The many hits of British Christian singer Graham Kendrick are captured on a new album.

Contributed By Cara Ang

Graham Kendrick is a prolific British Christian singer-songwriter and worship leader whose songs and hymns are sung by millions of people around the world.

Kendrick’s career began in 1972 and in the last three decades has come to be known as a “father of modern worship music.”

Kendrick was a co-founder and the songwriter behind the global phenomenon March for Jesus, which has mobilised millions of Christians to “take the walls of the church” and bring praise, prayer and acts of goodwill and reconciliation to the streets.

For more than 30 years, Kendrick has been at the forefront of Christian music in the UK, having written and recorded hundreds of songs, many of which are famous around the world, including “Shine Jesus Shine,” “Knowing You” “The Servant King,” and “Amazing Love.”

In particular “Shine Jesus Shine” is one of the most widely heard songs in contemporary Christian worship worldwide, and is frequently featured in the BBC’s Songs of Praise program.

PHOTO COURTESY OF KINGSWAY

Kendrick received a Dove Award in 1995 for his international work. In 2000 he received an honorary doctorate in divinity from Brunel University in recognition of his contribution to the worship life of the church.

As an active advocate for the charity Compassion, Kendrick encourages audiences worldwide to have true intimacy with God, sharing the concerns of His heart and participating in His mission to the world. Compassion operates in over 24 nations and facilitates the support of over a million children.

To celebrate the creative talent that has breathed life into the church, record label Kingsway is releasing The Very Best of Graham Kendrick (Knowing You Jesus). Featuring 28 of Kendrick’s best loved tracks, each song has been re-recorded, with new energy, insight and inspiration being unleashed.

The album features duets with a wide range of popular Christian artists, including Matt Redman, Darlene Zschech, Martin Smith and Paul Baloche. This twin CD album was recorded by Nathan Nockels (Matt Redman, Chris Tomlin, Tim Hughes) and Dan Wheeler (Paul Field, Cathy Burton, Portland, Tom + Olly). With the reappearance of old favourites such as “Servant King,” “Meekness And Majesty” and “Is Anyone Thirsty?,” the compilation is a compelling and powerful listen.

Phil Pringle stirs up the crowd to fervent prayer.

Pastor Phil Pringle of Christian City Church (CCC) took to the stage against the projected backdrop of his oil painting and declared unequivocally that he was going to share about prayer and the power of prayer. This was to be the second plenary session on the opening day of Asia Conference, coming as a timely reminder after a grand opening that the conference was not just about excitement and activity, but more importantly, about seeking God.

Driving his point in, what followed was not his usual dose of humour but rather, a wave of hunger as he stirred up the entire congregation to pray. Sharing how “the church grows in a climate of war,” he led the assault against the kingdom of darkness as commander-in-chief, leading the church to imagine and mime the unsheathing and brandishing of the sword of the spirit. With a battle cry, the entire hall rose in prayer as Pringle literally wielded a physical blade on stage, confessing the promises of God.

Having begun with actual prayer and intercession, Pringle began to share about the primacy and process of prayer as a Christian discipline. Sharing from 2 Chronicles 7:14, Pringle taught how the first step in approaching God must necessarily begin with self humbling which involves esteeming God as more important than everything else in our own life. Whether a believer seeks the hand or face of God would be reflected his manner of prayer.

He began to share his own experience in learning how to pray and tarry in the presence of God, specifically pinpointing the breakthrough during his literal mountain top experience at Mount Cook. The act of prayer, is not just about praying but rather, about connecting and seeking God. Apart from reading the Bible, praying is the other single most important key to having a successful and effective ministry and every single Christian must learn to pray even more.

Having taught about the right attitude toward prayer, Pringle began to share how prayer, as described in James 5:15-18, needs to be fervent in nature. Effective prayer is therefore strongly passionate in its expression and manifestation. Igniting passion in prayer would require asking oneself the question of what turns our fire on, precisely because only praying with fire would lead to a change in society.

CN PHOTOS: Esther Tan, Edmund Ong

Finally, Pringle also shared how Christians should desire fresh oil and anointing for a new day―ministers often burn out because the lack of anointing means that the metaphorical candle wick itself is burning out and not the oil. Here, he dramatized Samuel’s search for Israel’s king and his eventual anointing of David. The Lord’s choice of David was not due to his outward appearance but rather the condition of his heart. In similar fashion, as modern-day Davids,  we are called to have Jesus as our highest purpose and cause in ministry. With this, he closed the session with a prayer for a fresh outpouring of anointing upon all who were hungry. In the short session, he brought the entire hall to press in and also to press on.

