DIRECTIONS 2021

REV DR KOW SHIH MING

I.               INTRODUCTION

I want to begin by reminding ourselves of the vision of PLMC:

We are a Family Blessed to Bless the Community and the Nations.

We began 2020 cognizant of a leadership change in the office of the Pastor-in-charge. Appropriately, we recognised that 2020 was going to be a year of transition. Then, led by the Spirit of God, we received the directions for the year that saw PLMC strengthening her spiritual and relational roots in the Lord. This is encapsulated in Directions 2020:

EXTEND GOD’S KINGDOM by

GROWING DEEPER IN WORD, SPIRIT, and COMMUNITY

When we discerned the directions to be Growing Deeper, we did not realise how important this was to be in our lives in 2020.

With the first confirmed cases of persons infected with COVID-19 in January, Singapore was faced with an unprecedented challenge of the generation. PLMC was not spared this challenge with the report of the grandfather who allegedly visited our church service in February before he was confirmed as a COVID-19 case.

Church members were frantic: When did he come? Which worship service did he attend? Where did he sit? What is church going to be like in the coming days? Is it safe to go to church?

I did not have all the answers they wanted but I had a deep peace in my heart for I knew that God was in control. Just weeks earlier, I felt led to put in place a system to ensure the continuing ministry of the church if a crisis suddenly struck. We asked the congregation to subscribe to church updates via WhatsApp, and the media team tested the live streaming of our worship services online, something we never attempted before then.

At that time, making these preparations seemed a little unnecessary and definitely not urgent. Nevertheless, I knew that the Holy Spirit was calling us to prepare. So, we obeyed. The team worked hard to have systems and processes ready, though we were not sure what we were preparing for.

Because we obeyed, we found ourselves acting from a place of rest when the crisis visited the church. So, when friends asked how we were coping with the crisis, I would say, ‘God is good. He is leading the way.’ God continues to lead the way as we consider the future of PLMC doing life and ministry in these exceptional times.

II.             THE PICTURE THAT WAS NOT YET

One of the things that these past months have brought to the forefront of our lives is to consider what is really important in our lives. There was an article allegedly by Bill Gates that ‘describes the virus as “the great corrector … sent to remind us of the important lessons that we seem to have forgotten”.’ Though the article is not written by Bill Gates, I believe that it is right in saying that what has happened has reminded us of what is important in life.

Moreover, the pandemic has forced changes in our lives, in our church, and in our nation. Think about how we are more conscientious about our hygiene, of how we have become savvier with online tools. Think about how church life has changed, with online worship services and cell meetings. Our government speaks of developing greater capacity for food production in Singapore. Many countries are reviewing their supply chains. Singapore, though well prepared, is also continuing to see how that can be improved. In some ways, a reset button has been pushed. We have the opportunity for a fresh beginning.

That is also true for us in PLMC, not because of the virus but because of the Spirit of God. I believe that we are entering into a decade like never before. God has seen us through these almost 90 years; we have recently celebrated our 88th anniversary. PLMC has gone through many seasons of ups and downs. Today, we are invited into a decade unlike any we have experienced before. What is this decade going to look like? What are we called to contribute to this future that God has for us?

I have been asking these questions since I was informed that I would be appointed as Pastor-in-charge of PLMC. In response to my seeking, God in His goodness has been giving me glimpses of the picture of the future of PLMC. With these glimpses, I thought I would be able to put down on paper a picture of our future.

Interestingly and exasperatingly, I found myself going in circles in drawing this picture of our future. I did put words on paper, but I knew that they were not the words that the Lord had inspired. Finally, I gave up and asked God what is happening. The answer came quietly and simply: Don’t give them a picture. Just give them the directions for 2021.

III.            DIRECTIONS 2021

What are the directions for 2021? In 2020, the key word was Deeper. You may remember the passage I quoted last year, Ezekiel 47:1–5 (NIV),

1 The man brought me back to the entrance to the temple, and I saw water coming out from under the threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east). The water was coming down from under the south side of the temple, south of the altar. 2 He then brought me out through the north gate and led me around the outside to the outer gate facing east, and the water was trickling from the south side. 3 As the man went eastward with a measuring line in his hand, he measured off a thousand cubits and then led me through water that was ankle-deep. 4 He measured off another thousand cubits and led me through water that was knee-deep. He measured off another thousand and led me through water that was up to the waist. 5 He measured off another thousand, but now it was a river that I could not cross, because the water had risen and was deep enough to swim in—a river that no one could cross.

