CONNECT Issue 05 (Apr 2011)

“Start by doing what’s necessary; then do what’s possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.”

FRANCIS OF ASSISI

W I T H

G O D

W I T H

O N E

A Time Of Being Blessed

A N O T H E R

The Newsletter of Covenant Evangelical Free Church APRIL 2011 ISSUE NUMBER 5 MICA 214/07/2010

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Covenant’s first ever in-house IDMC CONFERENCE was a blessed time for many, and one where the hearts of our leaders was clearly shown through their service, as Chan Sue Ming finds out.

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herever he leads, I follow. Whatever I feed, he swallows.”

With that tonguein-cheek statement made by Pastor Ann Chan, her beloved husband, Rev Edmund Chan stepped onto stage to kickstart his plenary messages.

With frankness and candour, he shared parts of his life journey, as he addressed the attendees of the first ever in-house Intentional Disciplemaking Church (IDMC) conference. With our IDMC conference being sold out one-year in advance, year after year, the SPO team decided it was time to organise a conference specially for Covenanters only. This meant >>>

Whilst on sabbatical in 2010

A childhood photo of a beloved pastor. Turn to p10 ro find out who he is!

CONTENTS ACK CONFERENCE

A Time Of Being Blessed

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Not “Back Office”, But A Ministry 4 A Time To Pray

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AT OUR CORE

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WIDE ANGLE

OMG – Back From The Dead

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Saving Lives And Souls

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RECENT & UPCOMING EVENTS

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GOD AT WORK

Hearing the heart of our SP

Conversations With An Atheist 1

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ACK Conference

“I was REMINDED that I AM A CHILD OF GOD, and that my PURPOSE IN LIFE is to SERVE HIM.” Spirited singing as they minister to the locals.

Covenant could free up space in the IDMC conference for other delegates, both local and foreign, and focus on blessing the body of Christ at large.

Thus, the “A Certain Kind” (ACK) Conference was born.

“We want to affirm all Covenanters of our vision, values and vehicles as an intentional disciplemaking church,” shares Senior Pastor-Designate Tony Yeo. “Most of all, we wanted to address a critical discipleship issue—cultivating the inner life!”

Senior Pastor-Designate Tan Kay Kiong adds that the church leadership simply desired the congregation to “come simply, humbly and hungrily, and to leave passionately to guard the inner life.”

“We wanted Covenanters to encounter the Lord in an undistracted environment, so they can experience breakthroughs and fully receive the vision of a disciplemaking church,” shares John Chambers, the Conference Director.

With that in mind, the board members, staff team and staff from New Life Community Services (NLCS) humbly

served in the ACK conference, from manning registration booths, to serving as ushers, and even distributing food.

Many were blessed to see Covenant’s board members serving so that the church members could concentrate fully on the conference.

Despite being short of manpower, things proceeded smoothly as Covenanters cooperated well with the organising committee. Many arrived early, way before the conference even began. Covenanters also commented that registration and collection of the workbooks was a breeze. Even mealtime for a staggering 1,500 people proceeded without a hitch, as everyone did their part in making it an enjoyable experience for all.

“I’m so thankful for everyone’s cooperation and how the staff team, board members, and NLCS staff came together to pull this off,” says John Chambers.

SP spoke to us as family, and with the heart of a pastor and shepherd, stressed to us the importance of

Dedicating the new Senior Pastor-Designates

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Giving the opening challenge on Thursday night

Ministry Staff Da vid Chong leading in worsh ip on the opening night

cultivating our inner lives. His teachings, peppered with transparent sharing of his own walk with God, were precious gems to thirsty hearts. More than just the words he spoke, the conviction of his beliefs came through clearly and left many inspired to follow his footsteps in cultivating our inner life.

Our two Senior Pastor-Designates also gave a joint workshop over two afternoons to align the Covenant family to the church’s mission, vision and values.

When asked how it was co-teaching a workshop for more than 1,500 delegates on two afternoons right after lunch, they laughed and said, “It was both a pleasure and a pressure.”

“It was a pleasure working with each other as there was so much synergy and exchange of ideas, and a challenge to keep the delegates awake right after lunch,” they elaborated.

