A newsletter o f T h e N a viga to rs S inga pore M C I ( P ) 106/03/2018
JUNE 2018
With a new wave of freshmen, polytechnics kicked off the academic year by increasing their outreach efforts and making new members feel welcome.
KEEPING IT FRESH FOR FRESHMEN The Navigators ministry staff and key labourers at Singapore Polytechnic (SP), Ngee Ann Polytechnic, Singapore Institute of Management and Temasek Polytechnic (NP-SIM-TP) and Republic and Nanyang Polytechnics (RP-NYP) encountered a fresh wave of students when the new polytechnic academic year began in mid-April. They put their best foot forward and went out of their way to welcome the freshmen by organising a plethora of events.
“Light in the Dark” Conference What do labourers do on Labour Day? Labour! SP organised a conference aimed at helping freshmen know who the light of the world is and how to be a light to the world. All learning sessions and mass games centred around the theme of “Light in the Dark”. The day spent in fellowship and learning began with snapping glow sticks in a dark room and enjoying an impressive display of LED lights that declared Jesus as the light of the world. www.navigators.org.sg @SingaporeNavigators The Navigators Singapore, 117 Lor K, Teluk Kurau, Singapore 425758 Tel: (65) 6344 4133 Email: admin@navigators.org.sg The calling of The Navigators is to advance the gospel of Jesus and His Kingdom into the nations through spiritual generations of labourers living and discipling among the lost.
Conference participants got involved and shared their answers from the Bible during the three learning sessions—Jesus is the Light of You, You are the Light of SP and SP is the Light of the World. During a mass game, the teams had to solve puzzles to unlock some keywords—life, lips and love, which are important aspects of being the light of SP.
Views expressed in published articles are those of the individual writers and may not necessarily be the views of The Navigators Singapore. All Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version® Copyright © 1984, unless otherwise stated.
When the event concluded, students were invited to be trained in doing Quiet Time and evangelism, to which they responded warmly.
National Director:
Welcome to Nav+U
Yap Kim Meng
Writers, Contributors: Yap Kim Meng, Sophie SimLawrence, Chia Kylie, Claire Lee, Viloane Ko, Zhen Yang Cheng, Dennis Yang, Aaron Ang, Lim Jit Ming Moses, Jay Yap, Wong Wing Ben, Tiang Shi Xin, Zheng Zhen Yang, Yeo Shang Hwang Javier
Editor, Design & Layout: Chia Kylie
Printer: Seng Lee Press © 2018 by The Navigators Singapore
SP also hosted the freshmen induction session together with their weekly Friday Bible discussion, Welcome to Nav+U.There was a dinner fellowship before they explored the book of Mark. Participants had the chance to hear the gospel clearly explained and to clarify any doubts.
Nav+Cookout This BBQ and cooking session at NP drew a turnout of 95 labourers, students and friends! After a bonding game, everyone was free to participate in various activities. Some played board games, frisbee or basketball, while others just enjoyed eating and chatting. There was even a table where some girls drew henna designs! Besides enjoying the fellowship and camaraderie, the youths also forged relationships with other like-minded believers as they befriended the NP Navigators Club members.
“Acalyron Restoration” Event Held at Punggol Waterway on Vesak Day, this Amazing Race-style event hosted by NP-SIM-TP saw teams rushing around to save the kingdom, Acalyron, which had fallen apart. Participants had to look for an antidote to restore the kingdom’s Spring of Life. This spring was poisoned and a certain list of food items would help revive it. Contestants had to make a trip to the nearby supermarket to procure these items! After an afternoon of adventure, food purchased during the game were consumed at a picnic that evening.
Picnic Fellowship by the Sea Being out at Marine Cove in East Coast Park on Labour Day, the RP-NYP students and key labourers were thankful that God stopped the rain so that they could have an enjoyable fellowship with their new friends! They had fun ice breakers and competed in building sand sculptures before indulging in a wide spread of food.
Onesimus Garden The RP-NYP team made a half-day trip to Onesimus Garden to learn more about the ministry work done through farm restorative therapy. They toured the place and discovered how the marginalised and disadvantaged in society are blessed and transformed, and have become useful in the Kingdom of God.
June Vacation: Breaktime Training Programme (BTP) Everyone needs fellowship with the Almighty. In order to fully utilise the students’ time during their term break, the polytechnic ministries will be having BTP sessions each week to build the faith of current and new members. Time will be spent learning and practicing basic spiritual disciplines like Quiet Time, Bible Study/ reading, Scripture memory, prayer and witnessing. Do pray for our labourers and young students, that they will have a hunger for God’s Word and will desire to fellowship with like-minded brothers and sisters. Pray also that these outreach events and evangelistic efforts will count for eternity in the eyes of God as more people enter His Kingdom! Should you wish to contribute, pray for or learn more about the polytechnic work, please email admin@navigators.org.sg.
