2020 ISSUE
02
TRAINING in RIGHTEOUSNESS
Training in Righteousness I
n these last few months, how often have you heard this phrase spoken, “We are living in unprecedented times”? So many things have changed suddenly like Working From Home and Home-Based Learning. And then we are learning so many new things like Zoom and online connection. The researchers are still trying to understand this new virus. And the national leaders are still grappling with the situation and giving out new advisories and measures for their populations. Indeed, we are living in a new normal. That phrase carries a sense of uncertainty and anxiety of what the future may be. I am not sure about you but every time I hear that phrase, it seems to drum in more fear into me. Was hoarding or panic-buying our initial response to the fear? Instead of letting fear take over, I was reminded frequently to look towards God. In times like this, we should dig deeper into His Word. Though our future may appear bleak and gloomy, God always brings us back to what we have learnt in the Bible in the past. We always go back to the Bible to hear what God is saying. He is our Hope! He never changes; He is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. He is always in control. All this knowledge of God’s word can be traced back to all our weekly Sunday School classes and sermons that we have attended, even as spiritual babies. The Word of God is God’s instruction to train us in the way and life of righteousness, to be more and more like Him and be equipped for every good work, regardless of our spiritual age. St Jerome said, “The Scriptures are shallow enough for a babe to come and drink without fear of drowning and deep enough for theologians to swim in without ever reaching the bottom.”
MMS truly understands the importance of training for all our missionaries, national pastors, and leaders. In this issue, HF focuses on what MMS does by way of training and you can read more about the various training programmes in the different countries on pages 12 to 20. On page 6, you can read about what the MMS Training Committee has done. MMS Executive Director shared three keys thoughts about training on page 2. On page 36, Rev Benjamin Lee emphasised the importance of training for those who are in or going to missions. And finally, Bishop Dr Chong on page 40 encouraged missionaries to sharpen their skills by undergoing continuous training. Let’s pray for the righteousness that is found only in the profitable training of God’s Word. Let’s pursue it through daily reading of our Bibles and feeding on the Word of God.
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CONTENTS
Methodist Missions Society (MMS) is the missions agency of The Methodist Church in Singapore. MMS is given the mandate to establish indigenous churches supported by mission endeavours in communities across this region where there is no Methodist presence. Harvest Force is published three times annually and distributed free. The views and opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the publisher. All information published is correct at time of writing and may subject to change. All Scripture quoted is based on the English Standard Version, unless otherwise stated.
PERMIT NUMBER
014/01/2020
02 04
FIRST WORD • Equipping the Saints WAZZUP! • Country Information • Opportunities to Serve
STORY Training: Eye-Opening & 06 F• EATURE Empowering!
ADVISOR Rev Derrick Lau
JULY 2020
• Cambodia, the Kingdom of Wonders • Training in Nepal • Training for Growth • Training towards Righteousness • Teaching and Training of Disciples is a Lifestyle
EDITOR
Leongheng PROOFREADER
Wendy Tan CHINESE PROOFREADER Goh Tuan Gee TRANSLATORS Thng Pheng Soon, Koh Wan Yee PHOTO CREDITS Benjamin Lee, Benjamin Lee, Carol Ong, David Chan, Derrick Lau, Jessie Chan, Juliette Arulrajah, Leslie Lim, Noel Tam, Quek Koh Eng, See Swee Fang, Tan Li Diang, Watit Kwanruan DISTRIBUTION & SUPPORT Eileen Lim, Helen Tan, Tan Poh Ling & Volunteers DESIGNER SNAP! Creative Pte Ltd PRINTER Print & Print Pte Ltd PUBLISHER Rev Derrick Lau 70 Barker Road #06-01, The Methodist Centre Singapore 309936
FIELD FEATURE CAMBODIA 24 • The Third Place
TIMOR-LESTE • What Is God doing in Timor-Leste? – An update on St Paul Methodist School • Missionary’s Heartbeat NEWGMP • New Geographical Mission Partnerships
Tel: 6478 4818
MMS IS SOCIAL! Connect with us and never miss an update
mms@methodist.org.sg
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t.me/mmsorgsg
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COVER: A Thai believer reading the Bible.
34
IN OTHER WORDS • The Laity and its Place in the Church
36
HF SPECIAL • Theological Education for Missions
40
CLOSING THOTS • Tool Sharpening
02
HARVESTFORCE 2020 • 2
Three key thoughts on “EQUIPPING THE SAINTS” P
Rev Derrick Lau 刘作丰牧师 Executive Director of MMS. He enjoys gardening.
aul states, “What you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also.” 2 Timothy 2:2. Let me share three key thoughts: 1. Multiplication through equipping faithful disciples. Paul advocates a simple plan i.e. a faithful disciple trains another faithful disciple who in turn trains another faithful disciple. This is the strategy of ensuring long-term sustainability through the principle of multiplication. “The early Methodist leaders were men and women of piety, and as Wesley empowered non-ordained leaders, the movement continued to multiply, growing rapidly throughout England. Wesley chose his leaders carefully, handpicking them according to the gifts they demonstrated. He took his time and was quite serious about this. In a similar way, we must learn to be selective with whom we choose to disciple. We should look for people who are faithful, willing and able to progress and grow in their discipleship.” (https://outreachmagazine. com/resources/books/churchbooks/46627-lessons-from-johnwesleys-leadership.html). 2. Systematic training, engagement with the trainees and active listening to the Lord. Missionary Training serves to equip potential missionaries, clergy and lay, for serving cross-culturally in mission fields. Essentially, we develop curriculum to train servants of Christ to make disciples among all nations. It is indispensable that training be incorporated as a pre-requisite for service in the field. We have found that systematic training can help workers
bear much fruit and stay longer on the field. Courses are conducted by experienced cross-cultural missionaries, trainers and pastors. They come from diverse backgrounds and possess a wide range of experience from serving among ethnic people groups. Besides offering a theoretical framework, they provide practical tips on addressing specific cases on the fields. Having said that, missionaries have to be sensitive to the Lord’s prompting and continually seek His wisdom in responding to issues that arise from time to time where no textbook answers could render help during those circumstances. We appreciate the Training Sub Committee, chaired by Juliette Arulrajah and her team comprising pastors and mission leaders, that provides comprehensive training for potential missionaries as well as ongoing training programmes for the clergy and lay leaders in our fields. And through the years, we have developed meaningful engagement with National Leaders in determining the appropriate training needs for their people. We listen to the ground and tailor our Training Programme for the benefit of the trainees so that these resources will be useful in transforming their lives as faithful disciples who shall in turn teach/equip their people to be disciples of Christ. 3. Pray to the Lord to raise more faithful disciples to serve in the fields. While we stress on the value of training, we need to pray to the Lord of the harvest to raise more labourers as the Harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few (cf. Matthew 9:37,38). In 2 Timothy 2:4-6, Paul paints a picture of
FIRSTWORD 03
装备圣徒 保
罗说， “你在许多见证人面前听见我所教训的，也要 交托那忠心能教导别人的人。”提后2:2。 让我在这 里与您分享装备圣徒的重要性、卫宣的装备过程与落实： 1. 通过装备忠心的门徒以倍增门徒 保罗主张一个简单的门徒培育计划， 即由一个忠心的 门徒培训另一个忠心门徒，再由他培训第三个忠心的 门徒。这是按倍增原则，通过长期持续性的接棒策略， 达成倍增门徒。 “早期卫理教会的男女领袖都是虔诚 的信徒，当卫斯理任命非圣职的平信徒领袖后，这种门 徒培育的运动随后继续在英国扩展，门徒迅速倍增。 卫斯理在遴选领袖工作上态度认真，亲自根据他们所 展现的潜在恩赐挑选任命。我们在遴选门徒方面，也 同样要传承这种精神， 招募忠心耿耿、愿意委身并力 求成长的信徒。” (https://outreachmagazine.com/resources/books/ church-books/46627-lessons-from-john-wesleysleadership.html).
卫宣的培训课程由经验丰富的跨文化宣教士，导师 及教牧负责。他们来自不同背景的工场，在少数民族群 体服侍中累积广泛的经验。除了提供理论框架外，他们 还提供了处理该禾场特定案例的实践技巧。虽然具备 这些技能，宣教士还得敏感于主的带领，持续求祂赐下 智慧以回应不时突发的问题，他们所处的困境并非书 本上能找得到解决的方案。 我们非常感激培训小组委员会主席Juliette Arulrajah，以及培训团队中的牧师和宣教领袖，他们 为具潜能的宣教士提供全方位的培训，也为禾场上的 教牧及平信徒领袖提供持续性的培训课程。过往这些 年，他们与当地领袖有多次紧密的接触与沟通，以确定 所提供的培训切合当地的需要。此外，他们也听取现 场学员的回馈并适当调整，量身制定配合他们需求的 培训计划，让这些资源有助于他们生命的改变，转化他 们成为忠心的门徒，日后他们能教导并培育当地信徒 成为基督的门徒。
2. 推动系统培训，落实学员互动，积极聆听主声 宣教培训的目标在于装备有潜能的宣教士、圣职人员 及平信徒，在宣教禾场上开展跨文化的事奉。通过培 训，我们装备基督的仆人带领万民作主门徒。培训是进 入禾场前的必备条件。经验告诉我们，系统化的培训 可以帮助宣教士在禾场多结果子，在禾场的工作也更 能持久。
3. 求恩主壮大禾场忠心服事的门徒团队 当我们强调培训的重要性时，我们也需要祈求庄稼的 主兴起更多的工人。因为要收的庄稼多，作工的人少。 （马太福音9:37-38）。使徒保罗在提后2:4-6中，借用 士兵、运动员、农夫做了比喻，说明在远赴宣教前线前 做足装备工作的重要。感谢上帝，截至2020年4月中 旬，本地教会已经有38名宣教士完成装备并在七个禾 场积极服侍。我们也在处理几位潜能宣教士的申请。 卫宣为有意献身投入宣教行列的信徒，提供特别的培 训，并安排他们投入禾场实地体验及实践所学长达一 个月到半年之久。有关实地宣教学习与体验的详细资 料，可上网浏览：https://www.mms.org.sg/mite。 您是否也愿意接受培训和装备，成为基督忠心的 门徒? “他所赐的有使徒，有先知，有传福音的，有牧师和教 师， 为要成全圣徒，各尽其职，建立基督的身体。” 以弗所书4:11-12
Missionary Training Commencement in December 2019
soldier, athlete and farmer to illustrate the value of equipping prior to the actual missionary service. As of midApril 2020, we praise God that 38 missionaries from our local churches are trained and actively serving in our seven mission fields. Currently, we are processing several potential missionaries. MITE programme is an example where we provide special training and exposure to those who are exploring missionary service. It is a programme designed to send believers to the mission fields for 1 to 6 months. For more information, please visit https://www. mms.org.sg/mite. Will you avail yourself to be trained and equipped as a faithful disciple of Christ? “And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to EQUIP the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,” Ephesians 4:11,12.
04 4
HARVESTFORCE 2020 • 2
Country Information To find out more about the different fields, please email the respective persons at these email addresses: Cambodia lichun.woo@methodist.org.sg East Asia hazel.mui@methodist.org.sg Laos
jularul.ps84@gmail.com
Nepal noel.tam@methodist.org.sg Thailand jeremy.choo@methodist.org.sg Timor-Leste
hazel.mui@methodist.org.sg koheng.quek@methodist.org.sg
Vietnam
Opportunities to Serve IN THE FIELD The fields are ready for harvesting – but there are so few labourers. In the seven countries that MMS is serving, we continue to be needful for the following: • Full-time missionaries. We are asking the Lord to send pastors, church planters, ministry workers, mentors, and teachers. • Short-term workers who are able to spend between two weeks and six months to help our missionaries. Please raise your own financial support. • Prayer partners to pray for our ministries and missionaries. What to do if you sense the LORD calling you into His mission field: 1. Speak with your pastor and ask him/her to help examine your calling to missions.
