City Harvest Church, Sydney, carries a mission and passion to see Australia saved.

Contributed By Andrew Ong

The church in Sydney has a thriving congregation of 14 nationalities.

The vision of Kong Hee, senior pastor and founder of City Harvest Church, is to strengthen and build local churches in Asia. However, that did not deter John Yun-Suk Lee from planting an affiliate church of CHC in Sydney, Australia, with Kong’s blessings, of course.

Lee, an Australian of Korean descent pastors City Harvest Church, Sydney, a youthful and thriving church in the beautiful sprawling cosmopolitan city. He fondly recounted the time when he shared with Kong, whom he regards as his spiritual mentor, how he felt that Australia was part of God’s plan for Asia.

“I shared with Pastor Kong about my call and heart for the nation of Australia. My vision was to bring the same spirit and DNA of CHC into the local churches in Australia. And Sydney is a multi-cultural city that comprises a substantial population of Asians. After hearing me out, he gave his blessings for me to pursue my call and vision,” said Lee.

CONVERTED IN A LAND OF IMMIGRANTS

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, 31.7 percent of Sydney’s 4.5 million city population is born overseas. Apparently, immigration to Sydney exploded after World War II, and again at the end of the 1980s. The immigrants mostly came from the United Kingdom, China and New Zealand, followed by Vietnam, Lebanon, India, Italy, and the Philippines.

Lee was residing in Australia when he encountered Christ in 1994. He was a third-year undergraduate in a university in Melbourne, studying dental science. An atheist back then, he was involved with a communist group called the Resistance.

It was not until a personal crisis hit him that he started to search for true meaning in life. His then-girlfriend contracted leukaemia and Lee was devastated. A close friend took the opportunity to invite him to church, where he felt the overwhelming sense of God’s love. That was when he responded to God and gave his heart to Jesus.
“I was convinced that Jesus truly loved me and died for me,” said Lee. “The next day when I woke up, I felt my world had changed. I could feel the fullness of His joy and love in me!”

Subsequently, his life went through a radical transformation. God revived his passion for his profession as a dentist; he started to enjoy serving people, not just earning money. With his new-found faith in God, Lee was also able to quit his bad habits of smoking, drinking and pub-crawling. All he desired was to know God more and to study the Bible.

ANSWERING THE CALL

Not long after his conversion, Lee went to the Philippines for short-term missions and there he became acquainted with several pastors who were blessed by the ministry of CHC and its School Of Theology. They encouraged him to enroll into SOT. With God’s assurance, Lee traveled to Singapore and attended SOT in 1998.

His first visit to CHC—then located at what used to be Hollywood Theatre—was “a mind-blowing experience.” Coming from a traditional church background, Lee was not used to CHC’s dynamic and contemporary style of church. But while at SOT, he personally witnessed the exponential growth of CHC from 4,000 to 6,000 people; and learned many spiritual principles of leadership and church growth that were to help him in future.

After graduating from SOT, Lee returned to Melbourne. At his home church, Lee tried to introduce the cell group system. Attempting change within a traditional church from the bottom was nearly impossible. So after a year, Lee decided to return to Singapore to attend CHC. While in Singapore, he made time and effort to follow Kong whenever he conducted leaders’ conferences in Johor Bahru.

BIRTH OF THE SYDNEY CHURCH

After five years in Singapore, Lee returned to Australia to complete a Master’s program at the New South Wales University. At the same time, he started a prayer meeting group at the campus with seven fellow Christians who were Singaporeans. The group soon grew in number.

Upon Kong’s encouragement, Lee started his first weekend service and this resulted in the birth of City Harvest Church, Sydney in 2005 with 24 people. Within three months, the church grew to 98 people.

Today in 2011, the Sydney church is a 220-people congregation of 14 nationalities: 120 are Korean, the others are from around the globe. Because of its growth, the church had to move no less than 10 times in the six years since its inception. Now it has two separate worship venues for its Korean congregation and the international congregation. The church is now embarking on a church-building program for their own permanent building.

Nathan Lee, 30, who has been attending CHC Sydney for three years, is full of gratitude for being rooted in this spiritual family. Before joining the church, his life “was a mess”—he was a drug addict who peddled drugs. After receiving Christ during a weekend service, he gave his heart to the Lord and his life was totally changed. He went through Bible study and discipleship for three years. Now he is serving as a cell group leader at CHC Sydney, and is enrolled in a Master’s Degree course in business management.

He said, “Pastor John has been a great role model for me. It was his sincerity and love that moved me towards God. Before and after knowing Christ, he has always been there like a father-figure to me.” His 58-year old mother, Jennifer is thankful for the positive influence the pastor has on her son.

John and Rachel Lee, the pastors of City Harvest Church, Sydney. PHOTOS: Andrew Ong

Lee concedes that the early beginnings of the church were tough due to his lack of experience in pastoring and leading a church. Moreover, he was constantly juggling between his dentistry work and ministry in the church. He attributes the existing success of the church to Kong and his constant encouragement and guidance.

“Whenever Pastor Kong and I conversed, I would receive new revelation and renewed faith to overcome the obstacles that I faced in pastoring the church. Pastor’s belief in me also empowered me,” Lee said. “When I’m doubtful, he will always remind me that it was God that called me to start this ministry; hence, He will give me the power and strength to overcome.”

CHC Sydney has a vision to reach an attendance of 3,500 people in the next five years. This vision has energized the congregation as they now do not merely see themselves as a small church but a church with a big vision to be of influence in the city.

The church will be holding a Transformation Conference from June 27 to 29 this year, in which Kong will be speaking. This is part of the church’s efforts to bring a wave of transformation into the lives of individuals in the marketplace.

