Minimum Barrel

1) Empowered lay disciples

2) Passionate spirituality

3) Effective structures

4) Inspiring worship services

5) Love-based evangelism

6) Loving relationships

"It is not the height of the highest stave that determines the amount of water the barrel can hold."

Schedule

-Every Sunday, preach on one above condition for growth.

-Following Wednesday to reiterate same principle at midweek, followed by D-groups.

-Commit ourselves to one thing and see the results.

-End by mid August and prepare ourselves for the rest of the year.

Mari speaks: "Letting Go"

Marilyn is a full-time business student in SIM; she loves making new friends and sharing her life with them.

"In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps." -Proverbs 16:9

Most of us have dreams, there are always things in life that we want to achieve, desires we hope to fufill one day, maybe even some that nobody else knows about, but you. That is why the bible says in his heart a man plans his course. It is good to be ambitious and to strive for things in life, working out where we go from here.

The next part however says that it is the Lord who will determine your steps. Does this mean that we may plan all we want but it is no use because God forces us somewhere else? No, God can only determine your steps if you allow Him to, if you surrender it to Him. Think about it when you are walking, why are you taking each step. Obviously it’s because you are headed somewhere whether it is to the restaurant in Orchard, to school or to visit a friend. When you are walking it is because you have already made up your mind to go somewhere, there is a destination, but it is your destination. Each of our footsteps are ordinary steps that merely bring us to places of the same level ground.

But when you let God determine your steps they are stepping stones that allow us to climb up to places of higher ground, we are elevated.

But in order for this to happen are we willing to surrender all to Him? I mean really?

How about those friends you love, what if God brings us to a place where the only friend we have is Him? What about those hours you apportion to study, what if God tells you to drop it altogether and go and seek Him right there, right then. Are we going to miss the Kairos moment? What if God asks you to swallow your pride and go and talk to that social outcast? You have a whole career path laid out in front of you, what if God has plans for you to be a self-sufficient missionary and throw away those big bucks you could have earned in the future. I know, one can nearly cry just thinking about it.

Are you hungry for more of Him or are you contented just staying where you are? Don’t be lukewarm but be hot. If you want to advance you definitely need to know how to let go. I'm learning that every day too, it's such a struggle for someone who's used to having her 'freedom' and following her own emotions and feelings. It's not gonna be easy, but i really believe that we'll never be completely contented and happy if we ignore God's signs and choose our own path, no matter how seemingly wonderful and even noble that path will be.

I walk by faith, each step by faith. To live by faith, I put my trust in the Lord and surrender the plans i have in my heart to Him.

Lubin speaks: "Sacrifice for Jesus"

Lubin is going to study Engineering in University of Michigan this year; he is humble and humorous and has proven himself to be faithful to God in all situations.

Dear Bros and Siss,

I remember Shawn Wooten shared about how when he was still studying the bible, one of the things he had to sacrifice in order to be committed to Sunday services was his job coaching weekend (Sat & Sun) tennis in an affluent district where he was making big bucks. And he needed the money to pay for his sch. But he told his boss he was ready to give up the job.

When i think about how i have sacrificed for Jesus in the past few months, i realised that i have not sacrificed anything.

I have only been giving token effort; i have not sacrificed anything that i really liked or that i held very strongly to. With my time, what i've been doing is fitting my time for God into my schedule. Bible studies, evangelsim, spending time..they are thrown into the empty slots on my schedule. if it clashes with some other activity, the most i hv done is postpone the activity. It's been a long while since i've sacrificed my time and missed out totally on certain activities so that i can hv time for God.

I remember a time, when i was totally caught up with myself and even willing to miss church, was when i was taking my O level chinese. i was very kanchiong, in my mind, there was no other way of getting results apart from me pushing myself harder. i did miss sun service and midwk in e end, and as i look back, i realise that my convictions had drifted so far from the standards when i was studying the bible.

I was challenged (obviously), and 1 thing that helped me was Raphael sharing w me how he balanced his exam periods w church. Fortunately, by e time i reached A levels, i was able to implement that kind of discipline in my time management. Here's how it goes:

1. During the times when i'm supposed to be studying, be totally focused so that time won't be wasted n i won't feel like i need the time spent at church to catch up.

