Cru Singapore Annual Report 2013

Thanksgiving Report 2013

PARTNERING WITH CHURCHES

“67%

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OF PEOPLE SURVEYED SAID PREMARITAL SEX IS OK IF YOU LOVE SOMEONE BUT 95% OF THEM CAN’T EVEN DEFINE LOVE.”

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is the These words of Josh McDowell rang loud andWhatclear during a seminar organized by Cru Singapore’s Media Ministry at Trinity Christian Centre. During the seminar, 1 Josh addressed more than 500 participants through you can give tohis your children?

Pg 38 talk titled “Love, Sex & Relationship”. Josh also held a Men’s Conference in Covenant Evangelical Free Church attended by about 800 men. an

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Secondly, we are pleased to report that our new ministries are bearing fruit. Our Athletes in Action (AIA) ministry, which aims to reach student athletes, successfully organized its first Ultimate Training Camp as a platform for connecting with non-Christian athletes. Amazingly, almost all the pre-believer campers were there simply because they were personally invited by a disciple of AIA’s ministry. That is the heart of what we do: to see each disciple bear witness to God’s love to those around them. All glory be to God!

Last year, we again produced a Christmas magazine in collaboration with Celebrate Christmas in Singapore (CCIS). Through this magazine, we hope to share the reason for the season with our fellow Singaporeans.

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Our Campus ministry has also continued to partner like-minded missions organisations on projects of synergistic value, such as RADION International for humanitarian trips to Thailand.

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Ivan John Liew is a project committee member of Get the Message Out (GTMO) a task force formed to lead evangelism efforts at the national level. In partnership with Celebrate Christmas in Singapore (CCIS), Cru has produced “All I Want For Christmas” a magazine about the meaning of Christmas for Christians to share with friends and loved ones.

First, we officially embraced our new name and identity as Cru Singapore. While our commitment to the Great Commission remains unchanged, the adoption of this new identity is part of our effort to better reach previously unchartered territories. In this past year, we have persevered in reaching boldly, building deeply and sending urgently, and been privileged to witness God at work through each story in this report. For that, we are truly thankful.

Third, we are thankful for continued partnership with the body of Christ. Together with members of the Fellowship of Missional Organisations of Singapore (FOMOS), we organized two workshops for missions member care personnel, aimed at equipping them to better minister to missionaries and their children.

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“This year we have 112 churches and organisations whom ordered copies for distribution at their various evangelistic platforms. In total we have given out 200,000 magazines nation-wide.”

2013 WAS A YEAR OF SIGNFICANCE FOR CRU SINGAPORE.

Ladies in the seminar releasing balloons as an act of letting go of burdens, sin issues and control of their lives back to Christ.

“Through The Significant Woman (TSW) course, God not only helped me grow deeper in understanding who I am but more importantly whose I am. I am also thankful for fellow sojourners who, through the deep and authentic sharing of pain, struggles, and disappointments over the past six months, encouraged and lifted one another up!”

Soo Lin from Woodlands Evangelical Free Church. This year, 37 ladies from seven churches attended the TSW introduction seminar and 18 of them committed to lead TSW groups in their home churches.

Every life touched is testament to God’s grace and power at work. While some things remain the same, we are thankful for new fruit and ministry opportunities. Looking ahead, I am filled with excitement about where God will lead us to next. Thank you for journeying with us as we endeavor to enable each person to see and hear about God’s love for them. We look forward to another fruitful year of serving with you to see God’s kingdom come, in Singapore and the nations beyond.

Sincerely,

THANKSGIVING REPORT 2013

Lam Kok Hiang Country Leader

© Thanksgiving Report 2013 is a publication of Cru Singapore.

Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.

152 Paya Lebar Road, #04-06 Singapore 409020 Tel: 62232269 Fax: 67473742 Website: www.cru.org.sg

REACHING BOLDLY

BUILDING DEEPLY

SENDING URGENTLY “The retreats (organized by Truth Living Ministry) have inspired me to make an effort to hear how God may be speaking to me in my daily life amid the noise of this world.”

Felicia (3rd from left) is an administrative executive who has been attending Cru’s Truth Living Ministry over the past three years. Monthly group meetings and regular retreats organized by the ministry are some ways that have helped Felicia and other young professionals pursue and maintain a close walk with the Lord.

“The highlight of my SOLEAD training was the mentor group meetings, because these sessions have really equipped me as I made the transition from school to full-time ministry with Cru Singapore. Mentor group meetings are a safe place where I could share my successes and failures, and get practical handles to better cope with the stress of working in a new working environment, as well as personal discipleship.”

