Birthed out of compassion for mankind, Mercy Relief, an independent Singaporean charitable non-governmental humanitarian organization, celebrated its 5th anniversary on the 20 October 2008. The organization was launched in September 2003 by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

The anniversary celebrations were held at the Singapore Soka Association. It was also an occasion for Mercy Relief to honor the stakeholders who have supported the organization’s humanitarian works.

One such stakeholder is City Harvest Church (CHC), which has provided assistance to relief efforts in times of crisis over the past five years. The most significant effort was for the Asian tsunami crisis: CHC sent the first international missions team to arrive with medical aid in Banda Aceh, the area in Indonesia most badly affected by the tsunami.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong graced the occasion with his presence as guest of honour this evening. In his congratulatory speech, PM Lee commended, “It is encouraging to know that when our humanitarian organizations go out for their missions, we have done so as Team Singapore”.

CHC’s continual initiatives and generosity were recognized by Mercy Relief, and Rev Tan Ye Peng accepted an award of appreciation presented by PM Lee.

The dictionary definition of “compassion” is the “humane quality of understanding the suffering of others and wanting to do something about it”. This definition exemplifies the compassion of Jesus Christ and His church. CHC has chosen to align its passion and resources with the mission of Mercy Relief, which is “to promote a civil life of compassion, care and volunteerism amongst Man, bringing together people and resources to alleviate sufferings befalling mankind as a result of natural or man-made disasters, poverty and disadvantage.”

Inspired by the popular reality television series, 30 Seconds to Fame, the youth in Pastor Goh Yock Kiang’s (YK) Zone put together their very own school holiday outreach event, Sixty Seconds of Fame. Held on 5 September at the Jurong West auditorium, nine contestants were selected to showcase, within 60 seconds, their unique talents to the 1,000-strong audience.

The aspiring stars pulled out all the stops during the audition rounds. Talents on display included singing, dancing and live painting on stage. Some of the performances were so impressive that the judges had a difficult time choosing the top nine performances for the final round.

To bolster their confidence, the finalists had their own supporters who arrived by the busloads to lend their support. The atmosphere was electrifying as the finalists came on stage one by one to perform.

Evelyn, Pearlynn and Merrien, who won the competition with their fancy footwork, brought down the house with their hip-hop dance item. Coming in a close second was Moen Teo, who amazed the crowd with his unique yo-yo routine.

PHOTOS: Daniel Poh

The two winning acts received $100 and $50 shopping vouchers respectively. After the compelling performances Zone Supervisor Joseph Ang, shared an inspiring message entitled The Original Dream, which captured the audience’s full attention.

The crowning moment of this immensely successful event was when 61 new friends gave their hearts to Christ during the altar call. It goes to show that creativity and conversion do go hand in hand.

The Singapore Polytechnic Guild House was taken back in time on 27 September for a retro-themed dinner and dance event, Mambo Jumbo. The group of about 100 polytechnic students attended the event in their best ’70s and ’80s outfits, showing off bell-bottoms and garish prints.

As the youth streamed into the auditorium, they were greeted by innovative door gifts from their childhood days, such as Old Maid cards, Pick-up Sticks and Rubik’s Cubes. To recreate the retro look, the organizers decorated the ballroom with bright colors, glitter and a giant disco ball. It was like stepping right into the famous dancefloor scene in Saturday Night Fever.

It was a dazzling night of music and drama. Throughout the evening, good old ’80s pop tunes were played over the sound system as the students hummed along, tapping their feet to the beat. But the highlight of the night was a skit put up by the drama team.

Inspired by a true story of a youth who managed to overcome his struggle with low self-esteem, the drama tells the tale of a young man who, despite being painfully shy all his life, decides to audition to be the host of a school pageant contest at the encouragement of his friends. A close female friend in school also joins him in the quest for self-discovery by taking part in the beauty pageant. With the support of friends, he does an outstanding job hosting the event and his friend wins the title of the beauty queen.

Event organizer Kelvin Guo said that the point of the drama was to help the participants become aware of the presence of God. He believes that as the participants watch the touching drama about the love and support of friends, they can begin to sense the love of God as well.

The night ended with soulful jazz performance by a female vocalist as participants enjoyed a buffet dinner. It was a fruitful and fun-filled night in the company of good friends.

High-profile guests at a luncheon held at The Fullerton Hotel last month were privy to words of wisdom from Singapore property tycoon, Philip Ng.

The CEO of Far East Organization — one of the largest private property developers in Singapore — spoke on the role of his faith in the marketplace and how Christianity has helped him succeed in his business dealings.

Despite being the son of billionaire Ng Teng Fong, one of the richest men in the world, Philip said in a recent Business Times interview that life was not a bed of roses for him as his father was a tough mentor. “Conditioned” from young to run the business, Philip eventually took the helm at Far East Organization in the 1990s.