Through this passage, we received the directions for 2020 to Grow Deeper in Word, Spirit, and Community.

In reading the passage, you may have noticed that to go deeper, you must go further. When the man was led a thousand cubits further into the water, the water was ankle-deep. When the man went another thousand cubits, the water was knee-deep. When he went still another thousand cubits, the water was up to his waist. Finally, a further thousand cubits, and it was a river he could not cross. To get to the point where he was immersed in the water, the man had to go further by four thousand cubits. If he did not go further but remained at the outer gate, he would not get wet at all. If he went only a thousand cubits, only his feet would be wet. To get to the deepest part of the waters, he had to go all the way and surrender himself to the river.

What does this mean for us in PLMC? If we are to Grow Deeper in Word, Spirit, and Community, we must go further and further and further and further. The word for PLMC in 2021 is FURTHER. The Directions for 2021 then are:

GROWING DEEPER IN

WORD, SPIRIT, and COMMUNITY

GOING FURTHER TO EXTEND GOD’S KINGDOM

Let us be clear that these are not completely new directions for our church. The directions for 2021 build on the decades of blessings that God has given to PLMC. The directions particularly build on what the Lord has done in PLMC in the last ten years. So, to fully understand the directions for 2021, it would be helpful to read this paper with the PIC Addresses of the preceding years; something I will leave you to do.

To help us have a better grasp of the Directions 2021, let me put it in a different way with the story in 2 Kings 13:14–19 (NIV)

14 Now Elisha had been suffering from the illness from which he died. Jehoash king of Israel went down to see him and wept over him. “My father! My father!” he cried. “The chariots and horsemen of Israel!” 15 Elisha said, “Get a bow and some arrows,” and he did so. 16 “Take the bow in your hands,” he said to the king of Israel. When he had taken it, Elisha put his hands on the king’s hands. 17 “Open the east window,” he said, and he opened it. “Shoot!” Elisha said, and he shot. “The Lord’s arrow of victory, the arrow of victory over Aram!” Elisha declared. “You will completely destroy the Arameans at Aphek.” 18 Then he said, “Take the arrows,” and the king took them. Elisha told him, “Strike the ground.” He struck it three times and stopped. 19 The man of God was angry with him and said, “You should have struck the ground five or six times; then you would have defeated Aram and completely destroyed it. But now you will defeat it only three times.”

The story opens with Jehoash king of Israel coming to God’s prophet, Elisha, who was dying. Elisha told him to shoot an arrow through an open window. Then the king was told to take the remaining arrows and strike the ground. The king struck the ground three times and stopped. Because he stopped, the king lost the opportunity to have complete victory over the Arameans.

We at PLMC have shot the arrow through the open windows of opportunity that God had given us. Victory, won by Jesus on the cross, has been declared for us. Like Israel, this victory has to be received. We have to enter into the battle to claim this victory in our lives, in our church, in the community and the nations. This is not one battle or two or even three. We are to strike the ground more than three times. We have to Go Further. We must not make the mistake of Jehoash and strike three times and stop. We must Go Further if we are to receive all that the Lord has in store for us. We must Go Further to receive the complete victory that is already ours.

What does it look like when we Go Further to extend God’s kingdom? Let us consider this from the perspective of our church, our ministries, our cells, and our individual selves.

A.    GOING FURTHER AS A CHURCH

Going Further as a church is to be a blessing beyond where PLMC presently is already making a difference for God’s kingdom. Our vision is clear. We are to be a blessing to the community and the nations. Hence, we ask ourselves, ‘Where in the community and the nations are we, as a church, to Go Further to be a blessing?’ At least four opportunities of blessing come to mind.

A1. Safe Places of Refuge

One, as a church we can Go Further in blessing the community by reaching out to more arenas of need in the community within the 5km radius around PLMC. Continuing the theme we had a few years ago to be a safe place of refuge, let our homes be a safe place for the ministry of hospitality to those in need. These people may be the rough sleepers, the abused, the formerly incarcerated, the foreigner, or the financially disfranchised. Our homes may be a safe place for young people or chidren who have no home to return to due to a sudden crisis or unfortunate circumstances. Our homes may be a safe place where people can experience God’s presence, power, and love, where a culture of faith, generosity, and honour is clearly evident.

