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“If the Lord were to take you home tomorrow, what kind of worship would you present to Him today?” 

These were the words uttered by Crystal, our choir I/C, minutes before all of us took our positions on stage. The new stage layout brought about excited chatters and possibly some apprehensive hearts. For some, it was the fear of forgetting the actions, for others, it was the thought of facing a whole congregation of zealous worshippers. 

Unlike the previous two experiences, this was a more relaxed affair for me. The nerves did not get the better of me this time round. Instead, I felt a surreal sense of peace amidst the ongoing buzz that was prevalent all around the preparation room. As we stood on stage, the joy that arose from the platform was simply contagious. Like the words that we sang, our souls were set free in the One we love. It was hard to stop smiling despite feeling the beads of perspiration trickling down my back. As I looked up, I could see the Lord beaming down from heaven, pleased with the aroma of worship that rose up to Him. 

Each choir experience brings along a unique memory. It is always a great pleasure to serve by being a part of it. From the rehearsals to the actual day, the process has never been a burden. I guess it is only when you’ve experienced it, then will you understand the kind of freedom and joy that comes with serving the Lord in this manner. 

Treating each Worship session as though it is our last, and giving off our best to the Lord. I’m sure this was the attitude Crystal hoped to instill in our minds before we stood on stage. It kept ringing in my head, and I pray that you will catch the very same spirit that all of us did.

Written by: Eileen (Sharon’s tribe) 

Round 2 of the Young Preacher’s Contest was held last Sunday after Youth Service. Unlike Round 1, there was no specific passage given this time round. Preachers could use any passage of scripture to preach a 7-minute message for Baptism. That was the challenge – any passage of scripture. We heard them preach from 2 Corinthians 5, Jeremiah 29, using a wedding ring as analogy etc. 14 preachers, 1 theme, preached from different scriptures, but all inspired by the Holy Spirit.

As for the RLL tribe, we are very happy to hear Sebastian, one of Pastor Roland’s 12, preach before the judges and the crowds. Even his mother came to support and helped out as the model for Sebastian’s wedding ring analogy! Even though Sebastian did not make it to the finals, nevertheless we are proud that he had first taken the step to sign up for this contest. Sebastian, we want to say that we are proud of you!

        

Sebastian in action.

The finalists are Alvin Lim (Ps Lawrence’s tribe), Joshua Chu (Ps Jeffrey’s tribe), Lee Sing Ai and The Jen Lee (both from Ps Rachel’s tribe). The finals will be held during the YouthNet 144 & Leaders’ Meeting on 1 November.

Written by: Huimin (Xiangru’s tribe)

Looking for the Young Preachers’ Contest videos of the contestants from our tribe? Here they are!

Round 2
FCBC Young Preachers’ Contest Round 1 (Group B, Speaker 1)
Sebastian Teo

Round 1
FCBC Young Preachers’ Contest Round 1 (Group A, Speaker 5)
Sebastian Teo

FCBC Young Preachers’ Contest Round 1 (Group A, Speaker 6)
Stevie Cheng

FCBC Young Preachers’ Contest Round 1 (Group B, Speaker 2)
Michael Lin

FCBC Young Preachers’ Contest Round 1 (Group B, Speaker 5)
Lee U-jin

The young preachers contest was first “unveiled” during one of the EJ288 meetings. The G12 conference just ended and God had birthed a new dream and purpose in my heart. That was to equip people with God’s word. In what direction I didn’t know but I wanted to impact this generation and the next, teaching and preparing them so that the body of Christ would be built up in the church.

When I knew about the Y.P.C, I was asking myself many questions. Is this something I want? Is this something that God wants? Who am I to preach to people when there are so many things in my own life I need to correct? Am I able to live up to what I’ll be preaching about? Before I could answer any of the questions, we were told that the minimum requirement was SOL3. At that time, I had not even completed my post encounter. Silently, I made the decision to try to complete my SOL3 and then see how again about participating.