City College’s first Entrepreneurship Forum blazed the trail for building up the next generation of business people.

On May 13 and 14, City College ran its inaugural Entrepreneurship Forum at its campus in Bukit Merah. Entrepreneurs from different industries sowed their time into inspiring the students of City College and Assumption English School with their success (and failure) stories.

The speaking panel including Bernie Utchenik, owner of Botak Jones; Melvin Wong, a professional trader and coach; Charlie Lay, lecturer at James Cook University and a Forex trader; Ee Boon Kiat, an entrepreneur in the building materials industry, and designer Priscilla Lim of Chalk Pte. Ltd., a homegrown fashion line.

Before the sessions began, students were already anticipating a lively time of learning. Lu Hui Ying, 17, a City College student, told City News: “I want to find out how [these entrepreneurs] set up and manage their businesses, and maybe take away some tips. I think it will offer me insight, in case I want to go into entrepreneurship in future.”

The brainchild of City College CEO, Kenny Low, the Forum had two aims: one, to inspire its attendees, and two, to encourage them to put to use the communication skills that they have learned in the classroom.

“It’s one thing for us to tell them they can do it, but another thing for a man—who has started a business, failed, then started another one and brought it to 400 times the growth—to say it to them,” explained Low.

“In the past, you had a time of preparation for the world—six years of primary school, four years of secondary school, then tertiary education. Now, the world invades children from a young age. I’ve been thinking a lot about the curriculum we teach at City College; it really needs to be relevant to today’s world. Such events as this are where they can put what they learn in the classroom to use in the real world.”

City College students recently applied their classroom knowledge in an English-lesson-turned-business project, where they had their first taste of social entrepreneurship setting up a stall at PaTH Market held at VivoCity.

Low hopes that eventually, students will take the lead in organizing this forum, which he intends to become a flagship event for the school.

“I hope they will eventually chair this event. Ideally, within a few years they will run the event, and the teachers will just supervise.”

CN PHOTOS: Michael Chan

But for today, the students were purely the audience. The attendees warmed up easily to American Utchenik, with his straight talk and Southern humor.

“I’m going to say something that makes sense, and doesn’t make sense at the same time. In life, you gotta listen to everybody and don’t listen to anybody,” he said. “What this means, is you hear everything that’s out there, but you also gotta hear yourself.

“Sometimes, in here,” he pointed to his heart, “you just got a good feeling about something. This is something almost all entrepreneurs have. You go investigate it, you figure out your risk, and then you take action on it.”

Trader Wong also had the crowd enraptured with his participatory style of speaking.

“What’s important is living life to the fullest. Agree? Or disagree? What do you think?”

“Agree!” the crowd answered.

He encouraged the students to set challenges for themselves, to motivate themselves. “Living to the fullest means continuing to grow every day. You only have one life to live. Challenge yourself, so you continue to grow. Agree?”

“It was very productive,” said Georgina Tan, 17, a City College student. “I’ve picked up many tips from the speakers. Running a business is not easy—you can’t just have an idea and rush out to do it.”

Both afternoons, attendees played a financial simulation game, where they learned the basics of the stock market by “trading” in one. Through well-prepared notes and fun-filled activities, they learned things such as what shares are, and how the stock market works.

Low said he was motivated to hold this forum to “fill a vacuum in the secondary school area”.

“Most entrepreneurship forums target polytechnic university students and above. I feel that students should be exposed to these skills at a younger age.

“Entrepreneurial skills will be useful for the rest of your life. Being an entrepreneur is about solving problems, about using limited resources to maximize yield. Our teachers can’t teach these skills, but we can get great entrepreneurs to share their stories with us.”

Strap: Church and Missions

Standfirst: A church is an expression of the lives of the members.

By: Melissa Chen

Casey Treat, senior pastor of Christian Faith Center, Seattle, started the ‘Church Growth’ elective by comparing a church’s growth to a believer’s own personal life.

Quoting from Matthew 12:33-35, he mentioned: “A tree is always known by its fruit. A good fruit represents a good treasure of the heart while bad fruits are problems and negativity of an evil heart, for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” Casey continued to challenges his audience by asking them, “What are you speaking out of your heart today, in the areas of your life, business, church, money?”

