1 Peter 3:18
For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit...
Christ has said, “Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5) This specific challenge underscores the fundamental notion that every child of God must be fruitbearing, and that is directly dependent upon developing a close and intimate relationship with Christ for, apart from that, we cannot bear much fruit. The terminology “fruit” is often referred to, firstly, the Fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22,23) and, secondly, those that come to know Christ as Saviour after we have sown the seeds of the Gospel on good soil. In other words, fruitbearing Christians are disciples of Christ who walk in obedience to His Word (via abiding in Him) and serve the Missio Dei by being His ambassadors and witnesses of the Light, drawing people to Himself!
As we carry out the mission of God, we are “being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit.” Simply put, it means we are called to cultivate ‘Scriptural Holiness’ which “centers around the scriptural truth concerning the doctrine and experience of holiness, which declares that the atonement in Christ provides not only for the regeneration of sinners but for the entire sanctification of believers.” [https://discipline.wesleyan.org/wiki/Holiness,_ scriptural:_Historical_background]
To be sanctified is to be made holy. It is newness of life in Christ. This New Year brings newness in terms of possibilities and challenges. In my Christmas 2022 message (in Harvest Force 2022 issue 3), I had urged all to pray specifically for peace among the nations, and specifically in Ukraine. Let us continue to pray that the message of redemption and reconciliation in Christ will bring God’s Shalom (i.e., peace) to all the suffering nations and soon the citizens will begin to rebuild their homes. Let their newness of life overcome traces of hatred, bitterness, and resentment. Let love preside over the painful and unforgettable episodes of war and terror.
Together with the band of intercessors committed to praying for the concerns and issues of MMS regularly, I encourage you to abide in Christ, remain steadfast in prayer, and through the grace of Christ, be made alive in the Spirit via the cultivation of scriptural holiness. To God be the glory!
Rev Derrick Lau Executive DirectorCover photo: MMS leaders and staff praying together. All Scripture quoted is based on the English Standard Version (ESV), unless otherwise stated.
1. Pray for MoRE LABouRERS in the field as more hearts, hands, and feet are needed to accomplish God’s purposes at the various entities.
2. Pray for strength, health, wisdom, creativity, and grace for our MiSSionARiES (Carol Loh, Carol Ong, Johnson, Josephine, Timothy, Cindy). May they empower the next generation to be future-ready and seek innovative ways to reach out especially during the upcoming Easter and Khmer New Year in April.
3. Praise God that METHoDiST SCHooL oF CAMBoDiA celebrated her 25th Anniversary in 2022 with meaningful age-appropriate community service to bless others with positive impact. Pray for all students to continue their journey of discovery and learning with joy and great understanding as they are nurtured to be young men and women of good character. Pray for principals Samneang (Kindergarten) and Timothy (Main School) and their teachers to inspire and empower their students to realise their charges’ maximum potential. Pray for parents to be able to pay school fees on time so that the school can remain financially sustainable.
4. Pray for all children and youth at CoSi and CoSY as they begin a new academic year with vigour. May they continue to grow in multi-pronged ways as they bless the surrounding community. Pray that the young adults at METHoDiST HoSTEL (MH) & JoY HoSTEL (JH) are able to balance between studies, work, and spiritual growth. Pray for God’s wisdom and strength for all the managers and leadership teams at COSI, COSY, MH, and JH as they give care and direction for their charges, some of whom are PCOSIIP students.
5. Thank God that more slum children are coming to HoPE HouSE for the daily enrichment programmes and weekly Sunday Funtime. Pray for creativity and faithfulness as staff minister to them and their families through home visitation. Pray for more locals to serve as volunteers and staff.
6. Pray for Rev Lun Sophy and the ExCo of METHoDiST CHuRCH in CAMBoDiA as they provide wise leadership for the 132 churches under their care. Pray for creativity, joy, faith, perseverance, and wisdom as pastors nurture disciple-makers, guide their churches to be selfsustainable through livelihood measures, and innovate to touch the community with Jesus’ love especially at Easter. May they be empowered through training, and be faithfully resilient to meet challenges.
7. Pray for anointing on Rev Prak Vuthy and the leadership of CAMBoDiAn METHoDiST BiBLE SCHooL as the enrolment grows with more theological scholarships needed and as they seek to raise godly pastors, full-time staff, and lay-leaders to impact the different spheres of community to bring about positive transformation.
1.Pray for the new nEPAL GoVER n ME nT that has just taken office after the recent elections. Pray that they will govern justly and provide care for the people. May it not create a challenging environment for our churches.
2.Pray for our Methodist Church in Nepal (MCN) churches as they prepare for their special worship services on GooD FRiDAY and R ESu RRECTion Sun DAY. Pray for everyone who is involved in the special programmes and services, including baptism.
3.Pray for our MCN E LDERS , PASToRS , and E VAn GELiSTS as they lead their congregations into the new year.
4.Pray for our WoME n and CH iLDRE n . Pray for God’s love, provision, and protection especially for the children.
5.Pray for our YouTH as they grow in spiritual maturity. May they take on greater responsibilities as the next generation of leaders.
