DIRECTIONS 2022

A. INTRODUCTION

Let us begin by reminding ourselves of the calling of PLMC:

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

B. DIRECTIONS 2021

Led by the Spirit, we gave expression to our calling with Directions 2021:

GROWING DEEPER IN

WORD, SPIRIT, and COMMUNITY

GOING FURTHER TO EXTEND GOD’S KINGDOM

The key Scripture for Directions 2021 was 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.

Though I cannot say that we are now in a river that is so deep that no one could cross, I thank God that we have gone further out into the river of blessing. I thank God we were able to create opportunities to grow deeper in the Word, primarily through the pulpit and courses. We continued to learn to walk in the Spirit. We deepened our sense of community especially during the 40 Days of Blessing. The 40 Days of Blessing also saw a concerted effort by the church family to go further to extend God’s kingdom in our world.

All these things happened amid a global pandemic. When the Directions was first unveiled at the last Leadership Retreat, we were looking forward to returning to some form of normalcy amidst the continuing pandemic in the world. Alas! That was not to be. Instead, the year saw the nation going through many rounds of tightening and loosening of restrictions to contain the spread of COVID-19. Every one of these changes meant changes to how our church functions. Often, we had to make these changes at short notice.

Hence, it would be remiss of me not to commend and thank the pastors, staff, and volunteers serving as the production crew, worship teams, ushers, safe entry officers, Children’s Ministry workers, and others. There were also many other cell and ministry leaders who served faithfully to ensure that pastoral care and ministry to the community and nations continued. Thank you for your service to Jesus. Receive the Word of God in 1 Corinthians 15:58 (NIV) into your heart,

Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

I also praise God for our congregation who took the constant changes in their stride. The congregation was also encouraging with their expressions of appreciation to those who enabled ministry to continue in our church family in these challenging days. And by the number of communion cups collected for each month’s Holy Communion, it is heartening to note that the congregation numbers are not too far from pre-pandemic levels.

C. DIRECTIONS 2022

There are many things to praise God for, not least His blessing upon PLMC to be a blessing. With that in mind, I believe that Directions 2022, which is the 90th anniversary year of PLMC, is to be:

THE YEAR OF CELEBRATION

The year will be an appropriate time to recollect God’s blessings upon PLMC in the past, and in the present prepare to receive God’s future for PLMC. Our church is where she is today because God has woven the lives of past and present generations into a glorious tapestry to declare God’s faithfulness to all generations. With the different generations in the different ministries of PLMC serving as one, we see a tangible expression of God’s love for one another that is only made possible by the power of the Holy Spirit. In affirmation of this reality, we will celebrate our 90th anniversary with the theme:

Tapestry of Power and Love

In THE YEAR OF CELEBRATION: Tapestry of Power and Love, there are four key celebrations to look forward to. These four celebrations will help us remember our past and be equipped in the present to bless the community and nations into the future.

1. DOWN MEMORY LANE

When you read through the Bible, you will see how often the Exodus is recalled in its pages. This is because humans are apt to forget. Hence, we are exhorted throughout the Bible to remember. We are to remember not merely to reminisce but to celebrate and consecrate. When we celebrate what God did, it builds our faith. If this is what God did, God can do it again, and more. Remembrance also challenges us to consecrate ourselves afresh. In seeing how in the past a consecrated community is blessed to bless; we are inspired to similarly consecrate ourselves to be blessed to bless.

In 2022, we will remember our past with a digital exhibition that takes us through key events in the history of PLMC. Key ministry milestones will be celebrated. Our pastors who served us will be remembered. In tandem with the exhibition will be videos featuring PLMC members recalling the journey of the church. At the time of writing, a time capsule and/or a physical heritage wall are also being considered.

2. PLMC CONFERENCE

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused our Church Camp to be pivoted into a PLMC Conference from Thursday 16 June to Sunday 19 June 2022. This Conference with the theme Tapestry of Power and Love – Generations Unbroken will have Pastors Edmund Chan and Chern Hock Chye minister to us as keynote speakers in English and Mandarin respectively. Speakers for the Breakout Sessions include Daniel Fung, Isaac Ong, Jason Wong, Pastor Dominic Yeo, Pastor Ian Toh, and others. The children’s programme will be helmed by Pastor Nicholas Choo.

The Conference will not only inspire and equip us, it will also seek to cross-honour the generations found in our church family. As we understand the generations, we are then poised to embrace the destiny of each generation to extend God’s kingdom together.