2. Attend all midweek n Sun services. This was e standard when i was studying the bible n it shoudn't change juz 'coz i'm going thru a busy period. Attending services reminded me that God's power is working for me, there are other disciples going thru even worse patches in their lives, there is so much more to life n heaven than juz exams.

3. After service head straight back to the books. Don't dilly-dally.

When i tink of someone who really gives God top priority of his time, i tink of Shawn Seet. Last year when his mum passed away, he had so many things to see to, funeral, bank accounts, etc...plus emotional baggage definitely. Yet he did not miss a single service. To me, that really showed the 'real man' in him.

"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen." - Eph 3:20-21

Even in the Bible, there are so many examples of people who gave to God only to get back more in return. Off hand i can tink of Abraham, who was willing to sacrifice his son, yet in the end he got back his son as well as God's blessings for his descendants. Jesus, who sacrificed his life, in the end got his life back, washed away our sins, and inspired the world. Paul, who sacrificed his own physical well-being, in the end managed to plant so many churches and thru that save the souls of even more people.

The point here is not to give and expect more in return. the point is that the very nature of our God, is to love us and give us so much! how much more then..should we be willing to give to him.

2007 Campus Retreat: Academy of God

The Campus Retreat @ NTU Hall 4 on the 22nd - 24th June was a great success!

Thanks Weekeong and Joyce for taking time out to grace our event with their presence and awesome lesson. Thanks to all who came to join in the fellowship and our battle against THE OTHERS! ;)

Our theme verse: The Parable of The Talents (Matthew 25:14-30)

"For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him" Matthew 25:19

A few pictures (taken by Gwen) to bring back some memories!

WeeKeong speaks: "Jesus Had No Time Left"

Weekeong is our awesome pastor and currently leading the East Sector and Campus Ministry of our church with his beautiful wife, Joyce. He has two adorable sons and enjoys running, sports and reading.

Dear David,

It is so encouraging to read all the QTs posted everyday from all the smurfs & smurfettes :-) I just want to respond to your sharing today. I was using this very passage to study with someone last week who had a difficult time forgiving his sister. The reason? He feels that she was the cause of his depression for the last 7 years. He felt she has "robbed" him of his time. Now he is in his mid-30s with no career to show, he naturally pinned all his bitterness towards her.

As i showed him this passage, I reminded him that he needs to work towards forgiving his sister. But more so, even if his "illness" NEVER goes away, he should imitate Paul's attitude of total reliance & trust in God. Easier said than done. For who would not want to make their life count? As we get older, there are many empirical & sociological studies that suggests that we will want to leave a legacy behind & that this is a natural part of our cognitive development. In fact, yesterday at church, auntie Lily Young, who is a six time cancer survivor herself, came up to me & said she wants to write a book about her life story. That's so awesome, amen?!

But tell that to this guy I am studying with. Better still, tell that to Paul. How about telling Jesus. Go on, use your life well now & leave a legacy. But wait a minute. Have Jesus & Paul NOT left a legacy? Were they just meteors streaking across the night sky only to disappear after a brief, blinding moment of brilliance? Are we talking about two losers with no paper qualifications nor fat bank accounts to show? Nope. They chose to focus on what they have instead of what they do not have & still managed to impact all of humanity for all of eternity.

Jesus had no time left. His end was certain & near. He chose to work his buns off. He loved, cared & prayed & rebuked, taught & walked & sang & wept. All that and more, he did it out of love for people. But he never had a wife, never raised a family, never got to cradle his grandchildren on his lap...One thing he never did; he NEVER focused on what he can't have in life. Aren't we glad he did that?

Paul had a thorn. He didn't have the best of health. His travelling itinerary will put any jet-setting CEO to shame. His journeys were riddled with death threats & beatings. Is that the way to treat possibly the greatest apostle that ever lived? He chose to STILL do what is right.

He preached all night. He wrote letters to churches. First to the region of Galatia. Then as he was at it, the Spirit stirred him. "Why not write more? WHat about the churches in Corinth? How about the whole of Asia Minor?" As he lived his life out in the dungeons & cells, he churned out his letters with as much tenacity as his tormentors flex their flagellum. He never got his recognition, never had a comfortable life that a first class citizen of Rome should enjoy, never had a pay-rise...

One thing he never did; he NEVER focused on what he can't have in life. Aren't we glad he did that?

