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WITH GOD WITH ONE ANOTHER The Newsletter of Covenant Evangelical Free Church OCTOBER 2012 ISSUE NUMBER 11 MICA 214/07/2010 “The point of your life is to point to Him. Whatever you are doing, God wants to be glorified, because this whole thing is His.” FRANCIS CHAN From The Classroom To The Field C ORRIE AND MAY, Covenant’s first missions’ interns under the new ETC track, took a step of faith as they each went on a two- month mission trip, putting to use what they have learnt in the classroom. May attended a seven-week field placement in Northeast Thailand, while Corrie and her husband, Bernard went to Malaysia. Both were attached to local churches and returned with precious lessons learnt. May was attached to a local church in Akat Amnuai, ministering amongst the Isaan people. The church worked with Compassion International, a Christian CORRIE LIM and MAY TAN are two missions interns with Covenant who have felt called by God to go into the mission field. Tan Hwee Hwee finds out more about the joys and challenges they encountered during their two-month mission trips this year. 14 page CONTENTS Ps Gilbert Sng Heads’ up! MISSION TRIPS 2012 From The Classroom To The Field 1 Missions. Right. Here 4 Remembering God’s Goodness 7 GALLERY Missions Week 8 Surrender And The Sovereignty Of God 10 Mentoring Our Young Adults 13 CLOSE UP A Heart Ablaze For God And The Lost 14 UPCOMING EVENTS 16 GOD AT WORK What Man Intended For Evil, God Uses For Good 16

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W I T H G O D W I T H O N E A N O T H E R

The Newsletter of Covenant Evangelical Free Church

OCTOBER 2012ISSUE NUMBER 11

MICA 214/07/2010

“The point of your life is to point to Him. Whatever you are doing, God wants to be glorified, because this whole thing is His.” FRANCIS CHAN

From The Classroom To The Field

CORRIE AND MAY, Covenant’s first missions’ interns under the new ETC track, took a step of faith as they each went on a two-

month mission trip, putting to use what they have learnt in the classroom. May attended a seven-week field placement

in Northeast Thailand, while Corrie and her husband, Bernard went to Malaysia. Both were attached to local churches and returned with precious lessons learnt.

May was attached to a local church in Akat Amnuai, ministering amongst the Isaan people. The church worked with Compassion International, a Christian

CORRIE LIM and MAY TAN are two missions interns with Covenant who have felt called by God to go into the mission field. Tan Hwee Hwee finds out more about the joys and challenges they encountered during their two-month mission trips this year.

14page

CONTENTS

Ps Gilbert Sng

Heads’ up!

MISSION TRIPS 2012

From The Classroom To The Field 1

Missions. Right. Here 4

Remembering God’s Goodness 7

GALLERY

Missions Week 8

Surrender And The Sovereignty Of God 10

Mentoring Our Young Adults 13

CLOSE UP

A Heart Ablaze For God And The Lost 14

UPCOMING EVENTS 16

GOD AT WORK

What Man Intended For Evil, God Uses For Good 16

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Mission Trips 2012

organisation that finds sponsors for impoverished children. The church also worked with 150 sponsored children who go to the church on Saturday for a full-day programme. May helped the church to teach English songs and engage in English conversations with ten-year-old children.

May also taught adults English, teaching ten adults two to three times a week in the afternoon for an hour. “I had fun with them because they were more motivated to learn than the children,” May said, “The teaching became fun when we became comfortable with one another.”

However, for that to happen, it took up to one month before the locals warmed up to her. Thankfully, she had been equipped for this situation in her classroom cross-cultural studies, knowing that both parties needed time to adjust to each other.

May also followed the pastor and his wife on home visits. They would drive to the members’ home and pray with them. Sometimes they would also visit members who have not come to church for a few weeks to find out how they were doing.

May felt that her main challenge was not being able to speak Thai. “The children run up to you and speak Thai

“The trip has affirmed that I CAN DO THIS, NOT in my own strength,

BUT IN GOD’S POWER... I only NEED to

FOLLOW IN OBEDIENCE.”

very slowly; their eyes showing their desire to communicate with me but I felt so helpless when I couldn’t speak to them.”

