First, I was refreshed by the fellowship of fellow pastors. The mission team comprised four pastors including myself. We enjoyed the company of one another and had a refreshing fellowship. Besides poking fun at one another, we also shared about the joys and hard aches of the pastoral ministry. It is wonderful that despite that I was a total stranger to them, we joked and shared as if we were long-time friends. This is possible because we all belong to the same family with God as our Heavenly Father. Such a close fellowship is possible because we have the same life, the life of the true and living God. Thus, we share the same aspirations, values, moral standards and are united despite being different. This testifies to the fact that the eternal life is real and is changing our lives to become more and more like our Lord Jesus. I urge to treasure your fellowship with fellow church members.
Second, the need is great in the mission fields. We shared and taught in several bible colleges set up by local pastors. The enrollment in each of these colleges ranges from thirty to seventy whose age varies from late teens and young adults to leaders and pastors already serving in the pastoral ministry. As we taught them, despite the hot weather, we could see the hunger in their eyes. Truly, “the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of harvest, therefore, to send workers into his harvest field” (Matt 9:38). Besides bringing them spiritual food, we also gave them monetary love gifts. Jesus’ mandate to His church is (Mat 28:18-20):
All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. 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, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.
We are commanded by our Lord and Saviour not only to reach out to our loved ones and the local community in Singapore, we owe also the gospel debt to countries beyond our shore. There are several things we as a church can do.
First, we intend to set aside ten percent of our church offerings we collect on Sundays to mission work. Besides giving love gifts to various mission works, presently, we are supporting, on a regular basis, a Chinese pastor in mainland China. With more funds being set aside, we are praying for God’s direction to use these funds wisely.
Second, I encourage you also to go on short mission trips. But if you hope to be used by God in these trips, you must be well equipped. The book study you do during the Adult Sunday School, is particularly helpful to people there including many parts of the third world countries. They urgently need to be trained so that they may be “a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth” (2Tim 2:15). Hence, be faithful in Adult Sunday School. Learn the skills of interpretation. Study hard to upgrade your spiritual life and also to be equipped for the mission field.