Although Christianity is the predominant faith in Australia, CHC Sydney considers it its mission to see the fullness of Christ revealed in their nation.

To learn more about CHC Sydney, visit www.cityharvest.com.au.

Powerful messages and miracles marked C3 Church’s Presence Conference two weeks ago. City News brings you its report from Sydney.

Contributed By Andrew Ong

The 4,500-strong crowd worshipping at Presence

From the get-go to the final session, Presence Conference by C3 Church was an open heaven on earth for the record 4,500 delegates from 231 churches in 32 nations that took place at the Sydney Convention Centre at Darling Harbour, Australia.

There was no denying God’s holy presence throughout the entire conference. The unified worship, purpose and faith of believers brought on signs and wonders such as instant healings from physical ailments and diseases.

CHC’s Mark Kwan (second from right) sang with the C3 band.

Now in its sixth year, this annual conference has garnered a faithful following across Australia and the globe over the years. One such follower is 42-year-old Frank Toro who is in the car trade industry from Melbourne, Australia. He has attended every Presence Conference since it began.

“I look forward to Presence every year. In fact, my year only begins at this conference as God never fails to prepare and guide me in my steps ahead for the next 12 months of my life,” said Toro. “And each year, it just gets better with invited speakers that usher a move of the Holy Spirit in these meetings.”

Phil Pringle, host of Presence Conference.

This year, sessions at Presence Conference—hosted by Phil and Chris Pringle, founders of the C3 Church Movement—were anchored by renowned leaders such as Marcos Witt, pastor for the Spanish congregation from Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas; Bill Johnson, senior pastor from Bethel Church, California; Kari Jobe, worship leader from Gateway Church in Austin, Texas; and Kong Hee, senior pastor of City Harvest Church, Singapore.

ARE YOU READY FOR JESUS?

At the very first session, Pringle set the tone for the entire conference with his opening message that rung like a battle cry for the Church to “step into the timetable of heaven.” Pringle urged the body of Christ to cross the threshold with the fresh oil of anointing for a new generation in these last, dark days.

Reading the parable of the 10 virgins (Matt. 25:1-13) as a prophetic message, Pringle implored those present to be prepared for the inevitable and most critical moment: the second coming of Christ, which is the arrival of the bridegroom in the parable. Like the 10 virgins, churches and believers must recognize the opportunities that lie ahead and be prepared so as not to miss them.

He emphasized that it is the responsibility of every church and believer to be ready for that day when Christ returns. Two essentials to render the believer’s qualification in being invited for that call:

• Purity. Like virgins who are physically pure, the Church needs to pursue purity of hearts and lives. We are to be living and holy sacrifices to God. Spiritual cleansing is required before the fullness of His oil of anointing comes upon the Church.

• God’s Word. The virgins in the parable all held lamps. This is symbolic of the Word of God as light to reveal the truth in the world. Christians need to hold on faithfully to the Word and believe in it.

But Pringle added that having the Word of God alone was not enough. Like the five virgins who ran out of oil for their lamps, anointing is needed—and that comes from the person of the Holy Spirit.

Bill Johnson preached on the Person of the Holy Spirit.

Bill Johnson drew the congregation in further with his message to the Church “to broker or release the presence of the Holy Spirit on the earth.” He reminded the audience that the Holy Spirit was a Person and the Christian life was in essence to illustrate the manifestation of our relationship with the Holy Spirit just as Jesus did during His ministry on earth.

Johnson stressed Jesus’ humanity—He performed those miracles as a mere mortal and not as God, as most would have thought. It is a compelling revelation that Jesus had set aside His divinity and put on the same restrictions that we as humans have. It was for the purpose of illustrating what man could do when he or she was in a right relationship with God through the Holy Spirit.

According to Johnson, every believer has the privilege to host this Person—the Holy Spirit, and ministry is about imparting that Person. Therefore, the believer needs to be conscious of the presence of the Holy Spirit in his or her life. And there are two fundamental guidelines in relating to the Holy Spirit. They are, one, to “grieve not the Holy Spirit,” that is to not do things that are contrary to His purposes, such as sin, wrong attitudes and behavior. Two, to “quench not the Holy Spirit,” or prevent the flow of His power through His gifts by disbelief or fear.

Johnson explained that the first guideline was character-centered while the second was power-centered. One is never less important than the other—both need to go hand in hand together to reveal Jesus.

“It is all about the Person of the Holy Spirit. It is not about a message, though that part is important. And it is not about miracles, though that is important. It is about my connection to a Person and to accurately represent Him well through speech, action and character,” he explained.

Pringle bantering with speaker, Marcos Witt (left).

The conference was replete with messages that filled the hearers with faith and hope. Marcos Witt exhorted the congregation not to limit God, but to realize that He can use anyone.

Kevin Loo spoke at the youth conference, Love Is, encouraging the youth to wait on God.

Kong Hee shared two powerful messages about God’s immeasurable love, and fulfilling the visions and dreams that have been placed in our hearts, like the stars that God showed Abraham.

What was truly significant during the conference was the deep love and friendship between C3 Church and CHC that was exhibited between the two leaders and their wives: Phil and Chris Pringle and Kong Hee and his wife Sun Ho.

Phil and Chris Pringle praying for Kong Hee and Sun Ho. PHOTOS: Andrew Ong & Rayvin Hsu.

After Kong had recounted his grim journey for the past 11 months through his message of God’s unwavering love, the Pringles rallied around Kong and Ho on stage in prayer and intercession for CHC’s season of trials to come to a closure with the Lord’s clear deliverance and vindication.

