CN PHOTOS: Alvin Low

Dr. Richard Bernal of Jubilee Christian Center shared a simple but powerful truth with the delegates who attended the Effective Missions elective, where they learned that being effective is going where God has sent you. This was no lesson on organization, crossing national boundaries or running mega-crusades but rather, a wise word in season from an experienced minister to a younger generation of believers eager to serve God in the mission field.

Beginning with a quick survey of the different nationalities represented in the room, Bernal opened the session with the first verse, 2 Peter 1:10, relating how Peter exhorted the believers to make their call and election sure. This formed the cornerstone of Bernal’s message—that effective ministry and missions is all about understanding and walking in God’s calling and leading. He elucidated this point by making reference to the Great Commission and the actual mission work carried out by the apostles. Jesus’ last words prior to His ascension were His instructions to the disciples to go into all the world and preach the gospel. Yet in the book of Acts, Paul found himself forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach the Word in Asia.

Bernal explained that while the Body of Christ is called to all the world, believers are individually each called to specific places. Bernal shared his belief of how he would not be able to duplicate the success of his ministry outside of San Jose, California, because that was the place that God has specifically called him to.

Bernal regaled everyone with the story of his first crusade in Gutour, India, where by accident, he found himself entirely unprepared to preach to a crowd of unbelievers numbering thousands. The hilarity of his inexperience and the circumstances leading to near-disaster served to underscore the miracle which God performed as he eventually preached and performed healings and deliverances under the power of God.

The crucial lesson Bernal learned from this experience was to be sensitive to the leading and anointing of God under varying circumstances, to preach or to heal, ultimately trusting the Holy Spirit to show up. Bernal also shared about a minister he knew who left his own flock of 5,000 members to attempt to plant churches in other places. This minister encountered frustration and unfruitfulness as a result. It was the same person with the same talent—but the ineffectiveness lay in the basic fact that ministry and church planting are not acts of franchising. Rather, they have everything to do with the specific call of God.

Sharing from 2 Corinthians 10:13-16, Bernal showed how even the great Apostle Paul understood the boundaries of the sphere in which God had appointed him, fully aware of his call and ministry to the Gentiles.

Finally, Bernal posed a question to all the delegates, asking them if they were a “king” or a “priest,” a trick question with reference to the knowledge that believers are called to be both—as royal priesthood. He posed the question once again, asking the delegates if they were a priest-king or a king-priest before explaining from Revelations 1:4-6 about the different primary roles to which believers are called.

The believer called to be a king-priest would be someone primarily called to serve and shine in the marketplace, who still performs priestly duties by serving in a church. The converse is true with the believer who is a priest-king. With this, Bernal stressed how service in the marketplace and service in the ministry are not mutually exclusive. Receiving salvation in Christ does not automatically mean that one is called to serve the ministry in a full time capacity. This would also mean that one should never despise the calling of God to a secular vocation as it does not indicate a lesser degree of personal spirituality.

For Bernal, effectiveness in missions and ministry begin even before serving. It begins with the believer’s surety of his/her call and election in Christ.

Other Effective Missions elective sessions featured Dr. David Sumrall, Bobby Chaw and George Ong.

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.

The Presence Conference in Sydney inspires and edifies a group of Singapore delegates.

CN PHOTO: Michael Chan

From April 6 to 9 this year, the Darling Harbour Convention Centre in Sydney, Australia, was home to Christian City Church’s annual Presence Conference. Each day, the venue was packed with people from different parts of the world, who had gathered with the sole purpose of receiving a fresh touch from God.

The conference featured four speakers: Phil and Christine Pringle, senior ministers of Christian City Church, Sydney; J. John from the United Kingdom; and Kong Hee from City Harvest Church, Singapore. Attending the conference were 12 members from CHC.

The Presence Conference is about encountering and experiencing God, and most importantly empowering Christians to make an impact in their cities through the impartation of a fresh anointing.

Over three sessions, Kong shared the Word of God to more than 9,000 people, injecting faith and passion into the hearts of the congregation and strengthening them with the Word of God.

Kong started his first session by laying the foundation of Christian ministry, emphasizing the need for believers to return to their first love in Christ once again. In the second session, Kong shared a message on the Fourth Dimension and living in the realm of faith, because that is where believers learn how to believe, visualize and experience breakthrough. At the final session, Kong preached on the last trumpet, using powerful examples in the Bible to illustrate how God establishes His purposes through different individuals in each generation.

For CHC member, Lim Wee Lee, it was his first time attending the conference. He was impacted by the various sermons that allowed his faith to grow stronger. Said Lim, “The Presence Conference is definitely not just about entering into the presence of God, but also about leaving in the power of God to change the world.”