Beyond our homes, our church family can be a safe place of ministry to these persons whom God has brought into our community of calling. One visible expression of our church being a safe place to the community is the setting up of the PLMC Counselling Service. When the counselling service is fully operational, we will have another means to bless the community. For the counselling service to be a blessing and for our church to Go Further to reach more arenas of need will necessitate more of our church family being involved in outreach. I will touch on this later in this paper.

A2. Ministry in the Digital World

Two, we can Go Further in reaching and connecting with the growing online community. One thing which COVID-19 and our subsequent online worship services brought about is the online community. To be sure, most of the people who are presently connected with PLMC in our online worship services are those who worshipped in the PLMC premises before COVID-19. However, there seems to be a growing number of people online who are new to PLMC. Recognising that the world is going online, and the world is our parish, and our young people are very comfortable in the online habitat, this is an arena of ministry that the church must engage in. At this point of our journey, going further is to learn and understand the culture of the digital world. Then, in due time, we must develop a viable digital strategy to bless the community and the nations.

When we think of a digital strategy, let us not make the mistake in thinking that this is something only for the younger ones to participate in. To Go Further is to believe that all ages can participate in the ministry in the online environment. This is evidenced by what some of our more senior members are doing. In these past months, a number of our members (many of whom are seniors) have organised and taught in a number of leadership conferences to equip leaders in Asia to accelerate the spread of the Gospel. These leaders are alumni of the International Leadership Institute (ILI), an organisation that pivots to a fully digital strategy because of COVID-19. By the end of 2020, ILI hopes to have trained leaders in 100 nations. We thank God that PLMC has contributed to this. ILI is able to pivot to a digital strategy so quickly because they have been working on bringing the training to the online space since 2018.

In my opinion, our church is behind the curve in the development of a digital strategy and would have stayed behind the curve if COVID-19 did not bring this to the forefront of our thinking. Let us not wait for another wake-up call to begin working on ministry in the digital world. Let us attempt to at least get on the curve to make an eternal impact on the online community in Singapore and the nations. (Full disclosure: I am presently the Asia-Pacific Director of ILI as well as an ILI International Board member.)

A3. Blessing Churches in the Community and the Nations

Three, to Go Further as a church is to be a blessing to the churches in our community and the nations. This may mean connecting and building a network of relationships with the churches in the community within the 5km radius. To see God’s kingly rule in every life in the community will require the ministry partnership with the other churches in the community. It is in our togetherness that we will see the extension of God’s kingdom in the community. Going Further in connecting may lead to Going Further in ministry partnerships. Going Further may also mean creating opportunities to bless our sister churches in the community.

One way to bless the churches in our community, in Singapore, and the community beyond is by way of training events or conferences. Christians in Singapore are greatly blessed with an abundance of training and equipping opportunities. This is not the case in the region. Most pastors and church leaders in the region do not have the luxury of having the kind of training we are regularly exposed to in Singapore. I remember being with a pastor from a country in the region, who has many decades of ministry. I learnt that the only training he had was when he went to Bible school. The training that I brought to him was the first since he began ministry many decades ago.

With the push to move everything online, we can now bring training to many of these pastors and church leaders. Nevertheless, envisioning these leaders with a picture of what God is able to do in and through a church is always better caught than taught. Hence, when the global situation permits, bringing some of these leaders to Singapore to catch the vibrancy of the Singapore church will be an important means of blessing the nations. I know that this envisioning experience is powerful from personal experience. As part of my doctoral programme in Asbury Theological Seminary, my class visited churches in the USA and in Korea. What these visits did was to open our hearts and minds to God’s possibilities in and through the church. The visits brought down the barriers in our small thinking and enlarged our small hearts for what God wants to do through us.

A4. Shifting our Paradigm for Ministry

Four, Going Further as a church is to shift our paradigm for ministry. In many churches, the approach to outreach follows a similar pattern: Build relationships The person becomes a Christian Disciple the new Christian. If we are to Go Further to fulfil the Great Commission, the paradigm has to be finetuned. The Great Commission as recorded in Matthew 28:19-20 (NIV) reads:

19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Many of you know that the imperative in these words of Jesus is ‘make disciples’. Everything else in these verses is about how to make disciples. To make disciples, one has to go, to baptise them (conversion), and to teach them and to do so in full dependence upon our Lord who is with us. These are not sequential steps but necessary actions that will make disciples. An example of how people come to faith in Christ may help us better understand this. We know that one of the means through which people come to faith in Christ is through Bible study, what is often called Evangelistic Bible Study. In EBS, what are you doing? You are teaching them to obey the Word of God. One of the acts of obedience is to put their faith in Jesus. So, you teach and then they come to faith and are baptised.