For more information about these opportunities, kindly email mms@methodist.org.sg. Be in prayer with us as we seek God’s direction to challenge and mobilise our Methodist community to serve Christ.
2. If your church pastor and leaders affirm your calling and are prepared to support – praise the Lord! Call MMS straight away. 3. If your church pastor and leaders affirm your calling but are unable to provide full financial support for you – call MMS anyway! Some of our missionaries are supported by the combined efforts of multiple Methodist churches, agencies, and individuals.
WAZZUP! 05
Cambodia • Secondary and primary school teachers to teach and train our teachers at the Methodist School of Cambodia. • Trained social workers as well as Children’s & Youth Ministry workers for Community Outreach Services (COS) NGO. • Prayer and financial supporters for pastors of the Methodist Church of Cambodia as they are receiving below the national minimum wage and have to be bi-vocational. • Trainers and volunteers to support market place ministry and consider joining BAMBOO (www.bamboofoundation.sg). • Missionaries who are willing to be trained in making disciples in our ministries. East Asia • Professional trainers to conduct enrichment courses, leadership development, young adult counselling. • Partners to support social work and community development programme, especially for medical services. Laos • Missionary to oversee Singapore Mission School (SMS) operations and develop partnership with local churches for village outreach. • Three Kindergarten and Primary teachers familiar with the Singapore curriculum to teach at SMS. Teachers can opt to serve a one-year term or longer. Nepal • A seminary graduate to serve at Caleb Bible Institute on a short-term attachment. • Ministry staff to serve as spiritual counsellors and mentors for Sophia’s Home on short field assignments. • Missionary to serve in Nepal. Two missionaries will be returning to Singapore by end June 2020 and will complete their service with MMS by 3Q of 2020. Thailand • Short-term helpers to organise programmes and activities for BB, GB, and Children’s Ministry at Rangsit and SongRoi Phee tuition centres. • Qualified Kindergarten and Primary levels teachers to conduct teachers’ training at Vineyard Methodist School and Little Candles School. • Mission teams to conduct evangelistic events, community services, etc at our Methodist churches. Timor-Leste • Teachers to volunteer for one year to provide instruction for Grade 7 to 11 students at the St Paul Methodist School
(SPMS), or mentor local teachers in basic curriculum design and instructional strategies for at least a month. • Short-term volunteers to provide English, Science or Mathematics tuition for Grade 10-12 students in the Sundermeier Home. • More sponsors are needed for students enrolled at SPMS and high school residents at Sundermeier Home. Please support the MMS Student Sponsorship Scheme (SSS) for children and youth from poor families. Vietnam • An assistant pastor, pastoral assistant or ministry staff with theological qualifications to serve in International Christian Fellowship (ICF) at Ho Chi Minh City. • Tentmakers, social entrepreneurs, teachers, and professionals to worship and serve in ICF. • Mission teams to visit and serve alongside ICF. • Volunteer to train ICF members on the audio-visual equipment. Exploration of New Geographical Missions Partnerships (NewGMP) • MMS is exploring collaborative partnership with local Methodist churches in countries such as Indonesia and Myanmar. • If the Lord is leading you to serve in places beyond the seven countries where MMS has some form of ministry, please get in touch with us.
AT HOME You can also come alongside as Mission Partners and Volunteers (MPV) at home to encourage and empower God’s work and workers to incarnate the love of Jesus Christ and to make a difference in the mission fields. Communications & Publications • Be an English-Chinese translator. • Be a photographer or videographer. • Be a graphic designer. • Be a web designer. Office Assistance • Be our MMS Event Coordinator. • Be part of our Fund Raising Team. • Be our Fellowship Mailer Team. Financial Assistance • Be a sponsor through the Student Sponsorship Schemes. Please refer to page 31.
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TRAINING COMMITTEE
Training: EYE-OPENING & EMPOWERING! Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up the age-old foundations; you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings. (Isaiah 58:12, NIV)
A. WHY & WHO?
I
Juliette Arulrajah MMS Training Chairman
t was the KAIROS time! As MMS had been around for more than two decades by 2013, the key leadership felt that to spur MMS on to the next phase of growth, it was essential to have a standardised framework for training to equip and empower both missionaries and national workers, of course contextualising it according to the needs of each field. To launch the inaugural MMS Training Committee in early 2014, preparations began in the latter half of 2013 with the then Executive Director, Rev Philip Lim, and then MMS Area and Operations Director, Col (Ret) Quek Koh Eng, approaching me to consider chairing and forming the committee. After prayer and consultation with the above-mentioned MMS leaders, individual members were approached to serve on the committee ensuring inclusion of the Field Board of Ministry Chairman as well as representation from each of the three Annual Conferences. All the core Training Committee members are experienced cross-cultural missions specialists. They have been involved with MMS for several years in various capacities – whether as clergy or laity in the MMS ExCo, in Field Leadership, in Subcommittees or as Missionaries. In addition to the core members, the MMS Executive Director and all Area Directors are also part of the committee as ex-officio members. Several of us are also regional and global leaders with other international agencies or movements in the arena of cross-cultural missions and experienced particularly with regards missions and missionary training. Members of the inaugural core team were Dr Stanley Ling, Dr Ashok Kumar, Rev Yeo Lay Suan, Rev Jeyapaul Sitther, Rev Erick Tan, and the then MMS Training Director, Rev Lee Shuit Kuin, other than myself and the MMS leadership. Over the last six years, there have been occasions for renewal of members due to change of members’ other responsibilities, - Rev Yeo handed over to Rev Prabhu as the Field Board of Ministry Chairman in 2016, Rev Lee moved on due to MMS re-structuring in early 2016 but continues to help as a specialist trainer, Rev Tan for more church responsibilities in 2019, and Rev Sitther who returned to his home country in 2016 and was replaced by Rev James Nagulan. Rev Teresa Wilborn came on board as a core committee member in late 2015, Ms Woo Li Chun and Ms Hazel Mui in 2019 as well as Rev Vincent Goh in early 2020! Rev Derrick Lau, the new ED in 2019, brought fresh excitement to the committee as he underscored the importance
FEATURESTORY 07
of further ramping up training in both Singapore and across the seas. I thank God for each of these persons who have given selflessly of themselves, their time, effort, and expertise over the years in different ways to further strengthen MMS training both here at home and in the field!
B. WHAT & HOW? The Training Committee’s vision, in a nutshell, is to: 1 Train and equip missionaries and national field workers to grow and empower disciples, to be disciple-makers as they plant self sustainable churches. 2 Create awareness of, equip, and empower Singapore Methodist churches for cross-cultural missions.
C. WHERE & WHEN? Singapore As training of potential and new missionaries is essential for better prepared servants of God sent forth to the harvest field, a comprehensive 12-module, four-day-a-week equipping programme for 15 of them was carried out in July and August 2014, and another for seven more in November 2019. Graduation & Commencement Services for these ‘called out’ ones were held with family, friends, and local church leadership besides Methodist leadership on 29 August 2014 and 7 December 2019 respectively. Currently these missionaries are now serving in Cambodia, East Asia, Thailand, and Timor-Leste. Experienced cross-cultural trainers (mainly Methodist) with expertise in specific areas in missions lectured and facilitated the various topics such as the Global Overview of Missions, Cross-Cultural
Our key strategies are: 1
Developing, establishing, implementing, and reviewing the following to build capacity and meet the training needs of MMS, including the framework, curriculums (comprehensive for missionaries, national workers, etc.), key result areas, and resources.
2
Liaising, consulting, and working closely with the Area Directors, Country Directors, Field Training Coordinators/Directors, Personnel Committee, and the Field Board of Ministry, to fulfil our responsibilities.
3
Missionary Training in November 2019
Carefully identifying, recruiting, and developing a team of Training Consultants and Trainers to meet training needs, both generic and specific.
The Training Committee (as there is no Training Director currently) develops needs-appropriate training contextualized to each field based on the above-mentioned consultations, Training Committee Key Result Areas (KRAs), as well as MMS Training Curriculums for Missionaries and National Workers previously developed in 2014 and 2015. The process of engaging relevant stakeholders to develop and further refine training for each field is of paramount importance in MMS’s Training ministry especially before relevant and practical training is conducted by versatile specialist Trainers.