Nonetheless, we were blessed as the two Senior Pastor-Designates shared their hearts, and used various creative means and methods to keep the attendees awake.

Like Pastor Edmund, they spoke to us as family too, and commented that they could “let their hair down

and speak heart-to-heart”.

During the Question-and-Answer session, SP surprised everyone and especially Pastor Tony and Pastor Kay Kiong by inviting them to join in the Q&A too. Handling it with finesse, they in turn shrewdly “delegated” their responsibility to Pastor Chung Kai and Elder Barney too. All joking aside, the SPO team showed themselves to be men of depth, substance and wisdom as they collectively helped to answer the questions posed.

“Before I went for the ACK conference, my heart was hardened with doubts and fears,” shares Leong Siyun. “But God was so amazing. He spoke to me through SP’s messages and reassured me once again how much He loved me.”

Yeoh Yong Chyuan was another person who received assurance from God. “I was reminded that I am a child of God, and that my purpose in life is to serve Him.” Elaine Meng was another delegate who met God during the conference.

She testifies that it was “an insightful conference, as good as the Breakthrough Weekends”.

She walked away

from the conference convicted that she had to “examine and make changes to her inner life”.

“This is not a feel-good conference, but one that challenges us to live our lives right before God,” comments Ding Ruihao. “It provokes deep self-reflection, which more often than not, is masked by busyness. Personally, I am challenged to take responsibility of my walk with God. I believe only when we submit to God will we find our hearts radiating with a natural love for the people around us.

While self-reflection and application promotes spiritual growth, self-focus leads to nowhere but spiritual death. ACK promotes the former. Overall, it was a blessed experience.”

A blessed experience indeed. We were blessed by God through the speakers. We were blessed by the board members and staff members serving us. Most of all, we were blessed as we were reminded of who we are in Christ, and how much we are loved.

“The fruit of the Spirit is not push, drive, climb, grasp and trample ... Life is more than a climb to the top of the heap.”

RICHARD FOSTER

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Operations Department The Operations team

Not “Back Office”, But A Ministry!

What’s it like serving behind the scenes in Covenant’s church office? Chan Sue Ming gives you a little peek into the lives of the men and women who serve faithfully in the OPERATIONS DEPARTMENT.

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hink Operations in church, and you may think “back office”. When things are running smoothly, no one notices. But when something goes wrong, everyone notices.

“But that’s a misconception,” says Elder Barney Lau, who heads the Operations team. “I see the Operations department as a support ministry that enables and empowers the church to run and do what it needs to do. When the church is running well, it shows that the Operations ministry is successful.”

The Operations department consists of six sub-departments, namely Building and Facilities, Information Communications Technology, Media and Communications, Human Resources and Finance, Office Administration and Covenant Resources.

The second misconception: It’s just a job. You can do the same thing in the

marketplace with a higher remuneration.

That’s not entirely true as every Operations staff is here because of God’s call. Some have left high-paying jobs and successful careers to serve in church.

John Wang, Administrator for MD Ministries, gave up a lucrative career in real estate and answered God’s call to serve full-time. “It is like a new chapter of my life has started,” he shares, with a sparkle in his eyes and a broad smile on his face.

John Chambers, Manager for Covenant Resources, felt God laid upon his heart the burden to leave his business and serve in church. He admits to having “no inkling, desire or dream to work in church” prior to God’s call, but obeyed anyway.

Admin Assistant Elvin Koh recalls being invited by Pastor Tony to consider joining the staff team, and though he had heard the calling by then, he had

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some reservations. “I did not apply straightaway,” he shares candidly. Five years later, he is still running strong.

“It all comes back to calling. If you do not have that, nothing else matters,” said Kenneth Cheong, IT Administrator.

For many Operations staff, serving in Covenant is a time for them to not only serve God in the areas they are gifted in, but a time of learning as well. “I always look forward to serving in whatever capacity God calls me as I believe I grow when I serve Him,” shares Chris Pang, Ministry Admin Executive for Sunbeam.

“Flying in formation is important too,” attests Sharon Fong, HR and Finance Manager. “I heartily agree with Covenant’s vision of being a disciplemaking church, and seek to serve alongside to see it fulfill its calling and destiny.”