What am I getting at here? It is simply this: To Go Further as a church, we need to see everything we do as making disciples. So, in outreach, the paradigm of ‘Build relationships The person becomes a Christian Disciple the new Christian’ must shift to ‘Make disciples Make disciples Make disciples. Even before the person becomes a Christian, in faith we are seeking to make the person a disciple of Jesus. This may appear like semantics to some of us. I would suggest that when we embrace this mindset, it will shift how we do ministry, how we relate to one another, how we relate to the community and the nations.

If you find yourself struggling to grasp this, that is fine. Let us not get paralysed by that. Let us trust the Spirit of God to lead us if this is one of the steps our church is to take in Going Further.

B.    GOING FURTHER IN OUR MINISTRIES

Before I get into how our ministries are to Go Further, let me give us another picture of what Growing Deeper and Going Further looks like. No picture is comprehensive but I hope it will help us have a better understanding of what it means to Go Further.

B1. Growing Deeper, Going Further like a Tree

Picture a tree that is tall like a Tembusu Tree that has foliage like a Rain Tree. For the tree to grow tall and expansive, the roots must grow deep to secure its position and to obtain the necessary nutrients for growth. At the same time, the leaves must be able to catch the sunlight to produce food for the tree.

Growing Deeper in Word, Spirit, and Community is like having the roots of the tree going deep to obtain what is necessary for growth. For the church, it is to be nourished and washed by the Word, empowered by the Spirit, and held together as a Community. Growing Deeper is also about strengthening her foundations so that whatever the church faces, she will continue to stand tall and strong to be a blessing to the community and the nations.

Going Further to Extend God’s Kingdom is like having large branches that stretch out not only to provide shade (think safe place) but also nourishment (from the fruits in the tree) and a place of rest for the birds and animals that come under the umbrella of the tree. Going Further is to see the branches stretching further out to provide even more shade, nourishment, and rest to the community and the nations.

B2. Taking a Step Further

Hence, Going Further in our ministries is seeing our ministries take a step further in being a blessing to the community and the nations. If the ministry had been focussed on her members, to Go Further is to minister to those who are not her members. If the ministry is already ministering to others, to Go Further is consider who else they are to minister to, and how else they can minister.

We have many wonderful ministries in the church. I have listed some suggestions in the Appendix at the end of this paper, gathered from some of you on how each ministry can Go Further to extend God’s kingdom. The listed ministries and suggestions are not exhaustive. So, do contribute to the suggestions. Each ministry is to then bring these suggestions before the Lord and do only what the Spirit is directing them to do.

B3. Increasing Commitment to Ministry

When we Go Further in our ministries, we will need more people to serve in the ministries. Many of you are serving regularly. Praise the Lord! There are also many who are serving in ad-hoc opportunities. We praise God for them, too. However, to Go Further may mean moving from ad-hoc opportunities to committing to a ministry for a season.

B4. Ministry by God’s Design

Whether occasional or regular, to Go Further in ministry is to have people serving according to how God has created them. Each person is endued with a life purpose. Each believer is gifted with a spiritual enabling. Each person has experiences that may be a blessing to others. In many churches, people serve in a ministry because someone they know asked them to. This is a good thing. However, to Go Further, we must move beyond serving by invitation to serving by God’s design. God has a unique place of ministry for every person in the church. To Go Further is to serve where you are designed to serve.

C.    GOING FURTHER CELLS

For our cells, to Go Further means at least the following four things.

C1. Living the 4Ws of Cell Life

One, to Go Further as cells is to live out all the 4Ws in the cell; Welcome, Worship, Word, Witness. Most of our cells major in one or two of these Ws. As a cell church, cells are to be microcosms of the whole church. The life of the church is in the life of the cell. Hence, if the cell is lacking in any of the 4Ws, the church is lacking in that as well. We will not want to impose the 4Ws into a cell immediately. Each cell will have to discern where the cell is and seek the Lord concerning the next step of growth for the cell. For some cells, it is to grow deeper in community; breaking down even more barriers to have deep and authentic soul-to-soul relationships. For other cells, it is to grow deeper in the Word, to seek out opportunities to better understand the Word and more fully obey the Word. For some cells, it is to be a witness to the oikos of her members. Some cells have been so focused on themselves that they have lost their mission to extend God’s kingdom in the world.