Missionary Training Commencement in December 2019
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HARVESTFORCE 2020 • 2
Dimensions, Contemporary Mission Trends, Religious Worldviews, Indigenous Church Planting, Personal Development, Missionary Preparation & Deployment, Leadership Development in Cross-Cultural Context, several Practical Ministry Skills, Preaching/Teaching Skills, and Methodist Essentials. Responses from the participants were very positive and affirming as they assessed the training to be very good or excellent. They felt they had benefited much from it, and enjoyed the interactive style adopted and the group participation, as they felt better prepared for the mission field and cross-cultural ministry. The 2019 cohort found it helpful, concise, comprehensive, and practical with good insights on discipleship, crosscultural ministry, and relevance to the field context. Grace Mannar, on behalf of the other participants of the first and Inaugural MMS Missionary Training in 2014, shared that, “The past two months of training have been comprehensive and beneficial. We covered a vast array of topics from homiletics to the ministry of healing to contextualising culture as well as our roles in the mission field. I thank God for the MMS Training Committee, Trainers, and Lecturers who have done an exemplary job in educating, encouraging, and praying for us missionaries by imparting their knowledge and sharing their valuable experiences to enhance our spiritual maturity and godly character. It was an enjoyable and eye-opening experience. I am proud to be a Methodist after learning about the Methodist Heritage and Methodist distinctiveness. I also cherish the friendships I have made.” There were also a series of other mission courses for the larger Singaporean Methodist community, especially in 2015, to heighten mission awareness, understanding how to build bridges, and learning strategies to reach others in the mission fields. The most popular of these which drew many youth and young adults was the one-day seminar on ‘Building Bridges with People of Different Religious Worldviews’ such as Buddhism, Islam, and Hinduism. KAIROS, a nine-session interactive course, on the other hand, provided participants with a holistic picture on world Christian mission, looking at biblical, historical, strategic, and cultural dimensions. The ‘Bivocational Missions’ course was yet another which motivated young Christian professionals through the principles, guidelines, testimonies, and practical handles of being both professionals and ministers in different cross-cultural contexts. In addition, emerging young entrepreneurs, experienced businessmen and more were inspired and challenged to launch Christ-centred companies that not only make profit, but also meet
the physical and spiritual needs of the people they minister to via the ‘Missional Business’ seminar. Furthermore, the Training Committee Chairman helped in the planning of and was a workshop speaker at the MMS Silver Anniversary Conference in 2016. A major part of the Training Committee’s time and efforts in 2017 and 2018 were put into organising, coordinating, speaking at, and following through the GoForth National Missions Conference 2018 with the theme ‘Go Urban’. Chaired by our Methodist Bishop, it impacted 2,300 persons from across Singapore with slightly more than half under 25 years of age and included 400 children. We praise God that the love, strength, and hope found in Jesus have been shared with numerous persons both in Singapore and in our surrounding nations through people of all ages, from grandmothers to the young ones below the age of 12, in a variety of ways inclusive of creative arts, digital means, social outreach and face to face contact via Mission trips. Cambodia In response to the appeal of Methodist Church in Cambodia (MCC) for training of their clergy and laity in 2019, there was much communication and many in-person meetings before the focus and general content of the first round of training was confirmed. The focus was to develop Cambodia Missionary Retreat in March a stronger, resilient 2020 and united clergy so as to build a resilient disciple-making church, that is, to build manpower capacity for the future growth of MCC. Hence, from 13 to 17 January 2020, a set of eight training sessions over two days was conducted in two locations (Siem Reap and Phnom Penh) by the Training Chairman and MMS Cambodia Country Director, Benjamin Lee. Collectively there were more than 200 participants (approximately half in each location) representing all the 143 MCC local churches across Cambodia with the President, Rev Lun Sophy and District Superintendents (DS), Senior Elders as well as experienced laity helping with the translation into Khmer. Participants felt that
FEATURESTORY 09
Cambodia Missionary Retreat in March 2020
they had encountered God, been released of longtime hurts and pains, begun the restoration of their ‘broken’ identities, awakened to a deeper level of working together, learnt how to walk in forgiveness and unity as well as had fun during the interactive games, and were blessed by the prayer ministry after each session. Rev Sophy shared with us an immediate outcome of the training as the church pastors and leaders in a particular district called for a reconciliation session with each other and their DS the day after the training as they were convicted to serve God in greater unity. The Training Committee printed 500 copies of the inspiring, relevant, and very practical small group discipleship resource authored by Rev Prak Vuthy, Principal of the Cambodian Bible School in January 2020. Designed as questions a disciple may struggle with along life’s journey and contextualised to the Cambodian context, this resource is a great asset to the MCC as well as to MMS Cambodia. Slightly more than 200 copies were given to participants of the recent MCC seminar as a means of follow through so continuing personal growth can occur in the ensuing months. Cambodia being one of MMS’s more mature fields, it naturally has a community of Singaporean missionaries ministering there; some for more than 20 years and some about three years. Their training needs are done periodically (Q1 2015 and July 2019). The missionaries met and prayed in smaller groups or as families to ascertain their training needs. They highlighted the needs for: i
Personal Spiritual Growth: Sabbath Rest;
ii iii
Ministry Skills & Knowledge: Mentoring & Counselling;
Leadership Development: Conflict Management/ Resolution & Self-Care/Burnout
Team-building was the focus of the Missionary Retreat in mid-March 2020. The interactive activities, the various self-discovery profiles (personality, needs,
styles, skills, etc) and insights about each member of the team which was shared openly as well as the one-on-one sessions with the trainer, helped the team to be more understanding of one another’s needs and preferences even as they seek to be more versatile! One exciting outcome of this was that the team leader was able to match a team member with the right passion, pioneering spirit, posture, and skill set to an important project that was waiting to be ignited. Due to COVID-19 however, it looks like this endeavour will perhaps be on hold. God be praised that the missionary concerned who had returned to Singapore met in person (before the Circuit Breaker measures) and remotely with various ones, to facilitate the preparations inclusive of working out the processes, personnel, etc. all within a space of five weeks. With God, all things are possible especially when we are all pulling our weight together in a spirit of oneness. Nepal Over a span of 2.5 years from October 2014 to mid-2017, the Training Director and the Training Committee Chairman played an integral role in consulting and collaborating with the leadership of the Methodist Church in Nepal to review the then existing Leadership Training in Nepal 2017 curriculum of Caleb Bible Institute so as to subsequently redesign and develop the contents of a revised and refined curriculum tailored and contextualised to the needs of the church in Nepal. To better equip church planters and evangelists in Nepal, new topics were added into the curriculum such as Practical Skills in Ministry (Counselling), Spiritual Formation, Methodism, etc. The revised curriculum has two modules spanning 10-12 weeks per module. Module 1 (Foundational Aspects of Ministry for Pastors & Laity) is essentially to train and equip the laity for spiritual leadership and disciple making. Module 2 (Advanced Practical Ministry & Leadership Skills for Pastors, Evangelists, Church Workers) focuses on training those who have potential for pastoral appointment as well as for certification for those who have no formal education. Module 1 has been conducted three to four times for evangelists, lay preachers, and leaders in various local church settings in Nepal from 2017 to 2019 as well as with the hope of getting quality participants for Module 2 in the near future. There are current
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considerations to decentralize the training into four regions to maximize the reach of this training – East, North, Central, and West – as there are Methodist churches in these regions which have been built with training centres. Besides the above, training on Leadership, the Sacraments, and Worship Essentials have been conducted over the last couple of years by Rev James Nagulan, Rev Derrick Lau, and Bishop Dr Chong with the Methodist clergy and laity in Nepal. This is in addition to the quarterly sessions on T-Net, Growing A Healthy Church (GHC), and Equipping The Saints (ETS) which have been on-going for some years to facilitate intentional disciple making! Thailand After a decade and more of focusing on Growing A Healthy Church as the equipping programme, the Thai Methodist (MCA) leadership has chosen since early 2019 to focus on clergy and lay leadership development by working together with the Training Committee. Hence, amidst laughter and a lot of interaction, the 11-session training for MCA Pastors was conducted mainly by Juliette Arulrajah from 16 to 18 July 2019 in Bangkok under the theme “Rooted to Soar” with the following three aspects underscored ‘GET REAL: Ministry Issues’, ‘GROW ROOTS: Maturity Handles’, and ‘GRIP DEEP: Mentoring Insights’. The 31 participants from four different ethnic groups (Thai, Lahu, Isaan, and Akha) gave very positive feedback as they felt they could easily understand the teaching, understand themselves better, and use the materials with their members even as they participated in discussions, presentations, and led sessions.
Discipleship Training in Thailand in 2019
Here some of their responses: a Rev Chinnakorn (MCA Chairman & Shine Forth Methodist Church): “Trainer was well-prepared, intentional, knowledgeable, confident, and able to generate participation and discussion. The focus on discussion and participation from trainees was good.” b Pastor Kuk (MCA ExCo Secretary & Thanyaburi Klong-Paed Methodist Church): “Very Good. Can share all this with the team leaders. We can know our members better and help them to be rooted in their faith. Understand how to lead small groups through the practicum session.” c Pastor Watit (MCA Assistant Training Director & Song-Roi Phee Preaching Point): “It is a very good training for our Methodist pastors. All of the topics are realistic and answer what our pastors are facing in their ministries. Many things can be applied not only to the ministry but to the personal spiritual daily life with the Lord so that our pastors’ spiritual life would be much improved because they are the spiritual leaders of their church members and this training plays the important role to help our pastors to grow healthy churches.” The Small Group Discipleship Handbook (by Dr Norman Wong) translated and printed for participants was appreciated as sections of this handbook formed the basis for part of the training. Within a fortnight after the training, some churches had already started to use the materials, namely ‘Biblical Spa’ (with youth ministry) and ‘Spiritual Warfare’ (which the pastor creatively used as a sermon series with the resources given as application material for church members, a week at a time). 60 Thai adults participated in the family retreat cum training for clergy couples from 16 to 18 October 2019 held in Chiang Mai with the theme ‘One Family’. The response was very gwood as personal and couple needs were met through the six sessions on marital matters such as Love That Lasts A Lifetime, Managing Emotions, Circles of Commitment, Fighting The Good Fight, etc. facilitated by speakers, Rev David Ho and his wife, Yeo Chew Kheang. With tears of healing and joy, couples were able to take steps to grow deeper in their understanding of and communication with each other even as they had fun through interactive games.
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Clergy Laity Training in Phnom Penh in 2020
– Basic counselling skills (clergy) – Church management (clergy & laity) – Self-sustainability & livelihood development (clergy & laity)
D. NOW & BEYOND? 2020 began with great passion, pace, and purpose for a whole host of training sessions from Cambodia to Laos to Thailand to Timor-Leste. Whilst the pace has to be slowed due to the COVID-19 pandemic as five trips scheduled between mid-March and May to these nations had to be postponed, the passion remains unabated and the purpose remains vibrantly clear. The Key Training Priorities for 2020-2022 a Methodist Church in Cambodia – Building strong leadership & capacity – Awareness, ministry, skills & resources (clergy & laity – dealing with pains, hurts, identity, etc. to unite with God & others) – Self-sustainability & livelihood development (clergy & laity) – Family Issues (clergy – marital & parenting matters) – Discipleship (clergy & laity – especially through small groups) – Worship & liturgy b
Mettakij Church Association in Thailand – Leadership (clergy & laity – attitude, call, servanthood, multiplication and succession) – Discipleship (clergy & laity – especially through small groups) – Methodism (clergy & laity – theology, spirituality, doctrinal stands & polity) – Family issues (clergy – marital & parenting matters)
c
Partners in Laos
– Empowering and strengthening families (individual, marital & parental matters) – Leadership essential (managing emotions & resolving conflicts) – Pastoral care matters d
St Paul Methodist School in Timor-Leste
– Building capacity & developing potential – Self-awareness, ministry skills & resources – Developing cohesive teams Our hope is that through the ministry of the Training Committee, in these contemporary times, eyes will be opened as both pastors and lay members in each of our fields will be empowered to be: Rebuilders of identity (their own and others) which may have been in ruins, Raisers of integrity by clarifying what wware godly values (age-old foundations), Repairers of intimacy with God and others (walls) which often is broken, Restorers of influence who seek to impact the community holistically.
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TRAINING IN CAMBODIA
Cambodia, THE KINGDOM OF WONDERS T
he Methodist Church in Cambodia (MCC) was formed in 1998 by five different Methodist mission agencies namely United Methodist Church (UMC, USA); Connexio (Sweden); World Federation Chinese Methodist Church (WFCMC, Malaysia); Korean Methodist Church (Korea); and Methodist Missions Society (MMS, Singapore). Since 2018, MCC has moved forward from a Mission Conference to a Provisional Annual Conference. Through the years, these various agencies have collaborated to conduct many types of training. Connexio focuses on training the key leaders of MCC. Their training with the Board of Ministries is very technical in nature. UMC focuses on training for the children’s and women’s ministry. And WFCMC focuses its training at the Cambodia Methodist Bible School. Benjamin Lee Jacob Cheng, previous Country Director of Cambodia, organised a prayer Country Director of and spiritual warfare training in 2016. It was conducted by Brenda Goh, Col (Ret) Cambodia Quek, and Shelley. About 20 of our pastors and 15 of our local ministry staff attended the training. Bishop Dr Chong, Rev Alvin Chan, and Rev Dianna Khoo conducted a training for the Clergy and Laity in April 2017. Ong Teong Hoon came in one of the afternoons to share with the Lay Leaders his experience as LCEC chairman of Toa Payoh Methodist Church. MMS’ Education Committee conducted a Teacher’s Training for the teachers in the Methodist School of Cambodia, who were encouraged to used more updated teaching At the Clergy and Laity Training in Siem Reap in 2020, participants were praying for the DS in northern methodologies. Bedok Methodist Church district. conducted Christian Education training for the COSI staff and our Kindergarten teachers. And there was the annual COS (Community Outreach Services – NGO) Staff Retreat, where various areas of training were covered. The staff was heartened to learn skills on handling children and youth in our homes and hostels. BAMBOO Foundation has been providing training at various parts of Cambodia for the last few years on the skills and know-how of managing small-scale businesses so as to become self-sustainable and a blessing to the communities in their vicinity. In 2018, BAMBOO Foundation trained and helped some families in Kampong Speu to be able to feed their family members. These families not only fully paid off their initial investments into their chicken farms, but also blessed the church by giving a part of their earnings to the church building project. Today, their chicken farms are still going strong and BAMBOO Foundation training by Han Hai Kwang in the families continue to bless the community. Kampong Speu.