However, there were also many positive things that came out of the mission trip. “I felt very accepted and loved. The church was very hospitable; they made sure you had good meals and would specially buy chicken for us for lunch.”

May also found her faith strengthened as she experienced God’s healing power during the trip. “I fell ill a few times but He healed me. I had diarrhoea for two weeks, and a sore throat. Once, I even sprained my wrist but I prayed during the night and the next day it was gone!”

As with most mission trips, May and Corrie both faced cross-cultural challenges, amongst which was the pace of life. May had to put aside speed and efficiency to go at the locals’ pace. The different working pace was also something that Corrie and Bernard experienced as they worked with the local church members in Kulai. In their time there, they had to learn to embrace different approaches to doing things.

Corrie and Bernard helped the church to set up a children centre called Rainbow Community Centre during their time there. They assisted with the renovation and set-up, established policies and guidelines and also trained the volunteers. One CEFC staff and

May teaching English to adults at a church in Thailand

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“Always, everywhere God is

present, and always He seeks to discover Himself to each one.”

A W TOZER

some friends had also donated six used computers for the Centre to start a programme that facilitates children to learn Mathematics, Science and English through these computers.

Like May, Corrie also taught English, giving phonics lessons to children from ages six to twelve years old. She also reached out to the community by conducting English classes for the adults.

Along with the church staff, Corrie would visit homes and shop owners. There were two families who were particularly open to the gospel—a laundry lady who asked for prayer regularly and a coffee shop owner whose grandson goes to the centre.

One of the challenges that Corrie

faced was helping the local people become less reliant on her. “We had to make sure that we worked in partnership with the local people so that when we leave, the work goes on. In the beginning, we ran everything and also visited more frequently. Now we are looking at empowering and training them so they will be able to function without us.”

Overall, Corrie feels the mission trip was a success. “When we first started, I think the locals were afraid that we were going to convert them and wanted them to go to church. But when they realised that we were there to bless them, they became

very happy with what was going on.”May’s stint in Thailand confirmed her

desire to be a missionary. She is not sure which country she will minister in but she has a heart for Nepal, which she has visited four times. “The trip has affirmed that I can do this, not in my own strength, but in God’s power. I may not know where I am going in the future, but God knows; I only need to follow in obedience.”

CLOCKWISE FROM RIGHT:

Corrie teaching kids English; Kids benefitting

from the computers donated to the Rainbow

Community Centre; A boy diligently doing his

homework with the help of the new IT equipment

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RUBEL NAMOC helps lead the Filipino Fellowship at the Bukit Panjang Centre, which started in March 2008. The group meets on alternate Sundays, where members engage in worship, read the scriptures, share their testimonies, pray and play games. They also hold a Christmas party every year, where as many as 70 persons attend.

Rubel shares that a challenge the ministry faces is that the Filipino Fellowship is primarily made up of female domestic helpers. He hopes that more families would be part of the fellowship.

A few members have accepted Christ through the fellowship, where they shared that the fellowship has been instrumental in their conversion. Some domestic helpers have also come to know Christ through their employers, who send them to the fellowship and follow up with them by sharing the gospel.

“We want to give them an avenue to use their Sunday off profitably by offering them training and seminars to upgrade their work skills and grow in discipleship”

Nearly 80 persons have received Christ at the Woodlands’ Filipino Fellowship since it started more than a year ago, led by JJ Tirona and his wife, Evangeline. The fellowship meets every Sunday, with around 24 domestic helpers who attend regularly.

On the first Sunday of each month, they celebrate the birthdays of those born in that particular month. It’s a time of FUN, as everyone lets their hair down singing, playing games, and tucking into delicious food.

On a more serious note, JJ shares that the main challenge will be dealing with the changes brought about by the mandatory day-off policy for Foreign Domestic Workers. “We want to give them an avenue to use their Sunday off profitably by offering them training and seminars to upgrade their work skills and grow in discipleship,” he added, something the ministry is praying about and looking into.

MISSIONS.

The Filipino Fellowship clearly enjoy hanging out with each other!