What is it that we have that we pray for God to take away? How about this: we can all leave our mark behind, regardless of our shortcomings or handicap. Question is, is God's grace sufficient for us? Do we feel truly strong because we realise that we're so dependant on God, or we derive our strength from our credentials, academic performance, talent, youth, popularity etc. Let's focus & use what we have, and God will multiply that, amen?!

Thanks for inspiring us with your QT all the time.

David Speaks: "God Will Provide A Way"

David, a Year One double-degree student from SMU, recently contracted cancer, but regardless of the challenges, he remains strong and faithful and encouraging to everyone.

1 Cor 10:13:
And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it. '

I think this has always been one of my all time favourite verse in the bible.

As I look at the entire Old Testament, I find that this message is very clearly expressed in many ways.

From Abraham to Issac to Jacob to Joseph, down to Moses then to David and the prophets that come after him, this message is being preached over and over again.

GOD is faithful and he will not put someone through something beyond what he can bear.

When I found out that I was diagnosed with colon cancer, it definitely came as a surprise to me. My parents kept me in the dark for quite a while as they were afraid I will have a bad reaction to it. But I took it surprisingly well. I was not sad nor depressed although most people in my situation would have pictured the end of the world. At that time, the temptation and tendency was for me to blame God for what happened to me. Why? Why me? Why now? What have I done wrong to deserve all this? It is so easy to lose faith in God and doubt his goodness and blessings in my life. Yet I chose not to see the cancer for what it is. I knew that God was trying to tell me something through it.

Even before I knew it was cancer, during the days when I was struggling with anemia and pain in the hospital, I knew that God was trying to speak to me through my sufferings. Maybe I was too in control of my life, maybe I was trying to achieve too many things at the expense of my physical body. I was humbled when I committed my free time to pray to God to relieve me of the pain and sufferings. I realised it was a long time since I had such an intimate time with God, since I relied on God. I was reminded how vulnerable life truly is, one illness can paralyse us totally and yet I rather put faith in the strength of this weak body than in God, who is almighty. What was I doing? I was humbled. My broken body lay before Him as I seek comfort and courage throughout my hospital stay.

I thank God that He pulled the plug for me. For I know I will chiong and tahan and chiong again and before long, I may even have landed up dead, without knowing why. To me, God has protected me from something worse. At first, I dunno what, I just knew he was protecting me from something far worse. The verse in 1 Cor 10:13 rings loudly in my head, that God will not put me through what I cannot bear. Thus, my faith tells me that God will always have a way out for me. I chose to trust in God. I dun think I can trust in anyone else greater. Knowing about my cancer hasn't changed anything. I still feel I should trust in God's plan for me.

"For I know the plans I have for you", declared the Lord,"plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

Through this period, I see not the suffering that has been brought but life that has been given by God to my family. That brought tonnes of joy and encouragement to me. If I have to go through this for my family to be saved, it is all worth it. If I had focused only on my condition, I would not be aware of this blessing God has given to my family. This has indeed convicted me so much more that God is FAITHFUL!!! He has a grand plan for each and everyone of us. It may not be smooth-sailing, plagued with obstacles and sufferings but He promised that it is whats best for us.

Now as I go through each chemotherapy treatment, I strive to hold firm to this faith, to this God. I dunno what is to come, I dunno how things will turn out. I dun want to let cancer control my life. Only God can and should be in control of my life. I know I just need to trust and obey.

Praise God for Campus!!!

David speaks: "Spiritual Gifts"

David, a Year One double-degree student from SMU, recently contracted cancer, but regardless of the challenges, he remains strong and faithful and encouraging to everyone.

1 Cor 12

Today's quiet time is on spiritual gifts.

I remember just a while back, my aunt came down from KL to visit me and my family. She is a Christian herself and she was delighted to hear that my family has decided to accept the Lord into their lives. Thus when she was with us, she laid hands on me and prayed for my healing. Her belief is in faith healing and the speaking of tongues. Ever since my hospitalization, many people have came by to pray for me. My parents have seen their fair share of Christians speaking in tongues and the laying of hands. They were convicted by it. Even though my convictions tell me otherwise, I did not want to reject their love for me, for I know deep down they truly want me to be well.