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In July 2019, Alpha Cambodia did an Alpha programme training at Prek Tual Methodist Church (PTMC). The programme was sponsored by Barker Road Methodist Church. After the training, PTMC launched its first run of the Alpha programme which was attended by over 60 participants. After this first run, many participants stayed on with the church. Requested by the President of MCC, Rev Lun Sophy, a training was conducted in January 2020 for the Clergy and Laity in Siem Reap and Phnom Penh. It was anchored by Juliette Arulrajah, MMS Training Chairman. The participants were enthusiastic and eager to participate in the activities. It was beautiful to see them praying for one another. We also received encouraging testimonies that the Clergy and Laity from some districts had arranged reconciliation meetings immediately after the training. They had learnt to view the team as one body and the need to forgive and accept one another. From 13 to 15 March 2020, the missionaries in Cambodia had a Missionary Retreat at Dyvith Hotel. The theme was “One United Body” based on Romans 12:4-5. Through some workshops, they got to know and understand the others within the team. The missionaries discovered their motivational gifts and what motivates them in their ministries. It was interesting to find out how each person functions under certain circumstances and how we manage conflict.
Apart from the usual training for the clergy, laity, teachers and the local staff of our NGO, we hope to have more practical livelihood training for the people in the village, to enable them to stand on their own two feet. It is important that the type of training gives hope and dignity to the people; with their own hands, they are able to provide for their family and bless the community. In Cambodia, it is challenging to coordinate all the joint efforts from the various Methodist mission agencies, and to ensure that we do not conduct the same type of training. Another challenge is the follow-up after training. Does the church leadership follow-up with the participants to see if they are practising what they have learnt? How much of the training is just head knowledge? We need to work very closely with the leadership on the ground with regard to the follow-up of training. Our desire is that the training will be put to good use for the extension of God’s kingdom. Apart from supporting financially, churches in Singapore and individuals with various skills and training expertise could offer their help here in Cambodia. For example, if you are trained in social work, you can provide training for our staff in our NGO. We can work out a progressive training schedule for the staff on the ground. We can even do online long-distance mentoring/ discipleship, where the locals can meet up with the mentor every week or fortnight to work though certain issues. Another possibility is to have volunteers from various background to be based in the field for a period of six to 12 months to walk alongside the local staff and show them the ropes.
• Pray that the participants will put their new-found skills into practice after training. • Pray that as we work with various groups of people, the Holy Spirit will guide us and show us the needs of the people so as to provide them with the appropriate training. • Pray that the church leadership in Cambodia will know how to prioritise the kind of training that is needed.
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TRAINING IN NEPAL
STREAMLINED TRAINING in Nepal O
ver the last two years, we have reviewed and revised our training efforts to be more holistic and inclusive toward meeting the needs of all our pastors, leaders, and members. Training is not an end in itself, but a continuous process that requires effort to follow through. As such, we provide courses to equip them with the right tools, and encourage and mentor some of them. Our objective is to help the pastors, leaders, and members to be effective disciples and be committed to fulfilling our vision of planting disciple-making and multiplying churches. To achieve the objectives, we have streamlined our training into the following categories:
GS Country Director of Nepal
a
Foundational Courses For our members, we have “Building Your Spiritual Foundations” as the basic package that focuses on personal discipleship. We equip them with the assurances of their Christian faith as well as inculcate basic spiritual disciplines such as daily prayer, devotion, witnessing, and fasting. These training sessions have helped many of our members to witness and share their Christian faith with their friends. They are encouraged to keep a daily prayer and devotional journal, as well as to cultivate a habit of fasting at least once a month. Currently, 150 members have completed this training and about 20% of them are teaching and training other members. In the last year, we have encouraged the formation of Cell Groups (CG) to meet together to study the Word, and provide accountability and support for one another. To date, we have three to four CGs in each of our churches.
b Leadership Development As we have an increasing number local conference churches established in the Methodist Church in Nepal (MCN), having more well-equipped and committed leaders has become essential for our church growth. For potential and current church leaders, we provide a basic spiritual leadership programme at our Caleb Bible Institute (CBI). It prepares them to be lay leaders in their respective churches, and exposes and encourages them to take up full time ministry in MCN. This course has been revised with the help of MMS’ Training Committee. Having conducted several courses, our training team recognises the challenges faced by our students in having to spend four months at the residential training at CBI. We are now exploring the possibility of decentralising this programme and having courses conducted in a modular format at their respective districts. We believe this will help to overcome constraints such as being away for long periods from their homes and work since the course will be conducted close to their homes. The change of format will enable more members to avail themselves Pastors & Leaders Training by Rev James Nagulan
of this course and increase the numbers of muchneeded leaders for our growing churches. We have conducted lay leaders’ training to prepare our laity to shoulder greater responsibilities as good stewards of the local church and to assume appointments in their Local Church Executive Committees (LCEC). Many of our LCEC leaders have undergone training provided by our Area Director at their local churches. These training sessions focused on Christian leadership and the roles and functions of the LCEC. As lay leaders, they are encouraged to train and disciple other believers, focusing on helping others to establish their personal spiritual foundations.
c Church Planting The basic course for believers is a series under the Sonlife or Growing A Healthy Church ministry training. It enables the participants to study the life and ministry of Christ in the gospels and how Jesus made disciples, showing them the way to live out these same principles in their life and ministry. Discipleship and church planting involves everyone and every believer is encouraged to attend this training.
For our Elders, Deacons, and Evangelists, we have the T-NET training that prepares them for church planting, as well as for them to train other potential evangelists and pastors. This programme also equips pastors to transform their churches to be disciple-making churches. With the help of T-NET and Sonlife training programmes, our churches have multiplied three-fold over the last 10 years. The main challenge is to provide follow up with our members who have undergone the different trainings provided by MCN. This requires resources, both financial and personal commitment, to ensure that we continue to encourage and mentor our people. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted some areas that we need to look into. This includes how our training methods can be further enhanced. The challenge facing MCN for online training is the limited IT infrastructure in Nepal. Power cuts and unstable networks pose challenges for online training. In addition, many of our members and pastors may not have the financial means to install reliable internet services in their homes. MCN will explore what it takes to provide the means for online training as this will extend our reach in bringing training to our members and for the follow-up process to encourage and mentor our people. Training is essential for the growth of MCN. It is a means to provide for the spiritual development of each and every believer, to meet our present leadership needs, and to ensure our leadership renewal process is in place. All these will contribute to the fulfilment of our mission to plant disciple-making and multiplying churches, and enrich the spiritual lives of all our members. Presently, our churches in Singapore are doing a great job in helping to sponsor church activities and outreach ministries. There is more to be done as our MCN churches grow in numbers and in their ministry. Our MCN churches still need the prayer, financial, and training support from our local Methodist churches in Singapore.
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TRAINING IN THAILAND
TRAINING for GROWTH I
Rev Watit Kwanruan Assistant Training Director of MCA. He is also the Pastor-incharge of Dontanin Methodist Church and the Assistant Pastor of Song-Roi Phee Preaching Point.
n Thailand, all the Methodist church pastors are under Mettakij Church Association (MCA). MCA plays an importance role of providing and preparing training for all our Methodist pastors and lay leaders in Thailand. It conducts training twice a year. Even if a soldier is very well trained in boot camp, things may be different and unpredictable when he steps out into the real tactical battle field. The same applies to our pastors. Even though all our pastors graduate from Bible seminary schools, they may still face many kinds of challenges and difficulties. These challenges may come from different sources, like non-believers, communities around the church, a pastor’s family, or even amongst the pastors themselves. Spiritual warfare is real and may try to drag our pastors away from having intimacy with God. Some situations may cause our pastors to be too busy or preoccupied with things and as a result, they end up with very little time to spend with God and His Word. So, MCA works with and receives help from MMS to provide training and skills for our pastors and lay leaders. Trainers from the Methodist churches in Singapore come to train our Methodist pastors in Thailand. In July 2019, MMS Training Chairman, Juliette Arulrajah, came to train all our pastors. One of the topics ‘The Biblical SPA’ trained the pastors on effective ways to study the Bible for both personal and group settings. After the training, the
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pastor from our newly planted church, Christ Methodist Church in Khon Kaen province, shared with me that this topic has helped him a lot. He said that the Lord has answered his prayer to receive training to continue his discipleship with his new believers. The training method really worked because the new believers are now able to do their daily quiet time. And he is also able to help the new believers and church members to understand the Bible and to have a meaningful time reading the Word in their daily quiet time with the Lord. Another pastor, Ps Boonlerd of Noansatit Methodist Church, shared with me the impact of attending the MCA training. He and his wife were married long before they came to know Christ and they did not have a Christian wedding. In October 2019, Rev David Ho conducted a marriage course for our pastors and their spouses at the MCA Family Retreat. He taught them on topics like making marriage last and having God as the centre of the family. At the last session, Ps David did a marriage renewal covenant activity for the pastors and their spouses. They repeated their wedding covenant in the presence of the Lord. After the training, Ps Boonlerd came to me and shared that God did a miracle and made an impossible thing possible for him. He then explained to me that every time he and his wife attended a Christian wedding, they felt like they have missed out this important part of their marriage life. But that day, he and his wife were very grateful to have chance to declare this marriage covenant
together in front of everyone and in the presence of the Lord. By providing the training, MCA hopes that all our pastors will understand the true root of their challenges and to show them some solutions. We also hope that the pastors will carry on to train their church members who may be going through the same situations in their faith journeys. Many of our pastors have been encouraged and some of them have had a change of mind-set with regard to the ways they are serving in church. Rather than making the church number big in numbers, they want to make the church grow stronger in faith and mercy. The training has also helped the pastors themselves. They recognise and put into practice the importance of having a meaningful time with the Lord more than anything else. When our pastors grow stronger spiritually, they will want their churches to grow as well. At the last Annual Conference in Thailand in March 2019, Bishop Dr Chong Chin Chung stressed the importance of training. He told the members of the conference that “if we lack training, we will not change. And when there is no change, there will be no growth. So we must have training, not just for our pastors, but also for our lay people.� Please pray for the training programme for our Methodist pastors in Thailand. Pray also for the Methodist churches in Thailand to grow.
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Cultivating a Disciplined Lifestyle … imor-Leste, deemed as a fatherless nation, has 61% of the Timorese population under the age of 25. Its median age is 19.1 years old and it has a youth dependency ratio of 83.7. Truth be told, we often associate a fatherless person as someone who is ill-disciplined and rebellious. However, God commanded us to ‘defend the fatherless’ (Psalm 82:3). Why defend? Because I believe in the heart of every fatherless is a longing for discipline. A cry deep down in the heart for a father in life to discipline him whenever he is wrong and to train him in the way he should go. The training, that is essential for the people of Timor-Leste at this moment, is the cultivation of discipline in speech, in faith, in life, in love, and in purity. Developing discipline in these areas requires commitment and effort on the Timorese to live out daily the expectations and routines set within a Christian-based environment. I am thankful that St Paul Methodist School (SPMS) and Sundermeier Home (SH) are able to provide the training environment. I believe that cultivating such discipline in life is more caught than taught. It is a lifestyle to be lived. But why is having discipline important in life? All discipline is necessary for training toward righteousness.