CN PHOTO: Jimmy Yong

Casey summarised his message into the following five pointers:

1. Having a clear, motivating vision and mission from the head of the church–Jesus

It is important to have a vision in one’s life as it has the power to motivate.

• It must be specific and not vague, fantasy or idealistic. Visions are things that you are able to do today and can be personal or a ministry.

• It must be written down plainly so that those who read it can run with it.

• It is passionate—that which you are living and willing to die for.

• It must inspire team-spirit, because a place of agreement is a place of power.

• It must capture your heart.

Treat challenged the audience, “Do not go through life with a ‘survivalist mentality … Living a life that is not exciting, just wanting to get by!” He explained that many people don’t make the effort to pray and study the Bible, but would rather be partying because they have no vision on what God has called them to be.”

2. Relationships are the glue that makes life work through the hard times and all other times.

Like a church, a body is made up of many parts. If these parts are not coordinated, the body will not be able to function well together. The greatest church is built on great and successful relationships. “As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.” It is crucial to have friends that know the real us, people whom we can put down our guard around.

3. Our lives should connect with every nation, ethnic group and kind of person.

It is extremely important not to be a church that discriminates other ethnic groups, genders, nations but can be open to all. We must be very conscious of cultural differences and try to minister to others.

4. The ‘spirit of our lives’ must be in agreement with the Word, the Spirit and the vision of God.

Our spirit must always match our core values. The ‘spirit of our lives’ are usually the fruits of a believer which determines whether the person is leading a victorious or mediocre life. “We are to guard our hearts as it is our sin nature that is messing things up.”

5. Renewal is a core value for everyone who walks with God and sees his success in life.

Renewal has to do with change. It is not about having positive thinking but rather exchanging our thoughts for God’s thoughts. A believer has to put away the “old man” and put on the “new man” according to the image of God. Casey stresses the thorns and thistles in our lives are like weeds that will choke up the word.

Casey concluded the session by encouraging all believers to set their mind on things that are above and not on things on this earth.

David Yonggi Cho opens CGI-AC2010 with a powerful message on Fourth Dimensional living.

“You are a Fourth Dimensional being living in a Third Dimensional world,” said David Yonggi Cho, speaking at the opening session of Asia Conference 2010 on May 26 at Singapore Expo Hall 8.

Preceding his appearance at the pulpit was a short video of his 52-year ministry as founder of the world’s largest Protestant church, Yoido Full Gospel Church in Seoul, South Korea. It also showed the wide-reaching humanitarian works of the Sharing of Love and Happiness Foundation, a charity organization Cho founded several years ago.

The video was an apt way of contextualizing what he was to share—the “secret” of how an ordinary young man, once at the verge of death from tuberculosis, was able to grow a group of five into the more than 830,000-member church it is now.

During his hour-long sermon, he explained that Christians have access to the Fourth Dimensional world, which is the spiritual realm, despite existing in the Third Dimension, which is the material world as we know, see and feel. This is because they have both soul and spirit. By learning to tap into the Fourth Dimension— to think, believe, dream and speak according to the Scriptures, Christians will then be able to overcome their limitations in their every day lives, and walk in their true destiny and purpose in order to accomplish good works for God.

One of the keys to gaining entrance into the Fourth Dimension is by having divine visions and dreams. “Visions and dreams are our guidance for fourth dimensional living,” explained Cho, citing the example of Abraham, who was promised by God that he will be the “father of a great multitude” despite being way past child-bearing age. As Abraham looked at the stars strewn across the night sky as God told him to, he was able to picture the faces of his descendants on them, and in time, bear children who would carry on his lineage and fulfill God’s promises for his life.

“We never grow beyond our vision. Our experience will always be limited by what our vision sees,” he says. “Once you grab hold of the plans and visions God has given you and keep it in your heart with passion, you will discover that God will take care of everything else, including things like financing and budgeting.”

Next, Cho shared on the importance of the spoken word. “Your speech is governed by the Third Dimensional world, but when you speak in faith based on God’s promises, you are moving in the Fourth Dimension.”

“Before we give a word, the Holy Spirit does not have the proper material with which to create. If the Holy Spirit imparts faith into your heart to remove a mountain, do not pray and beg for the mountain to be moved, rather, speak.”

