Tree of Life Christian Church started with a group of Christians who had the same burden of wanting to start a new work for God. After waiting upon the Lord for several months during which we prayed and planned, God graciously enabled us to meet for the first Sunday Worship on 8 February 2009 in Macpherson. The average Sunday attendance, excluding children, for the next few months was about 15 adults. Meanwhile, the church searched for another place of worship and also applied to the Registry of Societies for registration as a church. After several correspondence with the relevant authorities, on 20 April 2009, Tree of Life Christian Church was formally registered with the Registry of Societies.
On 10 May 2009, we rented a unit the size of a squash court at West Coast Recreation Centre. God is good. He moved hearts to give so that we could do minor renovation and buy some furniture and equipment. By God’s mercy, Pastor Andrew Tan was ordained the following year on 15 May 2010. On 25 July 2010, we had our first baptism service where two new converts were baptised. On 27 February 2011, Elder Teo Chin Tian and Elder Liu Kerh Li were ordained as our church elders. The Lord continued to bring friends and family members to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. By the end of the year 2011, the place had become a little small for our needs. We considered renting a bigger unit in the same location. This option, however, was highly unfavourable for some reasons. Yet buying a property seemed far beyond our reach. After much prayer and contemplation, the church committee decided to purchase a property. All in the church wondered how we were going to raise such an enormous amount of money. Then the Lord raised the money for us because “everyone who was willing and whose heart moved them came and brought an offering to the LORD” (Exodus 35:21). Many, young and old, gave sacrificially out of their poverty. In less than 3 months, we raised several hundred thousand dollars, sufficient to buy and pay for a good renovation. We knew the Lord has been especially merciful to us. Immediately after the June 2012 church camp, we moved into our new premises in The Spire on 17 June 2012.
The Lord later gave us another unit in the same level. After several years of combined bilingual Mandarin and English worship service, starting 5 July 2015, we were a two congregation church, a Mandarin congregation and an English congregation. In October 2019, the Lord provided us a bigger place in MEGA@Woodlands. God has been merciful and kind to Tree of Life Christian Church. May we make ourselves “holy, useful to the Master, and prepared to do any good work” (2 Timothy 2:21).
Jesus says, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10). Our greatest desire is that all who come into our midst may receive comfort, encouragement and healing of the soul so that they may enjoy God’s eternal and abundant life. May Tree of Life Christian Church continue to communicate abundant life. This forms the core mission of this church.
Our church name and logo are also designed to encapsulate this message. It is designed according to the picture of the tree of life painted in Revelation 22:1-2:
Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.
The tree trunk which is painted in blue signifies the life giving water that flows from the throne of God and of the Lamb and it nourishes the tree. The green leaves that appear to explode outwards represent the fruit of abundant life that is given to everyone who receives the Lamb, Jesus Christ, as Lord and Saviour.
Our pastor, The Reverend Dr Andrew Tan is married to Koon Yoke. They have two sons, Shuen Yi and Yan Yi. Pastor Andrew Tan is also a grandfather. After graduating from the National University of Singapore, he worked as a civil and structural engineer for some years. He did theological studies at Far Eastern Bible College and earned a PhD from the University of Cape Town. His revised doctoral dissertation was published as a book, The Rhetoric of Abraham’s Faith in Romans 4, with the Society of Biblical Literature in the series Emory Studies for Early Christianity.
