Many are familiar with the late Pastor Philip and Christina Chan, the husband-wife duo who founded and ran The Hiding Place since the 1970s, impacting countless of lives with their faithful work.

Fewer are familiar with Pastor Tan Hock Seng, who assumed the leadership mantle of the Christian halfway house in mid-2019 after Pastor Philip’s health started deteriorating, and continues to steer the ship today.

A previous resident of The Hiding Place, Pastor Tan has served in the halfway house for some four decades, and even raised his two daughters there.

In a book released by The Hiding Place last year, titled God of Second Chances: The Hiding Place Story, which marked its 50th anniversary, Pastor Tan shared his own journey of faith and recounted how a vow he made one night in desperation led him to where he is today.

Kicked out of the house

I was born and raised in Johor Bahru, Malaysia.

My life was quite smooth until the time when I had just finished my Malaysian O-Levels.

When I was around 17 years, a friend who smoked marijuana came over to my house and smoked in my bedroom. I was curious and decided to try marijuana for myself.

That got me addicted.

I then progressed from marijuana to heroin. These drugs were available on the streets then if you knew where to go.

For the next five years from 1975 to 1980, I was an addict. I tried to survive doing odd jobs as a painter and labourer.

It was just a matter of time before my father and brother came to know about my drug addiction. They tried to talk me out of it, but addiction defies logic. I myself had tried to quit a few times but without success.

The situation worsened, and I was eventually kicked out of the house. I stayed at construction sites and waited for friends to bring food, while doing ad hoc jobs to survive. This went on for about one year.

God intervenes

My brother, who got me kicked out of the house, still had a heart for me and explored ways to help me.

In fact, my family was desperate to help me.

My brother made arrangements and brought me to Singapore. My father drove. They really wanted to help me to break free.

My brother had a friend, a teacher who became a pastor in Holy Light Church Johor Bahru. Pastor Nicholas connected them to House of Hope, which was another halfway house at Changi run by Peter Pang.

When we arrived, however, we were told that the House of Hope did not take in Malaysians. We were then given the address and contact number of The Hiding Place. Pastor Nicholas had been in Singapore Bible College and knew (The Hiding Place co-founder) Christina Chan and the work she was doing.

When we arrived, Christina was the one who interviewed me as her husband, Philip, was on reservist duty. After the interview, she admitted me. 

This was in 1981. I was turning 24 that year and I had already hit rock-bottom. I experienced the most hopeless, loneliest years of my life.

Kicking addictions

When I entered The Hiding Place, I was not a Christian yet. The late Henry Chan (Philip’s brother who was not an ex-addict but a volunteer sold out for Jesus) shared the Gospel with me, together with another staff.

When they shared the part about being a sinner, and that we needed Jesus as our Saviour, I had absolutely no problem accepting it because I knew I was definitely a sinner!

So I just gave my heart to Jesus on the first night after they shared with me. I told myself that I had come to the end of the rope, having tried so many things without a breakthrough. 

I was willing to commit myself to Jesus.

The programme was supposed to be a year long, but I continued to stay at The Hiding Place after finishing my programme, helping around the home.

Hock Seng during his time in The Hiding Place as a staff member, during which he earned just $50 to $100 a month.

After giving my life to Jesus, I began to become aware of changes in me. I was the reflective sort of person, so I noticed such things.

I realised that I had stopped thinking of cigarettes and drugs. Initially, when I smelt coffee, it would trigger a desire for cigarettes. But after I prayed in the name of Jesus and continued praying, I slowly stopped desiring cigarettes.

It was the same with drugs. Initially, I would dream of buying drugs. I prayed that God would take this away from me.

It look nearly a year before I was free and no longer dreamed or thought of drugs. Even when I passed by people who smoked, it no longer triggered my desire to take drugs.

The vow of a desperate man

During my quiet time one day, I came across Ecclesiastes 5:4, which states that when a person makes a vow, he should ensure that he fulfils it.