My mom's sister, who is from New Creation Church, and my aunt from KL both asked me on separate occasions why I do not believe in the speaking of tongues. My aunt from KL referred me once to 1 Cor 14 when I asked her where in the bible did it talk about the speaking of tongues. Seems I was not very familiar with this chapter, when I got down to reading it, I was confused. I knew what our church preaches about this particular false teaching but this chapter seems to indicate that God does allow people to speak in tongues. I was stuck. I didn't know how to answer my aunt at that point of time. But later on, I decided to read the chapters before and I realise we cannot seek to understand 1 Cor 14 without reading and understanding 1 Cor 12 - 13 first. Thus I will encourage everyone to read all three chapters together, if possible.

In this chapter, Paul talks about the gift of knowledge, gift of faith, gift of healing, gift of prophesy, gift of speaking in tongues etc. Through one spirit, God gives men many gifts in life. So it seems like my aunt is still right in embracing faith healing and tongue speaking. But as I read on, Paul talks about one body, many parts. Each of us is a part of the body, the body of Christ. Just as in a physical body, different parts are for different purposes; So in a body of Christ, different people serve different purposes. But the main message is that we cannot do without one another. Every part of the body is of equal importance, it is only when every part serves its own purpose can the body function properly.

Thus in the same way, different people recieve different gifts from God to serve different purposes. I believe the gifts of healing and tongue speaking were definitely present during Paul's time, thats why he talked about it. But that was to serve a purpose at that time when people did not have the bible to read, they needed miracles to believe. Now, these gifts no longer serve a purpose as the entire Word of God has been written. Rather other gifts of teaching and spreading the gospel are more important to us.

Having shared all these, I believe there is a reason for everybody that God puts in my life. There is a reason for everyone of us who is in Campus. All of us have a part to play, without anyone of us, Campus cannot perform at its optimum level. To me, it is by God's grace that we can all recieve salvation and get to know each other in the kingdom. Each of us was a new addition to this big family. As I look at the studies we are having now, I'm encouraged and excited not only at the number but also the potential impact they will have on Campus when they eventually make it to the baptism pool. Every new addition is a gift from God as he or she can make a difference in our lives. I think we are always very excited to have a new sister or brother but sometimes fail to see how this person can potentially change our thoughts or teach us something.

Let us be grateful that God has provided us with many gifts, not only in us but also our closest siblings in the kingdom. Let us use our gifts to bring each other higher in the faith. There is nothing to compare or contrast, each of us serve a different purpose. As long as we serve God's purpose, he will be pleased. =)

Jeremy speaks: "Be With Me Lord"

Jeremy is going to study Life Science in NUS this year; he is zealous and is not afraid to express himself freely for God and infront of the disciples.

Morning Campus!!

Anywayz thanx Ling Pin and Vic for the sharing. For me, it makes me feel more about the role i play as a disciple. How much i've shared the Word with others. How much i've done in discipleship (with my discipler). I will improve and strive to be better, pls be patient with me.

Yup and i must say i m amazed at how much the Vietnamese disciples have to go thru. I'm amazed at their determination! *Salute*.

Anywayz dearest campus, i feel so so sad that i missed the retreat, but im happy becos i see how much all of u have re-charged! how fired up u all are. Awesome! anywayz though im not able to join the retreat, but then i get to hang out and fellowship with the KL & PJ discples. I must say i did get my share of "retreat". I thank God seriously for this time that i have with them. Anywayz of cos this email is not about how much fun i have over there. it's more of about what i've learnt and i really cant wait to share with all of u.

Firstly, as a background info, i was stranded @ the KL bus station on sunday. i rush to the bus station after church service but the bus left without me. My friends were on the bus and they went back 1st without me. I got no choice but to scurry for another tic to come back to s'pore. Though i managed in the end to secure a seat for a 3.30pm bus, but then the feeling is not good either. from 1pm to around 2+pm i was sitting @ the bus station reflecting and calming myself. cos im flooded by negativity.

And during this short period of time i thought of a lot of things. But in the end if i were able to choose again,i) dont go church service and able to come home earlier, not missing the busy) Go church service and missing the bus, i will still choose option ii cos i was so impacted by the sermon that haha, i cried during communion and poor contribution. LOL. So.... i didn't mind missing the bus in the end. wahaha.