Mylette Namoc, BPJ Administrator, is thankful for a supportive team of colleagues who even helps her improve

in her work. Most of all, she is glad that the leaders place importance on each staff’s spiritual growth. There is staff devotion for all staff every Wednesday, and a prayer meeting just for Operations staff on Fridays.

Serving as an Operations staff is most certainly not a bed of roses. Tight deadlines and pressures are real but the common echo amongst the Operations team is that there is meaning, purpose and satisfaction in their work.

“Everything has an eternal effect and value,” shares John Wang.

“It does not matter how small my task is because I know I am doing God’s will,” Mylette echoes.

One of Covenant’s longest-serving staff is Admin Assistant Chua Bee Leng who appreciates that “there is nothing to prove”. She also loves the fun times she has with colleagues in the office and at

Sharon Fong serving food at the recent ACK Conference

“When the CHURCH IS RUNNING WELL, it shows that the OPERATIONS MINISTRY is successful.”

Bee Leng and Ch arlene – colleagues and cel l group mates

Sarah Koh serving in the recent AGM

In action at ACK Conference

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team-building activities or retreats. On most Mondays, staff also get together after work informally to exercise and have fun.

Calvin Koh, who serves in the Media and Communications team, agrees this is “a friendly place to work”.

John Chambers shares that the staff team is “authentic” and “truly a community of grace”. “It is something that is easy to talk about but difficult to achieve, but we are living it. It’s like it’s in everyone’s DNA,” he adds.

“When I came back from my maternity leave,” shares Sharon, “it was like coming back home.”

“We are like family,” sums up John Wang.

Covenant sees its Operations team as the seven men “of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom”, who were appointed to serve tables so that the apostles could be freed to concentrate on the preaching of the Word in Acts 2:2-4.

If you have a burden to serve and you sense God is calling you, come and serve, because it’s not just “back office’” but a ministry!

Day of Prayer Coming back to the heart of worship

Joining hands in unity to pray for the Land of the Rising Sun

A Time To Pray Covenant had two DAYS OF PRAYER in 2011 thus far, and Cynthia Oh shares with us what it is like to be there.

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n the wake of natural disasters in Japan and other parts of the world, and the political upheaval in the Middle East, what better way to spend our time than in prayer and intercession?

February’s Day of Prayer on the 26th saw Covenanters responding first to the call of personal repentance that leads to restoration. Drawing upon Job Chapter 42, Pastor Kay Kiong shared that the latter part of our lives can be more glorious than the former when we leave the place of resignation and despondency. Fears, failures, despair, hopelessness and everything that hinders were surrendered in exchange for fresh hope and promises from God. April’s Day of Prayer on the 2nd

focused on Covenant’s upcoming Easter outreach Time was also set aside to pray for disaster-stricken Japan.

“When one part of the body of Christ suffers, we all suffer and stand together,” said Pastor Tony. After saying that, Makiko Okada and two other Japanese ladies were invited on stage, and Makiko represented the four Japanese nationals who worship in Covenenat to share with the congregation Japan’s prayer needs. Hearts and hands were joined to pray for the Land of the Rising Sun, believing that the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings one day.

The Day of Prayer is a time for Covenanters to come together as a church to pray for the needs of

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Passionate sharin g about praying for the nat ions

“... the LATTER PART of our lives can be MORE GLORIOUS than the former when WE LEAVE THE PLACE OF RESIGNATION and DESPONDENCY.”

Lifting up the nations in a time of worship

the church, Singapore and the world. In February’s Day of Prayer, Covenanters had their vision and horizon enlarged as the Missions Committee shared the direction of Covenant Missions 2010–2020.

The five main mission thrusts are Home, Urban, Business as Mission, E-missions and The Next Generation (TNG). Through these different avenues, everyone would be able to participate in missions—even without leaving the shores of Singapore.

In keeping with the The Next Generation’s thrust, Pastor Tony announced that two youth mission teams would be sent to East Timor and Indonesia during the March school holidays. The teams were prayed for and commissioned, and today they are back

VOICES mission teams

Missions Prayer Meetings

Come join us to pray for Singapore and beyond!