Due to commitments with Touchkidz, I was not able to attend the SOL training on Sunday mornings. I remembered Ps Lilly’s wise words when she mentioned that we should attend SOL when we can and not delay. There will always be more things that will pop up along the way. How true it is! (That’s why we should all go for SOL when we can lah) I managed to clear my SOL1 classes thru a special arrangement by Ps William Loke for the Touchkidz leaders. All this time, I totally forgot about the Y.P.C.

As the date drew nearer, there was more mention made about the Y.P.C. I knew that I would not be able to meet the minimum SOL3 criteria and totally brushed the idea aside. It was a dream then, to speak on a platform to God’s people the truths that God has placed on my heart. Then THE email came. The minimum requirement was changed to SOL1. I thought, “A dream come true!” and Sebasatian went, “Mai tu liao!” Within the next few days, the Lord placed a word on my heart and I went ahead to prepare it. It was one that impacted my own life and one that I wanted to share to his people. I totally did not expect the series of events that came next. We were told to prepare our message based on Col 4.

I had 3 days to prepare my message. I knew I would not be able to stand there and preach if it God did not give me a word. Thankfully, he gave me a revelation on the word and frantically prepared my sermon. The Saturday before the competition, Touchkidz was having a children’s encounter. I went down in the afternoon till night to be with my boys of which 3 were attending for the first time. Sunday morning, I had to be at the Padang at 430am for the AHM. Then it happened, I lost my voice.

I felt so disappointed, hopeless and desperate. No amount of prayers or liang teh/honey/salt water seemed to work. During worship I could not sing, but the lyrics of the songs greatly ministered to me and I was reassured. “Just 5 minutes God, give me 5 minutes of voice to speak”. I went ahead with the competition and was placed in group A with none other then my own spiritual father Sebastian *Gasps!* and 4 others. I felt a sense of peace through out, even when the judges’ names were announced. Ps Seng Lee was the head judge for my group along with Ps Jhee and Rachel. I was the last to speak and went ahead with all I had.

The feedbacks received from the pastors are much valued. Though I did not make it to the next round, I am glad I went through this journey. Why am I sharing this? I believe that though the competition is over for me, my purpose remains. God has a unique calling for each and every one of us. Start to dream a big dream for God and trust him to fulfill them. Be faithful in what God has given you, do not shortchange yourself and end up shortchanging God. We might face setbacks or disappointments along the way, but ultimately all we are is his.

Full assurance in the will of God, is treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Col 2:2-3

Written by Stevie (Sebastian’s Tribe)

[Group 1]

[Speaker No. 5]

[4.45pm]

:: moment of truth ::

I cooly walked up to draw my lot that will determine the group I was to be in. I opened the piece of folded cardboard and in it was written “Group 1″. Ok, nothing to get overly excited about. In fact I was more delighted that Stevie, my spiritual son, was in the same group as me. So too were some other familiar faces from the ministry. The panel of judges for each group were then announced through this white cutesy-looking miniature megaphone. As the names reached my ears, they registered in my brain in the following order (and intensity): 1) Ps Rachel 2) Ps Hee Jhee 3) PS CHUA SENG LEE

Wah… really ‘chua’ (shock!) man. I remember muttering under my breadth (in a sudden inspiration of Hokkien), “Ji bai siao liao… ah ni suay… kena Chua Seng Lee…ho say liao!” Well, I think for that moment it felt like I was gonna be scrutinised and critiqued by terror judge KEN LIM from Singapore Idol. No way was it gonna be an easy time. Well, at least I wasn’t the FIRST person to begin. And that was seriously one good reason to find something to thank God for in unfavourable circumstances. So I decided to calm my nerves by walking around to support my brother and other budding preachers while psyching myself up and trying hard to replace the image of Ps Seng Lee with one of those cross-eyed, funny looks that Ps Roland executes so brilliantly when he tells a chio-ka-peng joke. Seriously, I needed to do that. Especially so when Ken Lim is your…no sorry, Ps Seng Lee is the head judge.