Cho proceeded to teach the importance of receiving a rhema word from God, meaning a specific word of Scripture given by the Holy Spirit to a specific person in a specific situation. It is different from logos, the general knowledge one obtains from the Bible—rhema is given to those earnestly wait upon the Lord in order to hear from Him.

“God calls those things which are not as if they were,” he says. This was why God changed Abram’s name to Abraham, which means “father to multitudes.” People started calling him by that name, he was repeatedly reminded of God’s promise.

He also underscored the power of visualization by illustrating with the story of Jacob, who, when he was placed in charge of Laban’s flock, dreamed the impossible, visualizing spotted and speckled sheep all the time. Eventually, the pure flocks produced spotted and speckled sheep according to Jacob’s dream, which led to him accomplishing his divine calling.

It is through this power of visualization that Cho was able to grow his church, Yoido Full Gospel Church in South Korea, to its current congregation size.

He also cautioned the audience not to pray casually or half-heartedly, but on the inside, pray from a place of conviction and deep faith. “Say, ‘I am blessed with an Abrahamic blessing.’ Don’t pray casually for your blessings.”

CN PHOTOS: Michael Chan, Gary Sim, Gay Sen Min

“People do not know how to apply biblical promises to their practical lives because they are living in the Third Dimensional world. We need to move into the Fourth Dimensional realm, to think, dream and speak according to the Scriptures in order for God’s blessings to flow upon us and through us.”

He also taught the importance of thinking in God’s ways, which comes through reading the Word of God and praying in the Holy Spirit. “These are powerful means to seek new ways and solutions for dealing with our daily problems, because they guide us in discerning three-dimensional circumstances. This is why we must begin thinking in God’s ways and not our own.

“We must let go of our feelings and preconceptions and think beyond our immediate surroundings and senses in order to experience miracles.” Thinking is a fourth-dimensional element that exceeds both the environment and one’s physical senses, as Christians build the basis of their thoughts on the cross of Jesus Christ.

He ended with a powerful word of encouragement for the audience, saying “Being Christians, life without miracles is no life at all. When you live by the Fourth Dimension, you can do the work of 100 men, and you will witness miracles.”

Opening to the sonorous beats of a synchronized Chinese drum performance, the Asia Conference and Church Growth International 2010 is attended by 22,000-odd international delegates from 70 countries, 26 of which were represented on stage during the Parade of Nations.

There was also a sharing of testimony by CHC member Yu Jianxiong, who told of how God miraculously healed him from a life-threatening brain disease when he was 19 years old. Through that event, he reached out to two of his closest friends, who in turn shared the gospel with their close ones. As a result, they have been able to influence 110 lives, multiplying their original cell group many times over. Today, Yu is happily married, serves as a cell group leader, along with his two friends. The Beulah Pop Choir from South Korea then gave an up-tempo, jazzed-up repertoire which comprised a medley of songs including the classic “Awesome God”.

It was a powerful start to CGI-AC2010, a session that left the 25,245 attendees hungry for more.

Golfers tee off for charity at the Asia Conference Charity Golf Day.

The very first event of Asia Conference 2010—the Charity Golf Day on Tuesday, May 25—attracted 98 participants, togged up in red shirts and white caps assembling at Sentosa Golf Club. This hot but beautiful day saw big names in the marketplace and the church world playing golf for a good cause.

Organized by the Golf Fellowship, the charity event was meant to raise funds for City Harvest Community Services Association. The fellowship was set up in 2007 and regularly organizes golfing days for members to meet and network, as well as indulge in their hole-y passion.

Corinne Ng, 48, one of the organizers of the event, says, “This is the first time we’ve organized a charity event, and so far, we have 12 corporate sponsors as well as a number of other sponsors. We’re also very happy to be able to host this event at the Tanjong Golf Course, which is one of the most prestigious golf courses in Singapore.”

“We want to thank all of our sponsors for the event. We also have a raffle draw and a charity auction, and one of the auction items is a golf bag signed by Dr. Yonggi Cho, with the words ‘Blessing and Happiness’ written on it.”

The mood at the club was festive, with the bright red shirts providing a backdrop for the friendly competition. At lunchtime, the conversations revolved around handicaps, holes and recent golfing history. Terence Tan, 44, manager, said, “I occasionally participate in the Golf Fellowship’s events, and I’m definitely excited about the Golf Day.”