That was clearly one of the most heart-rending moments of the conference for some. Former CHC member, 38-year-old Rena Moh who had migrated to Sydney with her husband six years ago teared after hearing about the ordeal Kong went through. Moh, a mother of two, is now a member of C3 Church in Oxford Falls, Sydney.

“Finally I understand why C3 was releasing Pastor Phil to CHC,” she says, of the many weeks that Pringle flew to Singapore to preach at CHC in the past year. “It was a truly God-moment when Pastor Phil shared in greater detail of what Kong Hee and Sun were going through. I felt there was a significant shift—a defining moment that united C3 and CHC as one.”

Presence also hosted a fun community event, Love Sydney, on the last day of the conference. It was an effort to  demonstrate the practical love of Christ by meeting the needs of Sydney through the giving of C3 and the Presence community.  A total of A$110,000 was raised and donated to charitable causes.

C3 Church also took the opportunity to launch the C3 Church App. For the first time, the conference was streamed live over the Internet, capturing an audience of 18,000 from countries such as the USA, Poland, Japan, Germany and Brunei.

Presence 2011 proved to be an extraordinary platform to encounter God in a way that empowered and united the body of Christ all around the world; to refresh, revive, renew, refocus the people of God and position them for His purpose on planet earth.

Loo, pastor of City Harvest Church (Kuala Lumpur) said that this annual event provided existing or emerging church leaders a glimpse of the true potential of the Church.

Next year, Presence Conference will be held again at Darling Harbour over four days, from April 10 to 13, 2012. It will feature guest speakers Bill Johnson, John Bevere and Steve Furtick.

Visit www.presenceconference.com for more information.

Contributed By Andrew Ong

From its title and pastel pink cover, one would be forgiven for assuming that Love, Pinkie (>.<) is a fluffy, chick lit type of book. Far from it—fiction it is, but the inspiration behind it is as gritty as real life gets.

Love, Pinkie (>.<), sold as an e-book, tells the story of Pinkie, a young girl confronted by the daily bombardments of internal struggles prevalent in our fast-paced, perennially wired, 21st century society. The book is presented as a journal of her reflections and soul-searching thoughts. In Pinkie’s world, various issues associated with growing-up pains such as self-worth, beauty, materialism, money, sexuality, religion and relationships are explored. Readers will be drawn into Pinkie’s melancholic and introspective world. They will also be able to relate to Pinkie’s personal journey towards self-discovery and meaning in life.
Love, Pinkie (>.<) is a debut effort from 26-year-old Singaporean Christina Siew, who left her accounting job two years ago to write full-time. Inspired by her involvement in youth community work among girls, Siew conceived Pinkie as a reflective image to guide her young readers through their growing up phase.

This is a relevant, highly recommended read especially for girls on the cusp of adulthood, one that offers brave insights in navigating through life. Like any journal, do not expect an arresting read that will unravel an exciting plot with each turn of a chapter. Instead, expect a non-fictional style novella peppered with nuggets of wisdom and truth that draws from God’s perspective in finding life’s equilibrium.

Price: S$4.99 (log to www.lovepinkie.com to purchase)

City News talks to Randal Taylor, technical consultant for City Harvest Church’s new worship location.

Contributed By Andrew Ong

Taylor lends his expertise in the area of multi-media installation to CHC’s new worship premises at Suntec Singapore. CN PHOTO: Elvis Chiu

Randal Taylor is a marketing strategist who helps church ministries use new and old media with their outreach plans and efforts. Before joining BMCFerrell, Randal served on staff as a media director under different churches and Christian ministries in the US, such as Fellowship Church, Ed Young’s ministry, and First Baptist Euless. He has also helped many Fortune 500 corporations develop strategic marketing and branding campaigns. He currently travels internationally, serving a broad range of non-profit and ministry clients.

Taylor was specially engaged as the consultant for the technical production for CHC’s new space.

What was your main role in the setup of CHC at Suntec?

My job was to ensure that the lighting and other technical aspects were in place to enhance the overall worship experience in the hall.

Would you consider this a large scale project?

Any project that involves a hall that sits above 7,000 people is considered a very large-scale project. And on such a scale, it would have normally taken 10 to 12 days but CHC completed this within a week.

What are the distinctive features of this project?

An obvious one is the LED wall. It is extremely unique as it extends across the entire width of the stage. From my knowledge, no other church has used LED panels to such an extent.

Taylor and the CHC team worked around the clock for the opening. CN PHOTO: Michael Chan

Do you see more churches embracing technology? Or is there still resistance?

There are both traditional churches and contemporary churches and in both instances, [I believe that] God desires the Church to be as creative as possible and to excel in every way possible, because churches are a reflection of His creativity.

I’m of the opinion that most churches want to strive for excellence. Therefore, they would find an appreciation for such technology and would not describe such use of technology as “extravagant.” In fact I find most churches incorporating such elements, as they want to present their weekend services at a very high level.

What were the challenges encountered during the setup of the new City Harvest auditorium?

The main challenge for me was the crunch for time. In normal circumstances, projects of such scale would have been given ample time for set up. However, this was not possible due to an IT show that was held in the same hall the previous weekend. Therefore, the five days were all we had and it was a very intense and aggressive schedule. But with God’s help, the team managed to pull through.

How would you describe your experience working with CHC on this project?

The technical team, from the volunteers to the full-time staff of CHC, was absolutely wonderful! I think CHC is a wonderful and creative church led by Pastor Kong and Sun, both of whom have a great heart to reach the churched and the un-churched. And they’ve created an environment that is of high quality to do just that. So for instance, if you bring a friend who is unchurched here, he or she is likely to look at the church differently because of his or her heightened experience with God in the place.