>filipino fellowship

Home Missions

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“I know Jesus is reaching out to them and many of them were touched during our meetings.”

VIVI LOLOWANG started the Indonesian Fellowship at the Bukit Panjang Centre in September 2006. During the meetings, there are ice-breakers, praise and worship, bible sharing and fellowship. They have also organised a picnic at the Botanic Gardens and outings to the Singapore Flyer, Sentosa and Snow City. “I took two ladies for missions exposure and they were very encouraged,” Vivi said.

Vivi is encouraged by the response from the members, some of whom have come to accept Christ. “My desire is for them to know God intimately,” Vivi said. “I know Jesus is reaching out to them and many of them were touched during our meetings.”

Over at the Woodlands Centre, Indra Darmawan and Esther Paulus started the Indonesian Fellowship in November 2011.

With about 10 Indonesians gathering once every fortnight, they hope to reach out to more Indonesians, with a goal of 50–100 Indonesians meeting each week.

The group starts off with worship. “We sing Indonesian songs and they love it,” shared Ester. After that, there is the sharing of the Word, followed by a time of group discussion and praying.

So far, four people have received Christ. Ninik (not her real name), a new believer who is a domestic worker, shared, “After I received Christ, I became a changed person. Jesus gave me new strength everyday through His Word. I’ve become more patient and there is joy in my heart. I know Jesus is always with me and leads me.”

MISSIONS. RIGHT. HERE.Disciple-making

in the Indonesian Fellowship!

>indonesianfellowship

at Covenant is designed to reach foreigners who are based in Singapore, as Tan Hwee Hwee finds out.

HOME MISSIONS

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THE CHINA FELLOWSHIP meets at the Woodlands Centre after the second service and about 20–30 people attend the fellowship each month. Two-thirds of the group are students, and one third is made up of professionals.

Currently, the gathering features a speaker who talks about Christian values like love, courage and one’s identity in Christ, followed by a Q&A session. The fellowship serves as a platform for its members to meet friends, pray for one another and grow together.

Chen Zhenkang, who heads the China Fellowship, shares that its mission is to help members cope with life’s challenges, integrate into Singapore society, grow in their spiritual lives and make a difference for Christ.

One of the ways they do that is to encourage persons of the same sex to become accountability partners. This enables each person to have someone care for them and share their burdens, something they find very helpful.

THE NTU ENGLISH CORNER meets on Saturdays at NTU and provides an opportunity for international students to practise their English and make friends. The group runs discussion sessions, Bible studies and workshops. The two series of workshops they have conducted included topics like interview skills, presentation skills, relationships, intimacy and marriage. The group also organises outings, including a trip to Kampong Glam during Hari Raya week.

“The goal of the NTU English Corner is to help meet the international students’ needs for English practice and friendship,” shares Esther Soo, whose love for interacting with Chinese from mainland China and teaching them English prompted her to take over this ministry from an American couple who returned to the States three years ago. “Through befriending them, we share Christ’s love and message to them, and they get to learn about Christian values. We ran a Bible study once and one of the members became a Christian. The students are always open and eager to learn.”

Such is their enthusiasm that the NTU English Corner is looking for more volunteers. “We don’t have enough people to follow up on the students and befriend them,” Esther shared.

Home Missions

Its mission is to help members cope with life challenges, integrate into Singapore society, grow in their spiritual lives and make a difference for Christ.

Being there for one another

through the joys and challenges

in life

>china

>ntu english corner

Learning English the fun way

fellowship

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34th Anniversary

COVENANT EVANGELICAL Free Church celebrated her 34th Anniversary, recollecting her inception as a church plant in

1978 with 17 pioneer members from Emmanuel Evangelical Church. Known as the Emmanuel Christian Fellowship then, the church embarked on a nomadic pilgrimage of 22 years, and has finally found its home in Bukit Panjang and Woodlands today.

Indeed, Covenanters believe that goodness and mercy will not merely follow; they will pursue and overtake us. And this truth was proclaimed by Ps Dr Peter Tan-Chi. An affable and masterful teacher of the word, he skillfully dissected Psalm 23 in all its richness. Standing on the promises of God, the measure of intimacy of the psalm does not escape the scrutiny of his theological microscopy. Ps Dr Tan-Chi propounded that God’s faithfulness is independent of our faithfulness and He will lead us to green pastures in His time.