For Kenny Low, founder and principal of City College, this conference was a memorable experience. On the second day, conference speaker, J. John called Low up on stage and declared a prophetic message over his life: “Your time has come to handle greater things.” John added that God knew the desires of Low’s heart and would be enlarging his capacity to serve Him in a different way. Before praying for Low, John gave a gift to him—his favorite wristwatch, saying that he felt led by God to do so.

Sitting in the audience was Dean Sweetman, pastor of a C3 branch church in California, U.S.A. Sweetman had brought along to the conference a particular watch he had kept for five years, not knowing what would happen by the end of the week. When he witnessed the prophecy on stage that day, Sweetman instantly knew that his watch was meant for John.

Such workings of the Holy Spirit made this an eventful trip for the Singapore team, who returned home refreshed and inspired.

CN PHOTO: Michael Chan

A spiritual giant in the faith exhorts the leaders in CHC.

On March 23, the church leaders and School of Theology students had an encounter with Dr. Paul Kim—a spiritual giant in the faith who is also a towering figure in the marketplace.

Presently a highly successful venture capitalist in the marketplace, Kim is the head elder of Jubilee Christian Center in the US, the executive director of Church Growth International, and also the personal interpreter of Dr. Yonggi Cho, founder of the world-famous Yoido Full Gospel Church in Korea. To top it off, Kim’s net worth currently stands at US$2 billion.

Kim began by sharing the testimony of his salvation, having been saved on the island of Guam, through Teen Challenge, a drug rehabilitation center for youth. From there, he became a Southern Baptist youth pastor and a successful practicing lawyer before his foray and inception into the interpretation ministry. He shared about the years of delay and challenges involved in putting up Jubilee Christian Center’s own church building, finally realized through persistence and being constantly reminded that God had not given them a “spirit of fear” but of “power, love and a sound mind”.

After Kim’s sharing, Kong joined him on stage to conduct a question and answer session, touching on topics about being successful in business and ministry. Citing from Matthew 6:33 about the need to seek first the kingdom of God and all His righteousness, Kim exhorted everyone to excel in their respective field and focus on being successful. He also mentioned the three areas that help him manage his demanding schedule: having an incredible team of staff, having great faith and learning how to delegate. “It is being on top of your game,” he affirmed.

Kim then shared other invaluable insights with regards to his modus operandi on being a witness for Christ when he works with his CEOs and to live a life that is based on “believing, visualizing and speaking.”

The evening was both an eye and mind opener to the possibility that it is possible to be a giant in the marketplace, not a Philistine one, but a spiritual giant on fire for God.

This was no red carpet event but members of the Cullen family from Twilight, svelte ladies from Gossip Girls and even Spiderman were gathered at the NUSS Suntec City Guild House on New Year’s Day. This was a movie-themed appreciation night for the Cell Group Leaders under Goh Yock Kiang (YK zone), who is one of the pastors in City Harvest Church. A menagerie of movie characters were present, ranging from Hollywood blockbuster stars to Disney’s Snow White and even animated characters like Eve from Wall-E. This was to be a special night dedicated to fellowship and in honor of all the achievements and efforts put in by the leaders  from the zone.

After a tantalizing dinner and a time of Praise and Worship, the stage was set for the highlight of the evening—the award presentation. In between announcing the winners for the various categories, caricatured skits were put up depicting life in a fictitious all-celebrity cell group as well as the creative re-imagination of life in church being played out as a movie. Such moments of hilarity were timely punctuated by the different award titles given out, namely the “Most Transformed,” “Best Newcomer,” “Most Faithful,” “Best Cell Group Leader for Growth” “Overall Best Cell Group Leader,” “Most Courageous,” “Best Subzone Leader” and the ”Best Dressed.” Every recipient was presented with a miniature Oscar Award bust.

PHOTOS: Roy Lim

As the evening came to a close, all eyes were on Goh as he presented a personal song item, a tradition of years past where he would sing a Mandarin pop number. Following his rendition, he rounded up the night by sharing a word reminding all the leaders that more than just serving God in ministry, what was more important was to be able to build lasting friendships and relationships. With that, hugs were exchanged and memories were captured on camera as the leaders left the appreciation night a little tickled, having been touched and largely inspired to run the race together for 2010.

A party was rocking the night at Tampines Changkat Community Center on Dec. 18, 2009, but the loudness was not measured in decibels. The LOUD (Living Out ‘Ur Dream) party organized by POD (People of Destiny) was not about creating a ruckus, but about giving voice to inspiration and giving wings to dreams. The party for youth was back in its third reiteration since 2007. Unlike other youth events, the LOUD party provides an open platform for youth to perform and express themselves. 75% of the performances this year was performed by the youth themselves, the average age being only 17 years old. This is in stark contrast to the previous years where externally engaged semi-professional performers took the stage.