A group of former at-risk youth organized an educational event with NECDC to address the needs of today’s young Singaporeans.

Youth today face a different world from past generations, one with a distinct set of challenges. Most manage to navigate safely and progress in life. But there are some unfortunate individuals who fall for the wrong choices in life.

This group is often referred to as youth-at-risk. Sadly, they are commonly stereotyped as being hopeless and are too often left to their own devices.

Last Saturday, the Architects Of Life, or AOL, organized an unconventional event, together with the North East Community Development Council, to highlight some of the common challenges young people face today, and to correct the negative perception that society has of our youth-at-risk.

Glenn Lim, founder of AOL, said, “Our society has been conditioned to pay attention to the flaws or weaknesses of people, and this includes our youth. The way we treat our young people is subtly influenced by how we view them. Having low expectations of them, formed by our stereotyping, will likely lead to them experiencing lower capability and self-worth. Therefore, we—especially families and schools—need to learn how to identify and harness these young people’s strengths in order to channel them into the right avenues, and to give them a chance to flourish.”

One such example was 36-year-old Johnny Chin, who got involved in a gang at the age of 13 and spiraled into a life of drugs and crime. He dropped out of school before completing his secondary school education.

For the next 19 years, Chin was constantly in and out of halfway houses and rehabilitation centers.  Consequently, his family and friends distanced themselves from him, leaving him to feel like an outcast.

Chin turned from his wayward lifestyle four years ago, when he looked at himself in the mirror while injecting himself with his regular dose of drugs. At that point, he could no longer recognize the person in the mirror and the truth hit him like a ton of bricks that he was wasting his life away.

On that same day, Chin called a friend who was working in a halfway house and sought help to wean himself from his drug addiction. The friend took him in and Chin embarked on the road to recovery.

PHOTO: JABEZ TAN. Teo Ser Luck (eighth from left) with the team from AOL who staged the entire event.

Since that day, Chin—now the lead mentor of AOL—has totally broken his addiction to drugs and enjoys a renewed sense of purpose in life. He now puts his past experience to good use, by helping other ex-offenders and guiding them onto the right path. Chin has also attained a diploma in counseling, and his personal life has benefited from his turnaround: he gets hitched this month.

Mr. Teo Ser Luck, mayor of North East CDC, and the Guest-Of-Honor at the event, expressed his discontentment that such youth were falling through the cracks of society. Teo also revealed plans to establish a resource center for youth-at-risk in the near future.

“It is important to work with outreach groups like AOL to mentor our youth-at-risk. And having more resource centers will provide places where outreach groups of different organizations can come together and design programs to help these young people,” Teo said.

Teo was also a guest panelist alongside speakers from two other organizations dealing with youth-at-risk: Don Wong, executive director of New Charis Mission and Suyra Omar, vice-president of 4PM.

During the panel session,  speakers cited the great influence that the Internet and new media have on today’s youth. With easy access to (and constant bombardment of) information on the Internet, youth have too much information to handle and too many choices to make. Therefore, they are in need of much guidance to make informed decisions.

Yasmin Whitlock, a 13-year-old student from Bedok North Secondary School, said of the event, “It was an inspirational and emotional experience. I’ve learned to never judge a book by its cover.” She was one of 100 participants at the Eunos Community Club—other attendees included parents, youth social workers, educators.

It was a significant spectacle for the attendees to see a group of 15 ex-offenders from AOL working together to stage this meaningful event. It sent a loud and clear message of hope: that our youth-at-risk can turn their lives and destinies around, transforming a wasted life to a useful one.

Log on to www.architectsoflife.net for more information on AOL.

City News recounts how City Harvest Church celebrated the Christmas season.

Despite being the most globally celebrated holiday, the true significance of Christmas remains largely distant from the lives of many around the world.

That is why Christmas has always been a highly anticipated yearly affair for City Harvest Church, to share the story at the heart of Christmas: the birth of the Savior, Jesus Christ.

The drama

This year, the CHC drama team put together a scintillating production entitled “Heroes Of Faith Academy.” This presented the familiar nativity tale from a different viewpoint which traces the longing of 16-year-old James (Veroy Chua), desperately searching for the true meaning and purpose of his life.

Being an abandoned infant, James spent his growing years under the tutelage of Professor Reuben (Nelson Tong) from the academy. But he never felt a sense of belonging or acceptance from his peers who, unlike him, knew their identities and anointing inherited from their family lineage—James had not a clue who he was and where he came from. This sparked his search for answers that eventually led him toward love and reconciliation with his family.

The decision

Just like James, many are searching for the true meaning and purpose of life, without knowing that the answer lies in the saving knowledge of embracing Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. To the believer, He is family—Abba Father. In Him, destiny is found, and with it, a sense of belonging in His family called the church.

That is what 32-year-old, Mah Chin Heng, a senior officer in a bank finally discovered and concluded during the Christmas weekend, where he responded to receive Christ into his life at the altar call.

“I’m convinced that Jesus is the reason for the season, but more accurately for all seasons,” said Mah. “Knowing Jesus has brought more significance to Christmas and I’m looking forward to a deeper and enriching journey with Him in 2011.”
Including Mah, there were close to 5,000 decisions made during the Christmas season at CHC.

The message

Using the nativity story as the backdrop of his message, senior pastor Kong Hee devoted attention on the biblical character of Joseph, husband to Mary and earthly father of Jesus.

He highlighted the three types of traumas—Shocking Discovery, Shattered Dreams, and Shameful Despair—that Joseph was confronted with upon learning about Mary’s pregnancy, and went on to substantiate with relevant and miraculous testimonies of how with God, these challenges could be overcome gloriously.