Marketing manager, Damien Goh, 44, was ready for today’s game. “I’ve played at this course before, and it’s one of the best courses in Singapore. It’s very challenging to play here.”

The Sentosa Golf Club is one of Singapore’s most well known golf clubs, being the home of the US$5 million Barclays Singapore Open, and golfing legends such as Ernie Els and Vijay Singh walking its greens before.

The early birds at the event had a special surprise—they managed to catch a glimpse of Yonggi Cho, who was at the club playing golf with his family and Kong Hee earlier in the day, gamely posed for a group photo.

“I felt so sad because I missed the photo-taking! I came out of the changing room, and he had just left.” said Tan.

Collin Chiew, 42, managing director for a multinational company, said, “We managed to meet Dr. Cho up close today. We’ve read his books, seen him from afar and heard his sermons, so it’s quite an experience to see him in person. He really is one of the modern giants of faith. It’s like having a superstar in our midst.”

Other interesting touches were the novelty competitions held at various holes. A golfer who scores a hole-in-one at the second hole wins a BMW 323i station wagon, while the one with the most comic candid photo taken of him wins the “Alamak Shot” prize. Despite their best efforts on the course, the golfers claimed one prize, but could not win the other—the BMW was left wanting an owner.

During the event, tired golfers were cared for by two physiotherapists from Urbanrehab, a Singapore-based therapy services company. Daisy Wong, 60, was one of the beneficiary before tee-off. “They did some exercises that really helped to relieve my golfers’ elbow. They also gave me some good advice on stretching before my game.”

After a well-played game, golfers retired to the Sentosa Pavilion for their dinner. With 12 tables set up, the Pavilion is located next to the Serapong Course. Guest of honor, Dr. Wang Kai Yuen, former Member of Parliament and Chairman of the Government Parliamentary Committee for Education, presented the prizes to the winners of the day’s event. The auction and raffle draw were held during the dinner.

CHCSA is the beneficiary of the Charity Golf Day. Established in March 1996, it champions active social care in Singapore. The social services organization has eight full-time staff and 889 volunteers, who provided 19,163 services to 14,227 unique individuals in 2009, helping children, the elderly, intellectually-disadvantaged, hearing-impaired and the terminally-ill, among others.

The event raised S$73,512.60 for CHCSA altogether. The golf bag signed by Dr. Cho fetched twice its retail price of S$299 after a spate of furious bidding.

CN PHOTOS: Gabriel Seow

Sheryl Lim, a social worker at CHCSA was grateful to the Golf Fellowship committee for organizing the event. “We’d like to thank the City Harvest Golf Fellowship Committee for its efforts in organizing the event, as well as the sponsors and participants. We’d also like to thank our seven volunteers for helping out through the day.”

Peter Ngion, 50, another organizer of the Golf Day, said, “The response was overwhelming, we had almost 100 percent attendance, and we were lucky enough to have many sponsors. I’m glad everyone enjoyed themselves today.”

Take off your shoes to walk in support of children and adults living in dire conditions.

Imagine walking around barefoot, leaving the soles of your feet vulnerable to cuts and infection. Imagine baring your feet in the bitter cold, or scalding them on the scorching ground in the heat of summer. This is the reality of life for many underprivileged children living in less developed regions of the world.

Through a community initiative organized by Habitat for Humanity Singapore, the organization hopes to raise awareness about the impact of a simple pair of shoes on a child’s life by involving individuals to participate in a walk—barefoot.

Come June 5, on a Saturday, the Habitat-Barclays Bare Your Sole walk will be held over 5km at the East Coast Park.

Beyond spreading awareness regarding the underprivileged living in dire conditions, HFHS also hopes to raise funds for the elderly and disadvantaged in Singapore. Other community portfolios of HFHS include building projects in disaster stricken regions around the world.

Bare Your Sole acts as a timely reminder to the public that there are children around the world walking around barefoot, an issue that often gets overlooked among other social problems such as shelter and hunger.

First initiated in 2009 by Singapore Management University student Benjamin Loh, in collaboration with HFHS, the event took off with participants walking barefoot for some distance as a show of empathy for children living in poverty in Third World countries, who usually have to go about without any footwear.