The party for the youth by the youth kicked off with an item by “The Part-Timers”, a band led by 15-year-old Amanda, whose recent original composition reached the finals of a songwriting competition held in conjunction with the Singapore Youth Olympics 2010. This was quickly followed by a rendition of Simple Plan’s “Perfect” by “rJR”, a band of average 16 years old with 2 members still studying in Secondary School. A highlight of the party was when Javen, 24, sang and then shared a moving testimony of how he started as a Normal Technical student diagnosed with ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) but ended up as a degree holder from Newcastle Univerisity. To date, he is a successful guitar teacher on the brink of starting a school the following year. His message to the youth was simple—his achievements were only possible because he dared to pursue his dream.

PHOTOS: Lee Kiat Seng

Following a hearty dinner, the crowd was treated to slick dance moves from JEWX, a youth dance crew as well as a short film by 19-year-old Daryl Nah. The film chronicled his life story about how he found purpose in living out his dream. Today, Nah is an aspiring film maker.

Upon the arrival of guest of honor, Ms Irene Ng (MP for Tampines GRC), volunteers proceeded to give out to each youth a “Wishing Sphere” to write their wishes down for 2010 and hang it on a specially prepared Christmas Tree alongside POD staff and volunteers.

The penultimate showcase of talent was by 3 youths from the “Cherish” program who showcased their makeup skills with a parade of models. Ms Irene Ng eventually awarded 77th Street store vouchers to the youth with the best makeup skills of the night.

The LOUD party 2009 was definitely a success as the youth left, not with noise ringing in their ears but dreams pulsating strong within their hearts.

It has well been several months since City Harvest Church (CHC) embarked on Prayer 365, whereby individual cell groups and entire zones conduct morning and evening prayer meetings as well as overnight prayer meetings. Prayer is definitely nothing new to CHC but what is the driving reason behind this ratcheting up of the level of corporate prayer? City News gets in touch with Derek Dunn, Executive Pastor of CHC to find out more.

Q: Why is City Harvest Church doing Prayer 365? Is Prayer 365 inspired by and modeled after Yoido Full Gospel Church in Korea?

A: Dr Cho says that prayer is the key to revival. Coming from the pastor of the world’s largest church, that is wisdom to adhere to! Prayer has been an integral part of CHC from the beginning. The church started more than 20 years ago with members that were hungry for the presence of God and daily prayer meetings were an everyday part of church life. We have had weekly prayer meetings and overnight prayer meetings throughout the past years but this year, (Pastor) Kong felt the Lord reminded him that it takes 7 times more firepower to conquer new ground! As such, Prayer 365 was launched with the purpose of mobilizing the members to form a prayer chain every morning and every night as well as throughout the night.

Q: How will Prayer 365 evolve over the coming years? Will there eventually be multiple full fledged prayer meetings in our main auditorium?

A: As for now, we have committed to do Prayer 365 for one year first. Thereafter we will have to see how the Lord leads us, but one thing’s for sure, prayer will continue to be a part of the CHC DNA whether through Prayer 365 or another new prayer agenda.

PHOTOS: Gabriel Seow and Lam Huiching

Q: What are some of the tangible results that (Pastor) Kong and the pastoral team are believing for as the church embarks on Prayer 365?

A: Well, I believe that as we pray, the members will have personal encounters with God, they will become more spiritual and will see breakthroughs in their own personal lives, as well as in their cell groups and the church.

As the church continues to grow and to prosper, it is imperative that we do not enter into the next 20 years lacking in prayer. So we want to continue to stand in faith as we transform CHC into a church that prays without ceasing!

There was definitely no distress signal from the men who woke up early on May Day to attend the second Men’s Conference of 2009. City Harvest Church’s (CHC) premises at 1, Jurong West St 91 was chock full of men all pumped up to receive the Word of God; from the B4 main auditorium all the way to the overflow rooms above.

Having woken up the mighty men within from the men’s meeting, this time round, it was about the men getting to know themselves better. The conference kicked off to a roaring start with a hotdog eating competition followed by a sumo wrestling competition, pitting contestants representing the different zones within CHC against one another.

Once everyone was warmed up, Dr Allan Meyer, guest speaker for the conference, wasted no time in getting to the meat of the matter: sexuality. Sharing from his book “From Good Man to Valiant Man”, Dr Meyer deftly combined truth from the Word of God with scientific research to give an all rounded, God-centered understanding on Men and their sexuality.

PHOTOS: Alvin Loh And Jason Lee

Dr Meyer highlighted the need for men all over the world to be taught and discipled in the area of handling their sexuality, essentially learning to “control his body”, as the Bible commands in 1st Thessolonians. To begin tackling the problem, he expounded on why male sexuality is so problematic to begin with, citing figures on the percentage of sexual crimes committed by men. He identified several factors, including biological reasons, on how the male brain is wired, how testosterone works in a man as well as the negative influence that a highly sexualized and eroticized environment can bring. Distortions from the correct view of sexuality and how it is to be handled bring about consequences, impacting a man’s sense of dignity, his spirituality, endangering women and children in the process.