C2. Committing to an Outreach Ministry

This leads to two, to Go Further as a cell is to commit herself to an outreach ministry for a season. Many cells are engaged in our outreach events throughout the year. We praise the Lord for each of these cells. However, COVID-19 has exposed the inadequacy of such an approach to outreach ministry. We must Go Further with our cells adopting a particular outreach opportunity so that even when church-organised events are curtailed, the ministry of extending God’s kingdom in outreach continues.

Imagine a cell that has adopted a number of migrant workers. Because of the cell’s commitment to make disciples of these migrant workers, when the Circuit Breaker was activated, ministry can continue with these migrant workers. What the church as an organisation is not permitted to do (which is to organize mass events), the people in the cell can do. There is almost nothing stopping a cell continuing to minister to these migrant workers. It may require creativity and resoluteness in getting the relevant permissions and resources, but the barriers for continued ministry are much lower than what the church has to overcome. At the time of writing, you are permitted to gather with no more than five persons for a meal or visit a household. It may not be wise for the church to direct our cells to do so. But there is nothing to stop the cell from deciding to do this (and do it in responsible and safe ways), to continue to serve the community.

C3. Everyone in a Cell

Three, to Go Further as cells is to include those in the church who are not in cells. At this moment, our church membership stands at 3,153. There are 1,507 people, including youths, in 147 cells. That means that more than 50% of our church membership are not in cells. Our calling to be a cell church has not changed. Hence, we must Go Further in reaching and including these persons into our cells.

This will necessitate the identification, development, and empowerment of more cell leaders. We have many faithful leaders who have served in the cell ministry for a long time. I believe that they are to continue to serve in the cell ministry. I also believe that God wants to use these leaders to identify, develop, and mentor new cell leaders in the church. The cell members are called to support these leaders in this further step to see more cell leaders, and hence more cell groups, in the church.

C4. Experiencing Wonder in the Cells

Four, to Go Further is to add a fifth W into the cell, Wonder. Here, I am not referring to the wonder of God’s creation or His redemptive work. I am referring to the signs and wonders that are to be a regular feature of God’s people who are moving in Power and Love. This is about Growing Deeper in Spirit, to experience the work and Person of the Holy Spirit not only in our church services but also in our cells. I mention this as Going Further because some cells are not exercising their kingdom authority with kingdom character in ministering to one another and to the community and the nations. If we are truly Growing Deeper in Word, Spirit, and Community, we will see clear evidence of God’s kingdom activity in the cell. We see this in the Early Church as recorded in Acts 2:42–45 (NIV):

42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need.

When the early believers devoted themselves to God’s Word, immersed themselves in prayer and God’s grace, and fellowship with one another, many wonders and signs were performed. There were many acts of love like selling their possessions to give to others. Kingdom activity is always present when God’s people are Growing Deeper in Word, Spirit, and Community. When Jesus is king of your cell, His love will be tangible, and His power will be evident. God’s presence always leads to expressions of Power and Love.

Imagine all our cells moving in Power and Love. What will happen is that God will send people to you to disciple. After all, why would God send people into your cell if kingdom life is not in your cell?

D.    GOING FURTHER YOURSELF

Going Further as a church, as ministries, and as cells; all of them involve you as a person Going Further. Nevertheless, here are some other specifics on what it means for you as an individual to Go Further to extend God’s kingdom.

D1. A Step Towards Christlikeness

One, to Go Further as an individual is to Go Further in having God’s kingdom extended in your life. Since Jesus is the only person in whom God’s rule is perfectly found, all of us must Go Further in becoming more like Jesus.

To express it more concretely, each of us, following the leading of the Spirit, must identify areas to Go Further in our lives. It may be about our character or the fruit of the Spirit. It may be our ministry. It may be our involvement in cells or in church life. It may be our families. All of us have a place of inertia that is hampering our growth in Christ. To Go Further is to identify what that place is and then take a step further towards Christlikeness.

D2. Everyone Your Neighbour

Two, to Go Further is also to Go Further beyond yourself. Internally, this means the formation of a selfless attitude and self-giving posture towards others, seeing everyone around you as a neighbour whom God has called you to serve. This means embracing the truth of Philippians 2:4, to look not only to your interests but to the interests of others.