Shane Chiang, 36, director of a manufacturing company, was one of 40 industry professionals who attended the luncheon, which was a joint collaboration between the Research University on Leadership (RUL) and City Harvest’s Marketplace Ministry.

“Philip Ng’s wealth of experience is definitely worth more than silver or gold,” he said. “I’m impressed by his humility to serve and his willingness to take time to share his heart with people.”

PHOTOS: Gary Sim and Jayson Lee

This is the second such event organized by RUL, and according to organizing committee member Natalie Teo,  they are aiming to hold such events once every two months.

“It is an effective platform for business professionals to network and be mentored by top business leaders,” she said.

Shades, sundresses and suits were a common sight in the Jesus for All Minds (JAMs) church services on 11 and 12 October. The JAMs churchgoers attending the services were dressed to the nines, having gone to great lengths to prepare for the fancy dress competition.

JAMs church zone supervisor Lily Yong explained that the purpose of the event was for the members to know that coming to church is fun and that they can express themselves freely, not just through worship, but also through their dressing.

There was already an air of excitement as the service kicked off with a round of games, which saw the JAMs members cheering enthusiastically for their peers. During praise and worship, they were grooving to the songs, clapping their hands and jumping up and down.

The highlight of the service was the fancy dress competition. Many members were gamely dressed up as celebrities and singers. With Halloween around the corner, one even came dressed as a witch. One by one, the finalists did a catwalk across the stage, accompanied by loud cheers and wolf-whistles. The crowd went wild as one of the finalists flung his cap into the audience.

Another finalist said it best when asked what her thoughts were on the fancy dress. “It is fun. I like dressing up!” she remarked.The service ended with a Bible lesson on Abraham, which the JAMs church members enjoyed immensely.

PHOTOS: Jayson Lee

SINGAPORE, 25 OCTOBER 2008 — Many keen-eyed City Harvest members have recently been surprised to see whole double-decker buses plastered over with advertisements for the highly-anticipated Asia Conference, an inaugural regional event to be held by City Harvest Church in November.

PHOTOS: Edmund Tay

However, few are aware that behind those attention grabbing and expensive bus ads is a humble Johor Bahru resident who shuttles to and fro weekly to attend services at City Harvest Church.

“God moved me during service one day to sponsor S$100,000 for the bus ads,” said Peter Phang, 30, a manager of a bus building company based in Malaysia.

Although Peter himself has not had many opportunities to see the ads on buses as they run only in Singapore, he proudly shares that many of his clients and business partners have praised them. “Even professional advertisers are impressed,” he says.

Those who have yet to see the ads should keep their eyes peeled for bus services 130, 131, 51, 57, 100, 128, 157, 64, 105, 24, 27 and 53. These routes ply through most of the city center and major suburban hubs.

While the ads cost more than triple the yearly income of an average Singaporean, Peter says that he has no regrets as he is convinced of the impact that the Asia Conference will have on the marketplace in Asia. He also believes that God has already begun blessing him.

For more details on the Asia Conference, visit www.asiaconference.org.sg

Rags-to-riches stories never fail to inspire people. That is why Singapore Management University recently invited Sherie Ng, Vice President of Marketing at Invensys Process Systems to share her life experiences with some undergrads as part of the school’s mentoring program.

A person who has “been there, done that”, the immaculately-dressed Sherie had many of her listeners spellbound as she recalled her difficult childhood.

Coming from a dysfunctional family, Sherie started working at an early age to support her family. Her first job was that of a personal assistant; she then joined Lucent Techonologies and subsequently, rose through the ranks to become a brand director at Singtel.

Sherie’s current vocation as vice-president of marketing at Invensys Process Systems is the fruit of many years of labour, fuelled by determination and hard work.

During the seminar, the effervescent speaker emphasized the need to find time for one’s family. Work-life balance is the key to success, Sherie believes. Despite the challenges of juggling work and family, the accomplished executive still manages to set aside hours each week to counsel married couples voluntarily.

“Having a vision for your own life is crucial,” she reminded the young audience. One of the event attendees, Lim Chew Yan from SMU’s School of Social Sciences learned much from the session.

“Through this conference, I learned that marketing is about knowing one’s strategic position and it’s not just fluff,” Chew Yan said. “I’m also very impacted by Sherie’s humility and quest to continually upgrade herself. I’m inspired by her desire to constantly be at the forefront of her industry and influence society with her values and spirit of excellence.”

On the weekend of 19 to 21 September, a team of 48 Chinese Church members were led by Zone Supervisor Leong Yan Chee to Sibu, Malaysia for a mission trip.

The event opened with the men in the church gathering for a Christian Men’s Meeting with Yan Chee. Meanwhile, Jia Qi, a pastoral worker, conducted a special session for the ladies in the church on the fundamentals of good home cell group meetings.