‘The Time Has Come’ started playing in my mind when I realised I was going to preach earlier cos there were only 6 people in my group although there were 7 cards and I drew a No.6. Err… got it? Never mind if you didn’t cos’ it took me a while too, especially under the stressful conditions I was in. Ha! I got my team (Winfred & Andrew) together and ensured they had the flash cards ready and in the right sequence. Oh yes, a little bit about them. It was my desire to involve my entire cell in this contest b’cos it was my intention to share with them my journeys and experiences of living out their dreams. So I spent time on Saturday rehearsing with them and got 2 who volunteered to be my ‘manual powerpoints’ for the day. They gave me much valuable feedback too, which helped fine tune my presentation. In fact, one of them gave me a critical pointer which resulted in me re-structuring my entire message. Thanks guys.

The moment of truth came as I stood with my guys, agonisingly waiting in front of the panel for the sound of the siren to signal the start of the session. The crowd which was understandably small due to our location in the hall, began to swell in size. It was getting freaky and I started inviting members of the crowd to go support the other speakers. OK, I didn’t quite know what I was doing actually.

Then it came. The siren blasted and I began downloading my message in tandem with my manual slides. It started off slightly shaky but things got better as I went along. I was always reminding myself of the critical pauses, deliberate emphasis, pace & timing, humour punchlines, speech intensity, diction & articulation and body movements. Then… the second moment of truth came when “God Bless You” came flying out of my mouth with a great sense of relief and joy. I was glad it was over. Then I wobbled my way to Stevie to say a comforting prayer before he came on next.

The verdict? Well, I got into the second round by His grace. The terror judge gave me nice compliments which did brighten my otherwise exhausting day. It was a fun experience overall and I’m glad to see a new generation of preachers rising up to deliver His Word with conviction and passion. As for now, it’s another agonising wait for Round Two.

Thank you dear cell members, for your wonderful support.

To Stevie, my dear bro, Josh, Mirabel, U-Jin, Michael and to the rest who bravely took part in this contest, the world out there can use another great preacher like yourselves. Keep on preaching.

Preach God’s Word, somebody?

Written by: Sebastian (Pastor Roland’s tribe)

The Rough It Out (RIO) camp was held on 26-27 Aug at Pulau Ubin. There were approximately 70 people there including all the seniors and officers. It was a camp that was held to prepare those going for the overseas trips as well as to give them all a chance to experience a different kind of lifestyle.

This camp was different from the previous one coz the campers were going to be fasting for 24hrs! No Food!!! All the campers were determined to last the distance and at the same time go thru all the program and games. The first challenge was that they had to make paper stars to earn credits to 'buy' items so as to build a shelter for their teams. They would be sleeping in those shelters so it is very important for them to have enough materials to make a proper shelter! So they were all busy making the stars and bidding for the materials. Next up were games where they had to complete including one that required them to walk around Pulau Ubin.

The highlight of the camp was the Gala night where each team had to come out with a commercial to promote the up coming overseas trip. It was such a hilarious time! I must say that the SP Primers are a really talented bunch! They came out with super creative ideas!!

God really blessed SP Primers with many fruits. The turn out this yr was the largest yet and the Lord is really beginning to bring fruits to us! Just in the past 2 weeks or so there are already 4 salvations! And there will be more!!! AMEN!!!!  

Well it’s been awhile since the Planetshakers Ultraviolet Concert, the experience to serve God for this event has been invaluable. Preparation started all the way from 7^th July, the date of the first practice of many to come. It was held at Daniel Hall at Blk 80 TC. As I stepped into the hall for practice, I was warmly welcomed by Laura’s students, Daniel, Khairul, Hardy and Martyn of who were break-dancers for this event. I was taken aback initially for a few reasons, it seem as though I was a visitor and 3 out of 4 break-dancers were Malays. Indeed it was one of the many eye openers God has shown me for this event. In my mind, thoughts were about; “Whoa Malays are dancing for God and serving Him this time.” I was excited at the thought of this, “Is God preparing a revival for the Malay population soon?” 