One of the remarkable testimonies told was that of Jane (not her real name). Before she received Christ into her life, she hid behind a painful and shameful past of being emotionally and physically abused, to the point of being in a state of depression and suicidal.

But with her newfound faith in God, she kept on believing in the Word of God and was eventually delivered from the demons of her past.

Jane has since graduated from the Singapore Institute of Management and even represented Singapore in an international competition for top students. She is also presently serving as a cell group leader of 30 members.
Hers is a story that inspires hope and attests to the amazing difference Jesus can make in one’s life.

CN PHOTOS: Desmond Tan, Elvis Chiu and Ryan Ng

The exchange

Unknown to the thousands of people that attended the Christmas services over the last weekend, 24-year-old lead actor Chua was suffering from a bruised jaw after an unfortunate mishap that took place at the last rehearsal (a day before Christmas eve).
During the fist-fight scene where he confronted Sean (Edward Fan) upon discovering his treachery, one of the punches actually landed on his cheek which resulted in a chipped tooth and a sore jaw.

But Chua braved on and even joked that the pain helped him in portraying the angst and grief required for his character. His dedication and enduring efforts, alongside that of the whole drama team, paid off as he shared about his friend who visited one of the Christmas services and responded during the altar call.

“There’s no doubt that the drama production team sacrificed their personal Christmas celebrations with their family and friends because of the intense rehearsals required in putting up this play,” said Chua, “but it is all worth it in exchange for knowing that others are able to embrace and enjoy their Christmas meaningfully with Christ in their lives.”

Magic was in the air too, with some breath-taking magical tricks performed during the drama by King Herod’s wizard (Adrian Cheung) and HOF Academy student Eli (Bernard Loh). Both of them mesmerized the audience with their trickery of fire.

The celebration

This year, Christmas was celebrated over five services that were held over three days on Dec. 24, 25 and 26, 2010 at Jurong West St. 91 and Singapore Expo.  Carollers belted out Christmas classics such as “O Come All Ye Faithful” and “Feliz Navidad” as visitors walked into the main hall.

Spotted among the audience was highly-acclaimed music veteran, Lee Wei Song, widely credited for grooming famous Mandopop song bird, Stefanie Sun.

But apart from all the fanfare, the occasion will always be a celebration of God’s love and the reconciliation of man —regardless of age, gender, background and social status—to God.

“Christmas is the season of giving because God gave His only begotten Son to save us. It is an occasion to remind me of who Jesus is in my life—my wonderful Counselor, mighty God, everlasting Father and Prince of Peace” said 39-year-old Kelvin Chew, a cell group leader in CHC.

Winning the Land Of The Rising Sun to Christ is an uphill task, but one Japanese church is taking it on.

PHOTO COURTESY OF FUKUOKA HARVEST CHURCH

For the last two decades, Japan’s post-war “economic miracle” years seem to be losing its vigor. The country’s economy, which had consistently held second spot behind the United States, is now the third largest economy in the world after being surpassed by China this year.

A NATION IN WANE?

Many observers point out that the Japanese economy took a beating when the Asian economic bubble burst in the 1990s. Since then, her economy has remained largely stagnant. On top of its current economic challenges, Japan faces a massive public debt and a society that is facing an ageing and shrinking population.

According to the World Health Organization, Japan has one of the world’s highest suicide rates. Annually, the number of suicides in Japan has exceeded 30,000 for 12 consecutive years. These staggering figures seem to acutely reflect the sense of malaise and hopelessness felt among the Japanese.

LACKLUSTER STATE OF CHURCHES IN JAPAN

City Harvest Church member Naomi Lee is a Japanese national who has resided in Singapore since 2001 after marrying a Singaporean. Despite her migration, the 37-year-old remains deeply attached to her homeland and keeps close tabs on Japan’s development.

She believes that the current situation in Japan is closely linked to the lackluster state of the churches in Japan who have remained “backward” in spite of the many changes in Japan over the years.

“I’ve observed with my frequent missions trips back to Japan that there has been little or no improvement in the spiritual condition in the land,” Lee says. “It seems that most churches in Japan are ‘closed up’ and not open to the power of God doing new things.”

Another reason for the lackluster state of churches is the lack of leadership renewal. It is reported that there is a growing number of elderly pastors leading the churches in Japan. And most of these pastors take on the main responsibilities and do everything within their churches, leading to burnout and low morale.

A survey conducted last year by the Church Information Service in Japan revealed that the total number of churches in Japan—7,879—had a combined church membership of 558,644 and a total average weekly service attendance of 279,932 with all churches combined.

Christianity in Japan is a minority religion, with less than one percent of the total population (127 million) counting themselves Christians. Out of the total Christian population, only 0.4 percent are members of a local church and only 0.2 percent attend church regularly.

Year-on-year comparisons from the last couple of years show evidence of a decline of Christianity’s significance in Japan. Currently, the average size of one church in Japan stands at 30 to 50 people.

HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY  IN JAPAN

Just as the economy in Japan had her boom days, Christianity in Japan had its moments as a flourishing religion, but it has yet to take deep root.

Historically, Christianity first arrived in Japan in 1549 and flourished through the work of Francis Xavier, a Roman Catholic Jesuit priest who arrived with the Portuguese. Back then, it was Japan’s first contact with the Western world and her leaders were eager for the interchange of ideas and trading of commodities.

However, the embracing of Christianity then was likely for political motives as Japanese leaders and militants saw the advantages of Christian proselytization which improved prospects of trade with the Portuguese for firearms. Conversely, Christianity was also outlawed for political reasons through later centuries.