Proceeds of the annual fundraiser will go toward sustaining Operation Homeworks, an ongoing local project started by HFHS to improve the living conditions of the elderly and handicapped living in one-room HDB flats. Operation Homeworks aims to improve home safety through the clearing of clutter and providing proper storage as well as the improvement of home sanitation to reduce the incidences of illness among senior citizens living on their own.

In addition, the funds raised from the walk will also support building projects in Bangladesh, Cambodia, Indonesia and Vietnam. Since its inception in 2004, HFHS has mobilized various teams of volunteers for building projects in less developed nations, as well as aided in rebuilding work in areas struck by calamities by providing funds and expertise.

Bare Your Sole aims to raise funds for Habitat for Humanity Singapore’s work as well as raise awareness of the plight of impoverished children by engaging them in a 5km barefoot walk.

The Asia Pacific region is home to 60 percent of the world’s slum dwellers. Some 554 million of these people live in slums and informal housing, lacking access to safe drinking water and sanitation. Many of the children living in such poor areas typically work in the streets, deprived of proper footwear. A portion of these street children do not wear footwear and are exposed to dangers of being cut by glass or infected with diseases when pricked by used injection syringes.

Your support of Bare Your Sole will help Habitat for Humanity Singapore in her strategic long-term housing projects in the Asia Pacific region focused on building houses and improving the lives of the poor.

Habitat-Barclays Bare Your Sole 2010 is open to the public, so gather a group of your friends or family members to participate in this charitable cause. Students may make a donation of S$10, while adults have the option of donating S$25, S$35, S$45 or an amount of their choice. Children under the age of 7 get to walk for free.

Registration for the event is still open and available online at www.bareyoursole.org.sg

Bare Your Sole 2010
June 5, 2010
Angsana Green, East Coast Park
Flag-off time is at 8 a.m.

Food, entertainment and games will run from 7 a.m. till 3 p.m.

Contrary to popular belief, Singaporeans have what it takes to be gracious and kind.

CN PHOTO: Michael Chan

“The State of Graciousness in Singapore” survey was conducted from Jan. 7 to Feb. 1 this year by the Singapore Kindness Movement. This is the second time that SKM has conducted this survey and results were released recently in end-April.

How did Singaporeans fare? The sunny island nation improved by a total of three points—scoring 61 on the Graciousness Index, compared to 58 in the same survey done in 2009.

Chairman of SKM Council, Koh Poh Tiong, announced that he was pleased with the results but added that Singapore is still far from being transformed and perceived as one of the most gracious societies.

An informal poll done by City News shows that when it comes to showing kindness and being gracious, many Singaporeans feel that our fellow countrymen are still found wanting in the following “graciousness indicators”—giving up a seat for the elderly, young child or pregnant women on public transport; reservation of seats at public eating places (otherwise known as the “Territorial Tissue Issue”); road courtesy; the use of public restrooms; and treating domestic helpers and other foreign workers with respect, among others.

Some attribute ungracious qualities in individuals to the lack of good family upbringing, while others blame the pressures of a fast-paced society. Yet some claim that graciousness is within everyone, and all it takes is a little bit of encouragement and motivation to draw it out and spread it all around.

This is precisely what SKM aims to do. Believing that kindness is in everyone, the movement seeks to encourage Singaporeans to start, show and share graciousness one kind act at a time. In doing so, SKM strives toward making Singapore a gracious society, its people, kind, considerate and courteous.

To create public awareness of the movement and raise standards of thoughtful behavior and responsibility, SKM implements numerous initiatives within the community throughout the year, such as the “Kindness, Bring It On” advertisement campaign, celebrating World Kindness Day on Nov. 13 (distributing 45,000 yellow daisies island-wide), getting Singaporeans to clear their trays after their meals, and more.

Is SKM fighting a losing battle? Are Singaporeans incapable of being gracious to one another?

Thankfully, many Singaporeans are willing to band together with SKM in their initiative to make Singapore a better place. People like Santhi Singaram, a program coordinator at RAYZ, believes that Singaporeans in general desire to be more gracious and want to see more kindness displayed. If it means starting with themselves, Singaram is confident that people are willing to give it a try.

“We often get frustrated when we witness selfish behavior. But to sum up Singapore as an ungracious society is almost like looking up in the air and spitting. We have graciousness displayed all the time by common folk going about their daily lives, but these kind acts often go unnoticed. Yet ungraciousness gets all the publicity,” says Singaram.