Thereafter, Covenanters grazed in the green pastures of glorious Singaporean fare at the carnival. The inundating

Silas Wee remembers the goodness of God as he reports on COVENANT’S 34TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS from the Woodlands Centre.

Coming back to the heart of worship

Remembering God’s Goodness

flocks promptly formed a beeline for the sarabat-like stalls that were relentlessly dishing out familiar, savoury delights. Vincent Chia’s dulcet cajoling engendered a spirit of getting-to-know-you among fellow food-seekers. After all, the celebration’s theme was “Food, Fun and Fellowship”! Pond, a Thai delegate with the recent IDMC summed it all up nicely when he said, “Nice people and good food!”

Frolicking young ones had their share of fun too as they watched balloons being deftly twisted into helixes of sorts, and chuckled at their own portraits-with-a-twist. Some floss or a potong to slake one’s thirst in the sweltering heat rounded up the treat. A little one animatedly lapped his ice-cream, as though battling to cool off the beads of sweat that trickled down his cheeks.

The few words that Pond said allude to a Covenant people who are blessed and who bless. How true that whatever is celebrated will be remembered. On this day, Covenanters remember the goodness of God in our lives.

Covenanters REMEMBER the GOODNESS of

GOD in our lives.”

Covenanters declaring God’s goodness

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Missions Week Gallery

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Day With Jesus

Surrender And The Sovereignty Of God

THIS WAS MY FIRST “DAY with Jesus (DWJ)”. My husband had participated last year but he did not tell me much about it. It was my

turn this year and I did not know what to expect. As the weeks before DWJ were very hectic, coupled with the recurrence of a severe backache, I was not able to really quieten and prepare my heart, right up to the day before DWJ.

When the fateful morning arrived, I was relieved to be away from all the stress and responsibilities of a stay-home mum. With an open heart and a slight fear of my backache recurring, I arrived at the foyer of the Woodlands Centre. A strange quietness and loneliness came over me even though I saw some familiar faces. Yet fear was not in my mind.

Far from the maddening crowd

Praying in agreement

Jennifer Chia-Tan shares how her very first DAY WITH JESUS was like for her.

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“I came to ACCEPT the

fact that there’s no ‘perfect’

surrender but ONLY ‘TOTAL’

SURRENDER to GOD.”

Upon boarding the bus, I was in great company. We were chatting happily like little kids on an excursion bus! I took in the beautiful sights as the bus travelled along a scenic route to our destination—the BB & GB campsite.

Ps Barney led the worship session. In that small room, for the first time, I was reminded of my youthful days as a newly converted Christian—strangely alone (even though I had familiar faces around me) and completely dependent on God’s grace and faithfulness.

Upon dismissal after Paul Samuel’s briefing, I wandered out to explore the nearby park for a place of solitude. I roamed one full circle and took pictures with my camera (as I heard a voice telling me to capture the day’s moments). Eventually, I settled down under a huge tree in front of the Beaulieu House restaurant, facing the jetty. Even though many people walked past and some even talked loudly as they did, surprisingly, I was neither bothered nor distracted. I was able to read through the materials but found myself struggling only with the word “surrender”. I read further and reflected. I came to accept the fact that there’s no ‘perfect’ surrender but only ‘total’ surrender to God. As long as I am willing, with much trembling, God will accept it and mould me through the Holy Spirit according to

testimoniesJosephine Wong

THE FIRST THING THAT caught my eye when I arrived at the BB/GB campsite at Sembawang were the Hibiscus plants. God wanted me to enjoy His creation through the Hibiscus flowers like I used to when I was a child. I tried to put thoughts of the Hibiscus flowers aside, but the Lord kept nudging me to enjoy the Hibiscus. I then took some pictures of the flowers as a reminder of what the Lord spoke to me that day.

He also convicted me to walk in the fear of the Lord, and to be more loving and compassionate towards others.