It was not until the Meiji restoration in the early 20th century that a resurgence of Christianity took place. This was made possible with the entry of Protestant missionaries after the arrival of the Americans.

But soon, the Japanese feared the erosion of the Japanese way of life through Westernization (and Christianization) and started to distance themselves from Christianity.

After World War II, many Japanese were left despondent and started to embrace Christianity again. However, shortly after the growth of Japanese economic affluence from the 1960s, Christianity again saw a decline.

CHRISTIANITY GOING CONTEMPORARY IN JAPAN

Despite the seemingly adverse spiritual condition that Japan is in, there are a few churches that are boldly defying the status quo by being a progressive and contemporary church in this 21st century. One such church is Fukuoka Harvest Church (http://fhc.qee.jp).

FHC is a 300-member church that has embraced the Cultural Mandate and has been proactively becoming a “church without walls.” One such initiative is the church’s “One Seed” youth outreach event held in Fukuoka City.

One FHC member, Mio Manno, who graduated from the School Of Theology in 2010, started a hip hop dance class in order to reach the youth. Her dance group was one of the performing items during “One Seed” to inspire the 100 youths who were present to share Christ in a relevant manner.

“The only way to transform Japan is with the gospel of Jesus Christ. And I’m encouraged by FHC, which is bridging Christ relevantly to the youths,” said CHC’s missions pastor Bobby Chaw, who was a guest preacher at the recent “One Seed” youth event.

Chaw strongly believes that all Japan needs is one church to be the spark that will bring revival to this nation, just as how Christianity in Taiwan has experienced a resurgence in the last decade.

THE WORK NEEDED IN JAPAN

The Church of Jesus Christ must carry the love of God and spread that love to the people of Japan. God loves Japan and so Christians have a mission to save her. That responsibility belongs to every Christian, not just pastors.

The strengthening of churches remains the first on the list as a key strategy, to be carried out by empowering every believer to be part of God’s redemptive purpose for the Church.

Consequently, this would allow the pastors to lead their churches effectively in reaching the unsaved with the appropriate support from the church members.

Ultimately, with every believer active in love and service, Japanese believers can be united to release the love of God to touch the people of Japan and draw them to Christ.

Phil Pringle shares the keys to effective church planting in keeping with the Great Commission.

CN PHOTO: Desmond Tan

Phil Pringle, senior minister of Christian City Church in Oxford Falls, Sydney, returned to City Harvest Church last weekend to preach a message of deliverance from Psalm 27.  “There’s no affliction that the Lord will not deliver us from,” said Pringle. “He always has a solution even before a problem happens.”

C3 is anchored in Australia but has congregations around the world from Africa to The Netherlands to Atlanta, U.S.A.
City News caught up with him for a chat about the C3 Movement.

What is distinctive about C3 as a church planting movement?

The C3 movement started in 1980 when it was not common for churches to be modern, current and relevant to our world. Taking advantage of every modern facility has always been a pursuit of ours.

However, equally distinctive is our pursuit of the various expressions of the Holy Spirit as I believe we must and can be Spirit-filled without looking or being weird as the apostle Paul exhorted the church in Corinthians.

Relationship rates high as well. Instead of feeling being part of an organization, there’s a sense of being part of a family in our movement. The C3 movement is about being a contemporary, soul-winning and disciple-making church that brings hope, faith and love to the world.

What else do you feel is a core attribute of C3 members?

Faith, hope and love are the three core values that we aim to see come alive in our members when they attend our church; that they will become receivers and givers of faith, hope, and love.

The C3 movement presently has 250 churches worldwide with a 2020 vision to reach a total of 1,000 churches. What do you feel is critical in achieving this vision in the next 10 years?

In the next 10 years, we are primarily focusing on the younger generation. It is critical that they can carry on what the movement has been doing into the next era.

We are looking to identify and train 750 pastors, 750 worship leaders, 750 administrators, 750 team players involving children, youth, men and existing ministries. This will partly be achieved with our online C3 college and existing Bible college in Sydney.
In our C3 churches, we have also initiated apprenticeships between older and younger men where they (younger men) can learn how to do church as apprentices. To us, discipleship is the bottomline. Most of the C3 churches planted have been started by people in their 20s and 30s.

And how do you ensure that the movement maintains its distinctiveness as it expands?

Our global movement is divided into nine regions that are respectively pastored by nine directors. We talk regularly, once a week, or at least once a month. We also organize 14 conferences worldwide to gather leaders and members together to impart the C3 vision and values of what we are all about. Though it doesn’t guarantee that things will work the way we hope it would, generally these are what we do to maintain our distinctiveness.

What do you feel are the greatest challenges facing the local C3 churches and the larger network? How are these overcome?

Our greatest challenge is apathy, because as churches get bigger, people get more comfortable. It is a known fact that the fastest growth spurt for a church is when it reaches the region of 150 to 250 people. Therefore, keeping that growth momentum is important. And one of the main growth impediments is when pastors do not delegate their responsibilities upon reaching the 250 mark.

There are several common reasons for this. Pastors may not like delegating their responsibilities as they like what they’re doing or don’t trust and believe in people, or are not prepared to train others because they desire to be the only minister in the church rather than allow others to rise up. Delegation becomes a major sticking point.

In my opinion, small-minded leadership is keeping today’s churches small. The average size of a church today is 70 people when it’s supposed to be 700. There’s a need for bigger-minded leaders with a greater capacity to take the Church into the future.
In our movement, we invite our leaders to our big churches. For instance, one of the requirements for the students on our online C3 college is to be attached with our church for one month. Now, they’re confronted with a budget of a million dollars for a year instead of a budget of a thousand dollars. This helps them to be exposed and develop a mindset of how a big church thinks. So when they go out and start a church, their mind has already been expanded.