10 Apr 2011 Indo China 17 Apr 2011 East Asia 24 Apr 2011 Southeast Asia 1 May 2011 Home Missions / TNG 8 May 2011 East Asia 15 May 2011 Blessing the Buddhists 22 May 2011 Southeast Asia 29 May 2011 Indo China 5 Jun 2011 Home Missions / TNG 12 Jun 2011 Indo China 19 Jun 2011 East Asia 26 Jun 2011 Southeast Asia 6 Jul 2011 Home Missions / TNG 17 Jul 2011 Sharing by Regional Coordinators 24 Jul 2011 Sharing by Regional Coordinators 31 Jul 2011 East Asia

Prayer Events for 2011 7 May 2011 12 Jun 2011 1 Jul 2011 – 9 Aug 2011 1 Aug 2011 – 5 Aug 2011 5 Aug 2011

with wonderful testimonies of how God used and touched them.

Through worship, exhortations by our pastors, testimony sharing by church members, hearts are ignited, visions are cast, passions stirred, and whatever that is holding us back surrendered.

It is a time of personal edification and corporate intercession.

Being at the Day of Prayer left me with a greater desire to pray, for it is in prayer that we draw closer to God, share his heart’s concerns, be touched by his compassion for the poor and destitute, be humbled by how he still chooses to use broken vessels like us to reveal his glory, be quieted by his gentle whispers of love, and be lifted up in our spirits with the knowledge of his holiness and glory.

Day of Prayer Global Day of Prayer 40 Days of Prayer Dawn Prayer Day with Jesus

“…for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations.” ISAIAH 56:7

Contact missions@cefc.org.sg for more information

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At Our Core

grace

stewardship

grace

To grow in my capacity to reflect God’s grace— as a father, son and husband. First to grasp God’s grace upon my life more fully, then to respond by extending His grace through my words and actions to my loved ones.

I would like to grow

and His glory.

I want to grow in my understanding and application of the grace of God in my life. I believe the values that we pursue will probably not be realised unless we truly understand His grace from within and once we do, all the other core values will fall into place.

Chan Sue Ming

Young Kim

LYNN TEO Alvin Liew

community I want to grow in community. I have struggled with fears of officially being part of an institutionalised body of believers,

in stewardship of my time, talents and resources this year, as I believe we are called to wisely use what God has given us, for my joy

Values speak of what’s truly important to us. Covenant’s Visible Values are GRACE, GROWTH and GODLINESS. When people think of “a certain kind”, these are the qualities that come to mind. Yet, these are anchored in our Underlying Values of TRUTH, COMMUNITY, STEWARDSHIP, BALANCE and BROKENNESS. Maggie Ng gets up close and personal with some Covenanters and asks them what is one core value they wish to grow in this year and why.

grace

brokenness

with my fears.

Serving in church has given me the opportunity to observe how a church is run and to compare my experiences with that of the corporate world.

In the corporate world, grace is lacking and therefore the one thing that I want to grow in is grace, because that is what makes us distinct.

I need to have a sense of brokenness 24/7 in order that I may glimpse the redemptive and restorative powers of Jesus who alone transforms broken vessels to become perfect and holy instruments of righteousness for His glory.

Esther G

Lee Wee King

Ares Tan

because in too many institutions, being part of the community is often confused with mass programme participation, as opposed to genuinely knowing and caring for people. I’d like to try doing both in the right spirit, and let God deal

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Wide Angle — A Column By Our Staff

Real stories.

Real people.

Join us this Easter for an event you’ll never forget ...

Pastor Edmund Wong shares his heart with us during this season of Lent, as we prepare to celebrate the RESURRECTION OF OUR RISEN LORD.

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homas answered Him, “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28).

We are in the season of Lent, a 40-day period that starts on Ash Wednesday and ends at Easter. Its purpose is to prepare Christians to commemorate the Holy Week which begins with Palm Sunday and culminates with Good Friday and Easter. It recalls Jesus’ betrayal, arrest, trials, crucifixion and resurrection.

Preparation includes prayer, repentance, almsgiving and self-denial.