3. OUTREACH IN POWER & LOVE

As a church family blessed to bless, it is not surprising that outreach will feature in our anniversary celebrations. Working with our Outreach ministry, we will continue the ministry of Project Safe Place and extend our reach into the community.

To kick off our outreach in 2022, a blood donation drive on our church premises will take place at the beginning of the year. From March to June 2022, the church will be encouraged to bless someone with a meal. Let’s Eat Together (Don’t Say Bo Jio!) is an expression of hospitality especially to the poor and needy, those going through a difficult time, the migrant community, and even our Friends of Jesus. This initiative is also an opportunity for you to connect your pre-believing loved ones with PLMC worshippers to build a bridge of relationship where Jesus can walk from your hearts into theirs. Cultural exchange, relevant empowerment training, and sports events are some other ideas that are being considered to bless the migrant workers and Filipino Domestic Workers.

4. CHRISTMAS MUSICAL

The Outreach in Power & Love will culminate with a Christmas Musical held in December. Entitled ‘A Christmas Tale’, the musical will take the audience on a journey of God’s redemptive story from the beginning of creation, right through to the rebellion and the turning away of His chosen people, through the prophets, right up to the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus our Saviour and ends with the offer of this gift of salvation.

For this musical to reach pre-believers, the work of building bridges into their lives must begin now. Using the initiatives like Project Safe Place and Let’s Eat Together, we can establish a connection that earns us the influence to have our pre-believing friends attend the musical and experience Jesus walking into their lives.

5. OTHER ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS

5.1.  90th Anniversary Blessing Fund

One of the obvious blessings that PLMC has received from the Lord is financial resources. The church has been generous in blessing others with our financial resources, but God has been even more generous by continuing to pour forth His resources into PLMC. I am not surprised at God’s generosity towards our church. This is because when God sees our church steward well what He gives us, which is to bless others with what He gives us, He knows that we can be trusted with the blessings He puts into our hands.

In keeping with this spirit of generosity, we want to bless the community and other ministries within and beyond Singapore with about S$1 million or more through the 90th Anniversary Blessing Fund. $900K of the Blessing Fund to bless 90 ministries and organisations will come from the church budget. The other $100K or more that will go to the community will come from PLMC worshippers. The 2nd Offering received on 11 of the Holy Communion Weekends in 2022 will be designated for the community through the 90th Anniversary Blessing Fund. Direct donations to the Blessing Fund will likewise be used to bless the community. My prayer is that every PLMC worshipper, young or older, will give in faith so that they can experience the blessing of being a generous giver to the Lord.

5.2. God’s Word in Season for PLMC

Celebrating the 90th anniversary is also about preparing for the next season of the church. Hence, I have invited 9 preachers from the body of Christ beyond PLMC to bring a prophetic Word of the Lord for our church, culminating with our TRAC President, Rev Stanley Chua, bringing God’s Word to us on Anniversary Sunday, 10 July 2022.

5.3. Blessings from God’s People

As part of the larger body of Christ, I have also invited Christian leaders from around the world to speak words of blessing into our church family. We want to receive these declarations and allow them to shape us to become who the Lord wants us to be. Be on the lookout for them during our worship services in 2022.

5.4. PLMC Praying Together

All the work going into the Anniversary Celebrations will yield no eternal significance if we do not depend on God in everything we do. We must learn to live the truth found in the words attributed to Augustine, ‘Pray as though everything depended on God. Work as though everything depended on you.’

Hence, we will have a church prayer meeting once a month in 2022. We started this during 40 Days of Blessing. In 2022, we will continue to have this church prayer meeting on the first Wednesday of every month. To enable as many of us to pray together, even if you are travelling, the plan is to have an online prayer meeting. An onsite prayer meeting may be held when the Lord leads us to do so.

D. THE YEAR OF CELEBRATION: Tapestry of Power and Love

THE YEAR OF CELEBRATION: Tapestry of Power and Love promises to be a year filled with celebrations and opportunities to be blessed and to bless. If we are to fully rejoice and seize our God-given opportunities, all of us must put our hands to the plough. All of us must serve one another and serve the community and the nations. We are also to serve ourselves in the sense of being willing to be equipped and have our faith stretched. When all of us are engaged in life and ministry in the power of the Holy Spirit, we will see God weaving a Tapestry of Power and Love in PLMC.

~ END ~