Stacey Tay

THE PAST FEW MONTHS have been very tough and emotionally draining. Coming for this time of solitude with God was a time for me to review the lessons of these past months. I felt that this time was marked by mercy and grace. Moving on from here, I am reminded that Christ will not lead me to full Christlikeness through an easy or self-indulgent life. What burdens me will bring me to my knees and turn my face heavenwards.

CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT:Anticipating the day ahead!; Making music to the Lord! Preparing the surprise for the birthday babies

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His perfect will and purpose for me. Worldly worries are temporal even though they can be so pressing most of the time. I was reminded to learn to see beyond that and to surrender them to Him. He is sovereign and will bring all things to pass. I heard God telling me to submit to His wonderful mercy and I yielded myself, with a trembling heart, in absolute surrender although I felt a lack of power, determination and assurance.

During midday, rain poured. I was amongst the lucky ones who were led back to the campsite. At the canteen, I met a few who were taking a light snack and we had a short refreshing time teasing one another—a reminder that I have friends, especially Jesus, who will walk alongside me. One thing for which I am thankful to the

Lord—my backache did not act up and become a burden for me on that day.

At the end of the day, after an ice-cream break, upon returning my song booklet, I was given a song sheet with two songs, titled “Everlasting God” and “Mighty to Save”. They were timely reminders of His eternal sovereignty and His great salvation for all mankind; and of my duty and responsibility to lead others back to Him, a challenge I need to face for His Name’s sake as His child and servant.

To conclude, God showed me that I am not alone in my feelings of stress and even anger, and that I can be burden-free when I truly surrender myself in His love and provision. His grace is truly sufficient! I lack nothing to do His good works.

testimoniesAlex Lim

I CAME FOR THIS TIME OF solitude wanting to hear God, and to seek His direction with regards to certain struggles in my life. The Lord spoke and told me to surrender to Him wholeheartedly. It is in absolute surrender that I will experience His blessings and transformative power. As I walk by faith and not by sight, He will show me the way.

Grace Chng-Ow

I PUT ASIDE MY USUAL reading habit of reading a book from cover to cover and obeyed Ps Edmund Wong’s instructions to read certain pages in the prayer booklet in a particular order. I did not turn to the other pages, but instead waited upon the Lord. Two songs—“Divine Exchange” and “Open the Eyes of My Heart” came to mind. What was so amazing was that those songs were printed on the pages I later turned to—something I didn’t know beforehand! He just revealed and allowed me to hear Him and His prompting. God really speaks!

Day With Jesus

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT:Coming together at the end of the day; Meeting God in solitude; Moments of quietness and reflection; Together as a district!

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Ps Barney Lau shares his heart for the YOUNG ADULTS and the urgent need to disciple them.

Wide Angle: CYAN

A S AN INTENTIONAL disciple-making church, the next generation must be of strategic and critical focus. We have an

immediate task of reaching, discipling and mentoring young adults. Without a healthy, vibrant and Christ-mastered generation of young adults, we cannot effectively and sustainably reach their generation and the next!

That’s where CYAN (Covenant Young Adults Network) comes in. CYAN was formed a year ago for this purpose. It attempts to provide a regular platform and community for young adults to build healthy Christian friendships and relationships, which encompasses mentoring of their inner lives, and to address questions and concerns about career, relationships, family and other matters.

CYAN gathers on a Saturday each month with peers experiencing similar life transitions, to worship as a redeemed community and hear God’s Word in season. Included in this gathering is a time for mentoring in small peer groups led by godly adult leaders who are at least 10–20 years older. Facebook groups and WhatsApp chats have been started. Dinners and movies are ongoing. To date, there are about 150 young adults (aged 21–36) who have been meeting in some 23 CYAN mentoring groups with 23 couple mentors.

“WITHOUT a HEALTHY, VIBRANT and CHRIST-MASTERED generation of young

adults, WE CANNOT EFFECTIVELY and SUSTAINABLY REACH their GENERATION and THE NEXT!”

Besides monthly gatherings, CYAN organises three types of events from time to time—Breakthrough, Life Stage and Social Events.