1) i feel that God is giving me a very valuable lesson. A lesson about independence. I believe God is putting me in a trial (A minor one) so that i can learn how to react to cock-ups. i mean it's no big deal seriously. if u think about it, miss the bus then buy another tic la. what's the issue. Similarly. sometimes things happen in our lives and we can just slump and just feel so discouarged and don wanna move on / find a better alternatives / tackle the problem.

I feel @ that point of time to rely on God. Inside my head i kept singing the song "Be with me Lord". Cos i know God is by my side. He din leave me. I just have to trust and rely on Him. I learn to rely on Him and believe in Him. For He has my best interest in mind and he's in control and He will hear me when i pray. And this song really gave me strength. and of cos prob solve in the end.

2) During the trip i really felt very discouarged. i mean i i have to endured the constant grumbles and complaints from my friends. I'm so called the organiser. i mean since the month of April i've been planning. from accommodation - transport - prog etc. i mean i really don feel the appreciation from my friends.

I felt a little discouraged. But after i thought about it, i believe God is teaching me another lesson. The ability to lead, plan and organise. This trip definitely honed my skills in this area. i was a councillor and i'm always a little proud about organising events. cos i thought after the training i've been thru im like a pro. Haha. but reality proves otherwise. i have to learn to consult things with others more and not plan things according to my will.

I thank God for this lesson and i really hope i don forget it. :) and.... i appreciate the leaders more and i appreciate my present discipler more too - alfred. For i feel that they are just very great! Sacrificing time for the planning of events and prog. Time devoted to others. In them i see Love. In their actions i see Love. And i wanna give credits to all who have made the retreat a success. Thanx so much! i believe all of us appreciate it!

3) Of cos i get to spend time with the disciples and have a great fellowship with them. not everything is gloomy. u know, initially i wont even be able to attend church service and also not able to spend time with them, becos i initially planned to go Cameron Highland and plan to come back to S'pore in the morning. But then i stayed in KL throughout la (becos of recent landslide case, i cancelled the trip to CH due to safety issues.). i mean I feel that sometimes we can plan a lot of things. But then it's never gonna be perfect. For God has a Bird-eye view on everything. His plan is perfect!

Imagine we are looking at the chess game (of the same level as the chess pieces), we will never have the full picture of what's going on. Sometimes somethings happen for a reason. to be part of God's great plan. We cant / wont understand cos we are looking thru our (Human) eyes. We have to look thru heaven's eyes. So since we cannot look down from heaven yet, we have to trust God that He has the best planned out for us.

4) I'm thankful about the fact i get to spend so much quality time with the M'sia disciples! i felt so loved during fellowship and the hang out. They are very hospitable! they will sms and ask whether i'm safely back in my hostel. They picked me up for church service and bring me around to eat and everything. i mean i give them full marks for hospitality! haha im just so determined to play a much better host next time they come to Singapore!

I mean bros and sis, I marvelled at how much disciples give to others. I feel so warm and encouraged just being with disciples! Cos i never fail to see acts of service, pple giving for one another in the kingdom! This is something so AWESOMLY AWESOME!

Let's cont to be sooo loving and love everyone everyday every second of our life. bros and sis. during my trip i missed u all so much! Anywayz i cant wait to hear ur sharings and insights about the retreat!!! must share with me ok? Haha. Hope i have impacted u all in some ways through my sharings. Wishing u all well.

God bless.

Victoria speaks: "The Vietnam Brothers II"

Victoria, a fresh psychology grad from NUS, is a full-time teacher in a secondary school. She enjoys cooking and that makes many of us in Campus very happy indeed!

Thanks brother Lingpin for sharing such an inspiring story!

By the way, I also wanna sae a BIG THANK YOU to the young ones for making the retreat such an awesome and fun and spiritually inspiring retreat. I love the lessons, the games, the food, the location and most importantly the FELLOWSHIP! I took away many many memories which I will continue to hold dear to my heart.

I was going to type about another interesting conversation I had with a cab driver today. I was going home today in a cab as I was running some errands with yet again too many things to carry. So while I was travelling home, this uncle started talking to me about whether I believe in the gift of the spirit aka like speaking in tongues, etc. I had a lively conversation with him (note I sae conversation; NOT DEBATE!) I alighted the cab and came home, bathed, prepared my lesson plans and my contact time with the students (I am now promoted to be a form teacher... Please pray for me) and then I read Lingpin's email.