In conclusion, he gave the men three succinct points to take home from the session. Firstly, that it was normal for men to find managing their sexuality a challenge. Secondly, that there is a need to deeply examine the media’s portrayal of sexuality and acknowledge the distortions that exist. Finally, Dr Meyer declared that it was possible for men to re-discover sanctified sexuality. More than ever before in today’s 21st century society, there needs to be a new vision for manhood where men need to adopt the ‘ewe-lamb principle’, drawing from Nathan’s rebuke of David over his adultery. David had treated Bathsheba as an object of lust, commoditized to be acquired through vulgar means when men should treat women as “ewe-lambs”, to be honored and protected.

At the end of the day, the men came out of the Men’s Conference better prepared to serve God and ready to take control of their sexuality in a God honoring manner.

An army of 3,500 men heeded the clarion call to City Harvest Church’s premises at 1, Jurong West St 91, on Friday night, 27 March.

This gathering of men was indeed a call to war, being the first of two Men’s meetings in 2009, marching under the banner of “Men United, Together Stronger”. The hiatus of five years in City Harvest Church’s annual men’s meetings only served to create five times the explosive energy in this room full of men.

The meeting opened with three macho competitions: singlet-ripping, a mini Ironman exercise circuit and a karate-style wooden panel smashing.

The contest of brawns concluded with host Aries Zulkiarnan lifting the challenge trophy as contestants from Service 2 (Saturday’s service at Singapore Expo) trounced representatives from the other three services. More than a show of physicality, the meeting dived deep into the spiritual as the Christian City Church (CCC) band led the band of worshipers into a time of hairy praise and worship (and not wimpy and whiny worship, which, as the evening’s main speaker Phil Pringle explained, just isn’t manly).

PHOTOS: Gary Sim & Alvin Loh

With the crowd all warmed up, Pringle took the stage and raised King David as an example of a real man, one adept at the harp but also a fearless giant-slayer.

Sharing from the book of Joel, Pringle laid down his fundamental challenge for the evening: To wake up the mighty man within every single male seated in the building. He laid down the premise for the call to arms in how masculinity and manhood within the church has been under siege, suffering the threat of emasculation due to a skewed understanding of Scripture. Pringle worked to reorient the men of City Harvest Church, to enable them to boldly counter problems and awaken the mighty man within, moving from a position of strength to greater strength. Working the fine balance between Godly courage and male chauvinistic bravado, Pringle also reminded the men of their need for accountability and strength.

The meeting left the men of City Harvest burning with a fire in their belly. “Pastor Phil’s sharing was a word in season for me,” said Chew Eng Han. “It stirred up strength in me to face challenges and overcome every single one of them.”

The invention of paper and gunpowder can be credited to one of the oldest, richest and most enduring civilizations of the world, spanning thousands of years of meticulously recorded history. It was no wonder then, that the entire City Harvest congregation had their curiousity piqued when Kong turned historian and dived into the annals of history in order to reveal the evidence of God and His dealings with ancient China. 

Over the span of two weekends during the Lunar New Year festive season, Kong dug deep to reveal the tracks of God in ancient China. He began by showing how the Judeo-Christian God was one and the same with “Shang-Di” whom the ancient Chinese worshipped by analysing the written Chinese text. In the course of dissecting different characters or ideograms, it was plainly seen how events from Genesis were encapsulated in the writing itself, chronicling Man’s fall from grace in Eden’s garden all the way to the dispersion at the Tower of Babel. 

PHOTOS: Wendell Wee

In the following week, Kong tracked the diasporic movement which settled East from the Tower of Babel. From this group of people descended what we now know as the Chinese race. Through ancient scholarly records, it became clear that the attributes of “Shang-Di” matched that of Jehovah God, being corroborated even in the method of worship, having retained the priestly ministry and the animal sacrifices prescribed to the Israelites. 

Kong further taught on how an Italian Jesuit priest by the name of Matteo Ricci started missionary work in China, paving the way for the establishment of missionary bases, which, eventually lead to the subsequent conversion of Emperor Kang Xi himself. Tragically, the pioneering work was eventually hampered and cut short by the religiosity of the Papal authority then, in what would be known as the “Chinese Rites Controversy” of 1715.  

Surfacing back to modern day Singapore, it was not merely a deeper appreciation for Chinese heritage that was engrained in the minds of all, but a revelation of how God had always been involved in the nation of China itself, and how as believers we are to engage our society in a way that is relevant and contemporary.

Purchase a copy of “God In Ancient China” DVD NOW!