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DONATION HISTORY For a video tutorial, scan the QR code or access this link: youtu.be/owHXcw0dBpk The Navigators administrative staff has rolled out a new online feature called “Donation History” on our official Nav website. Current donors can now view your past donations via our website whenever you login at your convenience. First-time users will have to register before accessing the donation details. This is part of ongoing improvements to our online systems and services. If you face technical issues, please contact admin@navigators.org.sg or call Desmond Hong at 6344 4133 ext 103.
FROM LAND OF THE MORNING CALM Overseas ministry learning trips and visits allow the Navigator community to go beyond the shores of Singapore and be exposed to different cultures and Navigator work. Key labourers and volunteer members who went on such a trip in March share their reflections. Tiang Shi Xin (RP-NYP) I was touched by the servitude and hospitality of the Lim Jit Ming Moses (NP-SIM-TP) sisters and brothers who hosted us, serving us not out I thank God for using me, even in a foreign country, of obligation but as a lifestyle. to tell others about Jesus! Jay Yap (NP-SIM-TP) The believers we met were faithful in fellowshipping and witnessing; they remind me not to compromise in my spending time with people.
Zheng Zhen Yang (NP-SIM-TP) The believers whom I spent time with manifested Christlike characteristics, not because they have no worries, but because they trust God’s Word.
Wong Wing Ben (NP-SIM-TP) The lives of key labourers there taught me what it means to live a life in Christ - reproducing disciples in whichever campus, company or country we go to.
Yeo Shang Hwang, Javier (RP-NYP) I was inspired by the dedication of the men who were committed to living together and spurring each other and surrendering their lives to God.
The year has moved fast and we are almost halfway through! We are grateful to the Lord for overseeing the Kingdom work beyond the shores of Singapore. We have been blessed by some of these servants who returned to Singapore over the past few months. I was thrilled to converse with Seto Wing Luk, our former NavNews Editor in the ‘80s, at our Staff Family Retreat in March. Currently a pastor in Hong Kong, he has been establishing and equipping disciplemakers in his church for 20 years. He refreshed us with Romans 12:1,2, as he talked about “The Gospel for the Rest of Life”. Jim Chew, Asia-Pacific Missions Mentor for The Navigators of New Zealand, also made a one-month trip back to Singapore from April to May. He was the first Asian Navigator in the ‘60s and then first local National Director from 1980-1990 who
helped advance the Navigator work in Singapore. Jim started reaching out to a neighbouring country before settling in New Zealand. While here, he took time to give a biographical interview to US Navigator Senior Historian Susan Fletcher, who was visiting Singapore with her US team at the same time. We caught up with his recent exploits and listened again about his pioneering work to gain insight into furthering the current discipleship movement. Associate Staff Tan Jee Long also returned to Singapore after serving 25 years in a bi-vocational capacity in East Asia. He is pictured here with his wife Lydia. We are excited to have him take the helm of our Missions Department. He succeeds veteran and seasoned missionary Robert Goh. In April and May, we saw a myriad of outreach events happening across polytechnic campuses as the freshmen orientation season rolled around. The various ministries continued to hold their regular devotions in the mornings and weekly Bible Studies. They also upped their regular evangelistic efforts and began personal discipling and follow-ups. In this issue, you will read of the ongoing work of our field staff who pour themselves into the lives of youths and the people they serve. We hope you will be blessed as you read their stories.
From left: Lim Jit Ming Moses, Jay Yap, Wong Wing Ben, Tiang Shi Xin, Teh Sze Yin, Tiang Shi Yi, Zheng Zhen Yang, Wang Fan Xu, Yeo Shang Hwang Javier. CLICK IMAGE FOR LONGER ARTICLE.
TMS ONLINE Nanyang Technological University (NTU) graduate Aaron Ang has been with NavTech for a year and a half. He shares about one of the projects he took on to bless others. I got to know about NavTech through its Director, Roger Yeo. We met at one of our mutual friend’s wedding (talk about God’s divine appointment!). I am an engineer by training and am currently working in a Research & Development company. The thought of being part of a ministry that fits my engineering skills while moulding my faith sounded really intriguing. I wanted to be part of this team as it intentionally focuses on ministering to geeks/ techies in our community. The Topical Memory System (TMS) is a set of 60 foundational Bible verses in a wallet-sized pack. It is thematic and bitesized, so it makes memorising God’s Word very doable. It helps me anchor my convictions and beliefs to God’s Word. The website was an idea I conceived and executed. The general concept came from Roger, who gave us a broad framework of digitising some Navigator resources so that they could be To review Scripture, go to tms.navigators.tech or scan the QR code to start.
made available to anyone, anywhere, anytime. In the process of designing and coding the website, I learnt some new skills and now I have the TMS virtually with me everywhere I go! Moving forward, apart from organising events to intentionally meet some of the geeks in the community, we are still figuring out innovative ways to engage them through the online world. Please pray that our Wi-fi connection to God will be strong so that we can hear from Him on His ideas and thoughts.