T
David Chan Country Director of Timor-Leste
… Raising a Righteous Generation Timor-Leste is predominantly a Roman Catholic country. Religion in Timor-Leste bears some hallmarks of the pre-colonial animist tradition. Animism, in most contexts, sees natural phenomena, flora and fauna, and the environment as imbued with spiritual meaning and power. Ancestors often come into play in animism as a force to be honoured and feared. Therefore, understanding the Truths of the Christian faith is essential for Timorese to truly know Christ and the power of his resurrection. Equipping the Timorese with the essential
Truths will enable them to understand and walk in them and also empower them to pursue the Truths and fight for them. It is with hope that Timorese will eventually take hold that Christ has already taken hold of them so that they will walk in freedom in Christ. (Philippians 3:10-12) The grounding of the Truths encompasses teaching, correcting, rebuking and training in righteousness through the Word. Again, SPMS and SH play this essential role. We make it a point to place a Bible in the hands of every youth in SPMS and SH so that the Word of God will cause every dry bone in the spiritual body to come together, bone to bone; and tendons and flesh to appear on them and skin to cover them. (Ezekiel 37:7-8) And I believe in time to come, God will cause a righteous generation to rise up to be the light that brings salvation to the end of the earth. He will raise a righteous generation that is: W ise in understanding the Truths O bedient in walking the Truths R esilient in pursuing the Truths D iscerning in fighting for the Truths In the last four years, it has been indeed heartening to see how the WORD becomes alive in the students at SPMS and SH. Many students have grown and matured in their faith. Some of them have even resolved in their hearts not to let anyone look down on them because they are young but to set an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. (1 Timothy 4:12) The missionaries’ prayer is that as we avail ourselves to be God’s hands and feet in SPMS and SH, the Holy Spirit Himself will train up a righteous generation of Timorese who “… fear nothing but sin, and desire nothing but God, … (for) such alone will shake the gates of hell and set up the kingdom of heaven upon earth.” (John Wesley)
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TRAINING IN VIETNAM
TEACHING AND TRAINING of T
Rev Leslie Lim Country Director of Vietnam
he very thought of implementing a training programme in church may be very daunting for many new inexperienced pastors. My teaching and training programmes are no more than training and equipping disciples to “know Him and make Him known.” Matthew 28:19-20, NASB, spells out clearly: “Go… make disciples…, baptizing them…, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you… to the end…” We are commissioned, authorised, and empowered by our Lord to make His disciples, baptise, and teach them all that He commanded us. With “Scriptural Christianity” (i.e. guided by the Bible and Holy Spirit) in mind right from the start, our new-born disciple is taught to submit to the teaching of the Word and instructed to live in accordance to God’s will. The disciple is taught to obey, be baptised, and to join a church in order that one will learn to observe
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Disciples IS A LIFESTYLE all that Jesus has commanded us in the context of a holy community. More so, we need the Holy Spirit to lead us with a vision and mission for the church. By the Spirit’s wisdom and power, we work out a strategy to implement the training process of discipleship in the life of our church so as to fulfil the Great Commission. Thus, by the power of the Holy Spirit, we become obedient disciples.
What To Teach The apostle Paul’s teaching goals as suggested by Derek Tidball (Source: Victor Cruz, Teaching Them To Observe, TableTalk: April 2014) are a rich diversity of teachings yet not missing out the only one goal that matters: to build a strong and biblical disciple. Paul’s disciples are to grow up to be mature adults, no longer childish (1 Cor 3:1-4; 1 Cor 14:20; Eph 4:14-15). The bride is to be a virgin, betrothed and devoted to one husband, with eyes for no one else (2 Cor 11:2). Using sports imagery, Paul wants them to develop strength, build stamina and not be frail in faith (1 Cor 9: 24-27; Eph 4: 16; 1 Thess 3:2; 2 Thess 2:17; 2 Thess 3: 3). Using farming imagery, he wants the roots to go down deep and to see fruit development (1 Cor 3: 5-9; 2 Cor 9: 10; Gal 5: 22; Phil 1: 11; Col 1:10, Col 2: 7). Using educational imagery, he wants them to “learn Christ” (Eph 4: 20).
How To Teach and Train There are two main approaches: informal teaching and training, and formal institutionalised Bible training. They are complementary. We are familiar with the typical informal teaching and training in the church setting. Yet we need to consider how one disciple is to live with one’s neighbour close by to practise one’s faith daily. Here, I intentionally house a few disciples under one roof for a couple of years. This enables my leaders and I to observe, teach, and train the disciple in a small community of disciples, who are living together and sharpening one another in accordance with God’s kingdom values. They live a life worthy of the gospel to love, serve, encourage, forgive, and restore one another in their daily living all under one roof - the daily practice of “Scriptural holiness”. Surely this is interesting to see the fruits of such a ministry. In the process of discipling, whenever a suitable disciple emerges, we will send the disciple to go through formal training with a theological seminary.
When You Begin, You Begin with A-B-C We may begin with two or three new believers who are hungry and ready to grow. This option works well if you are a pastor or a full-time lay leader in small church. This is because it does not require you to change any existing programme or ministry. These disciples can still be engaged in some other life-group or discipleship ministries. Our meeting with these eager-to-learn disciples allows us to guide them in their relationship with God. We begin by asking insightful questions and then challenging them to know the Bible, to grow, and to be used by God. The key emphasis for those I disciple is to study and obey God’s Word. “Disciples are made through the ministry of the Word entrusted to the church, including preaching, teaching, evangelism, and counselling... The Word makes disciples and Christ makes disciples through the Word.” (Dr Dave Eby, Kampala, Uganda, 2014) If our disciples do not know or love God’s Word more than any other book, how will they be motivated to transformed and keep on growing? When the Word does not take root deeply in their hearts, where is their rocksolid foundation when trials come?
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Eager disciples who learn to obey the Word (James 1:22), will grow in their vibrant faith. I challenge my new disciples to study a book of the Bible together when we meet one-to-one and follow a selected book’s content to guide and develop his spiritual walk. On some days, we just study and understand the subject and its content. On other days, a disciple comes with many questions about God, how to apply faith in the marketplace, and what God’s purpose in his life is. I also avail other “teachers” to my disciples to help them find answers to their struggles or questions. They are:
helped me through my years of ministry. While I could spoon-feed my disciples, I prefer to guide them to the suitable reliable resources on subjects of interest so that they learn more effectively by finding the answers for themselves. By discussing the information gathered, they could be guided at a level suitable to their maturity in the faith. I need more good teaching books to build up a repository, as these books become my co-partners at large to enlighten my disciples. B
A
Sound Bible-Teaching Teachers and Theologians They communicate through their books, VCDs, CDs, etc. I have a list of favourite teacher-authors who have
Other Trusted Fellow Pastors and Leaders I have other leaders with specific ministry skills to encourage my disciples to be involved in the gospel work and give them some practical experiences to put their faith in action. I also involve and enrich my young disciples with some suitable Christian ministries that emphasise on discipleship like Youth With A Mission, Youth For Christ, etc. Benjamin Franklin wisely advised: “Tell me and I forget; Teach me and I remember; Involve me and I learn.”
C Disciples’ Personal Experiences Part of the practical training is to seek out and share the gospel with a close pre-believing relative or colleague. Our disciples will grow when they go out to share Christ. It will not only motivate them to study with us but such experiences will also train them to personalise their learning which will become clearer when put into practice.
Never Walk Alone; Put a Team Together The teaching and training the church leaders in a small-group has many benefits. It will unify and strengthen the leadership to achieve the vision of the church. It eases the trained leadership team when they take the teaching and training to their own small groups. This is helpful to make sure that our leaders are examining their own spiritual
FEATURESTORY 23
life and areas of growth. They will see some significant growth in their own lives and be convinced of the principles of the discipleship training. Our leaders will then be more likely to incorporate these principles in the other ministries in which they are involved.
Church-wide Discipleship Training As pastors, we need to develop a churchwide focus on discipleship, and instil the desire to fulfil the Great Commandment and Great Commission. We can have a preaching or teaching series around the qualities and characteristics of a disciple, and then offer a teaching class to develop disciples and disciple-makers. While, on the surface, this is more of a fisherman casting out the fishing net towards where the fish are, and not so much as a fisherman with a fishing rod taking one fish at a time, there will always be some disciples who will surface to their calling to be leaders. The Lord is the one who will draw those who desire to serve Him to the church.
Obeying Our Heavenly Vision “Where there is no vision [no revelation of God and His Word], the people are unrestrained; But happy and blessed is he who keeps the law [of God].” Proverbs 29:18, AMP. It is always edifying to carefully examine our calling and God’s faithfulness in our lives. This occasional selfexamination is one way to motivate us to press on. This is my own journey: I was a youth fellowship leader, a student annual camp coordinator, a youth cell group leader, a university Christian leader, a church planter, and later a full-time campus director for tertiary ministry, a pastor at my first church, an associate pastor, and presently, a missionary-pastor overseeing an international community. How am I growing? Are disciples being made at every stage of my life? How are they growing? “We proclaim Christ, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ.” Colossians 1:28, NASB.
“The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.” 2 Timothy 2:2, NASB “Record the vision and inscribe it on tablets, That the one who reads it may run.” Habakkuk 2:2, NASB These Bible verses motivated me to focus on the nature and purpose of my calling. They have realigned my efforts and refined my disciple multiplying processes. Although my active serving years are limited and may not be for much longer, it will not be in vain. “For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.” Philippians 1:6, NASB Re-examining to re-aligning our ministry focus with God’s Word may be challenging, costly, and tiring at times but it is the most rewarding experience ever to see the fruit of our labour that Christ has given us. Our utmost privilege and honour, as the gospel teachers and trainers, is to know the apostolic teachings and to teach them faithfully to reliable disciple makers. At the end of our journey, let us be like Paul who testified: “I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision!” Acts 26:19, NASB.
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CAMBODIA
The THIRD PLACE
Carol Ong Missionary with MMS serving in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Her home church is Toa Payoh Methodist Church.
A group of vounteers from PCOSIIP assisiting in the children’s ministry
O
Editor’s note: This article was first published in the April 2020 issue of Methodist Message.
ne of the challenges to missions is to continue to be relevant to the needs of the people to whom we are ministering. In Cambodia, the setting up of The Third Place exemplifies our ministry to reach out to young women and equip them with livelihood skills. Preceding The Third Place, the Emmaus Women’s Centre (EWC) was set up in 2000. Supported by GC WSCS and our partner churches, EWC provided skills training and discipleship programmes for the young women. But with the changing dynamics of the economic situation in Cambodia, employment opportunities have presented a challenge to the viability of continuing with our ministry at EWC. Greater opportunities led to declining figures in EWC and, in March 2018, it ceased operations. However, there was still the need to reach out to the young women. Since the young women were not coming to us, the alternative was to go to where they are! This resulted in the birth of The Third Place. Odem is a town in Phnom Penh that stood out as an ideal locus for ministry and church-planting as the area is teeming with factories—a great harvest field. Moreover, there was initially no Methodist presence. Thus, The Third Place was set up in August 2018. In September 2018, English and Chinese enrichment classes for children and adults were started, thus expanding our reach not just to women, but to families as well. To bless the community, various community activities were conducted in partnership with mission teams: a cultural exchange programme; health checks
FIELDFEATURE 25
Ps Theng Tharoath sharing the Word of God
Li Diang in a Chinese enrichment class.
The children celebrating Carol’s birthday
like drinking, gambling, drugs and bad company with undesirable influences. A thrift shop was recently started with the hope that we will be able to befriend more people, share God’s love and bless the community. The task before us is tremendous. As God has called us to shine His light and bring about positive life-changing transformation, we are confident that His presence and provision will follow. We started in faith, believing that God will provide for and prosper our ministry. From reaching out to young women, we are now able to reach out to families who have life-changing experiences and to transform the community in Odem. Sunday Worship Service in progress
cum health talks; a beauty care workshop; a Khmer New Year party cum Easter celebration; and a Christmas programme. In November 2018, we started Sunday worship services, and the children from our enrichment classes joined the Sunday morning children’s programme. In January 2019, volunteers from our Post COSI Integration Programme (PCOSIIP) came to assist in the children’s ministry, enabling the PCOSIIP youth to have a place to worship as they serve. We were also blessed with a Bibletrained pastor, Theng Tharoath, who, along with his family, is now actively involved in engaging the community to transform lives. It has been about two years since The Third Place started. It is now a community of believers whose task is to shine the light of Jesus and draw others to Him. As with any church planting endeavour, there have been challenges. Factory workers are transient, children are limited by boundaries set by their parents and, culturally, people will only go where their immediate tangible needs can be most met. Odem is riddled with social ills
ABOUT THE THIRD PLACE The Third Place is a beacon of light and hope, reaching out to the factory workers and neighbourhood in Odem, Phnom Penh with the love of Christ. If you are interested to help in this ministry or visit, please contact MMS at mms@methodist. org.sg.
