During the COVID pandemic in 2020, six young people banded together to start an Instagram and Facebook page on creation care.

They had noticed a lack of creation care resources in Singapore, and wanted to use social media to inspire Christians to love their Creator and His creation.

They named their page Creation Care SG. 

“We saw a lot of growth in follower numbers, but very quickly realised that in order to really reach people, we needed to be physically present in the life of the church,” co-founder Dennis Tan, now 26, told Salt&Light.

“Little did we imagine how God would blow our efforts out of the water,” said Dennis, who was at the time a first–year undergraduate studying Environmental Studies at the National University of Singapore. 

Through talks, workshops and consultations, the team has gone on to inspire, develop and equip some 50 (and counting) churches and Christian organisations to better steward their resources in ministry and missions.

“The fact that we’re all from different denominations shows that creation care transcends denominational differences,” said Dennis of the pioneering Creation Care SG team. “God really provided by bringing us together.” Illustration by the Thirst Collective.

They also run activities like guided reflective walks in parks to help individuals better appreciate and therefore care for God’s creation.  

Twice a year, they hold what they call Community of Practice gatherings – a platform for those in creation care ministries to cross-pollinate ideas, encourage, equip and support each other.

OFW board member Isabel Low ran a workshop on carbon emissions at the recent Community of Practice gathering.

Expanding the vision

As they grew, God’s call for them grew too.

On August 30, 2024, Creation Care SG took on a new name: Our Father’s World (OFW).

Liaw Ann Shin (front; one of the founding members of Creation Care SG) with participants at the most recent Community of Practice gathering. Findings from their study of carbon emissions from 15 churches and Christian organisations where shared, and practical tips were also provided.

The new name, which removes the geographical label “SG”, references their bigger dream to make an impact beyond Singapore’s shores. 

“Moving forward, we want to adopt a regional lens and missional posture in our ministry, as our neighbours in the region are often disproportionately affected by the ecological crisis,” said Dennis.

He explained that Southeast Asia suffers from a triple threat of climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss. It is one of the regions hardest hit by climate change due to rising temperatures, sea levels and the severity of natural disasters.

OFW rents out “toolkits” for churches organising beach clean ups – these also include reflection materials and training of church members to facilitate the activity. OFW is also able to organise the clean up and send their own personnel down to run it, for an additional fee. Photo from Chen Li Presbyterian Church’s Facebook‘s page.

Pollution cuts the life expectancy of many. Drastic declines in the region’s wildlife populations have been linked with food insecurity and the spread of infectious diseases.

“Such problems are often the result of a lack of sustainable alternatives – or in the case of climate change, the actions of others. The ecological crisis has become the ‘hole in the bucket’ that makes the dire situations of those living in poverty, worse,” said Dennis.

“As a blessed nation shielded from the worst of the crisis, we must consider the importance and urgency of our care in the context of a region that is suffering.”

The seed of a vision

Our Father’s World had started as a mustard seed of an idea in 2017.

While serving his National Service, God showed Dennis a vision of “Christians coming together to care for creation” when he was at a young leaders conference for Methodist youths.

“I cared for the environment, but I had never heard of creation care or knew what it meant,” admitted Dennis.

His mentor advised him to pray about it.

Kezia Khoo of OFW shared how students can do their part for God’s earth at Fairfield Methodist Secondary School’s chapel assembly.

As he pondered on the vision, Dennis realised that “there was clearly a biblical basis for stewarding the resources God has given us”.

“Colossians 1:16 says, ‘Christ made everything in the heavens and on the earth … everything that is seen and things that are not seen … Everything was made by Him and for Him.’

“So everything on earth belongs to Christ. We are just stewarding it. It is not made to serve our purpose. When you house-sit for someone, you don’t trash their property.”

Dennis also pointed out that caring for God’s world is one of the Social Principles of The Methodist Church.

“The Sphere of Creation Care (page 16 in link) mentions that all creation – ‘from the minerals to animal life to outer space’ – is the Lord’s, and we are called to be responsible stewards of them.

“But how come I never learnt about this at church? How come no one was talking about it?” asked Dennis.

Doing something

So he set out to find out what he could about creation care.

He started championing good stewardship at his church, Sengkang Methodist Church, with simple steps like providing a recycling box for bulletins after service. 

Dennis at Sengkang Methodist Church sharing how members can get involved in serving with the creation care ministry and how other ministries can also care for God’s earth.

When he entered university, he shared “with every Christian I knew” the need to take care of God’s earth. 

With more time on his hands during the pandemic, he co-founded the Creation Care SG social media page, which he used to share practical tips to reduce one’s carbon footprint.

When COVID restrictions eased, the team started reaching out to fellow believers via ad-hoc events like art and creation care workshops. The intention was for participants to, in turn, reach out to their own churches.