Lent starts on 9 April (Ash Wednesday) and ends 46 days later on 22 April (Holy Saturday). The Sundays during Lent are not included in its 40-day period as each represents a “mini-Easter”, a celebration of Jesus’

victory over sin and death.

Covenant has chosen to use Lent to reach out to our pre-believing FRANS (Friends, Relatives, Associates, Neighbours, Strangers). We are organising “OMG—Back From The Dead!”, a talkshow that introduces Jesus in a creative and relevant way; and begun a 40-day prayer season (21 Mar –29 Apr), asking God for a harvest like never before.

Recently, while talking with my hairstylist about the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, I asked if he believed in the end of the world. He said that looking at what was happening, he could not NOT believe. I also had the joy of partnering with another Covenanter to connect with a mutual pre-believing friend who was earlier

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“The HEARTS of pre-believers are READY. ARE WE?” nodding away while we were talking about God. And a new believer I invited to church brought his pre-believing family along. The hearts of pre-believers are ready. Are we?

May you be part of His-story in the lives of those around you who are lost.

And like the initially doubting Thomas, may they encounter Jesus and declare “My Lord and My God!”

Close Up Our Pastor-Doctor with his family

Saving Lives And Souls Danesh Daryanani interviews Covenant’s one of two Pastor Doctors, and shares with us more about the man who is known for his brilliant yet simple sermons.

out prayer

Passionate ab

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beaming smile and a warm, welcoming handshake greets you when you meet Rev Dr Chua Chung Kai for the first time. Self-effacing and humble by nature, this impression changes when he steps on the pulpit and preaches the Word of God. He is, simply, transformed.

On the pulpit, “brilliant, funny, eloquent, engaging, charismatic”, would be among the many adjectives used to describe him. He is an Associate Pastor serving in the Senior Pastor’s Office, and oversees the Pillar Ministries (Prayer, Worship, Equipping, Small Groups and Outreach).

Pastor Kai confesses, “I’m a very shy and private person. So it’s really a miracle I got to be comfortable on stage. A lot of it was through the encouragement of

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Pastor Edmund Chan, my mentor who kept encouraging and coaching me to improve. Perhaps he saw something that I could not see. Overcoming stage fright was a personal victory.”

In preaching the Word, he is known to have the gift of delivering complex and difficult messages in the simplest ways but with profound insights and practical applications. He is also a versatile ‘linguist’ on the pulpit, switching naturally from the Queen’s English to Singlish with the occasional flashes of dialect and Mandarin, and a few brave forays into Malay and Tamil.

Pastor Kai who is “the same age as independent Singapore” was born into a Cantonese family and as a child he was given the nickname “Kai zai” which means “little chicken” as he jokes, “Chicken Little”, referring to the Walt

Ps Kai’s favourite p

hoto

CONTEST The least known fact about Pastor Kai is that his parents gave him a Christian name that has never been commonly used. The first person to get the name right with an email to publications@cefc.org.sg will win an autographed copy of Pastor Kai’s favourite book, Mere Christianity by CS Lewis.

her’s Following in his fat medical footsteps

SELF-EFFACING and HUMBLE by nature, this impression changes when he steps on the pulpit and PREACHES the WORD OF GOD. He is, simply, TRANSFORMED. Disney character who attempts to save the world from the falling sky. Well, now “Kai zai” has grown up and he’s saving the world from something bigger than a falling sky.

When pressed for significant events of his childhood days, he rather modestly states he led a “boring life in a quiet family” and was “very square”, did not travel much and was not very sporty. However, with all certainty the most significant event of his youth was receiving Jesus Christ as his Lord in 1984 and his subsequent baptism in 1985 at the then Bukit Timah Evangelical Free Church.

Educated from primary school to junior college in the ACS system, he followed in his father’s footsteps and graduated from Medical School at the National University of Singapore. Soon after, God called him to Singapore Bible College where he graduated with a Masters of Divinity in 2000. He was ordained in 2004 and God has been his roller-coaster pilot since!

Apart from receiving Christ, his other

most significant life event was meeting his then wife-to-be, Tina. A smile exchanged between the two of them at a Christmas rally organised by EFC Singapore was the spark that set them on fire and in love. As Pastor Kai proudly says, “My wife is my greatest fan and stalwart prayer warrior”.

