Faith Methodist Church (Faith) turns 50 in 2016. Journeying towards its year of Jubilee, the church is already gearing up to celebrate the momentous milestone and give glory and thanks to God for these 50 years of His faithfulness.
To mark next yearâs Jubilee celebrations, Faith launched an intensive One Day Membership Conference in 2014. Conceptualised around the spirit of Jubilee, i.e. to set people free, the one-day conference replaced the previous one-year membership process without compromising on quality or depth.
The conference content reinforced the important foundations of the Christian faith and the Methodist Church, and provided worshippers the opportunity to commit to being part of the Faith family and the Methodist Church. Through the conference, 164 were received into membership in November 2014, creating history as Faithâs membership roll crossed the 2,000 mark.
The Rev Edwin Wong, Pastor-in-Charge of Faith, said: âWe want to grow not just in numbers but in the Spirit of the Lord. In line with our vision to transform lives and change the world, we need to rise up, roll up (our sleeves) and roll out.
âThis means we must focus on our inner spiritual lives and alignment with God, before going out together as one united church. Our values of Fellowship, Adoration, Involvement, Transformation and Harvest highlighted and lived out through our 151 small groups equip us for every good work abounding in Christ.
âWith all that God has blessed our Faith family with, may we be good stewards and continue to have a positive impact on the community and regions beyond.â
The Rev Wong became Pastor-in-Charge in January 2014, returning to the church where he grew up and lived with for more than 20 years while his father, Bishop Emeritus Wong Kiam Thau, ministered at Queenstown Chinese Methodist Church, which shares the same premises as Faith.
The Rev Wong has reinforced prayer as a core focus for the church. Every Wednesday without fail, intercessors gather to pray for the church and the community. This culminates in a corporate House of Prayer on the last Wednesday of every month, when time is set aside for members to gather and seek the Lord, pray for one other, and align with Godâs calling and vision for the church.
Faithâs vision of âTransforming Lives, Changing the Worldâ is lived out in her small groups, celebrated at the Celebration Services on Sundays, and extended to the community in the Commonwealth and Tanglin Halt area.
With the âAdopt-a-Blockâ outreach platform, Faithâs small groups reach out to connect with residents in the immediate vicinity through festive gifts, visitations, conversations, community events and more, with the objective of blessing the community and extending Christâs love in practical ways.
On the global front, Faithâs International Ministry reaches communities around the region. Over 20 trips are organised yearly to pay regular visits to communities as well as provide members with opportunities to get involved in missions and in tune with Godâs heartbeat for the world.
PRAY for Faith MC
* that its members continue to walk in faithfulness and closeness to God as the church approaches its Jubilee
* in its continuing ministry to the community and regions beyond
We continue our series of profiling local churches from our three Annual Conferences of The Methodist Church in Singapore. As we come to have a better understanding of each otherâs history and ministry, we may discover more opportunities to forge cross-church partnerships and collaborations.
Photos courtesy of Faith Methodist Church
Andrea Low works in communications and loves writing, watercolour painting and road trips.