A New Generation Rising
The People’s Church first started out in 1998 as a tiny bomb shelter outreach that was planted at Hougang Avenue 10. The outreach soon matured and in 2008, the church went on to be autonomous and independent under the Assemblies of God of Singapore. Now in 2018, the church celebrates its 10th anniversary on August 4. The reason that the church has come so far is definitely God’s goodness and faithfulness toward us
Over the past 10 years, the church went through innumerable storms, yet it is through these very storms that members of the church body actually forged resilient bonds with one another. Corporate prayer, joyous fellowship and love have all contributed to this bond. Generations of youths have emerged in those years—young boys and girls have grown into fine young men and women. Now, it is time for these youths to arise and carry the church forward.
2 Kings 2:9 (KJV) says, “And it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said unto Elisha, ‘Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee.’ And Elisha said, ‘I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me.’”
In the Bible, it is written that Elisha requested for a double portion of Elijah’s spirit on him. Elisha was considered to be Elijah’s successor. In the modern context of the Church, this can be referred to the “next generation” or the youth of the church. Rev Patrick Cheong, our Senior Pastor, had sought out this guiding vision when he first started the church’s leadership revitalization process in 2016.
Rev Patrick’s preaching reminded our adult congregation that they must be righteous Christians in order to be shining examples for the next generation. They were asked to impart their lessons (from past mistakes) to the next generation. According to Rev Patrick, this meant that every generation would become twice as wise and much tougher than the previous one.
Today, our church places a strong emphasis on leadership revitalization and had appointed two youth mentors in 2017 and six youth leaders in 2018. The church council board had also been renewed with younger board members, with the youngest one being only 23 years old.
This emphasis on the youth was also seen during the church’s 10th anniversary celebratory service. The church invited Rev Yang Tuck Yoong, Senior Pastor and Founder of Cornerstone Community Church to be the guest speaker for the sermon. During the service, the congregation was treated to a special dance performance based on the song, ‘The Hurt & The Healer’ by MercyMe. The dance was based on a powerful testimony. It portrayed a struggling Christian youth going through a dreadful storm. However, she knew that she had a solid body of Christ that she could always turn to for help, and that this body would support her spiritually in all situations. A nostalgic video showing our church’s humble beginnings was also played during the service.
During Rev Yang’s sermon, the Holy Spirit prompted powerfully that the older people in the church were important and not to be forgotten. Rev Yang’s preaching encouraged these older people not to “slow down” in their respective ministries, but to believe that the best years had yet to come. He also exhorted the young and old to come together to renew one another— the youth with vigor and the old with wisdom.
The celebrations concluded with our Executive Pastor, Ps Clement Cheong, praying over our youths for God’s greater anointing to be upon them and that the fruits of their ministry would far supersede what the previous generations had accomplished. As the evening drew to a close, the congregation then gathered for a sumptuous buffet dinner.
May the youths of The People’s Church arise in Jesus’s mighty name!
Watch the video of the testimony behind the dance
This article also appeared in AG times issue 040 Nov-Dec 2018, page 12
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