“Connection” or being connected (relationship) is one of the core DNA strands running through C3 Global, affecting the individual church member. How is this done and why is it so important?

The base line of being connected in C3 is our connect groups or what you call cell groups at CHC. Generally, our groups are zoned according to these priorities: relationships, age, commonality and geography. We also have homogenous groups such as business people, junior high students, university students and adults. Every C3 church will have these two main types of groups spread out that help in building enriching relationships.

Then in the movement, we have cluster groups that are zoned according to levels that refer to the size of the church they belong to. For instance, we group our people from 100 to 200-sized, 200 to 500-sized and above 1,000-sized churches when we gather for our conferences. And we speak to them accordingly in empowering them to go up to the next level.

A C3 church is about to be unveiled in Hong Kong. What are your thoughts about this new addition to the C3 Global family?
This will be a great church that is starting from nothing with a group that consist primarily of university students and business people. What excites me about this new addition is the potential of touching China.

Asia is becoming a new area for us but also the fastest-growing with the African region. There’s no doubt there’s a move of God in Asia and we are merely attempting to ride that wave. We feel that our C3 churches fit nicely with the progressive nations in Asia.

Dr. Phil, you are such a good friend of CHC. Can you tell us a story about your friendship with Pastor Kong and Sun that few people know?

I first met them at one of our conferences in Sydney. And they were actually on their honeymoon. That really impressed me. Subsequently, they invited me to speak at a CHC event. This was held in a huge warehouse that could possibly sit 10,000.
But at that event, there were at most 200 people. There and then, I was impressed with Kong Hee’s big vision. But more than that, we feel that we share this divine or God connection. Since our first meeting, we have become committed friends who would do anything for each other.

A.R. Bernard preaches on the power of self-concept.

CN PHOTO: Desmond Tan

In his masterful pedagogical style, A.R. Bernard, who recently turned 57, had the congregation of City Harvest Church enthralled with his teachings over the weekend of Aug. 21 to 22.

This time the founder and CEO of New York’s Christian Cultural Center emphasized the importance for believers to acquire a biblical self-concept in order to reflect God as the underlying crux that underscored his message.

THE POWER OF SELF-CONCEPT

According to Bernard, a healthy (or biblical) self-concept will largely affect and influence how a Christian acts or behaves. Ultimately, said Bernard, choices will create life and determine destiny.

To illustrate the power of self-concept, Bernard presented astounding findings about the people of Israel or Jews, whose national identity and self-concept are greatly influenced by their covenant with God as descendents of Abraham.

Notably, there are 13 million Jews out of a global population of approximately six billion people, constituting a mere one-fifth of a percent of the global population. In America, the Jewish community makes up two percent of the country’s total population. In spite of the Jewish community’s seemingly insignificant size, it is found that out of the top 40 percent of the richest Americans, 45 percent are Jewish.

Other findings show that Jews make up 20 percent of top professors at leading universities in America; 40 percent of top lawyers and partners in leading law firms in New York and Washington, and 25 percent of American Nobel Prize winners.

Bernard attributed the Jews’ distinctive ability to prosper wherever they are placed in the world, and when they are confronted in any given situation, to their deeply entrenched self-concept as a people of God who are destined “to be the head and not the tail, above and not beneath, and to be the lender and not the borrower.”

THE MAN BEHIND THE MESSAGE

Being one of the key proponents of the Christ In Culture teaching, Bernard has been instrumental in the launch of the Cultural Mandate which has become one of the main thrusts that defines CHC today.

City News met up with the man behind the message:

Besides pastoring your flock, you travel around the globe speaking to leaders and churches. What do you indulge in for relaxation during your free time?

I’m a sports person and I love to play basketball and practice martial arts. With my remaining free time, I’m involved in entrepreneurial activities. For instance, together with one of my sons, we will be opening a men’s hair salon. Others in the pipeline are a line of beauty products and a restaurant.

You are a personal friend of New York’s mayor, Michael Bloomberg. What are your views of his support to the building of the Islamic Center near Ground Zero of New York?

I’m totally behind Bloomberg’s decision in supporting the rights of the Muslim group in this building project. That’s because it is only right to allow the freedom to worship for any religion in America. And to me, it is not Islam that caused 9/11. It is man’s greed for power.

What’s your favorite movie, and why?

It’s The Godfather trilogy. This is a movie that I can keep watching again and again. It is a fascinating movie that reveals so much about leadership, community and family values, albeit a corrupted version. These values, however, can be translated into the context of living a righteous life.

For instance, I recall one or two scenes which had these amazing quotes such as, “I work my whole life—I don’t apologize—to take care of my family” and “A man who doesn’t spend time with his family can never be a real man.” This teaches us that family is important in our lives.

Share with us an incident that has impacted you significantly even till today.

A significant incident took place in 1985 when I realized that my ministry had become my idol. At that time, I had wrong priorities due to my ignorance. Back then, my marriage was mostly left on the back burner and church ministry took precedence. My wife was constantly competing for my attention with the people I was pastoring. And that was wrong and it caused her to be bitter. It took us 10 years for our marriage to be repaired after I realized my folly. Now I make sure I spend more time with her and my family.

The Bible teaches us that if one cannot manage his own family, how then can he manage or take care of God’s church? And as I shared earlier, family is one of the values of the Cultural Mandate.

Your book Happiness Is… seems to address our generation of consumerism. What prompted you to write that book?