I must admit, I was quite blown away by the perseverance of the Vietnamese brothers and sisters...

If I was born in that country, I think I would never have the amount of faith and love to endure such persecution man! And it's not a one-off incident nor a just-in-the-workplace persecution. It's a DAILY persecution. At the moment I was happily chatting with the cab drivers about Christianity, perhaps some Vietnamese brother/sister is going thru some interrogation by the police. This example might be a bit extreme but I felt that this was exactly the level of taking-for-granted I have reached.

To me, talking about Christianity to strangers is no longer a blessing or a golden opportunity by God. I have seen it as a given right. It made me think what other things I have perceived as a given right, and it's a LOOOoooooOOOng list. Which I might share another day but I got to sleep soon.

Nights everyone! :)

Lingpin speaks: "The Vietnam Brothers"

Lingpin works for the Army and is a full-time servant for God. He serves in many areas in church, including playing the drums for the church band and editing videos and taking photographs. He inspires many with his sacrificial heart.

We had a great retreat didnt we? i certainly felt so encouraged and so much closer to everyone. i felt such pride and confidence in the young leaders who did agreat job with the retreat planning and the games and... just everything. incredible.

Great job guys.

Well, right after the retreat, when we parted our ways for home, i went back, did my household chores, thenwent to meet two vietnamese brothers. they were goingto stay over at my place for the night before flying back to vietnam the next day.. it wasnt the first time i was meeting them. they had also stayed at my place a few days ago just before theretreat en route to manila for the "believe" leaders conference in manila phillippines. unfortunately i didnt have time to fellowship much with them then, so i guess i had to make it up this time. over some beef noodles at lavender food court, we shared life experiences.

I was so blown away by what they shared, though they spoke only halting english,the warmth was the same, the things we did in church were the same, the convictions were the same, but their devotion seemed vastly different from ours.

The vietnam chuch consists of only about 80 plusdisciples, with twice the number of sisters tobrothers. the church is an underground church; they are allowed to meet, but they are not allowed to register as a society and are not recognised by the government. they may read bibles, but they may not show it in public... they can't even wear church related t-shirts. they get harrassed by police frequently and often the whole bible-talk gets hauled off to the police station for questioning, together with their entire family. their neighbours act as spies for the police and regularly report on their activities to the police.

Persecution is acute. But yet, they meet as a bible talk weekly at the park to pray together and do their quiet times. then they meet again one on one or in pairs almost daily. they have the same songbook but they need to translate itinto vietnamese for the rest who dont understand english. they dont have anyone who knows how to read music so they kind of try to sing it by memory from the conferences they have been to and from foreign speakers who visit them and teach them. they could only do their best to sing something though they didnt know the correct form. i had to burn a cd of kingdom songs for them so that they could teach the vietnam church to sing the songs the way there meant to be sung. they have this practice of dating twice a week, and are held accountable for the frequency of their dates.

I was so convicted when hiep whipped out an excel sheet of the names of brothers and sisters and their dating schedule. and he said, that NOBODY was allowed to be left out. it seemed to be a matter of discipleship and of the highest importance. the coversation with the leaders would go something likethis...."bro, this sister has not had a date for threeweeks... why?"

They shared that disciples dont really struggle with worldliness that much over there; there just isnt alot of money to be made over there for now. instead they struggle with having relationships outside of thechurch. actually i dont think that its any differentfrom here, just that maybe we dont pay so much attention to it over here.... it is however a very real struggle for us. my perception of dating has changed quite a bit i must say. its a serious discipleship issue to go on dates, and yes, repent i shall. i thought to myself of how much i had to change as a leader... what kind of an example am i setting?

Hiep, who is 34, is a single, but he's getting married this year. He is a very very serving man. he is one of the leaders in their kids kingdom over there, spending countless hours translating kids kingdom texts from English into Vietnamese for their kids over there, sothat they can be raised with great conviction next time. he just bought a couple of books in manila sotheres more work for him back in vietnam...

Doan Binh is a single father at 32, and he has great conviction in doing the right thing and being righteous before God. his whole family is in america except him and the reason he stayed was that he wanted to go on a mission team for 2 years; the other reason was that his family had gone over using fake papersand he wanted to be righteous so he decided to stay... :) his son is just over 2 years old and is in the custody of his ex-girlfriend. he gave up his sinful relationship with his girlfriend in order to be baptised, and only found out 6 months after his baptism that he had a child. today he dates twice aweek.... sisters only of course.

