“Climate change is a threat multiplier. It affects nations and generations. If we take seriously God’s command to love our neighbours – both near and far, present and future – why isn’t the Church calling its disciples to live more sustainably? After all, what we eat, buy, throw impacts the lives and livelihoods of others.”

This conviction led Isabel Loh, a 31-year-old sustainability professional, to form a ground-up creation care group at Covenant Evangelical Free Church (CEFC), where she worships.

Back in 2020, Isabel’s work days involved assessing baseline and potential contamination impact on soil and groundwater on industrial land.

Come Sunday, a question bugged her: “If the earth belongs to the Lord, why is the Church not talking about caring for creation?”

Isabel (third from right) and members of the CEFC Creation Care team sharing more about their work.

“Creation care isn’t just for green Christians. It’s for everyone who calls themselves a disciple of Christ because it is fundamentally about loving God and loving others,” said Isabel.

“We love and honour God by being good stewards of His creation.” 

As an environmental studies graduate, Isabel understood the urgency and severity of climate change. At the same time, she wrestled with eco-anxiety (an overwhelming fear of environmental doom) and grieved what she saw as the Church’s silence on creation care. 

That burden deepened during the 2020 Intentional Disciplemaking Church (IDMC) Conference, birthed by her church, where the theme of whole-life discipleship resonated with her. She recalled Reverend Edmund Chan preaching from Micah 6:8, explaining how consumerism compromises both mishpat (justice) and hesed (mercy).

Planting the seed of conviction

After months of prayer, Isabel sent a long email to her small group Pastor, Adrian Chan.

“I shared my burden and how I felt our church could be doing something more,” Isabel recalled.

“Firstly, I hoped our leaders would recognise creation care as an important aspect of whole-life discipleship, with our preaching and ministries reflecting that. Secondly, I hoped a group or ministry could be formed to explore creation care through the heart, mind and hands.”

She sent the email over Christmas, expecting a delayed reply. Instead, Ps Adrian responded almost immediately, and they had a two-hour long call.

“Ps Adrian was very supportive. He acknowledged there was a significant gap in churches and encouraged me to gather like-minded people to start a creation care group.”

In God’s perfect time, this was at the peak of COVID in 2021 when people’s schedules were wide open.

So when Isabel reached out to church members and friends, they were quick to say yes.

And so the seeds of CEFC Creation Care were sown.

Growing together during a season of social distancing

Launching on Instagram as @creationcare.cefc, the group’s first initiative was a month-long virtual challenge and fundraiser. Teams of five earned points by completing activities such as going on a nature walk, creating nature-inspired art or watching an environment-themed movie.

To encourage participation, the top three teams would receive Grab vouchers sponsored by Ps Adrian and his network. Every team that completed at least one challenge also raised funds that were donated to A Rocha, an international Christian conservation organisation.

Submissions for the task of creating nature-inspired art included this contributions by Clarinda Poh.

A creative artwork by Zephy Wong, a founding member of the creation care group and currently a staff member at CEFC.

The challenge also gave the fledgling ministry an opportunity to introduce a Christian perspective to environmental issues. Throughout the month, the team shared educational content on Instagram while weaving biblical reflections into each challenge.

One participant wrote: “God used His precious creation to show His care towards me as I needed to be reminded to trust Him with my future plans. It was an unforgettable time just basking in His creation and soaking in His presence.”

The initiative drew 16 teams of young adults, offering much-needed fellowship during a season of social distancing, and raised S$1,700 for A Rocha. A few participants were inspired to volunteer with the ministry afterwards.

Among them was Kezia Khoo, then an environmental studies student who was already volunteering with Our Father’s World (then known as Creation Care SG), a youth-led Christian environmental charity.

Buoyed by the response, the now 10-member core team continued growing the ministry. They organised virtual Prayer & Praise sessions centred on creation care and developed free resources for churches, including a Sustainable Church Camp Guide and Children’s Holiday Curriculum.

A 2021 Instagram story on a Prayer & Praise session.

Putting down roots

When COVID restrictions were lifted, CEFC Creation Care began moving beyond the digital space.