As the name suggests, Breakthrough events help young adults experience breakthroughs in their walk with God. The upcoming inaugural CYAN Breakthrough Weekend and the Mount Kota Kinabalu Breakthrough Climb in June 2013 are two of such events.

Life Stage events equip young adults through seminars and workshops to handle life transitions. Two such seminars have been run, focusing on career and relationships, where young adults learnt from the experiences of godly marketplace and church leaders.

Social events gather young adults for a time of fun and relationship building. The first CYAN Bonding Day, which would already have taken place at the time of print, is now being planned.

CYAN and its programmes are expressions of Covenant’s intent to invest, disciple and mentor our young adults before the world does! Will you pray along with us for the next generation?

Mentoring Our Young Adults

Learning from the older adult mentors

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Close Up

A Heart Ablaze For God And The Lost

GROWING UP IN LORONG Tai Seng, which Ps Gilbert describes as a “big gangster area” where no taxi driver dared venture,

he was exposed daily to gangsterism, drunkenness, house temples and idol worship. With both his grandparents and parents being Taoists, he naturally followed suit.

Yet, looking at the lives of the people around him—lives filled with violence and vices—he often wondered about the god that they, and he, worshipped. He wondered why this god did not teach them to live more righteous and upright lives. When he was serving his national service, he encountered more of such behaviour from people who worshipped the same god as he, and he wondered again.

It was at that very same time that he got to know a Christian corporal. Ps Gilbert looked at the corporal’s life and found him to be very different from the rest. He was well-mannered, good-natured and marched to the beat of a different drum. This man shared the

gospel with him, but while he thought this corporal’s god “looked good”, he did not accept Christ.

Ps Gilbert’s decision to receive Christ finally came after a colleague shared Christ with him when he started working He was soon followed up at Changi Baptist Church. His early years as a Christian were marked by great zeal and passion, where he even memorised all 176 verses of Psalm 119, punctuation marks included! Serving actively, he was in the worship ministry and the chairperson of the Young Adults ministry.

Ps Gilbert worshipped in the English congregation (Changi Baptist’s one and only service then), and attended the weekly prayer meeting. One day, two attendees brought their Hokkien-speaking mothers who did not understand English, but surprisingly continued to attend. At the prayer meeting, there were also two sisters with a heart for the Hokkien-speaking. Over time, the Lord prompted them to start a Hokkien fellowship. Many brought their Hokkien-speaking parents to this fellowship, and it soon grew to about

Passionate, humble, and faith-filled, PS GILBERT SNG shares with Chan Sue Ming his life journey and heart for the Hokkien-speaking people. Additional reporting by Cynthia Oh.

CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT:The Sng family—all aboard!; Studying the Word of God in his twenties; With wife Lydia on their wedding day

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50 persons. It was then that the Lord spoke to Ps Gilbert to lead this ministry as a lay person. With the pastor’s approval, a Thursday night service was started.

Soon the congregation in the Hokkien service grew and people least expected to attend church—gamblers, gangsters and loansharks—began streaming in. Ps Gilbert then started learning romanised Hokkien, and from a Caucasian—Ps Earl Beng—no less! The Lord also convicted him to return to his Hokkien roots to reach out to other Hokkien-speaking people.

At a Love Singapore event, Ps Gilbert heard Ps Ed preach for the first time, and was wowed. Struggling with overseeing the Hokkien ministry in Changi Baptist Church, he called Ps Ed for advice, and Ps Ed graciously obliged. In January 2002, he met Ps Tony for the first time at the Pastors Prayer Summit, where they got better acquainted over coffee. Ps Gilbert was subsequently invited to speak at Covenant’s Prayer and Praise service.

As part of his journey, the Lord was calling Ps Gilbert to reach out to the Hokkien-speaking people in the western part of Singapore in a full-time capacity. In obedience to God’s call, he resigned from his lucrative job as a financial adviser and waited for the Lord to show him the next step. Three months later,

Ps Tony called him, asking if he was willing to lead the Hokkien ministry in Covenant, when the Bukit Panjang Centre was completed. When he visited the Bukit Panjang neighbourhood, he knew without a doubt that this was where God was directing him.