“The hill run led me to reflect on the things I had gone through and I was able to understand more how Jesus sacrificed himself to pay for our sins.”

Joshua (left), Year 2 Temasek Polytechnic student, had received Christ through the Ultimate Training Camp organized by the Athletes in Action ministry arm of Cru Singapore. Held at the Singapore Sports School, the 41 participants were exposed to 5 biblical principles and allowed to test them over a 20-hour sports marathon.

“If this God I’ve been hearing about is indeed so loving, He will not abandon me.”

When a friend invited Evelyn, NUS Business School Year 2 student, to join her Discipleship Group on campus in January 2013, she was then a prebeliever. Evelyn went on to attend the Women’s Retreat organized by the NUS ministry, where she worshipped and heard sermons for the first time. It was also there that Evelyn was befriended

by Genevieve, who brought her to church. One afternoon, on the way home from church, Evelyn was moved to invite Jesus into her life. “Now I have a Christian family both on campus and in church. I am truly blessed.”

“I was led to pray for my patient at the right moment with the help of a translator and it became a poignant reminder of the limitations of medicine -- that drugs do not give us the easy answer to complex psychosocial problems, and that only God can heal completely.”

Dr Orlanda Goh is a volunteer who was a member of the 17-man team sent by Cru’s Healthcare Ministry in May 2013, consisting of doctors, health professionals and medical students. These volunteers set up medical clinics in Palawan, Phillippines and also conducted health lectures to the villagers. Through their ministry, 212 locals were exposed to the gospel, 105 received Christ and 28 re-dedicated their lives to Christ.

Janice Lee (extreme right) is one of the ten trainees who graduated from School of Leadership and Development (SOLEAD) this year. SOLEAD is a 9-month Christian life and ministry training program in Cru. It involves classroom equipping and practical field ministry at a campus or an area of service, which provides on-thejob-training as lessons are applied in a real-life context.

“We witnessed the devastation: roofless homes, temporary mortuary tents for the dead, the stench of decay, villagers with hands clasped in eagerness whenever a rescue helicopter flew by, even when our van with ‘Yolanda Medical Mission’ pasted on the van glass panel drove by. I remember seeing a boy who did not even bat an eyelid at the lollipop or food offered but was staring into space, probably reeling from trauma of what had happened. It will take time for the land to be rebuilt and I ask that we continue to pray for His restoration and healing grace.”

“I am thankful for the opportunities to reach out as a group to our pre-believer friends.”

May Tan has been regularly attending a prayer group consisting of mainly mothers with children who are still in school. The prayer group was started by Cru staff, Sharon Lam, in 2007, and has since grown from six to 25 women. Parenting talks, community service with their children and Friday morning walks are just some of the ways through which they build friendships with other pre-believing mothers.

Ex-nurse Rachael Chew was part of the 4-member medical relief team to Tacloban, Philippines in the aftermath of typhoon Haiyan. Cru Singapore is sending more teams to continue the work in 2014.

“We must not only store, but also show the goodness of God in our lives!” Nicole Vale from Singapore Polytechnic, is one of 85 students who attended Cru’s combined Poly ministries camp (8-11 October). Through the camp, the students bonded through fun activities and fellowship. They were also equipped for effective evangelism.

To give toward the medical relief efforts, kindly make your cheque payable to “Cru Asia Limited” and send it to Philippines Typhoon Relief, 152 Paya Lebar Road #04-06 S409020 with your name, contact number and “Philippines Typhoon Relief” clearly written on the back of the cheque. For further enquiries please feel free to contact us at missions@cru.org.sg

“While on a public bus up to the mountains, I met A, who was surprisingly open in sharing about her life’s struggles. Since the ride was 2 hours long, I took this unique opportunity to share the Gospel with her.

She had never heard of Jesus and had no idea what church is all about. I was really so touched to know that God loves this girl so much that He allowed our paths to cross, just so that she could learn about Him!” TW, a staff on a one-year missions stint in East Asia.

“God showed me how He could use someone like me who is so inadequate and inexperienced. He taught me that I just need to be obedient and go where He calls me to and to trust Him no matter what” Fiona, a second year SMU student, Fiona (left) & teammate was the team leader of a Sharon after a follow-up mission team to Manila.

The team, which consisted session with a student whom mostly freshmen, spent two received Christ with them. weeks there, sharing the gospel to 85 students, of whom 49 received Christ.

They also inspired eight key volunteers to commit to starting campus movements in their respective campuses.

In 2013, 33 campus staff and 193 students were sent, and they in turn exposed 3,449 individuals to the gospel of which 2006 said “yes” to a relationship with Christ.