1.
for God’s continued protection over the health of our PASToRS, STAFF, MEMBERS, MiSSionARiES AnD THEiR FAMiLiES.
2. Pray for our LAY LEADERS AnD MEMBERS to rise up in our churches. Pray also for the ongoing discipleship efforts, especially amongst our youth.
3. Pray for the ongoing construction of LiTTLE CAnDLES SCHooL as there were delays due to the floods. Pray for its timely completion and that we are able to attain approval from the authorities to open for classes in early 2023.
4. Thank God for the various ouTREACH EVEnTS during the Christmas season held by our churches in Thailand. We are grateful for the pastors, staff and members involved and for the various MiSSion TEAMS that came up to Thailand as well.
5. Thank God for His protection and providence towards and through nonG BuA LAMPHu METHoDiST CHuRCH. The province was badly affected by flooding and the church was able to reach out to provide CRiSiS RELiEF AiD to surrounding community and to Nong San district.
1.Pray for the welfare and development of Timor-Leste. Pray for the GoVERnMEnT to facilitate development of local industries (e.g. tourism) and capacity-building projects (e.g. IT infrastructure).
2. Pray for our MiSSionARiES for a renewed sense of purpose as they begin serving in a new year. Pray for good health, wisdom, strength, and favour with God and man. Pray for time to be carved out from their hectic schedules to hear from God and to be refreshed in His presence and Word regularly.
3. Pray for the development of nATionAL LEADERS. Pray for volunteers from Singapore to be REPLACEMENT HOUSE PARENTS in Sundermeier Home and Dunamis House, and to mentor home-grown leaders to eventually take over the role of house parents.
4. SunDERMEiER HoME: Pray for the graduating students to find further studies or good work opportunities. May God guard the seed planted in them through the years of discipleship so that they will continue to grow in their walk with God and be a light wherever they are. Pray for the new intake of students to adapt and adjust well to Senior High school, and the routines of living in a Christian hostel with daily devotions.
5. DunAMiS HouSE: Pray for the Tuition Ministry Outreach to community children. May the hostelites grow in their capacity to teach and love their students. Pray for the Transforming Villages, Empowering Lives (TVEL) programme. Pray for local partners to come alongside this agriculture livelihood project. Pray for volunteers from Singapore with business skills and experience to help chart the TVEL vision, and provide (online and on-site) mentoring for hostelites.
6. ST PAuL METHoDiST SCHooL (SPMS): Pray for the new intake of Grade 1 and Grade 7 students, and for all students to settle well into school routines and expectations. Pray for the school of 600 students to operate smoothly across three different locations and three sessions. Pray for the leadership team, teachers and the staff to have renewed strength, passion, wisdom, and creativity to nurture the students. Pray for the SPMS Development Project. May the construction commence as planned without delays due to bad weather or unforeseen circumstances. Pray for favour with the authorities and local community. Pray for God’s continued provision for the construction cost.
~ by Rohan Mohanty, Ex-member of ICF-HCMC, Vietnam. Today, he is serving full time as a youth worker in a church in UK. (This is an abridged version. For the full version, go to www.mms.org.sg/post/discipleship-journey.)
In 2017, my wife and I gave our lives to Jesus. She was a new believer while I was awakened from many years of spiritual infancy. We joined the International Christian Fellowship in Ho Chi Minh City (ICF-HCMC) where we began to grow spiritually in our respective
Bible study groups. A year later, we started a one-to-one discipleship training with Pastor Leslie and his wife, Aunty Linda. We met weekly for over three years. They introduced us to the vision of living an intentional discipleship lifestyle by showing us how Jesus did the same in His three-year ministry. We also covered Christian foundations, a solid book study with Bible passages, and marriage and parenting.
As disciple-makers, we were expected to be able to teach whatever we were taught. That meant understanding the materials deeply so as to master them. I struggled with some topics, like how stubborn Jacob wrestled with God. With Pastor Leslie and Aunty Linda’s patience, gentleness, perseverance and prayer, the Holy Spirit
worked in us to bring us to one mind on all things. (Philippians 3:15)
Pastor Leslie and Aunty Linda also taught us the principles of applying theology as we received our calling into full-time ministry. Today, I am imparting these practical ministry learnings to others.
After the second year under the discipleship training, two young fathers at similar life stages as mine came under my training, where they have remained even until today. It is a joy to be God’s vessel to renew lives and raise up labourers. One of them has been invited to serve as a lay leader in his church, while the other has expressed the desire to join the ministry full time.
Over the three years, we became a family; my wife and I saw Pastor Leslie and Aunty Linda as our parents. Our kids treated them as grandparents. Now, we seek to journey with others so as to be able to pass on what we were taught to others, fulfilling Jesus’ instruction to us to make disciples.
Note: This testimony was first featured in ‘ Projec T M e Ta M or P h osI s’ . Check it out: www.mms.org.sg/projectmetamorphosis
70 Barker Road #06-01 The Methodist Centre Singapore 309936 6478 4818 mms@methodist.org.sg www.mms.org.sg mms.org.sg mms.org.sg mmsorgsg mms_org_sg