With great excitement, Ps Gilbert came on board in September 2002 to pioneer the Hokkien ministry, leading it through an amazing 10 years of walking in God’s goodness. To celebrate God’s faithfulness, the Hokkien ministry organised an 80-table dinner at Bukit Panjang on 29 September 2012.

Ps Gilbert’s passion to reach and disciple the Hokkien-speaking goes beyond the walls of Covenant. He spends 10 per cent of his time serving as chairperson with the Hokkien Harvest Network, and had served with the Prison Fellowship Singapore for more than 10 years in a pastoral capacity. His greatest dream is to see a revival in the Hokkien ministries in Singapore in his lifetime—to see them rise up and reach the lost in Singapore and beyond. He shares, “I love seeing people coming to know God, loving God, and having their lives transformed by God.” Indeed, it is such a love for the lost that has and will continue taking the Hokkien ministry to new heights!

“You can endure change by

pondering His permanence.” MAX LUCADO

He is married to Lydia, and they have two children, Jeriel, 21, and Eunice, 18.

During his years as a financial adviser, he would share the gospel before discussing business with potential clients.

Covenant’s ex-Director of Operations, Raja Segran (now deceased), who was once a deacon at Changi Baptist Church, gave Ps Gilbert bible study lessons, something which Ps Gilbert thoroughly enjoyed.

John Sung, the Chinese evangelist, is Ps Gilbert’s “hero”. He even visited the place where John Sung stayed on his visits to Singapore, where he asked the Lord for the same anointing that John Sung had to reach the lost.

Pastor Gilbert is English-educated and learned Mandarin from songs of Feng Fei Fei and Deng Li Jun. He also enjoys badminton and scuba-diving.

“I love SEEING PEOPLE coming to KNOW GOD, LOVING GOD, and having their LIVES TRANSFORMED by GOD.”

Did You Know?

123

4

5

Visiting the Hierapolis in Turkey At Low’s Peak, Mt Kinabalu

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Upcoming Events

God At Work

Look out for our next

issue in January 2013!

2 Nov Prayer and Praise BPJ

4 Nov New Life Youth Hub WDL, Blk 540 Official Opening 11 Nov Gathering of Multitudes BPJ

23–25 Nov Men & Marriage BTW Puteri Pacific/ Pulai Desaru

29 Nov–1 Dec CYAN & Women BTW Pulai Desaru/ KSL Johor

DATE EVENT VENUECREDITS

EXECUTIVE EDITORAdeline Koh

MANAGING EDITORChan Sue Ming

COPY EDITORSRandy Choo, Samuel Chia, Silas Wee, Yvonne Cheong

WRITERSTan Hwee Hwee, Silas Wee, Jennifer Chia-Tan, Ps Barney Lau, Chan Sue Ming, Cynthia Oh, Kaela Lee

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ART DIRECTION & DESIGNChristian Subrata

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CONNECT is a bi-monthly newsletter of Covenant Evangelical Free Church. We welcome advertisers in CONNECT. However, advertising in our publication does not necessarily imply editorial endorsement of either the advertiser or contents of the advertisement. Unless otherwise specified, Scriptural references are from the New American Standard Bible (NASB). © 2012 Covenant Evangelical Free Church

Covenant is now on Facebook!

I received a phone call from a stranger while I was having

dinner with friends before my wedding. He told me my Dad

had been beaten up and was now on his way to NUH’s

Accident and Emergency department. My mind blurred, and all

I could think of was, “Please let the witness be a Christian.

Please let whoever that is helping my father be a Christian.”

It was a long night of waiting at the hospital. Finally, my

Dad was discharged.

On our way back, all I heard from my Dad was how there

were many onlookers, but only one man helped. The stranger

was not only a witness, but he also helped stop my Dad

from getting into a fight. I noticed the stranger’s shirt was

stained with my Dad’s blood.

Much to my delight, I also found out that the stranger

is a Christian. And the even better thing is that he keeps in

contact with my Dad, and intends to invite my Dad to church

and share the gospel with him! Praise God!

What Man Intended For Evil, God Uses For Good

By Kaela Lee

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