Initially, we were to dance only for the trailers for Planetshakers. As weeks drew nearer to the first trailer performance on 30^th July, preparation had to be done on many fronts, these include getting dance attire (white jacket and Pants), headgears, white gloves as well as committing to once a week rehearsals on Fridays. It was a physically demanding period as well. From 7^th July to 30^th, dancers involved in Planetshakers Trailer were also involved in dancing for Gateway Youth Conference as well as the normal Youth Service. Many a times, coming to the Lord to ask for strength was a must, as I look back and account for the month of July(dancing almost everyday), indeed the hand of the Lord and His grace was upon the dancers. With God indeed all is possible.  

To me, the highlight of the trailers was not the dance itself but in fact was about seeing Khairul’s entire family at church. It was a wonderful sight. For the trailer on 6^th August, Khairul’s family was invited to church to see his son dance. The family in fact didn’t mind at all coming for service to see their son dance despite knowing the fact that they will be stepping into a church. The number of Malays that stepped into church that day filled an entire row of seats at sector A. Although they left as Pastor Khong started to preach, this image has left a deep impression in me. This in fact is a miracle; Khairul was dancing not for anyone but for God and his family stepped into church to witness this. Revival is coming to Singapore!!! I believe that seeing Khairul’s family at church is planned by God and not a coincidence. God truly is going to redeem this nation.  

As the trailers came to an end, I dismayed at the thoughts that this platform will be disbanding. However to my delight and giving all thanks to God, we were asked to dance for the introduction segment to usher in Planetshakers Band… What honor and privilege. Indeed there was more than just dance, relationship with Hardy and Daniel was further improved and fostered. Our last practice at Magicbox saw Hardy and Daniel returning home with us on the Unofficial “Dance” lorry. On the lorry, we exchange numbers as well as getting to know each other better.

Finally the big harvest event with Planetshakers came. By being involved in this event allowed me to observe much of the backstage activity that was going around during and before the concert. Pastor Khong’s children were also there at backstage. The two days really showed that Jesus is Lord of their lives, the way they gave their best and all to ensure everything run smoothly was the best way to exemplify God’s presence in their lives. Priscilla was painting the faces of ushers, MCs and dancers; Michelle was helping out in the logistics while Daniel was also there to render his services. The backstage also provided ample chances to see Planetshakers up-close and personal, these Aussies are just cool. They are cool because of their excellence for God, the meticulous care in ensuring the sound system and instruments to be in good condition and giving their all for the Lord despite of all difficulties. This too is inspiring. 

The event ended with a simple supper at Tampines. But through it all, it was truly a fantastic and great experience to participate and serve the Lord in this area of ministry. Indeed the Lord showed many eye openers of which the most important was Khairul’s family coming to church. The Lord has planted seeds into the hearts of Khairul, Martyn, Daniel and Hardy. In this outreach event the Lord has shown that outreach is going to reach the entire nation and all races. The openness of the 4 boys and their family also indicates that truly if we were to ask, God will bless us with the nations. Matthew 7:7, "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” The Lord bless you as the day approaches to the next harvest event, may your tribe increase in numbers as the impossible will be possible because God is with you!! Amen   

Written by: Bipeng ( Weng Cheong’s tribe)

Checking my emails is a daily habit for me, however last week’s email from Pastor Laifun had an extraordinary impact on my heart. No, she didn’t recommend any suitable girl or write me a poem. 

The email is titled “Young Preachers Contest”. My heart beats faster and I knew that Holy Spirit was asking me to take part in this contest. Well, God reminded me why I went for the jaw realignment operation.  

I registered for the contest in faith and obedience to the prompting of Holy Spirit. We have to preach from Colossians 4. From day one till the night before the contest, I seriously couldn’t get any idea what I need to preach. My heart was heavy and in great panic. Lord…Lord…give me a word… something… anything… I am really desperate. And there was this heaviness kept stuck in my heart, so I began to repent before the Lord, reflecting of my past actions and speech, just to make sure it did not let any sin slipped by.