• PRAY for our missionaries at The Third Place. • PRAY that the lives of the families will be changed and the community transformed.
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HARVESTFORCE 2020 • 2
TIMOR-LESTE
WHAT IS GOD DOING in Timor-Leste? I
Rev Teresa Wilborn MMS Area Director for Cambodia and TimorLeste. She worships at Aldersgate Methodist Church.
Editor’s note: This article was first published in the March 2020 issue of Methodist Message.
n support of the St Paul Methodist School (SPMS) Development Project, donors have generously given about S$3m so far. This amount exceeds the approved budget for land acquisition and phase one of the construction, which include: a two-level classroom building with six classrooms; a two-level hostel building that will accommodate missionaries; local teachers and up to 40 students; a canteen staff rooms cum multi-purpose hall; centralised mechanical and engineering requirements; and portions of public and external works. The balance of the funds raised, along with future donations, will be used for the second phase of construction: a school chapel; additional classrooms; a hostel; and a library. Construction will commence as soon as the government issues an official property title, which is expected later this year. Although a delay in the issuance of the official property title has held back construction of the permanent school, God has blessed SPMS with amazing growth in its temporary location. In 2016, SPMS opened one class for 21 students in grade 7. WE PRAISE A year later, a class of nine first-graders opened in GOD FOR Missionary Principal David Chan’s home. HIS ABUNDANT This year, there are 171 students enrolled in nine BLESSINGS, AND grades, 55 per cent more than last year. The school has also employed 14 local teaching and nonCONTINUE TO TRUST teaching staff. IN HIS TIMING AND Donations have enabled the purchase of three PROVISION. school buses and a modular classroom to support the rapidly growing student population. Singaporean educators continue to volunteer their time and expertise in curriculum development and ongoing teacher training. Over the past 12 months, four members of the Methodist community boldly answered God’s call to serve as MMS missionaries in Timor-Leste: Rasanya Gnasegaran from ETAC; Rev See Swee Fang from TRAC and her husband See Jin Hoe from Queenstown Chinese Methodist Church; and Cheryl Chen, wife of missionary Rudy Wong and a member of Aldersgate Methodist Church. We praise God for His abundant blessings, and continue to trust in His timing and provision. Please continue to uphold SPMS students, teachers and staff, as well as all our missionaries who labour for the Lord in Timor-Leste, in your prayers.
Celebrating Restoration of Independence Day with our traditional hearwear and tais
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ABOUT ST PAUL METHODIST SCHOOL St Paul Methodist School provides formal education with Christian morals and principles for children from remote villages. If you sense the Lord is calling you to support the MMS school ministry, please email mms@methodist.org.sg or call 6478 4818 for more information.
• PRAY for God to accelerate the raising up of youth and children in SPMS to be a generation will rise up boldly in faith. • PRAY that SPMS will nurture the children and youth to be rooted in God’s Word and to have a strong biblical worldview in life. • PRAY for the favour of God to come upon the school building project. Reading with my teacher
Kawaii with the Faith Methodist Church team
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HARVESTFORCE 2020 • 2
TIMOR-LESTE
Missionary’s HEARTBEAT M
Rev See Swee Fang MMS missionary in Timor-Leste. Together with her husband, See Jin Hoe, they are serving as house-parents at Dunamis House in Dili, Timor-Leste.
Editor’s note: This article was first published in the May 2020 issue of Methodist Message.
MS started its hostel ministry in Timor-Leste with the setting up of Sundermeier Home in Gleno, Ermera District in 2016. The home serves to provide high school youth with a safe and healthy environment to continue their education and to grow with the right spiritual values. Joseph Manner is our missionary serving as house-parent with his wife, Grace, at Sundermeier Home in Gleno. Joseph wanted to help the graduates from Sundermeier Home transit from high school to tertiary education and vocational training in Dili. After much prayer and with the full support of Bedok Methodist Church, who shared Joseph’s heartbeat, Dunamis House was established in 2019 as a ministry of the MMS in Dili. Dunamis House provides accommodation as well as Christian nurturing and discipleship training for graduates of Sundermeier Home as they continue their education in the university or vocational training centres in Dili. Dunamis House is aptly named as it represents a desire to see God’s miraculous power at work and also connotes “a powerhouse” – to mould the lives of the youth while they continue with their studies and to prepare them for service to the community and the church. We have 15 hostelites: six studying in the university, eight pursuing a one-year vocational study with EIROS, and one working. The hostelites live a disciplined life through carrying out their daily chores according to a roster that includes cooking, marketing, and cleaning the house. They are also rostered to facilitate the twiceweekly Bible study on Monday and Wednesday nights. We also have a worship session on Friday nights. Recently, we started a community service/blessing through the giving of free tuition to Grade 1 to Grade 6 children living near us. This takes place on Tuesday and Thursday nights. Our hostelites are learning the ropes of teaching and communicating with children as they do so. This tuition ministry was birthed from empowering the hostelites to “fish” rather than to be “given fish”. All hostelites come from Gleno and, most of the time, money from their families do not reach them regularly because of the distance between Gleno and Dili. With this tuition ministry, they now have the ability to earn their pocket allowance from sponsors who provide them with financial support for their efforts. This helps to free their minds from monetary concerns, enabling them to concentrate on their studies better. We thank God for the partnership in ministry with individuals who stepped forward to sponsor this tuition ministry. The hostelites are taught to go beyond giving tuition to the children by praying for their salvation and well-being. May we will be the light that shines for God in this community He has placed us. We believe that God’s miraculous power will be at work to change lives and transform communities.
FIELDFEATURE 29
Community outreach programme
ABOUT DUNAMIS HOUSE Dunamis House provides a place for needy youth from remote villages to continue attending university or vocational training in Dili, within a Christian environment. If you are interested to help in this ministry or visit, please contact MMS at mms@methodist.org.sg.
Free tuition for neigbourhood children
• PRAY for God’s covering as Rev See and Jin Hoe minister to the youth in Dunamis House. • PRAY for the hostelites, their studies, and their ministry to the younger children. • PRAY for God’s continued provision for the operation of the hostel.
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FIELDFEATURE
HARVESTFORCE 2020 • 2
NEW GEOGRAPHICAL MISSION PARTNERSHIPS (NewGMP) “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Acts 1:8
“For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.” Habakkuk 2:14
A
cursory reading of these two passages suggests a geographical progression of mission movement from Jerusalem as its home base, to the surrounding regions and to the ends of the earth. Church history informs us of the rapid geographical spread to the “four corners of the earth” (a term commonly used in ancient times to denote faraway places). Indeed, the disciples played that pivotal role in spreading the “Good News”. The mission advanced in all four directions namely north towards Turkey, west towards England, south towards North Africa, and east towards China and South East Asia via India and beyond.
Rev Derrick Lau Executive Director of MMS. He was having a meal in Tokyo in early February 2020.
Photo credit: pamela_d_mcadamsw@Bigstock
Editor’s note: This article was first published in the June 2020 issue of Methodist Message.
Unreached people category: something is happening, but not yet enough to see their whole people discipled. Pioneer work likely still needed. 1
In the 18th Century, John Wesley envisioned “the world as his parish” and brought Christianity to all England as well as across the Atlantic Ocean to Georgia, USA. Fast forward, Methodism was brought to our shores when missionaries, James Thoburn and William Oldham, arrived in Singapore on 7 February 1885. With Singapore as the stepping stone, Methodism spread rapidly around the region. From a missiological perspective, the disciples acted on the mandate from Christ to preach the Word, in season and out of season (Paul’s words), to the peoples of the world. The oracle that the prophet Habakkuk saw was being realised, “Look among the nations, and see; wonder and be astounded. For I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if told.” (1:5) God is doing a special work in our day! As pilgrims, let’s devote our hearts and spirits to fulfilling the mandate of the Great Commission in our generation. It implies that no effort should be spared to reach out to the world with the message of hope and reconciliation. Statistically, more than 40% of the world are unreached (www. joshuaproject.net). Therefore, we must seek the heart of God and mobilise disciples to venture into fields across the nations, especially to places where communities are considered “unreached”1 . With the support of mission agencies, mission organisations, churches, and individuals plus the vast resources that we have today, I believe we can develop a strategy to reach the world for Christ through New Geographical Mission Partnerships (NewGMP)! Together (i.e. 46 local Methodist Churches) united in mission, let’s pool our resources to reach the world! Currently, MMS has missions in 7 countries. We can enlarge our sphere. Would you take heed to our Lord’s challenge: “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men”? (Matthew 4:19). I invite you as fishers of men (individuals and/or local churches), to explore new geographical mission partnerships with MMS where we serve together within a collaborative framework with the end that “the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea!” “I want the whole Christ for my Saviour—, the whole Bible for my book, the whole Church for my fellowship, and the whole world for my mission field.” – John Wesley Get in touch with MMS today! Call 6478 4818, email mms@methodist.org.sg or visit www.mms.org.sg.
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OUR GIFTS FOR MISSIONS
We would like to support MMS so that the Good News of Jesus Christ can be proclaimed to the ethnic Cambodians, Lahus, Laotians, Nepalese, Thais, Timorese and Vietnamese, by giving to:
GIFT DETAILS General Donation (where it is most needed)
$
Crisis Relief Fund (General)
$
Rev Dr Clarence Lim Missionary Development Fund $
Student Sponsorship Scheme (Non-Residential)* General $ @ S$45 per month Cambodia / Laos / Nepal / Thailand / Timor-Leste
Student Sponsorship Scheme (Residential)* General @ S$110 per month
[ [ [ [ [
East Asia
Ministry Support Staff & Ministry Support Church Planting Ministry
] COSI (Cambodia) ] Sophia’s Home (Nepal) ] Mettakij Hostel (Thailand) ] Term Fun Home (Thailand) ] Sundermeier Home (Timor-Leste)
Cambodia
$ $ $ $
Church Planting Ministry Staff & Ministry Support Post COSI Integration Programme Hope House
$ $ $
Community Development Staff & Ministry Support Sponsorship for Pastor Lay Leader Training at Caleb Bible Institute Youth Ministry
$ $
Nepal
$
$
Laos
$
Thailand
$
Staff & Ministry Support
Timor-Leste
$ $
Staff & Ministry Support St Paul Methodist School Building Fund
Vietnam
$
V ietnam Children’s Fund
Printing And Postage Cost
$
Harvest Force, PrayerConnect, etc.
Others (please specify):
$
Name [Rev/Dr/Mr/Mrs/Ms] Mailing Address Telephone
Postal code
[home]
Email address
[office]
[mobile]
Church
I wish to receive Harvest Force magazine regularly. Please add me to your mailing list. My comments, feedback and suggestions:
METHOD OF GIVING I would like to make my gift of S$
through
*For more information on the Student Sponsorship Scheme, please logon to http://www.mms.org. sg/sss
[please tick one]
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Card No.
Signature
Cheque [Please cross and make cheque payable to “The Methodist Church in Singapore (MMS)” and mail it together with this form] Bank & Cheque No.
PayNow
Internet Bank (IB) Transfer [Please state your name and phone number (e.g. Helen 98765432) in the Reference field. Or mail/scan to us this form with your details.]
[Scan the MMS PayNow QR code with your Bank App. Please state your name and phone number (e.g. Helen 98765432) in the Reference field. Or mail/scan to us this form with your details.]