The family has now grown to five with their three children, John (16), Joel (14), and Joanne (9).

Work aside, Pastor Kai is an avid runner, loves watching movies, and has recently discovered his “creative side” through photography and muses that it may become his “retirement career”. The word “photography” is derived from Greek and means “drawing with light”. So perhaps this is a natural extension of preaching the Gospel to “show the true Light” to the world (John 8:12). Whether through photography or via the pulpit, we’re sure of this one thing – Pastor Kai’s job will always be to “show the true Light”.

In A Word NAME Chua Chung Kai BIRTHDAY 16 Jan 1965 DIALECT GROUP Cantonese FAVOURITE FOOD Asian FAVOURITE COLOURS Darker colours like brown and dark green FAVOURITE VERSE Isa 43:1 FAVOURITE BOOK Mere Christianity FAVOURITE SONG Be Thou My Vision FAVOURITE MOVIE Lord of the Rings trilogy A SIGNIFICANT “CHRIST MOMENT” Planting of a tree in Israel in Dec 2010 as an enacted parable of the Lord fulfilling Isa 60:21 in my family’s life

“Our prayer and God’s mercy are like two buckets in a well; while one ascends, the other descends.”

ARTHUR HOPKINS

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Recent & Upcoming Events Date

Event

Venue

10 Apr

Membership Acceptance

BPJ & WDL

11-17 Apr

CG Connect

16 Apr

Membership Class

BPJ

17 Apr

Baptism Class

BPJ

22 Apr

OMG—Back From The Dead!

BPJ

22 Apr

Hokkien Outreach

WDL

23 Apr

OMG—Back From The Dead!

WDL

24 Apr

Easter Sunday Outreach

BPJ & WDL

24 Apr

Family Lunch

BPJ & WDL

7 May

Day of Prayer

BPJ

CREDITS EXECUTIVE EDITOR Sandra Chi MANAGING EDITOR Chan Sue Ming COPY EDITORS Yvonne Cheong, Edwin Pang WRITERS Ps Edmund Wong, Danesh Darayanani, Audrey Koh, Maggie Ng, Cynthia Oh, Chan Sue Ming PHOTOGRAPHERS Paul Liew, Paul Samuel, David Chong ART DIRECTION & DESIGN Christian Subrata CONTACT US publications@cefc.org.sg

God At Work

Conversations With An Atheist AUDREY KOH, BPJ CENTRE

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he first time I met James was at the English Speaking Corner in a local university.

He was a self-professed atheist with a keen intellect from East Asia. It was hard for him to understand the existence of God. He was also searching for meaning in life and what was most important to him. Our first encounter became a three-hour conversation. We spoke about the purpose of life and I had the opportunity to share my story. I ended our time with praying a blessing for James and teaching him how to pray. I told him that if he earnestly sought God, God will speak to him.

The next time I met James, he had moved from

“The income of God’s Word is the outcome of a changed life.”

atheism to believing that there is a God! He was interested to visit various churches so we arranged for him to do that. Thereafter James came to Covenant, and now attends Covenant regularly, prays, and attends a Covenant Group! Although James has not made the decision to give his life to Jesus, he is part of the body life of Covenant. To him, this is the way he discovers God and is able to ask questions without having to worry about making mistakes.

Looking at James’ life, I can see how important it is to surround pre-believers with the Christian community and provide a safe environment for them to discover Jesus.

SHARE YOUR TESTIMONIES! Write us at publications@cefc.org.sg

ED COLE 12

OUR OFFICE 167 Jalan Bukit Merah Tower 5, #17-10 Singapore 150167 T. +65 6892 6811 F. +65 6892 1502 www.cefc.org.sg PRINTER Yung Shung Printrade Pte Ltd CONNECT is a bi-monthly newsletter of Covenant Evangelical Free Church. We welcome advertisers in CONNECT. However, advertising in our publication does not necessarily imply editorial endorsement of either the advertiser or contents of the advertisement. Unless otherwise specified, Scriptural references are from the New American Standard Bible (NASB).

© 2011 Covenant Evangelical Free Church

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