“Initially, it was discouraging as their church leaders were not receptive to creation care,” said Dennis. Subsequently, however, doors opened for the team to give talks at churches. “It was God’s timing,” said Dennis.

At the 2019 National Day Rally, then Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong spoke about the need to prepare for the impact of climate change on Singapore, and announced the Government’s efforts to understand, mitigate and adapt to it.

“This led to a wider understanding among church leaders that this was an issue that the church needed to respond to,” said Dennis.

In 2022, the team organised their first large-scale Christian conference with 12 workshops over two days. It attracted some 130 attendees – “some who cared about creation, and others who didn’t but were curious to find out more”, said Dennis.

“The community and exchange of ideas felt like the vision that God had shown me in 2017.”

Rachel Yeo (standing, second from left), head of educational initiatives at OFW, at a creation care and missions walk co-organised by OMF Singapore.

He was especially amazed that the workshop had attracted participants from the region, including a representative from a Methodist agency in Malaysia which provides relief work during crises and disasters.

“Making the connection between climate change and natural disasters, they started running events to raise awareness for caring for God’s earth, and provide training for pastors,” said Dennis.

A youth-led push

OFW’s core team of five is currently made up of both staff and volunteers – all in their 20s.

“Their relative youth comes with a keen understanding of the ecological crisis, godly wisdom, a heart for the Church, and a finger on the pulse of their generation,” said Dennis.

OFW curates programmes for various age groups. This one for TRAC Youth Ministries included self-guided activities at Botanic Gardens for participants to see how God reveals Himself through creation.

“Most of the team are trained in environmental studies and have practical experience starting initiatives in their churches – which they have gone on to use in advising other fledgling creation care movements in other churches.”

OFW, which is in the process of registering to become a non-profit and charity, is also supported by volunteers in various fields, from research and writing to leading guided reflection walks.

Equipping churches to be better stewards

With an expanded vision from God, Dennis believes there is more work for OFW to do.

As part of their efforts to engage with churches, OFW took a baseline inventory of the greenhouse gas emissions from 17 churches and are now working with them to reduce their emissions.

At the afternoon talk for TRAC Youth Ministries, OFW’s Kezia Khoo explained the biblical foundation for creation care and suggested practical steps to live it out.

Greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, trap heat from the sun. Such gases are usually regulated by natural cycles, but human activity (for example, from the burning of fossil fuels) has released such a huge volume in such a short time that these cycles are disrupted.

This results in increasingly unpredictable and severe weather patterns, rising sea levels from the melting of polar ice, and changing temperatures.

At Sengkang Methodist Church, the creation care ministry worked with the hospitality ministry to reduce the use of disposable plates and cutlery at their welcome cafe.

“To reverse this, we must rapidly reduce emissions globally. It could take the form of using energy-saving appliances like LED lights, reduced aircon use, and turning to renewable energy like solar panels, which in turn translate to long-term savings for the church” said Dennis.

For example, the creation care ministry at his church works with the hospitality ministry to reduce the use of disposable plates and cutlery at their welcome cafe. The two ministries also figured out an efficient and cost-saving process of washing reusable dishes and cups.

For those concerned that water is wasted when using reusable plates and cutlery, Dennis points out that the process to manufacture and dispose of one-time use plates involves copious amounts of water to cool the machines.

“Rather than seeing each ministry as separate and in their own silo, creation care is something that churches can integrate into their ministries. It is not a dichotomy,” he points out.

“Creation care isn’t another thing for the church to do.”

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Myriad ways to care for creation: Video series

As part of their rebranding, Our Father’s World has released a five-part video series featuring stories of eight people on how they have grown through caring for creation in various ways – through church, missions, guiding, teaching and ministry.

They include a conversation with Rev Leow Wen Pin (founder and chairman of disability mission organisation KIN) and his son, Matthew. (Click here for the video). Wen Pin is also an Associate Pastor at Bethany Evangelical Free Church.

(From left to right): Dennis Tan, Ps Lam Kuo Yung of Katong Presbyterian Church and Ps Leow Wen Pin who authored Creation Care and the Gospel, an introductory primer on how creation care is a necessary part of Christian discipleship.

Missionary Lawrence Ko also shares how caring for creation allowed him to reach different communities over the past 26 years. He shares why he thinks the Church needs to radically transform the way we think about missions and how caring for creation is vital in that change. (Click here for the video). Lawrence is the former National Director of the Singapore Centre for Global Missions. 

In addition, community gardener Alicia Lim shares how her mother’s and her own experiences with gardening have grown her understanding of God. She and her husband teach children and adults the importance of seemingly unloveable insects to foster a love for the natural environment. (Click here for the video).

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If you would like to collaborate with or support Our Father’s World, email them at [email protected].

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