Name of Bank Account: The Methodist Church in Singapore (MMS) Bank Name:
DBS Bank Ltd
Bank Account Number:
033-016829-2
Bank Code:
7171
Branch Code: 033 Swift Code: DBSSSGSG
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PDPA MMS is committed to ensuring the security of all personal data she collects. MMS shall use and disclose such data only for her necessary purposes and if so, shall adhere to the guidelines of the Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA). All personal data shall be kept strictly confidential at all times. If ever MMS has to disclose any personal data to any third party, she shall do so only with the prior consent of the owner of the personal data. To withdraw or limit consent, please email to mms@methodist.org.sg.
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PERSONAL INFORMATION
OUR GIFTS FOR MISSIONS “I will not offer burnt offerings to the LORD my God which cost me nothing” 2 Samuel 24:24
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Postage will be paid by addressee. For posting in Singapore only.
BUSINESS REPLY SERVICE PERMIT NO. 08175
MMS Executive Director Methodist Missions Society 70 Barker Road #06-01 The Methodist Centre Singapore 309936
SSS 33
Join SSS & GIVE THE GIFT OF EDUCATION! I
YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS ARE URGENTLY NEEDED TO ENSURE THAT A GENERATION OF STUDENTS IS NOT LOST TO THIS PANDEMIC.
t has been said that education is part of the Methodist DNA. The early missionaries to Singapore demonstrated this by establishing schools so that all children, regardless of race, gender, or socio-economic status, would have access to quality education. MMS has continued this legacy by launching Methodist schools and student hostels in Cambodia, Thailand, and Timor-Leste and, through partnership with others, in Laos. Over the years, many of you within the Methodist community in Singapore have supported the MMS Student Sponsorship Scheme (SSS). Through your generous Rev Teresa Wilborn contributions, children from poor families have the opportunity to attend Methodist schools overseas, just as our ancestors did here more than 100 years ago. MMS Area Director for Our Methodist schools offer so much more than basic education. MMS Cambodia and TimorLeste. She worships at missionaries and local teachers develop Christian values and leadership skills Aldersgate Methodist through Boys’ and Girls’ Brigade, and share the Gospel through devotions and Church. Bible teaching. Over the years, many of these students have graduated, gone on to university or vocational training, and become leaders in their churches and communities. Because they have been transformed by God’s love, they are able to help transform their families, neighbours, and their nation. We all know that COVID-19 has had a devastating effect on economies globally, causing the closure of schools, businesses, and factories. The impact on developing countries has been especially devastating. Loss of income for poor, marginalised families is more than a temporary hardship; it is a crisis. Parents are unable to feed their children, unable to afford needed medicines, and unable to continue sending their sons and daughters to school. S$45 a month to support a student in a school like St Paul Methodist School Your contributions are urgently needed to ensure in Timor-Leste that a generation of students is not lost to this pandemic. Under the SSS programme, donors are asked to give S$45 a month to support a student in Methodist school, or S$110 a month to support a student resident. Please give, as individuals, as cell groups, as circles of friends. Give the gift of education – it may perhaps be the greatest investment you will ever make! Sponsor a student today! Visit www.mms.org.sg/sss, email mms@ methodist.org.sg, or call 6478 4818 for more information.
S$110 a month to support a student resident in a shelter like COSI Children’s Village in Cambodia
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HARVESTFORCE 2020 • 2
THE LAITY and ITS PLACE IN THE CHURCH A
Col (Ret) Quek Koh Eng Field & Church Engagement Director in MMS, and the MMS Area Director for Thailand and Vietnam. He worships at Charis Methodist Church.
disciple is one who responds to Jesus’ call to be disciple of Christ. Jesus said, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” (Luke 9:23). The challenge is for all who are called by God to take their faith seriously, grow as Disciples of Christ, and not be content merely as pew warmers but true believers who know and serve the will of God. I believe there is a divine blueprint for each and everyone of God’s people. This plan is suited to our personalities, talents, needs, potentialities, and environment. Ephesians 2:10 “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” God has ordained certain specific tasks, works for each individual believer. Hebrews 12:1 “… run with endurance the race that is set before us.” There is a different race for each one of us. Paul would say, “I have finished my course.” (2 Timothy 4:7, KJV). He fulfilled his ministry by completing his work. Every believer should know the obvious difference between the work and fruit of the Holy Spirit in their lives. The work of the Spirit is the direct result of the Spirit’s active ministry. The fruit of the Spirit is the outcome of His indwelling and our yielding to Him. Galatians 5:17-23 tells us the sharp contrast between the works of the fresh and fruit of the Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit (nine of them) is spoken of in the singular signifying the oneness of the fruit. It is not complete until all nine are present. The believer is not complete until he manifests all nine graces, a journey of sanctification. Sanctification is the will of God for every believer. 1 Thessalonians 4:3, KJV “For this is the will of God, even your sanctification.” It is so important that the subject of holiness and sanctification is mentioned 1066 times in the Bible. At conversion, the believer receives the justified life. He is made righteous. This is followed by a consecrated life when we acknowledge the Lord’s ownership of our lives. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, KJV says, “Ye are not your own… bought with a price.” At the altar of consecration, we yield our lives and our wills to the Lord but we cannot live in a vacuum. Our lives must be filled with the Holy Spirit. Ephesians Eph 5:18 says, “And do not get drunk with wine… but be filled with the Spirit.” This is a very strong New Testament command. The Holy Spirit is our teacher and counsellor, and He will anoint us with power and for understanding of God’s truth.
The Layman’s place in the Church One reason for the failure of some new covenant churches is that they become a one-man affair or are run by a pastoral central team. The pew-sitter leaves the work of evangelism, preaching, worship, teaching, and visitation of members to the pastors. This has never been God’s order. God’s order has always been that every believer should be a witness. Acts 1:8 “you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” John Wesley said, “We are all at it (evangelism) and at it always.” This was the secret of the Moravian and Wesleyan revivals. Acts 6:5 mentioned that Stephen and Philip were the first two deacons elected in the early church and these two men were mighty in their influence over the church perhaps more than any others besides Peter and Paul. Stephen was just a layman. Like thousands of other laymen since his time he “did great wonders” because he was “full of faith and power.” Stephen’s life and death had
INOTHERWORDS 35
an incalculable effect upon the history of the world in his influence upon Saul of Tarsus. The leaders in the synagogue “could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking.” (Acts 6:10). Their anger flared into murderous hatred. Stephen was the first martyr of the Christian Church. A layman is a person not of the clergy but one of the laity – an ordinary member of the church. The answer to the problem of getting the ordinary church member to do personal evangelism and church ministry work, is revival and church spiritual growth. The reason that we find personal involvement not forthcoming is that we are spiritually cold. Therefore, it is fitting and necessary for each church member to be active for Christ. The Lord asks us to use the talents that He has given us, Matthew 25:15 says, “To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability.” As we use our talents, they and others will develop. The man with five talents gained five more. In the mission fields of MMS, this phenomenon of the lack of lay involvement is more obvious. Many indigenous churches are run by the pastor alone with a handful of helpers who are untrained and lack skills to help the pastor to manage the church. In the past two years, MMS has intentionally implemented and intensified the equipping and training of our laity in the various fields. However, the process can be better reinforced with the participation of our Methodist churches in Singapore. The active participation of the laity in the church and church planting (evangelism) is critical in helping the church to experience healthy and balance church growth. We will then be able to see the realisation of more and more Great Commission churches that are self-sustainable in due course, similar to what the Methodist churches experienced 200 years ago. The effective ways for Laity to be involved in the Church Christ is the Head of the body and we are members of His body. “The Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God.” (Colossians 2:19 and Ephesians 1:22-23). As members of the body we are created to worship God and to glorify Him on the earth (Ephesians 1:4-6); to evangelise the world with the Gospel (Matthew 28:19-20); to teach and instruct Christians (Ephesians 4:11-15); and to witness constantly (Acts 1:8).
There are many effective ways the layman can participate and contribute in the church as His workman created to do good works. Besides keeping fellowship with God, we must also keep fellowship with other believers and make constant contacts with the unsaved, waiting for opportunities to witness to them and invite them to be saved. One effective way of maintaining fellowship with other Christians is through small group ministry. Here are some thoughts on how we could be effective layman in our respective churches:
• Encourage your pastor occasionally with a
compliment, smile or handshake so that he may keep on fighting the battle actively as he too may become discouraged.
• Organise Bible study class or book study in your church or at home for new converts.
• Be actively involved in mission works at home
or aboard to bring God’s love and blessing to the unsaved, poor, and needy.
• Teach in Sunday School if time and talents permit. • Invite others to Christian campaigns, rallies or
evangelistic events like the Alpha Course. Don’t be discouraged if they don’t come. Be cheerful and keep inviting them again.
• Equip yourself to share and bring a pre-believer to
Christ. While an evangelist may invite publicly, you can do it personally. The secret of a personal touch is quite irresistible.
• Be a counsellor or helper. Be willing to share your
testimony and point the sinner to Jesus. Do not be afraid; you learn by watching and doing.
• Share and testify your answered prayers and
testimonies. We can best glorify Him by quietly telling the story.
• Stand in the gap to pray for the church, pastors, and church leaders. Join the intercessory prayer group.
• Give food to the hungry, water to the thirsty, clothes to the naked, and visit the sick and prisoners. (Matthew 25: 34-36)
• Finally, do what we can, as best as we can, all the time.
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HARVESTFORCE 2020 • 2
THEOLOGICAL EDUCATION for MISSIONS A Good to Have or A Great Need T
Rev Benjamin Lee Pastor overseeing Missions at Wesley Methodist Church
heological education as preparation for full-time missions1 work. Is it a good to have or is it a great need to have? This question has vexed the mind of many who are called to missions and in the process of preparing for it. On the one hand, there is a strong conviction of God’s calling and a great need in the mission field for harvesters, and much good can be wrought in the two or three years that may otherwise be spent preparing in a seminary. On the other hand, it is certainly useful to be properly trained and certified, and there is even a certain appeal to be able to dedicate a significant amount of time just getting into God’s Word, Ways and Purposes in a classroom setting. Three Methodists, who know that the Lord has called them to the field, share their thoughts on theological education in their preparation for the missions calling. They are Dr Kelvin Li Kaiwen (KL), married with three girls, and studied in Trinity Theological College before going to Thailand in 2019; Jonathan Kong (JK), who together with his wife has a calling to the Mekong region, studied in Singapore Bible College, and is currently serving in church as he prepares to go to the field; and Janice Chng (JC), who has a calling to serve together with her husband in the field, is currently still studying in Singapore Bible College.
Photo credit: IngridHS@Bigstock
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How did you feel about seminary studies before deciding to go for it to be equipped? KL Prior to entering seminary, I had rather mixed feelings. On the one hand, I was quite daunted by the prospect of having to engage in abstract theoretical studies that may have little to do with the practical world. But on the other hand, I was excited about the opportunity to engage with the Bible in greater depth and to let God prepare me for future ministry work. JK Before I decided to be equipped, I felt that seminary studies were a little excessive. I felt that I could learn the same things through practical experience and ad-hoc courses. And if they could only be learnt through formal education at a seminary, then they were probably not worth learning. I felt that seminary studies cloister Christians from the concerns of the real world and that they were not relevant. However, I was curious about some topics and could imagine going to do ad-hoc classes in seminary, just not the full deal. JC It was a great opportunity to remove myself from the secular work and immerse myself in God’s Word. I felt that a good preparation for the long journey of missions work is necessary. I also needed to know I wouldn’t lose my faith if I get sent to a place without a church. I felt I needed to know how to really read the Bible properly.
How did you feel about seminary studies as you were or are going through it? KL The studies were academically rigorous, and I found myself constantly challenged. In doing so, the studies helped to broaden my perspective and sharpen my critical thinking. My initial concern of seminary being an ivory tower ultimately proved unfounded as I was regularly encouraged to relate my studies to the contemporary world. JK I felt it was an eye-opening experience, answering some questions and yet prompting new questions, and even opening new horizons. I enjoyed discussing questions that I had on the field with my lecturers and fellow classmates who had similar experiences and had differing viewpoints on the issue. Through the rigorous assignments and readings, I was forced to think through difficult issues and form my thoughts about them. I also enjoyed hearing stories from my classmates and that has helped motivate me to pursue God’s calling for me.