In partnership with Our Father’s World (OFW), they organised beach clean-ups and reflective nature walks.

CEFC Creation Care’s first ever beach cleanup in 2022 involved youths from its Bukit Panjang centre.

CEFC Creation Care hosted participants from OMF, a parachurch mission agency, on one of their first reflective nature walks at Dairy Farm Nature Park.

“Slowly, through the years, God opened more doors to the right people at the right time,” said Isabel.

“It was frustrating at times, but Psalm 27:14 kept me going: ‘Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!‘”

One of those “right people” was a former member of the church staff overseeing CEFC’s three-month pre-university discipleship programme, IDMC | Uni. In 2023, he invited the team to lead a creation care session and reflective nature walk at nearby Kallang Riverside Park.

The session struck a chord with participants and has remained part of the programme ever since.

For many, it was the first time they had encountered the environmental impact of modern lifestyles firsthand – and considered what it might mean to care for creation as disciples of Christ.

Dr Amy Choong (left), senior biological sciences lecturer at NUS, had long wanted to start a creation care initiative at church, but “didn’t know where to start” until she met Isabel. She brings to the creation care team her expertise in biodiversity.

“Encountering nature up close helped me see that, despite the excessive consumption that is normalised today, there are practical lifestyle changes I can make to love and care for God’s creation, as we were created to do,” said 2025 participant Ezra Ho.

Another participant, Rei Tan, said: “I caught a glimpse of the love that God shows His creation when we were asked to imagine ourselves as His sheep and Him as our Shepherd.”

Isabel (left), Ezra (third from left), Rei (second from left) and IDMC | Uni participants during the closing reflections after the nature walk.

That same year, the former staff member also arranged a meeting between the creation care team and one of CEFC’s senior Pastors, Rev Tan Kay Kiong. For the first time, the group had the opportunity to share their vision directly with church leadership.

“We even prepared a proposal outlining initiatives the church could adopt over different timeframes,” Isabel recalled.

“But it would be another year before anything concrete happened.”

A tree grows

The pivotal moment came in 2024 as CEFC covered the book of Leviticus one season.

When the church arrived at Chapter 25 – where God commanded the Israelites to let the land rest every seventh year by observing a Sabbath for the land – Isabel and Kezia were invited to share with the adult congregation what this passage meant for creation care.

It was the first time creation care had been explicitly preached from the pulpit at CEFC.

During the sermon “Rhythms of Rest: Sabbath For the Land”, Isabel talked about creation care at CEFC Woodlands.

That same sermon at CEFC Bukit Panjang, Kezia talked about creation care.

To help members translate biblical teaching into practical action, A Rocha Singapore and Our Father’s World (OFW) were also invited to set up information booths at both centres.

The impact of that Sunday exceeded anything the creation care team had anticipated.

“After that Sunday, one of our Pastors told me that our Board Chairman, Elder Amos Leong, was interested in starting a sustainability task group within the church,” said Isabel.

A year later, in 2025, CEFC formally established a Sustainability Task Group to explore practical strategies to implement creation care efforts on a church-wide level.

What had begun as the burdens of a few had now become part of the church’s wider conversation.

Senior Pastor Rev Tan Kay Kiong preaching on creation care in February 2026.

Fruit from every generation

The conversation around creation care had also started to ripple through other ministries and generations.

Since 2024, CEFC Creation Care has been running Creation Care Sunday for primary school children at the church’s Bukit Panjang centre.

Each edition centres on a different theme, giving children opportunities to experience nature firsthand while discovering how creation is woven throughout Scripture.

At the inaugural session, more than 150 children were engaged in a series of games, quizzes and stories.

Creation Care group member Bianca, sharing with the children on Creation Care Sunday.

Subsequently, the children were introduced to two plants with very biblical names in the church compound: the Tree of Life and Crown of Thorns.

A volunteer facilitator pointing out the Crown-of-thorns plant, known botanically as Euphorbia milii, to children in 2024.