Chan Ka Man, 26, a graphic designer from Hong Kong who has been working in Singapore for the past five years agrees and believes that there are Singaporeans out there who are considerate and willing to go the extra mile should the need arise.

“Early this year, I had lost my wallet in Suntec City Mall. The next day, I received a call from Suntec City’s security desk informing me that a shopper had found my wallet and brought it to the reception counter. The kind soul did not leave his or her name behind,” said Chan.

“That’s not the end of it,” added Chan, “I was all ready to put the phone down and rush to collect my wallet when the security proceeded to inform me that they would deliver the wallet to my office reception desk.”

Having experienced the kindness and graciousness that Singaporeans are capable of, Chan considers Singapore an ideal place to live and work in.

“If we can look beyond the faults and shortcomings of one another, spend our thoughts, emotions and actions on building on the positive qualities, accentuating the good instead of the bad, I believe Singapore can one day call itself a gracious society,” affirms Singaram.

There exists a call to Singaporeans, to let graciousness begin with us, as individuals—to repay unkindness with kindness, to smile when we enter the elevator, to spare a thought for the next person using the toilet after you, to resist the urge to speed up, but instead, slow down to allow the signaling car to filter into your lane in front of you. In doing so, we can build a gracious Singapore.

Owner of Mount Hermon Christian Books & Gifts, Victoria Violet Yeo’s life is a powerful testimony of God’s faithfulness.

PHOTO COURTESY OF VICTORIA VIOLET YEO

When her husband passed away in 1985, Victoria Violet Yeo was catapulted into the daunting position of family breadwinner, with a baby daughter to support. An opportune job offer at a Christian bookstore, however, led her down a path of blessings—not just for herself but many others.

Spurred to start her own business so that she would have the flexibility to look after her daughter Andrea, Yeo founded Mount Zion Christian Books & Gifts Centre in 1986. It was anything but easy-going, being a highly niche industry which was already populated with big players. After two years, Yeo was ready to throw in the towel.

“I remember crying out to God, ‘Lord, if it is really You who has called me to this bookstore and gift ministry, I need to hear from You’,” she says. She also feared that closing down her business would be a negative testimony to her family members who were unbelievers. The coming Sunday morning at church, the speaker unexpectedly gave an altar call for those facing business problems. Yeo ran forward with tears streaming down her face. On the way home, with her daughter in her arms, she heard a voice saying to her, “Read and meditate on Psalms 1 day and night—from now on I will bless you.’ That word has sustained me till today.”

The next day at work, an American couple Yeo had never met walked into her store and said to her, “Daughter, God has heard you. Meditate on Psalms 1—the Lord is going to bless you.”

True enough, her business prospered. When the shop relocated to Raffles Place, business boomed, expanding to five branches in 15 years.

At that time, Yeo was also actively serving as a leader at a local church and making frequent mission trips to Indonesia to minister to a church called Elim Kairos Church, in the mountainous area of Berstagi. During her trips there, she experienced many demonic attacks while staying at a run-down visitors’ inn. She dreamed about building a proper facility, and in 1998, with the financial abundance she enjoyed from her business, Yeo bought a piece of land and built the Mount Hermon Mission Centre, a 90-minute drive from Medan airport.

Besides accommodating traveling pastors and mission workers, and serving as a rental facility for international seminars and retreats, the center also doubled up as a venue of worship and service for Elim Kairos Church. Through the use of the center, the church was able to grow its membership to 700, and it has since moved into its own building.

But life took a turn in 2001 for Yeo. She decided to sell her Mount Zion business in order to relocate to the USA with her daughter who was pursuing her university degree there.

For the seven years that they were in America, Yeo faced a great number of setbacks: she was cheated of a large sum of money while trying to set up and run another Christian bookstore called Mount Hermon, her daughter was rebelling against her, the expiry of her visa was looming up, and financial pressure was climbing. But God delivered her from trouble after trouble. Through a miraculous chain of events, she was granted the green card (the United States Permanent Resident Card) after just three years of being in the United States (the minimum is five years’ residency). Her daughter returned to her, and even her USD14,000 tuition debt was paid for by a “Good Samaritan” at the 11th hour.

But Yeo says the real turning point came in 2008, when mother and daughter attended an event in which senior pastor Kong Hee was preaching. Moved by the message, they decided that it was time to return to their roots in Singapore.

