From 1 Sep to 10 Oct 2020, the Rev Benjamin Lee from Wesley Methodist Church completed a 10km daily jog or walk (otherwise known as J-WALK), to raise funds for the Singapore Centre for Global Missions (SCGM) in his private capacity. By embarking on this 40-day personal endeavour, the Rev Ben’s target was one of the fund-raising campaigns to help raise $40K for SCGM’s 40th Anniversary.
Throughout this J-WALK, the Rev Ben’s greatest motivation was his commitment as a Council member to the SCGM staff. Seeing the faith each of them has for the Lord’s work inspired him to press on.
His J-WALKs brought him many interesting observations and reflections. An early morning J-WALK had him wondering if the people around his estate, still fast asleep, truly had rest in Christ. A jog around a reservoir brought Matthew 7:24 to his mind, when seeing the same man run past him thrice led him to wonder “how we are running our lives and if we have the right destination in mind”. From learning to contemplate and enjoy being silent before the Lord in the midst of busyness, to appreciating the fellowship when people join him in the J-WALKs, it has helped him realise how important it is to cultivate time with the Lord and to journey with one another in our lives.
Just as God’s Word and presence sustains him, the Rev Ben’s wife supported and nourished him with food to help keep him in good health. She also provided wise advice—while the Rev Ben initially had not wanted to put a plaster on a blister that had formed during his J-WALK, it helped the blister to heal and for him to keep up his daily target. In the Rev Ben’s words, “real men listen to their wise wives”!
After the 40 days of daily 10km walks, the Rev Ben reflected on his journey: “Some days, what beats down is the sun; on other days, pours down is the rain—but on all days it is the Son who sustains. The sustaining grace of the Lord has been so evident to me through the 40 days, whether in strengthening my knees, or in providing loved ones and friends to J-WALK with me, or just having people send me encouraging words.
“Likewise, in the work of missions, because it is the Lord who has promised that He Himself will build the Church, it is ultimately He who will provide the sustaining grace to all who are persevering, and we can all hope and find strength and renewal in that.”
SCGM is a centre established by local pastors and missions leaders in Singapore for promoting world missions. Since 1980, we have been serving local churches in developing missions policies, training programmes and organising national level missions surveys, missions consultations and training seminars.
From 1 Sep 2020 to 9 Feb 2021, in celebration of its 40th anniversary, SCGM will be raising $400k through various campaigns so that it can continue to support the ministerial work it does in Singapore, such as through urban missions, contextual missions, creation care and strategic thought leadership. For more information, go to:
By the MCS Communications Team / Photos courtesy of the Rev Benjamin Lee