Externally, this means being connected in relationships beyond yourself and beyond your family. In PLMC, that means being in a cell group. This also means connecting with others beyond your generation. I believe that part of our future is to be an inter-generational church. Note that I did not say a multi-generational church. We are already a multi-generational church. To be an inter-generational church, the different generations would honour one another and serve together to extend God’s kingdom. The younger generation will be raised up and mentored by the older generation to be released to fulfill their God-given destiny in their lives and in the church. The younger generation will honour the older generation for their experience and their continuing ministry in God’s kingdom.

There is an increasing tendency in our world to look to the younger generation to lead organisations and nations. While this is a positive development, the older generation are often made to step aside and retire from the scene. Sometimes the ones seeking retirement from ministry are the older generation themselves. Such thinking is not biblical. In God’s community, there is no retirement. As someone said, ‘If you are not dead, you are not done.’ A.W. Tozer puts it this way, ‘If God gives you a few more years, remember it is not yours. Your time must honour God, your home must honour God, your activity must honour God, and everything you do must honour God.’ As a church, we must Go Further in learning how to be an intergenerational community that honours both young and old, while enabling the continuity of the ministry across the generations.

Let me take this opportunity to point out that this applies to our young children too. The Holy Spirit in our children is the same Holy Spirit who dwells in the adults. Hence, the work of the Holy Spirit we expect in and through the lives of the youths and adults should be similarly seen in and through the lives of the children. What that specifically looks like may differ but we should be expecting the same Holy Spirit to work in power and love in our children.

D3. Serving God’s Purpose

Three, to Go Further as an individual is to discover God’s design for you and stepping forward in faith to fulfill your destiny and calling on earth. There is a verse in the Bible that I think is a great epitaph for our lives. Acts 13:36 (NIV):

Now when David had served God’s purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep; he was buried with his ancestors and his body decayed.

King David served God’s purpose in his time and then he died. All of us have a God-given purpose to fulfil while we live on planet earth. And God has designed us with the required tools like spiritual gifts to fulfil this purpose. I believe for many of us, to Go Further is to discover how God has designed us and using these tools, in full dependence on the Holy Spirit, fulfil our purpose on earth.

IV.           CONCLUSION

In exploring how we are to Go Further as a church, as ministries, as cells, and as individuals, I hope that we are beginning to grasp the directions for next year. Each ministry, each cell, and each person is at different points in their spiritual journey. What the directions are about is that wherever you are starting from, take the step to Go Further to extend God’s kingdom. Just be sure that the step you take is one that is led by the Spirit. By the way, the step that the Spirit wants you to take is often a step that cannot be fulfilled unless the Spirit of God is in it. So, as you Go Further, remember to Grow Deeper.

Also, be prepared for things to get messy as we Go Further and Grow Deeper. What the Spirit does in our church and our lives will not be nicely packaged. Things will get messy. Then there will be pruning. Things will get messy again and the cycle continues. If you are not prepared for things to get messy, do not go further or grow deeper. But if you are prepared for whatever the Spirit of God leads you to, you are ready to Go Further and Grow Deeper.

The outcome of Growing Deeper and Going Further is the extension of God’s kingdom. God’s kingdom is wherever God is king. So, the goal is to see God reigning in our lives, to see God reigning in our cells, to see God reigning in our ministries. We want to see God as King in our church. We want the presence of the King in PLMC. We want the manifestation of God’s kingly rule in tangible and visible ways in PLMC. When God’s manifest presence is in PLMC, we are Growing Deeper and Going Further, to the glory of our King.

Let me end by asking you to recite the directions for 2021 with me:

GROWING DEEPER IN

WORD, SPIRIT, and COMMUNITY

GOING FURTHER TO EXTEND GOD’S KINGDOM

Soli Deo Gloria!

Glory to God alone!

APPENDIX

LIVING OUT DIRECTIONS 2021 IN OUR MINISTRIES

In this Appendix are suggestions for how the different ministries can live out Directions 2021. These proposals came from some of you. They are neither exhaustive nor mandated. My apologies to those I did not get to ask for suggestions. Also apologies if I inadvertently missed out any ministry.