Yeo made the decision to drive her business Mount Hermon at YMCA Lodge at Fort Canning Road. “Though it is not a prominent location, the Lord has sustained us and saw us through the business, as the YWCA housed many church seminars and retreats.”

She adds, “I really thank Pastor Kong for speaking about the importance of having dreams at the beginning of this year. My dream is to be able to open up more Mount Hermon branches—that would support 30 missionary workers by allowing them to work part-time at the shop and take months off to do mission work overseas.” Currently the business has four mission workers on its staff, and Yeo is opening a second branch at West Coast Plaza.

Yeo’s heart for missions brought her back to Berstagi a few times this year. Just last month, she was asked to speak to a group of kindergarten teachers. As she ended her sharing, she discovered that among her audience was the Berstagi Head of the Ministry of Education. “He said to me afterward, ‘Victoria, thank you for your message. Please come again.’” The next day, she was invited to give an impromptu speech at the SMA Negeri 1 Berastagia, the top Junior High school in the area.

“I quickly got my daughter to send me some of Pastor Kong’s sermons on dreams, and after my 10-minute sharing in front of 800 students, the Principal came up to me and said that he had never seen the students so lively. He said, ‘Please help us raise the standard of our school. You can even paint the school walls whatever color you want.’” It was then that Yeo was reminded of a dream she had three years ago, of the Lord giving her seven schools.

Now, Yeo is hoping to gather aid, resources and manpower to help revamp the school facilities and give its curriculum a boost. “Looking back now, I can see that the Lord intended for Mount Zion to be a source of provision for me and my daughter during trying times, but with Mount Hermon, I dream that God will use it to be a blessing to many nations in time to come.”

Mount Hermon Christian Books & Gifts
6 Fort Canning Road #01-01, YWCA Lodge
Singapore 179494
www.mounthermon.com.sg

Owner of Botak Jones, Bernie Utchenik is an American who has turned Singapore into his playing field.

CN PHOTO: Michael Chan

Bernie Utchenik’s life is a series of ups and downs. Born into a lower middle-class family in Detroit, he has successfully overcome bouts of illness and injury, business failure and near bankruptcy to become the “Botak” behind Botak Jones, a popular American food chain found in kopitiams across Singapore.

Starting with one outlet in Tuas, working 18-hour days all week long, Utchenik is now the owner of an 11-outlet chain, employing over 200 employees. He is still wholly committed to “bringing well-made, restaurant-quality food to the industrial and residential heartland areas of Singapore where people have not been able to enjoy it before.”

Utchenik credits his wife Zee for helping him rise from the ashes of Bernie Goes to Town, an up-market pub at Boat Quay. “It’s hard to give up when the most important person in the world says she believes in you every day.”

The duo worked their way back up by consulting for other restauranteurs. “We increased the revenues of one of our clients by over 50 percent in six months, by making changes in their business. Zee looked at me and said, ‘Are you ready? Should we just get out and do it on our own?’

“Successful people handle the down times; very successful people handle the up times as well. You have to know that the down times are not going to last—you go through a mourning process, but then you get over it.”

While some might find his tagline “Damn good food at damn good prices” arrogant, the man himself is humble and friendly. “We make our own spice mix for the fries, we make our own tartar sauce, we bread our own fish, we make our own coleslaw, our cheese potato … All this stuff we make ourselves, so we have total control. If it sucks, it’s our fault; if it’s good, we’re very happy that you enjoy it. We have total control over all our food, so we can’t blame it on someone else.”

Apart from food quality, service quality is very important to Utchenik.

“I have a personality that wants to do things for people, so F&B is a very apt way of feeding that personality.”

“In the beginning, when we started Great Big Food, which is the company that owns Botak Jones, we invested heavily in service training through Ron Kaufman’s UP Your Service! College, and we used that as a basic way of teaching basic service.

“I think enough of service to spend that amount of money to get things started. One of our staff, who became our vice-president of company culture, was trained by Ron Kaufman to teach this course. We taught it in-house, and we added our own course, which we call ‘The Botak Culture’ about how we personally want to relate to people.”

His message to the attendees at the Entrepreneurship Forum was one of empowerment and encouragement.

“You can do anything you want to do. I realized it late, only when I was over 40. In America, anyone can grow up to be president; in Singapore, it’s ‘Wait, we have to look at your family background first.

“Maybe this system hasn’t worked out for you. But let me tell you something—entrepreneurs are always different.”