is 19th TRAC church
| Christalite Methodist
Chapel is 19th TRAC church |
|
STORY AND PICTURES
BY RAYMOND TEO
CHRISTALITE
METHODIST CHAPEL has become the 19th church of Trinity
Annual Conference (TRAC). This means The Methodist Church in Singapore
now has 42 churches.
Christalite achieved Local Conference status on July 31, 2005
when a Church Constituting Conference was held at its premises
at Geylang Methodist Primary School. This was presided by the
Rev Dr Jonathan Seet, the District Superintendent (East). The
church was constituted with 152 founding members.
A Thanksgiving Service then followed. The Rev Wee Boon Hup, President
of TRAC, delivered the sermon entitled "A Church for the
Future".
It was in 1996 that Christ Methodist Church, under the guidance
of the Holy Spirit, moved to plant a preaching point at Geylang
Methodist Secondary School. We are grateful to the School Management
Committee and the principal, Mrs Doreen Chan, for giving us this
opportunity of ministry.
In September 1996, a small team led by our pioneer pastor, the
Rev Vincent Goh, began this ministry, worshipping at Wesley Hall.
In a way, Christ Methodist Church was going back to its roots,
having worshipped at borrowed premises at the Geylang Chinese
Methodist Church at Aljunid Road till its move to the present
East Coast Road location in 1960. The Rev Alvin Chan was the preaching
point's interim pastor in 1998 for several months until our current
pastor, the Rev Nga Mee Hee, was appointed.
The mission of the preaching point is simple -- to lead students,
their families and the community to Jesus Christ. We were clear
in our minds that we would add value to the schools, providing
spiritual and prayer support, financial and pastoral care for
the students, and generally enriching school life. We would assist
the schools foster a Christian community, helping mould children
not just to become good citizens of Singapore, but also good citizens
of the Kingdom of God.
It was for this purpose that Kidz-in-Praise, a programme for the
primary school students was started, initially on Saturday afternoons.
In ministering to the children, the team members were blessed
with new avenues of service and lessons in long-term commitment.
Other programmes like Teens Alive for upper primary children (run
mainly by teachers from the Primary School), and the Drop-In Centre
at the Secondary School were initiated.
Christalite Chapel 'will continue
to build close ties with schools'
To
foster and deepen relationships with parents, several programmes
were organised. For example, hanyu pinyin classes were over-enrolled,
and two consecutive classes had to be organised. Parenting skills
classes organised in Mandarin were so well received that there
were requests that similar classes be taught in English.
The Chapel currently provides bursaries to needy students and
has made significant financial contributions to the schools. We
run a tuition programme on Sundays where 48 students are assisted
in their academic subjects. As God blesses us with church growth,
we will be able to contribute much more to the school community
life and finances.
It was in 1998 that the name Christalite Methodist Chapel was
adopted by the congregation. Our logo is a lighthouse - this represents
the Chapel bringing the Light of the World to the community in
Geylang. The five rays of light issuing from the lighthouse represent
our Core Values of "WORDS":
W (Worship): Honouring God through our worship, O (Outreach):
Sharing the Gospel message, R (Relationship): Loving and caring
for one another, D (Discipleship): Becoming like Jesus in every
way, and S (Service): Serving God and the community.
Initial ministry during the early years was difficult as we
lacked numbers, programmes and facilities. Many came to visit,
but not to stay. We worked hard, we prayed, we fasted until in
early 2002, we felt in the spirit that God had broken the ground
for us. The same year in December, we moved premises to the newly-completed
Christalite Auditorium at the refurbished Primary School.
We want to gratefully acknowledge the roles of the School Management
Committee and in particular, Miss Mabel Wee, Principal of the
Primary School, for their unfailing support and encouragement.
We already had a Mandarin Worship at 11.30 am on Sundays, then
added a Traditional Service at 8 am to complement our 9.30 am
Contemporary Service. Our numbers at Sunday worship increased
to about 100 in 2004 and we believed that the time was ripe for
us to become a Local Conference.
However, at the General Conference in November 2004, the Constitution
was amended so that instead of the required 25 members, a mandatory
figure of 120 members was required to form a Local Conference.
The Lord gave us faith to believe that this could be achieved
and even surpassed.
Our faith target was to have 150 founder members. The final impetus
to reach this figure was our church-wide study of the Purpose
Driven Life conducted in April and May this year. Many friends
were invited to join the study and some have since become baptised
Christians and members of the Chapel. We want to give God the
glory that our faith figure was been achieved.
Currently, most of our members belong to cell groups. We have
16 groups which meet fortnightly.
We are especially blessed with the Chrysalis, our vibrant youth
group whose dedicated leaders keenly disciple their charges. This
is the engine of our church growth, and we thank God for them.
We will, at the Chapel, continue to seek God's face and be instant
and obedient to do His will, bearing fruit that will remain for
Him and giving Him all the glory. We will continue to build close
links with the schools. The 21st & 21st J Company Boys' Brigade
and the 2nd & 2nd J Company Girls' Brigade are already affiliated
to the Chapel.
We invite you to visit us soon. We especially invite Methodists
who live in the vicinity to worship God with us. You will be assured
of our love and welcome.
Dr Raymond Teo is the Chairman of the Local Church Executive Committee of Christalite Methodist Chapel.
A section of the congregation
at the Thanksgiving Service. At extreme left is TRAC President
Rev Wee. Next to him are the
Rev Edmund de Souza, Pastor-in-Charge of Christ Methodist Church,
Mrs de Souza, and the Rev Nga Mee Hee.
The Kidz-in-Praise Choir putting on the glitz with its rendition of "Seven Times".