I then remembered that when I was in Johor, I had looked at the stars one night and spoke to “whoever was out there”. I had said: “If you are up there, You change my life and I will help my friends.”

Hock Seng (middle, with dark collar) in ministry at The Hiding Place.

It had been the cry of a desperate man, but God brought my own words to my mind as I reflected.

After reading this passage, I stopped doing my quiet time out of fear. I found the Bible so interesting and yet terrifying. The words of the Bible could scold you, speak to you, tell you what’s wrong with you …

During that period – and up until today – residents of The Hiding Place had to fill in a booklet on their reflections when doing their quiet time. Christina used to check the booklets of the residents.

When she saw my empty booklet and found out about my struggles, she encouraged me to keep doing my quiet time, and that started me on my journey of being a seeker who enjoyed meditating on the Bible.

Over time, I had several supernatural encounters that confirmed it was the Lord Himself calling me to keep my vow by reaching out to fellow drug addicts.

I committed to surrendering to the Lord in obedience even though I still had fears and did not fully know what lay ahead on this journey.

Assuming the leadership mantle

In 1983, I went to Tung Ling Bible School for three months and had a wonderful time of spiritual renewal. But I was also seeking longer-term directions for myself. 

One possibility was to go back to Johor to start a halfway house. But God intervened at this point when I met my future wife, Elaine. After meeting her, there was no turning back and I decided to stay in Singapore and serve at The Hiding Place.

Some time later, Philip also appointed me as a pastor although it was not a position I was really keen on. I preferred to serve in the background. However, Philip needed pastoral staff at that time as one of our pastoral staff had left.

The leadership team at The Hiding Place: (Left to right) Caleb, Hock Seng, Timothy, Richard, Jeremy, Sart, Kelvin, Cary, Alvin and Sally.

In Philip’s later years, he started preparing himself for a leadership transition due to his deteriorating health. He sounded me out on whether I was ready to take over eventually. I just remained silent and did not reply.

In the meantime, Philip was also exploring whether someone else could come in and be prepared to take over leadership of The Hiding Place. However, eventually nothing worked out. 

He realised that I was the man to assume the mantle of the leadership, and so it was passed to me. In mid-2019, Philip appointed me to be the new executive director of The Hiding Place. 

Trusting God for tomorrow

It has been 42 years since I first entered The Hiding Place. The desperate young man who cried for help and made a vow to a God he did not know could not have foreseen today.

Even the young Christian who struggled to fully surrender in trust and obedience to the Lord, and who subsequently experienced a training school of hard knocks in ministry, could not have known he would be here today.

In my younger years, I had prayed to God that I would leave The Hiding Place only when there were others to take over my position. But then 20 years passed and God had still not raised such a person. It felt like I was the only one left shouldering the work.

Thankfully, in the last 13 years, I have seen God raise alongside me a dependable and dedicated team of staff. 

For example, when Jeremy Tan, one of our current staff members, first came in as a resident, I thought he was a person with no hope. His mind was already “gone” due to his drug abuse. He was like a zombie.

Miraculously, he recovered and now is even able to preach and make sharp decisions. This convinced me that God will certainly take care of the future leadership needs of the ministry. My task is just to be faithful.

Ps Hock Seng and his family, including wife, Elaine (in blue), daughters Sharon (left, second row) and Valerie (third from left, second row), with Pastor Philip and Christina.

Even as I lead the ministry, I am praying for my successor so that the ministry will have continuity. For now, I am thankful that the current leadership team is stable and committed.

It is by grace that the Lord has helped me stay faithful in keeping my vow to Him. It is by grace that this new generation of co-workers and leaders are being raised. This ministry truly belongs to the Lord. It begins, continues and ends according to His will. 

Waiting on the Lord is not always easy, but faithful is He who calls each one of us to our different roles in the body of Christ.

We can truly trust Him to make all things beautiful in His time and work all things out for the good of those who love Him, according to His purpose.

This story was first published in God of Second Chances: The Hiding Place Story and is republished (with edits) with permission.