it with aclose friend in the music in-dustry, Ruth Ling, who thenconnected her to Shao Jean,a Singaporean who resides inLos Angeles and is a talentedproducer and songwriter. Angand Shao worked on the songoverSkype,beforeitwasfinallyrecordedatRedRoofStudioinSingapore,andreleasedonJun23thisyear. Ang has performed “StandTall” live on Power 98. Thesingle enjoyed priority airplayand was on the airwaves forabouttwomonths. Thesinger-deejayisn’tstop-ping here. “I do plan to comeup with another single in thenear future, exploring themesof empowerment and just hav-ingfun,”shesays.“Ibelievethatcollaborating with other localproducersandsingerswillhelpmeimproveonmysongwritingjourneyasanartist."Max Low’s “Lenses” and Car-men Ang’s “Stand Tall” are available on iTunes for S$1.48 each. Support them by subscrib-ing to their YouTube channels.

PHOTO COURTESY OF CARMEN ANG

Ang's "Stand Tall" was written during a tough season.


中文报道

城市丰收华文聚会成立影视制作事工，第一部微电影《抉择》迎来了1061会友和新朋友。萧洁盈　报道

《抉择》 —华文聚会学会拍摄微电影

一个女孩，漂洋过海来到新加坡，一心想要为生病的家人赚医药费。她没有工作准证，也没有居留权，在法律眼中，她是一名非法居留者。这位女生就是微电影《抉择》的女主角，美媤。改编于真人真事，《抉择》演绎的是她在新加坡的生活——她怎么样认识耶稣和祂的真理，最后又如何在对错之间做出抉择。这是城市丰收华文聚会影视制作事工的第一部微电影，在10月8日的布道会上首映，迎来了1061会友和他们的朋友。那天，39人将心交给了耶稣。影视制作事工是华文聚会最新的服侍团队。成立微电影事工团的主要目的是要发掘有才华但却没有机会发挥的会友，并且培训他们，让他们有机会运用他们的才华来事奉主。该事工负责人江采娟说：“有一些人可能很有潜能但都没有机会发挥。这个制作需要很多人力。你可能不会演戏可是你会拍摄，那你也能够参与制作。” 江采娟也是《抉择》制片人。她透露制作微电影是梁志强导演的提议。她说：“有一次梁导来参加我们母亲节特会的戏剧彩排，发现我们的

演员需要培训，就想要帮助我们。他在华文教会也有一段时间了，所以他也想参加事工。他提议开办电影制作事工，教我们拍微电影，作为他的服侍。” 梁志强是新加坡的知名导演，曾经拍过不少卖座电影。他提议开办影视制作事工是因为他想把我的专业奉献出来。梁志强说：“反正我们的才华也是上帝赐给我们的。我觉得用我的才华为华文聚会奉献，为主建立他的国度，是我应该做的事。” 《抉择》这部微电影是一部很有“梁导味”的戏，就是在笑声中传达信息。“正如我的电影一样，有教育也有娱乐。我认为把娱乐加入主耶稣的信息里是两全其美的办法。” 梁志强认为想要继续拍微电影是需要人力和物力的。“这份工作需要很多人的参与，我只能够监督这个过程，不过要越来越多人参加才会好玩，不只是好玩，还要更专业。” 影视制作事工是由戏剧组延伸出来的，所以开拓事工的人也是戏剧组的组员，杨臻就是其中一位。杨臻在2007年加入了戏剧组，在华文教会的戏剧中扮演了不少角色，到了电影制作组就接过了制作人的工作，负责写

稿和策划。江采娟说杨臻在这次制作的功劳不小。她说：“从联络演员，到拍摄行程、服装、道具、和各部门培训班都是她在安排。” 2015年年底，杨臻和其他两名组员开始写《抉择》的剧本。2016年2月份，杨臻等人和梁志强开始讨论剧本，总共花了一年时间筹备剧本。这一年里，杨臻从梁志强那里学习很多。“他让我们认识写剧本的正确规格，以前我们戏剧组的剧本都没有什么规格，现在我们可以写得更专业。” 对杨臻来说，第一次负责这么大的工程，是有一定的压力，但她从错误中学习，尤其在压力中学会忍耐。“我学到很多，尤其是如何为这么大型的制作做协调，也从错误中学习到下次要怎么安排得更好。另外，我也学会了如何在很累的时候控制自己的脾气，当另一方的态度不是太好的时候，我也不可以发脾气。” 今年年初，故事终于敲定了，影视制作事工就开始“招兵买马”，他们在华文教会办招募活动，找来了演员、摄影人员、幕后工作人员，组成了影视制作事工。华文聚会也找来了United Records的创办人盈盈和毅力来当导演及摄影。《抉择》总共花了3天的时间拍摄。杨雪英，65，是其中一名演员，饰演一位向女主角传福音的阿嫲。这是杨雪英第一次尝试演戏，但除了觉得台词很难背之外，就没有遇到别的困难了。她说：“因为梁导说不用刻意演，自然就好，所以就当作是和朋

友聊天一样。”虽然杨雪英在拍戏前并不认识女主角穆青，但性格直爽开朗的她很快就和穆青培养出了默契。 “我平时和不认识的陌生人也可以聊天，所以这个角色不难演。在加上平时有在小组讲道，也有和周遭的朋友传福音，所以台词就当讲章来背。” 拍一部电影，要找到好的拍摄场

地是关键之一，所以负责找场地的人责任重大。导演对场地非常讲究，要考虑到地点方不方便、灯光是否足够，要找十几个拍摄地点不是件容易的事。张美贞，47，就是场地负责人，她说能找到好的场地都是神的恩典。 “当他们敲定剧本以后，我就跟着剧本的需要和导演的要求来找场地。去到觉得适合的地点，我就会拍下照片，让导演选，没想到的是每一个提议都可以用。感谢主！” 张美贞花了两三个星期的时间找地点。拍摄场地包括住家，工厂及咖啡店，其中找咖啡店的挑战比较大。“我们没有认识的咖啡店老板，所以比较难。导演看中一间咖啡店，我就去问老板。感谢主，老板很爽快的答应了。至于其他的场地，不管是住家还是工厂的主人都没有拒绝我，这是神的恩典。” 33岁的傅继樑从学生时期就喜欢拍摄，但一直没有机会接受培训，这次可以参与制作对他来说是很可贵的经验。 “我负责用第二架摄影机拍摄。我以前自己拍摄的时后都只拍一个角度，但这次我需要和主机配合，用不同的角度和不同的镜片拍摄，非常有挑战性，让我学到很多。” 摄影机是影视制作事工租来的。在开拍之前，毅力为傅继樑和其他负责摄影的人上课，教他们一些技巧，也让他们尝试用专业摄影机拍摄。傅继樑是第一次用这样专业的摄像机，他认为最难的是要费很多精力来集中精神。“我们拍摄的房间空间很小，

所以要找位置不容易。” 三天的拍摄虽然非常累人，但也让事工团队觉得很有成就感。杨臻说：“我们享受的是过程，因为很少有机会和其他会友在一起这么长时间。那三天从早一直待到晚上，一起吃饭一起团契。认识很多不同小组的朋友。”

城市丰收提供

《抉择》演绎一名非法居留者认识耶稣的故事。

詹前富摄

影视制作事工是华文聚会最新的服侍团队，一共有70人参与了制作。

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