The ministries must seek the Lord’s mind concerning them, and only do what the Holy Spirit is leading us to do. In discerning how the ministry is to live out Directions 2021, let me give us some guidance concerning the posture to adopt as we come before the Lord. As your ministries come before God to discern how to live out Directions 2021,

·      Come humbly before God and be willing to do whatever He directs

·      Come in faith knowing that nothing is impossible with God (Luke 1:37). If what you came up with can be done without the power of God, it may be a good thing to do but it is not all that God wants for your ministry. It will be like going a thousand cubits and getting your ankles wet. Ask God to show you what it means to go two thousand cubits, three thousand cubits, four thousand cubits. Only when you go four thousand cubits will you be immersed in the water, where the fullness of God can be experienced in your ministry.

·      Get clarity on the assignment before solving the problems that come with the assignment. All God’s assignments will have obstacles. That is why you have to depend on God. So, make the decision and then resolve the issues with the truth, love, and power of God. Do not let the perceived lack of resources determine your decision. God owns everything (Psalm 24:1). Where God leads, God provides.

·      We serve as one church family. So, collaborate with others. Be willing to submit to one another and to the leading servants who must give an account of their oversight of you and your ministry.

Administration

1.     Design and implement an efficient and effective online system to facilitate administrative processes and records.

Cell

1.     To have every PLMC member connected to a cell

2.     Cells to adopt/try out an outreach project. Example if it’s on-going like once a month, they could try to commit for a year. Or for those less frequent, they could adopt for at least 2 years. But for cells who have never tried even doing such outreach, they can start with adhoc ones, say in December or next year’s CNY, Easter or Mooncake festival. Other options would be current outreach projects or go to portals like www.giving.sg.

3.     Now that learning via zoom is the new norm, we can designate some websites for cells to use as part of their growth, also since not many cells use the sermon series. But the websites have to be curated for the season; set some form of boundaries.

4.     Empowering our cells members to serve in the various ministries. Cell leaders have to be intentional in helping their members “jump” into the waters. This is an endeavour to raise the level of ownership of cells and the church in the bid to raise up leaders. Perhaps a season of the year to be dedicated to this via teaching on spiritual gifts, spiritual gifts assessment and some form of continuity plan for the cell leaders to work this through with all their cell members.

Children’s Ministry

1.     The focus for the next season is to partner with parents, and to equip the children in their spiritual gifts, to learn how to connect with God and one another as part of the family, in small group sizes physically.

2.     We hope to give the children, the opportunity to lead and serve in the gifts that the Lord has given to the children, in Silver Boxes and Sonshine Kids.

Communications

1.     To increase the effectiveness of our social media engagement for the extension of God’s kingdom.

2.     To develop a communications strategy to help PLMC serve in unity and to help the community without and beyond to participate in the opportunities to experience the kingdom of God.

Counselling

1.     To build a team of lay counsellors to strengthen the body of Christ through sowing into the lives of members in times of need and to remind them of the promises of God for their lives.

2.     Through the extension of our counselling service in the community in 2022, we can be a channel of God’s love and blessing to the community. We can then build deeper and create a more intimate relationship between PLMC and the community.

Creative Expressions

1. Raise both the musicality and the spirituality of every person involved in the contemporary worship services and the Creative Arts.

2.     Recover the prophetic and supernatural lifestyle and move of God in Methodism, that accompanies discipleship and holiness as evidenced in John Wesley’s and George Whitfield’s life and ministry. 

3.     Develop a Worship Arts & Revival School for believers called to the Worship, Music and Creative Arts Ministries.  

4.     Song Writers Collective - New Songs are the mark of revival and renewal. Gather a collective of willing disciples to seek God’s heart expressed through new songs and new heart cries.

Discipleship & Nurture

1. Harnessing technology for more sensory engagement in design of discipleship programmes/courses

2. Extending the reach using varied digital platforms and technologies (podcast, AR/VR, etc.)

3. Be inclusive by partnering people with disabilities in the process of discipleship

4. Produce our own discipleship material and curriculum that could be shared with other churches

Family Life

1.     Adopt a comprehensive approach to minister to couples from dating, to marriage, to parenting, to empty nest.

Filipino Service

1.     Increase the number of Filipinos, especially non-domestic workers, in our Filipino Service

2.     Prepare the Filipinos to be fully devoted disciples of Jesus before they leave for their next destination

Finance

1.     Increase the giving of the worshippers and the church by a certain percentage every year.

2.     To identify and disciple a community of Kingdom Builders who are spiritually empowered to increase financial resources and who are spiritually mature to release those resources to extend God’s kingdom.

