The 47th Session of the Emmanuel Tamil Annual Conference (ETAC) was held at Pasir Panjang Tamil Methodist Church from 11 to 12 November 2022. This year marked Rev Philip Abraham’s second year as President of ETAC.
Progress on Vision 2024—Towards Harvest
In his President’s Address, Rev Philip Abraham gave an update on the progress of ETAC’s Vision 2024—Towards Harvest, which was introduced in 2021 with a theme for 2022, SEEK. ETAC churches examined the parables of The Prodigal Son, The Lost Sheep and The Lost Coin in Luke 15. Members were encouraged to reach out to inactive members of the church and bring them back to the fold as well as connect with pre-believing friends, relatives and acquaintances, wasting no opportunity to share the gospel.
Several initiatives were organised to further the growth initiative, such as a synchronised prayer at 1 p.m. where each person prayed for one soul for one minute and a commitment for members to pray for 10 pre-believers daily.
As part of the Conference’s growth initiative, pastors visited every ETAC church to pray with the local pastors, leadership and congregation. These visits were opportunities for the local conferences to share about the church’s struggles and victories so that they could be better supported in prayer and received the appropriate assistance.
Significantly, ETAC membership has grown by 16.7% to a total of 901 members this year.
Other highlights
Several events took place this year, including a talk for parents, “Raising Godly Children” led by Dr Cheah-Foo Fung Fong, Vice-President of the Trinity Annual Conference, and “Look After Your Mental Health”, where Dr Daniel Fung and Dr Raj Velloo were speakers. The ETAC Children’s Choir, jointly organised with the Methodist School of Music (MSM), was set up. There are currently 42 children involved, and they are trained by Dr Judith Laoyan- Mosomos, the Director of Worship & Church Music at MSM.
ETAC’s Methodist Youth Fellowship surfaced the problem of insufficient leaders at the local chapters. Due to this difficulty, some chapters have adopted a ‘Youth Coordinator’ model, but further study needs to be conducted to assess the challenges.
Pastoral supply
Ps Adlin Jacob has been received as a new Member- on-Trial. Ps Jesudoss Charles remains a part-time Approved Supply Pastor, and will start full-time ministry when he completes his Master of Ministry degree at Trinity Theological College in 2023. Rev C Jebakumar from the Indian Evangelical Mission is another ministerial candidate that would be seconded to ETAC for a period of three years, pending government approvals. Rev R Prabhu will continue to serve as a pastor in 2023.
The ministry of gatekeeping
At the Closing Service, Bishop Emeritus Dr Robert Solomon preached on the ministry of gatekeeping from 1 Chronicles 26:6-8. He highlighted the family of Obed-Edom that was tasked to guard the ark. They were described as “able” and “capable” God-fearing men. He described how things would go wrong when the role of gatekeeping was not carried out responsibly.
BE Dr Solomon said that modern gatekeepers were still needed today. The first type of gatekeeper was the literal sense—the role played by ushers. However, there was also a need for gatekeepers in the spiritual sense. He asked, “Who will keep evil and worldly ways from entering the sanctuary and families?” Gatekeeping also included keeping heresy out and false spirits out.
“We must guard ourselves against being conformed to the pattern of this world,” he said, and called for more to take up this important ministry of “gatekeeping”.
Emmanuel Tamil Annual Conference
47th Session – 11 & 12 Nov 2022
Appointments for the year 2023
Pastoral Appointments |
|
Ang Mo Kio Tamil Methodist Church |
Rev Albert Vijay Joseph Pastor-In-Charge |
Jurong Tamil Methodist Church |
Rev Philip S Abraham Pastor-In-Charge
Pastor Jesudoss Charles Part-Time Approved Supply Pastor |
Pasir Panjang Tamil Methodist Church |
Rev Philip S Abraham Pastor-In-Charge
Pastor Stephen Shadrak Part-Time Approved Supply Pastor |
Seletar Tamil Methodist Church |
Rev James Nagulan Pastor- In-Charge |
Sembawang Tamil Methodist Church |
Rev Saravana Kumar Pastor-In-Charge
Ps. Adlin Jacob Pastoral Assistant |
Tamil Methodist Church, Short Street |
Rev James Nagulan Pastor-In-Charge
Rev R. Prabhu Associate Minister |
Singapore Telugu Methodist Church |
Rev R. Prabhu Pastor-In-Charge |
Toa Payoh Tamil Methodist Church |
Rev Saravana Kumar Pastor-In-Charge
Ps. Adlin Jacob Pastoral Assistant |
Special Appointments |
|
District Superintendent |
Rev James Nagulan |
Methodist Welfare Homes Coordinator |
Ps Adlin Jacob |