Time passes quickly and in the blink of an eye, the Jurong Church building will be 46 years old on 26 August 2022. Out of these 46 years, I have been spending 43 wonderful years here since my baptism in 1979.We thank God for the blessing of having a church building to worship in. Certainly, there are many advantages that come with it.
WHAT INSPIRED MY CHRISTIAN JOURNEY?
My journey starts from learning from many great and dedicated Bible Class teachers to me becoming a Bible Class teacher myself. In the beginning, they were young men (1 Timothy 4:12) but faithful. They came to Boon Lay Town to help establish a congregation. These towers of faith inspired us to grow unto spiritual maturity. Besides being dedicated to the Lord, they were hardworking. They prepared well for Bible Classes every Sunday morning and Wednesday night in order to edify us. With their commitment to the Lord’s cause, the 1980s was a golden decade in the history of the Jurong Church of Christ. A great number of people believed and were baptised into Jesus Christ (Mark 16:16). From approximately 30 members in 1976, the church grew to double her size within 3 to 5 years.
SMALL BUT MIGHTY!
This congregation started with only a handful of members but they were determined to reach out to the lost souls. We “bombed” every household in Boon Lay and Taman Jurong with tract invitations before every Gospel Meeting. There were no Jurong West, Jurong West extension or Jurong East back then. The enthusiasm of the members rubbed off on one another. We made sure that the good news of God reached every household. Yes we were a small force but with God with us, “… and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world” (Matthew 28:19-20), we were a mighty power.
DREAM CAN BE TURNED INTO REALITY!
The apostle Paul said in (Acts 20:28) that elders are to feed the flock which Christ had purchased with His own blood. Although Jurong was then a very young and small congregation and without elders, the leaders understood the principle of self-rule. They took charge of everything both spiritually and physically. One of the challenges which they decided to take on at the beginning was for the Church Minister’s salary to be fully paid for by the local congregation within five years. After achieving this, they then challenged the congregation to achieve what they termed as “Five Dreams”.
FIRST DREAM – TO BE SOUND IN DOCTRINE
It is to be Sound in Doctrine (2 Timothy 4:2-4). It is not just for today but also to be sound in doctrine for ever more. We will need to continue to ensure that the congregation continues to abide in sound doctrine.
SECOND DREAM – TO BE A BASE OF EVANGELISM
We are always thankful to bro Ira Y Rice for his sacrifice and dedication in bringing the Gospel to Singapore. Many American brethren greatly inspire us by their frequent trips to Singapore and to the surrounding region to preach the Gospel. Because of that, the Jurong congregation is inspired to be A Base of Evangelism (Mark 16:15-16). The Four Seas College of Bible and Missions (FSC) is a good catalyst to this dream. When the building extension was completed in 1992, it partially fulfilled this dream as the 3rd level of the building housed the FSC. The purpose of this college is to train men and women and equip them with the necessary skills to preach the good news to the world. On 1 December 2018, it was announced officially that FSC would be overseen by the Jurong congregation thus fulfilling this dream.
THIRD DREAM – TO BE A GIVING CONGREGATION
From the very beginning, even when the congregation was small, the importance of being a cheerful giver (2 Corinthians 9:7) was taught and continued to be taught according to the scriptures. It is more blessed to give than to receive (Acts 20:35). The congregation in the beginning started with a “buy your own pew” initiative when the empty building was ready in 1976. In the late 80s, we gave funds to support the Bedok congregation’s new Church Building Project by holding back our own building extension project. Nevertheless, the brethren continued to raise funds for our own building extension project which was eventually completed in 1990. Many other examples also showed that the congregation had never failed to help those who are in need: the Myanmar flood, the Nepal earthquake, the Philippines hurricanes, Nepal & Chiang Mai needy students’ education fund etc. It is through the generosity of the members that the needy were/are blessed.
FOURTH DREAM – TO BE A SINGING CONGREGATION
In Ephesians 5:19, we are instructed to make melody in our heart to the Lord and in Colossians 3:16, we are told to teach and admonish one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. We are blessed not only with good acoustics in our building which enable good singing, but we are also blessed with good and dedicated song leaders. Besides these factors, our members love to sing and love to praise God with our lips (Hebrews 13:15). We are so happy that the government has allowed us to gather in-person to worship God and to sing praises unto Him again.
FIFTH DREAM – SCRIPTURALLY ORGANISED
Apostle Paul in (Titus 1:5) said; “For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in very city, as I had appointed thee;” From day one, the congregation worked towards this dream. This was a long-term goal for a young congregation back in 1976 as it needed to fulfil the spiritual qualifications as stated in (1 Timothy 3:1-7; Titus 1:6-9). We achieved this dream back in August 30, 2015 when elders were appointed, and following that, the appointment of deacons on September 23, 2015.
EXHORTATION
The young leaders back in the 70s dared to dream because they believed that with God’s help, we can achieve. We have been so blessed in many ways since that day. All these Five Dreams are what every Christian should continue to hold on to because they are all based on solid precepts of the scriptures. “Through thy precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way.” (Psalms 119:104)
However, we must not sit on our laurels thinking that all have been achieved. The present generation must continue to uphold what the early leaders were trying to do and keep on inspiring each other unto more good works. The works of God cannot stop. May the inspiration continue to flow from generation to generation because there will be another 46 years to come if the Lord is willing. Just as Moses commanded obedience from the Israelites in Deuteronomy 4:9, Christians should continue to obey God and to constantly teach our children and our children’s children the way of the Lord.
Yes I was just a very young Christian back then but after 43 years, I am still inspired by what those young leaders had done. I hope you too are inspired by them and dare to dream for the future of the congregation in Jurong. God bless!