3.     Digitalise how finances are received & processed.

4.     Disciple a community of people imbued with God’s vision and empowered by His Spirit to steward resources towards extending His kingdom through PLMC

Leadership Formation

1.     Develop a process to identify, trained, test, and appoint leaders in PLMC

Mandarin Service

1.     Identify, disciple, and prepare the next generation of leaders for the ministry.

2.     Encourage and facilitate Power Encounters (Personal and corporate level)

3.     Use Social media as outreach and discipleship platforms to reach the community without and beyond

Ministry to the Visually Impaired

1.     Use online meeting platforms such as Zoom to reach out to and engage the visually impaired community. Potentially, online meeting platforms could be used to organise and attract visually impaired participants to Bible study, cells, talks and workshops when meeting physically is challenging because of mobility considerations.

Missions

1.     Increase our mission partnerships in other nations to bless them to extend God’s kingdom in their nation.

2.     Serve churches in the region by equipping and envisioning their leaders for the extension of God’s kingdom.

Operations

1.     Develop and implement a digital structure in PLMC that will enable the church to do effective digital ministry. The structure will not only address current needs but anticipate opportunities in the future.

Outreach

1.     Shift the outreach paradigm to making disciples.

2.     Cultivate the church and worshippers’ homes to be safe places for people in need.

3.     Increase the areas of outreach in the community.

4.     Have every worshipper and cell in the church committed to an outreach ministry.

5.     Partnering with CFSC, to befriend more families to demonstrate the love of Christ by the ministry of presence.

6.     Revisiting the outreach effort at Block 223A with the intention to adopt the block and provide meals once a week to foster relationship building. 

Pastoral Care

1.     Raise the level of pastoral care to those in the need in PLMC.

2.     Have regular pastoral care teams to serve in bereavement and hospitalisation.

Prayer

1.     Identify, call, and train 120 intercessors in PLMC.

Spiritual Formation

1.     Move spiritual formation practices as something for some to something that everyone in the church does.

2.     Continue to introduce Lectio Divina in Cell Groups – to encourage cell groups to Go Further in terms of having their cell meetings as times of listening to God; also to share lives through sharing what the Word means to them on their journey of faith as a disciple of Christ;

3.     Offer Companions in Christ as a spiritual formation course so that members can be taken deeper and further in their life in Christ. To Go Further by training and equipping some to facilitate CIC course.

4.     To offer the 19th annotation of the Spiritual Exercises (a way of doing the Spiritual Exercises as a daily life retreat over 9 months) to enable certain individuals to Go Further in their discipleship journey with Christ.

Worship & Music

1. Raise both the musicality and the spirituality of every person involved in the Worship and Music ministry.

2. Increase the number of people involved in the Worship and Music ministry.

3. Music groups (choir/singing groups) can do a collection of their virtual recordings and to share them in our PLMC website and YouTube for other churches or individuals to use under permission, including outreach projects.

4. Worship leader regeneration and/or understanding worship renewal process especially for the 9am service.

5. Finding ways to engage worshippers deeper, not only for PLMC but many others who tune in to our worship services weekly.

Youth Ministry

1.     Have a two-pronged approach to build a strong foundation for our youths in Christ and inculcate a lifestyle to God, which is to teach our youths foundations in faith, and introducing them to spiritual formation.

2.     Develop the six-year curriculum for our youths so that when the youths go through the six years with us, they would have Grown Deeper in the Word by being equipped with biblical and faith foundations, as well as would have Grown Deeper in spirit, by having been exposed to spiritual formation and accordingly, a lifestyle aligned to hearing and walking closely with God.

3.     Expose our youths to the mandate for outreach and missions, and being equipped with basic tools for evangelism and being aware of outreach and mission opportunities that they will serve the bigger community and extend God’s kingdom through a evangelistic lifestyle and one that is inclined towards outreach and missions.

4.     Strengthen our internal community by refreshing our cell leaders so that they are able to refresh those in their influence and hence extend the influence of the Kingdom of God.

Young Adults Ministry

1.     Grow Deeper in the spirit, as well as to strengthen our community internally by exposing more within our community to spiritual retreats allowing them to Grow Deeper in spirit.

2.     Have a community building event.

3.     Look for opportunities to collaborate with other ministries to exercise our mandate for outreach.

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