1
Missions as understood in the traditional usage of the word, i.e. a work undertaken for the purposes of advancing the gospel of Jesus Christ as part of the greater Missio Dei, regardless of locality, whether in a home country or culture, or overseas cross culturally.
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HARVESTFORCE 2020 • 2
JC Different aspects of the seminary has given me different insights. With Applied Theology, I’m gaining insights into God’s big plan for redemption in relation to his OT covenant and relating it to current world affairs. With Practical Theology, it was how the guided missional readings required us to set aside time for reflection and evaluation which became my key learning points. The Christian community in seminary, meeting others who are just as excited about studying the word of God, spurring one another on in nurturing our God-given calling, learning from one another and receiving practical tips from those who are ahead in life stages (young families, families with teens, etc.) are all special to me too.
Kelvin, now that you’re in the field, has seminary studies helped you? And if so, how? KL Seminary studies are important and helpful in many ways. But perhaps the most fundamental message is that however many the number of years one spends in the seminary, it will never be adequate. The mission field is an evolving landscape and one has to continually learn and adapt in order to keep abreast of changes and remain relevant. To that end, seminaries equip one for lifelong learning and provide critical links to a learning community of faith.
Jonathan, now that you’re preparing to go to the field (and working in church), has seminary studies helped you? And if so, how? JK Through the two years of readings and assignments, seminary studies have laid a discipline for lifelong learning that does not stop after graduation. I feel that I am better able to understand viewpoints and issues during ministry at church and my visits to different mission fields, and to provide my opinions on them. I am more aware of the challenges and the differing viewpoints on missions, and I am able to incorporate them even as I plan to eventually go to the field.
Janice, what would you say to others who are called to be missionaries, and are considering whether to go for seminary studies? JC It is an investment that will reap long-term rewards. Nothing can replace building up your spiritual life and biblical knowledge, and experiencing Christian community.
Photo credit: smile3377@Bigstock
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These three individuals have found theological studies useful for their journeys. In his often quoted book, Serving as Senders, Neal Pirolo encourages churches to be intentional in encouraging the spiritual growth of missionaries before they go, while they are in the field, and also when they return2. Pirolo cites an example of John Mark, who was brought to a missionary journey by Barnabas and Paul. But because of the seemingly lack of preparation, and when the going got tough, John Mark quit the journey. Some years later, Paul sensed John Mark was still not ready (Acts 15:38). But several years after that, Paul told Timothy to bring John Mark with him as “he is profitable for the ministry” (2 Timothy 4:11). Pirolo goes on to suggest that the church must therefore prepare the candidates well, before they embark on missions work, whether that be through in-house training programmes, seminary studies, or a combination of several preparation programmes. In any case, intentionality of training is key. Likewise, the Lausanne Covenant, in Paragraph 11 on Education and Leadership, affirms that “in every nation and culture, there should be an effective training programme for pastors and laity in doctrine, discipleship, evangelism, nurture, and service.” This, of course, implicitly includes missionaries amongst those who should be trained and be equipped to do the training. John Stott, in his commentary on the Lausanne Covenant (www.lausanne. org/content/lop/lop-3#11), explains that because the problems facing the church are always basically theological, the church leaders have to learn to think theologically, so that they can apply Christian principles to every situation. As such, missionaries, who are training and coleading with local pastors, must also be intentionally trained to think theologically, and such training can be found most readily in seminaries. No doubt, theological studies alone will not suffice. Francis Patt, who had been with the US Center for World Mission since 1981, wrote in a 2013 article in Missions Frontier to discourage the idea of “Sufficient preparation for ministry without the proper character development and competence in disciple-making” (www.missionfrontiers.org/issue/article/ equipping-the-people-of-god-for-the-mission-of-god-article). As all three Methodists above also assert, theological studies lay a good foundation for reflection to set a strong base from which character and competencies can be further developed. So, is it good to have theological studies for missions or is it a great need? As affirmed by the various sources cited above, it certainly is needful for missionaries to be theologically trained, so that strong foundations may be laid for theological reflection on the various situations they will undoubtedly find themselves confronted with, and being able to provide solutions that are grounded in Christian principles.
2
Neal Pirolo, Serving as Senders (Emmaus Reoad International, 1991), 57-58.
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HARVESTFORCE 2020 • 2
Tool SHARPENING “The good workman keeps his tools sharpened for a job well done.”
T
Rev Dr Chong Chin Chung
新加坡卫理公会 会督 Bishop of The Methodist Church in Singapore. He likes traditional hymns very much and he likes to sing them with a lively beat! He cannot stand it when hymns are sung like lamentation songs!
his saying is especially true on the mission field. The missionary’s work is not done in a day or two, or even weeks or months. Instead, it is a long-term commitment in cross cultural conditions, living with the locals, and immersing oneself into the local culture. The missionary must deal with possible opposition to our Bible and faith, while at the same time, embrace the local culture and use symbols and icons familiar to the locals, to introduce the Good News of Christ. It is clear that as part of the missionary’s mission in being sent to an ethnic group of a different culture, he not only has to become familiar with missions strategies, but also the many lifestyle customs and social norms and make connections with the various authorities, government and civic units, and particularly with the other religious bodies in the region. This includes building relationships with other local or foreign Christian churches and mission agencies for effective communications and readiness in many areas. It is not enough to just having a vision or zeal to be ready for the harvest field. What we are most concerned about are those independent and self-styled missionaries who refuse to heed others and are uncaring if their actions may affect the sustainability of the work in the whole harvest field or even if it may put other missionaries working there at risk. This is very dangerous. If among the team sent by a sending agency, there is someone who wants to go on his own terms, without collaborating with the rest, it will be a disaster for the whole mission field. Actually, this applies even to the missionary agencies, where if the mission field already has a local church and other missions agencies in their plans, any new agency coming in must make the effort to link up with the local churches and other mission agencies who are already present, to prevent upsetting the good relationship already established. The history of the Christian church in missions, can provide a looking glass through which we may gain many precious insights. Thus, good training and regular training on the job are important must-haves in the plans for missionaries and missions agencies. If any disciple who is filled with excitement and enthusiasm for short-term or long-term missions, including church mission trips, refuses to accept training or does not take the training seriously, he should not be sent to the mission field as he may be disruptive or pose a danger to all concerned. Today’s mission fields are very different from those half a century ago. Telecommunications then cannot be compared with what we have now. Then, change was quite slow whether in the cities or in the villages, and not much change took place even in a few decades. But now information technology is advancing rapidly and with that, the world seems to have suddenly shrunk. And many villages have disappeared within the span of a decade or so. Development is even faster in the cities and traditional communications have been edged out by new telecommunications and media. For such reasons, even on the mission field, change is rapid, and new situations arise constantly, so that even missionaries and agencies with many years of experience must receive special trainPhoto crdit: Serhii Fedoruk@Bigstock
工欲善其事必先利其器 ing so as to better deal with what is new. When all workplaces in today’s world face a rapid pace of change, this is a pertinent reminder that training must be unrelenting, and we must undergo relevant training in a timely manner. Christ’s disciples followed Him closely for three and a half years. They were trained as they walked alongside Him as He preached, healed, and delivered. Sometimes, Jesus brought two or three of them with Him for special experiences. After He ascended to heaven, the disciples brought to play the three and a half years of packed training and preparation so as to bear fruit in evangelism. The Bible also records not just the development of the first generation of disciples, but also of these disciples training the new generation who would take over from them, like Barnabas, Aquila, Priscilla, Dorcas, Lydia, Timothy, Titus, Epaphroditus, and so on. These were well-trained disciples and missionaries, so that even when they met with persecution or difficult situations, the Gospel continued to be preached. The fruit and impact of their work is great indeed! Ultimately, the missionary must hand over the gospel work to local disciples. Thus missionaries must bear the important responsibility of training the local disciples. During his time on the field, the missionary must imitate Christ, teaching through his speech and actions. Through careful and excellent training, he may in this manner pass on the torch of the Gospel and zeal in evangelism from generation to generation.
常言道： “工欲善其事，必先利其器。”
这
句尤其适用在宣教工场。宣教士的工作不是一天两天， 数周数月能完成；而是长期委身在不同文化的环境里， 与当地人生活在一起，浸濡在他们的文化里中。除了与圣经信 仰抵触外，宣教士要接纳当地人的文化并且以当地人熟悉的文 化符号传播和介绍基督的福音。 可见宣教士身负使命被差派到一个文化差异的族群去，除 了必须熟悉宣教策略，还有许多生活习俗、处世待人以及与官 方、政府、民间单位的联系，更要对当地其他宗教团体、甚至本 地和外来同是基督教教会机构等彼此之间的沟通谅解做多方 面的准备，不是单有异像，心有热忱就可以进入宣教禾场。 在宣教区最令人难以接受的就是单来独往的所谓宣教士。 这类宣教士不愿听命任何人，也不顾及自己的行动会否损害整 个宣教禾场的存留，甚至会否影响其他宣教士的安危，这是非 常危险的。如果受差会差遣的宣教士，有人一意孤行不听从也 不配合整体的行动，也会是宣教禾场的灾难。其实，包括宣教 机构，如果计划中的宣教区已经有当地教会及其他宣教机构， 新加入的宣教机构必须照会并与当地教会及其他宣教机构沟 通联系，以免搅乱宣教禾场的和谐关系。过去基督教会的宣教 历史可以给我们许多借镜，从中可以取得许多宝贵的经验。 因此，有良好的培训以及在职持续的定期培训，是宣教士、 宣教机构务必看重的计划。任何满腔热忱想短期或长期当宣 教士的信徒，包括所谓教会组织的“宣教之旅”(mission trip) ， 若成员拒绝接受培训或不认真接受培训，都不可被差到宣 教区去，因为他们会将整个团队置于危险中。 今天的宣教禾场跟半个世纪前很不一样，过去电讯科技不 比今天，无论是城市或乡村改变都比较缓慢，几十年改变不了 多少。随着电讯科技突飞猛进，区域空间快速缩小，人流交通 频密拥挤，原本的乡村可能在十年内已经消失无踪。城市更是 发展迅速，传统的沟通传达方式已经被新崛起的电讯媒体淘 汰。为这缘故，即便在宣教禾场多年的宣教士，当今时局改变 太快，新的情况不断出现，拥有多年经验的宣教士以及宣教机 构急需评估需要，接受特别训练以便更好的应对新的局势。尤 其现在的世界，任何一个职场都面对改变迅速的步伐，切切 要提醒自己，训练必须持续不断，而且要及时接受关切性的训 练。 耶稣的门徒，贴身跟随耶稣三年半，一面受装备一面也像耶 稣一样传道、医病、赶鬼。有时耶稣也带着三两个门徒跟着自 己经历特别的体验。耶稣升天以后，门徒发挥了三年半充分和 全备训练后传福音的效果！不单是第一代的门徒，圣经里也记 载了门徒培训了新一代的接班人，像巴拿巴、亚基拉、百基拉、 多加、吕底亚、提摩太、提多、以巴弗等，这些训练有素的门徒、 宣教士们，即使面对逼迫或困难的环境，仍将福音传开了，他 们的工作果效影响巨大！宣教士至终都必须把福音的工作，交 棒给当地的信徒。因此，宣教士们肩负训练本地信徒的重任。 即使身处禾场期间，宣教士也要效法基督。不仅言教，还要身 教，透过认真良好的训练，让福音的火炬把和传福音的热忱， 代代相传。