“We created a plant scavenger hunt to help children discover these plants and show them that nature can be found in the Bible – and the Bible in nature,” said Dr Amy Choong, a senior lecturer in Biological Sciences at the National University of Singapore and one of CEFC Creation Care’s core team members.

Amy sharing about palms with Upper Primary children in 2025.

“Sometimes kids who are brought up in a very urban environment like ours don’t get to interact with nature, and have a very man-centric view of creation,” Amy said.

“We hope that bringing them around our church to see what’s around them will help them understand God as a creator, and that we need to care for creation because God has asked us to care for it in Genesis.”

In the second edition of Creation Care Sunday, children in Primary One to Five were given a birding checklist. Those in Primary Six were taught to identify various palm trees near the church compound, their uses, and where palms are mentioned throughout the Bible.

Children looking at a birding checklist.

A volunteer facilitator sharing about a coconut palm with Primary Six participants.

Facilitators  would point the children back to God’s creativity and the diversity of His creation through Bible verses like Psalm 104:24: “O Lord, how manifold are your works! In wisdom have you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.”

The team have seen how God’s spirit has “watered” their work of sowing seeds into the children’s hearts.

Said Amy: “Sometimes the children appear like they’re not paying attention. But after the session, some of the kids asked for the slides and Bible verses – they were listening and some of them do care. So we musn’t be discouraged or give up.”  

Volunteer facilitators for the Creation Care Sundays included members of various CEFC cell groups.

The impact extended beyond the children.

“What struck me most was how these activities pointed us back to God’s love and our role as stewards of the earth,” said volunteer facilitator Stanley Kwan. “It inspired me to continue making environmentally-conscious choices.”

CEFC Creation Care has also found ways to engage every generation.

Earlier this year, the team partnered with an Active Ageing Centre, using practical concerns such as coping with hot weather to help seniors understand the everyday effects of climate change.

Amy (extreme left) hosting a game at an event with the Active Ageing Centre.

For youths and young adults, they recently organised a clothes swap at CEFC’s Woodlands centre, raising awareness about the environmental impact of fashion. Participants were encouraged to pay suggested amounts that were then donated to the church’s Mission Fund.

Youths participating in the clothes swap, which raised $66 for the church’s Mission Fund.

God is the one who makes things grow

Over the past five years, CEFC Creation Care estimates that its programmes have reached more than 1,000 people within the church and beyond.

They are also using their experience to help other churches. Isabel and Amy are members of Our Father’s World’s RENEW Advocates community, a network of creation care champions from different denominations who share ideas, provide support and encouragement to help more churches begin their own creation care journeys.

CEFC was among the first churches to join RENEW when it was launched in 2025. OFW’S flagship discipleship framework equips churches to integrate creation care into both individual discipleship and church life.

Isabel (left) and the current CEFC Creation Care core team enjoying creation at a picnic.

In 2025, Isabel was invited to share CEFC Creation Care’s journey at the Creation Care Conference organised Our Father’s World, which drew more than 500 participants from 10 countries.

Looking back, Isabel sees her journey not as an individual effort, but as part of a wider movement God is stirring across churches in Singapore.

“Many people today feel hopeless in the face of climate change. I hope the Church can offer a different message – one of hope. We grieve over what’s happening to creation, but we don’t lose hope because we believe Christ will one day return to renew and heal everything that is broken.”

Creation Care Forum 2026

This September, Our Father’s World will pivot away from its teaching-focused creation care conferences of previous years to hold its inaugural Creation Care Forum. Through a mix of teaching, topical workshops, and hands-on activities, this one-day event aims to help believers connect knowledge with practical action, and take concrete steps toward integrating creation care into their ministries and everyday discipleship. 

Date: September 12, 2026

Time: 9am to 5pm

Venue: Church of the Good Shepherd, 2 Dundee Road Singapore 149454

Fee: S$70 per person; S$63 per person for groups of 6; S$66.50 per person for groups of 3; S$30 per person for students and NSF

Register: ofw.sg/forum

The one-day Forum will close with a reminder that despite the dire state of climate change, for Christians, creation care is grounded in God’s promises of renewal and hope.

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