I had a great time in fellowship with them and was honoured to have this window of opprtunity to know what other brothers and sisters have to go through inorder to be a disciple. it makes our time as a disciple in singapore seem like a walk in the park. it makes me grateful that we have the freedom to worship freely, the finances to buy the things we want, the comfort of a building to worship in, the fact that wehave bands and song leaders to lead us in inspiring worship, the fact that we have our ministry leaders so easily accessible; for john and wee keong and joyce...so many of the things and people that we all too often take for granted and sometimes forget to thank God for.

I hope that my sharing will motivate us to give greater thought to our discipleship. i learnt a lotand was deeply convicted. i hope that we can learn from them and take things higher, amen?

Mari speaks: "Awesome SEA Conference"

Marilyn is a full-time business student in SIM; she loves making new friends and sharing her life with them.

Amen to Singapore church which had hosted an absolutely incredible SEA conference last weekend!

I'm glad that Campus can help to serve in different areas - from typing out thousands of name tags, setting up registration and checking in luggage and showing hospitality to our awesome KL and PJ campus disciples.

Speaking of which, SG bros and sisters really miss them! We had such a wonderful time singing songs and listening to the lessons together, hanging out and playing games in Sentosa on Saturday, even evangelising together after that in Vivo City and going for date that evening! The farewell we had for them on Sunday afternoon will forever be etched in my memory. Jumping, singing, waving and clapping in front of the buses.

"I'm gonna view that holy city...i'm gonna view that holy city on the hill, hallelujah!"

More than just fun and inspiring fellowship i also gained alot of spiritual food that weekend.

Here's a recap of the first lesson we had:

Day 1: We are God's field, God's building (John Louis)

We were being shown a picture of 2 men pulling a cart with square wheels.
Q.) Do you feel like these 2 men? That life in our ministry is as tough as pulling that cart?

What we should do is to take the square wheels and put in round ones!
Q.) How many parables in the bible are related to agriculture?

A.) The lilies - Matthew 6:28, the seed that grows by itself
Mark 4:26-29

1 Cor 3:5-9

Here are 6 principles for providing best growth conditions in our ministry:

1) Empowered lay disciples
2) Passionate spirituality
3) Effective structures
4) Inspiring worship services
5) Love-based evangelism
6) Loving relationships
(1)Empowered lay disciples

Ephesians 4:11-13
-Though leaders are supposed to equip disciples with faith and maturity, we all have a job to go to God's field!

Q.) Do we dream about your small groups? Do you have a vision for them?

-What we should start with is a need and that translates to a dream then gather as a group and make a decision to be empowered with God's strength!

(2)Passionate spirituality

Ask yourself these:
-Are you fired up about Jesus?
-Does your prayer life excite you?
-Do you get energy from your walk with God?
-Where is your zeal right now?

(3) Effective structures

Genesis 1:1-2

-Before the spirit of God entered the earth, it was formless, like a lump of clay.
-The structure of God is impeccable and flawless. Our church, our ministry, our small group needs to be built with God's structure.

(6) Loving relationships

-This is not simply a nice idea or option. It is a MUST.
-What binds our relationship is not obligation, it is love.

Luke 10:25-27
"Go and do likewise"

Like a plant that needs all 4 minerals for growth, our small group needs ALL 6 principles in order to be fruitful.

AMen!

Brothers Appreciation Day! :)

Surprise!

Awesome home-cooked food prepared by sisters

Sweet and loving sisters!

Mighty mice!

Hougang Girl & Punggol Boy #2 (Anthony is #1)

Yewtee Girl & Sengkang Boy

Righteous, serving brothers

Happy family! :)

Sisters's performance for brothers

Lean On Me

Sometimes in our lives we all have pain
We all have sorrow
But if we are wise
We know that there's always tomorrow

**Lean on me, when you're not strong
And I'll be your friend
I'll help you carry on
For it won't be long til I'm gonna need somebody to lean on

So just call on me brother, when you need a hand
We all need somebody to lean on
I just might have a problem that you'd understand
We all need somebody to lean on

If there is a load you have to bear
That you can't carry
I'm right up the road
I'll share your load if you just call me