PHOTOS: Raymond Chai

On the second night, while Jia Qi conducted a Youth Revival Meeting for the young people, Yan Chee led in a Couples’ Night for the married adults in the church. Couples from CHC shared their stories to encourage the members to continue to stay in love with one another and to serve God together.

Members of the mission team also organized and taught in elective workshops like Social Etiquette and Make-Up, Guitar-Playing, Media and Effective Parent-Child Communication.

Patricia, who helped in the Social Etiquette and Make-Up workshops, said, “I’m really blessed to be part of this trip. Seeing how the people were impacted by our teachings really touched me tremendously.”

Football and fellowship? Godly goalies? You heard right – City Harvest has formed its very own Harvest Football League (HFL).

Brothers Michael and Gary Khoo, members of BBG and football fanatics, decided to get together and play. One year ago, the league started as a weekly street soccer affair – and it consistently grew.

Soon, the team began to realize that there were other City Harvesters who were looking for the opportunity to put on their boots and work up a sweat. They quickly found out that this was also a great way to reach out to the lost and unchurched.

To Michael, Gary and their friends, it became obvious that there was much more that they could do with this group of amateur footie players, given their expertise and resources. They started holding matches regularly and out of this, the League was born, under the guidance of Pastor Choong Tsih Ming.

When asked about the future of the League, they believed that with support, in time to come, we should see City Harvest having a dedicated soccer team which will play against our affiliated churches in Malaysia or Taiwan.

The Harvest League hopes that it will grow to be an annual event on the Church calendar – and even become an event that will attract sponsors! So watch out for the Harvest Football League’s starting season kick-off match this coming November.

PHOTOS: Jayson Lee

The heart-wrenching lyrics of Jerry Yan’s brooding anthem ‘Decoration’ are familiar enough to most Chinese pop fans. But few know that the man who penned the successful 2004 hit is a true-blue Singaporean, Beldin Kee.

A member of City Harvest, Beldin, 34, has written songs for international recording artists like Chinese vocalist Na Ying, Taiwanese Yuki Masuyama (of ‘Devil by You’ fame) and local artiste Le Yao.

Songwriting has been a passion for Beldin since his secondary school days.

“There were many interschool songwriting competitions then”, he says, recalling how he first fell in love with song-writing. “I was heavily influenced by the likes of songwriters like Liang Wen Fu and Wang Jie, who were like Jay Chou in their generation.”

After winning the Best Lyrics category in a local competition and coming up tops in the National Songwriting competition organized by Radio 100.3 FM, Beldin knew he had a gift for writing songs.

Knocking on Other Doors
The route to success is often steeped with trials and errors. Prior to his showbiz career, Beldin had experimented with other jobs, from teaching to marketing before finally setting up his own music publishing house, SkyBlueMusicWorks, in 2004. The multi-tasking entrepreneur also recently started an events company that provides networking services for singles.

Beldin describes how he first got his works published by the major record companies. He started by joining a song writers’ guild on Yahoo. There, he met many friends who shared the same passion.

He then teamed up with a few pals to send in a CD of their own demos. That was when he caught the attention of the heads at EMI Records and Warner Music.

Today, Beldin’s company SkyBlueMusicWorks operates by giving songwriters a platform to get their compositions published in Taiwan’s pop music market. Songs that come in are sent to the company’s sub-publisher EMI Music Publishing Taiwan, and from there, to major record companies.

When asked if he thought it would be difficult to pursue a songwriting dream in Singapore, Beldin says matter-of-factly. “It’s all there, it’s whether you choose to look for it.”

However, this talented lyricist advises budding songwriters to start small. “It’s not something you should take up immediately as a full time job. Build your credibility first by making demos.”

Music to the Ears
To this music aficionado, what makes a song pleasing to one’s ears are a strong melody-line, lyrics that make sense and complement the tune, quality arrangement, the right tempo, good beats and the right genre.

“There is a story in every song. A song that can paint a picture is powerful. Listeners should be able to picture it in their minds as if they were watching a music video,” he explains passionately.

Beldin’s songs largely revolve around love and the occasional issues that confront Singaporeans. More recently, Beldin has aspired to write songs that reflect a “greater love”. His latest song ‘Great’, speaks of a sacrificial love that carries one through the crossroads of life.

“The song speaks of Jesus, but there’s no mention of His name. I would like even non-Christians to be able to relate to the love [of God] without feeling uncomfortable.”

That Thing You Do
Along with the industry adulation, chasing this songwriting dream came with a hefty price for Beldin. During the early phase of his career, he had faced family disapproval and rejections. “But we eventually established an understanding that this is my thing,” he says. “I am not a doctor, a lawyer or a scientist. So don’t make me one.”

To aspiring songwriters and people considering venturing off the beaten track to pursue their passions, Beldin advises, “Don’t think about the money, do what you like.”

“If you face failure, take a break to heal. But never give up.”