I came across a number of news reports and articles about how Americans were actually growing increasingly unhappy despite enjoying economic success. [The book] actually started as a response to the influence of the American culture on the Church in terms of what true happiness is. It led me to prepare a weekly sermon series on happiness, which eventually led to this book. This book is timeless. You can pick it up at any season or situation and still find it relevant. It is meant to be a life-long reference tool.

I’ve just completed another book which is in fact my journal that will be released by end of this year. Each page, which pans out like a calendar, will include a nugget of wisdom or quote from me which what I like to call “Bernard-ism.”

Another book that is to be released soon is called Chasing Donkeys. Its intent is to liberate us from the traditional search for purpose in life where the mundane day-to-day can actually help us to discover our destiny.

Evangelist Reinhard Bonnke issued a call to believers to share the gospel of Jesus Christ unreservedly.

CN PHOTO: Michael Chan

“News is only news when it is spoken. And an unspoken gospel is no gospel at all!” declared renowned evangelist Reinhard Bonnke.

At his second session on the fourth day of the CGI-AC 2010, the 70-year old German did not mince his words as he urged every delegate to be bold in going into the world to preach the gospel as commissioned and emphasized by Jesus in Mark 16:15.

“If you want to catch a fish, don’t throw your net in the bath tub,” said Bonnke, “You will not catch any fish, maybe only a bar of soap. Throw your net into the ocean.”

This was just one of the many witty statements that Bonnke made as he challenged delegates to go into the world and preach the gospel.

A defining moment In Africa

Bonnke recounted how he began his ministry in Africa at age 27 and joked how he had arrived from Germany to a land that was not waiting for him; indicating the scores of obstacles that greeted him in Africa.

One of the early incidents that led to the start of his ministry as an inexperienced missionary was when he had engaged an established African pastor, whom he called a “big man,” for a miracle service to pray for the poor and sick. On the day of that service, the “big man” ended the meeting after preaching 10 minutes without praying for the people who came to be ministered. He was bewildered but abided as the “big man” promised to pray for those people the next day.

When the following day came and Bonnke went to fetch the “big man,” he was shocked when the “big man” told him that he was going home instead. Bonnke objected but the “big man” was adamant and left.

Going back into his car, Bonnke cried out to God and prayed, “God, I’m not a big-time pastor. I’m just a small-fry missionary. But I know I’m Your servant; so I’ll preach and pray, while You perform the miracles.”

This was to be a defining moment for Bonnke and his ministry as he stepped out in faith to anchor the miracle service that day. And remarkably four persons who were totally blind, recovered their sight fully at the end of that service after he prayed for them!

Besides learning first-hand that the power was in the Word and that the Word of God in his mouth was just as equally powerful as when it is in His mouth, Bonnke also learned that the Holy Spirit was a healing Spirit who performs miracles.

One of the delegates, 28-year old Singaporean Wilson Koh was deeply encouraged by Bonnke’s testimony. Being a newly appointed youth pastor overseeing 110 youths for his local church, Church of the Ascension, Koh could relate to Bonnke’s early struggles as a young missionary in Africa.

“What he (Bonnke) shared really encouraged me because like him when he was younger, I have a tendency to depend on a ‘big man’ in ministry,” said Koh. “But today I’m more confident in overcoming my personal inadequacies in my ministry because I know that even if the ‘big man’ in my life goes away, my Jesus stays with me.”

Power of the spoken word

Bonnke also explained the correlation between the Word of God and the Spirit of God in the light of the Great Commission or the “Supreme Commission,” a term he personally prefers to use.

Using Genesis 1:1-3 as the basis of his revelation, he shared how the Spirit of God is hovering all the time and awaiting instructions to spring into action. Hence, without the spoken Word, the Spirit of God cannot act.

“The Holy Spirit can only act at the spoken Word of God. Likewise today, He (the Holy Spirit) is hovering and waiting for us to preach His word as commissioned so that He can perform signs and wonders. So dare to preach and dare to obey,” Bonnke exhorted.

He went on to declare that since the day of Pentecost, God has been waiting for believers to act in faith and obedience. But believers have mostly assumed that they need to wait for Him and His timing before getting involved in the Great Commission.

To further illustrate this point, he shared how the gospel is like medicine that needed to be taken in order for it to be of any help. If a bottled medicine lay beside the bed of a dying man and was not used, it would be useless as it helped nobody. Similarly, the gospel needs to be preached in order to release the power of the Holy Spirit and to bring salvation.

Another blessed delegate, 30-year old school counselor and CHC member, Sharmaine Tan shared how her faith was stirred up by Bonnke’s evangelistic fervor. “His passion and stories of faith in the Holy Spirit greatly inspire me to do likewise. If God can use Bonnke, God can use me too,” said Tan.

Dripping with Liquid fire

Toward the end, Bonnke delved into the subject of the baptism in the Holy Spirit and its significance upon the lives of Christ-followers. He used this analogy: the dipping of fabric in colored dye, demonstrating how the baptism in the Holy Spirit affects the life of a believer.

He explained that when dye gets into the cloth, the fabric takes on the nature of the dye and is transformed. The dyed fabric now feels like the dye, looks like the dye and smells like the dye. Similarly, Jesus dips the believer in “fire” when he or she is baptized in the Holy Spirit; soaked in the fire of God.

Bonnke exclaimed, “Wherever you go, you will drip fire. Every devil will recognize the footsteps and anointing of Jesus upon your life and flee. Be baptized! Your life and ministry will change!”

Bonnke gave an altar call for delegates who were between 15 to 25 years old, to run to the altar to get baptized, to which hundreds of youth responded and ran toward the stage area.

With CGI-AC 2010 being represented by 70 countries and more than 2,000 churches, the session impacted thousands of young people to rise up and reach out to their societies for God.