The hum of greeting, chatting and praying from 300 pastors and church leaders reverberated through the ballroom at Fullerton Hotel last Friday (October 6) at Kumbayah, the first-ever inter-denominational clergy appreciation event.

This was the sound of unity at Kumbayah, jointly hosted by unity movement LoveSingapore, the Alliance of Pentecostal & Charismatic Churches of Singapore (APCCS) and Evangelical Alliance of Singapore (EAS), with the support of the National Council of Churches of Singapore (NCCS).

The pastors and leaders at the inaugural event hailed from more than 140 churches and organisations across denominations to fellowship, encourage and appreciate one another and their respective spouses.   

More than 300 pastors and leaders from over 140 churches and organisations came together at Kumbayah.

Rt Rev Lu Guan Hoe, recently elected President of the NCCS, and the Bishop of the Lutheran Church in Singapore, addressed the attendees via video.

“I appreciate all of you who have answered God’s call to be in full-time ministry. At the same time, I appreciate and give thanks to your spouses for their support.

“We know being a pastor is not an easy task and even more difficult to persist in serving. The responsibility of a pastor is huge and complex. The burden is sometimes very heavy.” 

The hum of unity was heard across the ballroom.

Bishop Lu reminded the pastors and leaders present of Jesus’ call: “Come to me, all you who are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28) He also exhorted leaders to rest and keep the Sabbath in order to draw close to God and be with families. 

“A pastor once said, ‘If we do not pastor our families, who would?’

“We need to take care of our families and not neglect their needs. They need us more than the church does – the church can always find a replacement pastor but your family won’t want a replacement you.”

Adding value

More than thankfulness and understanding of each other’s roles as pastors, appreciation points to value enhancement as well, said Rev Ezekiel Tan, the Vice-Chairman and General Secretary of the EAS.

“Having fellowship over a meal is beautiful, but how can we, by coming together, add value to one another? How can we strengthen one another? How can we enhance our ministry together?” Rev Ezekiel challenged the audience.

“It calls for a concerted effort for us to come together to know what each one of us is doing. It takes each of us doing well in order for all of us to do well together.

“This is what I pray that we could do beyond this gathering today.”

Pastors and leaders blessing one another in prayer.

Over 90 spouses in attendance also prayed over one another.

Ps Pacer Tan, co-chairman of APCCS and Senior Pastor of Lighthouse Evangelism, led worship at Kumbayah.

Thanksgiving for the pastors and leaders was led by Senior Pastor of Church of Our Saviour (COOS) Daniel Wee, Ps Pacer and Rev Ezekiel. This was followed by a time of prayer by pastors for pastors.

Unity across generations

The lunch highlighted unity not just among pastors and leaders but also across generations.

Four generations of Christians – in their 20s, 30s, 40s and 60s – gave thanks to their leaders for investing the time and love instrumental in building up their lives in Christ.

“When I first came to church … I don’t even remember everything the committee did but I remember how they made me feel,” said 20-year-old Jocelyn Lim, who worships at Hope Singapore.

“I felt a belonging and I felt embraced with a lot of love and warmth. It is because of their perseverance that I started committing my life to God and to serving Him,” Jocelyn said.

The future generation of leaders is looking to the current one for direction and help, noted Isaac Ong, FOPx leader. A survey by FOPx of 300 youth pastors and leaders showed they seek intentional and effective discipleship.

“All 300 say, ‘Please, it’s not time to pass the baton to us’,” Isaac told the attendees. “It’s not generation for generation but generation for the next generation. If we want to bring in the next generation, generations must come together to see the harvest.”

The appreciation lunch highlighted unity across generations of pastors and leaders.

Different generations of leaders mingled in mutual appreciation and respect.

Said Ps Jeff Chong, Chairman of LoveSingapore and Senior Pastor of Hope Singapore: “Our nation is greying. By 2030, one quarter of us will be above 65. 

“The church cannot grey together but it needs to grow together. It cannot not a sunset ministry but a sunrise ministry.”

Honouring the “unsung heroes”

The lunch closed with a special appreciation for “the unsung heroes” of the ministries – the 90+ spouses present.

Honouring and praying for the spouses, the “unsung heroes” of the ministries.

Ministry can be so consuming, as pastors are bogged down by day-to-day demands, agreed leaders present.

“It was tough and I left my wife behind,” Ps Pacer confessed. “The person we neglect the most is our spouse. We repent. On behalf of all pastors, I want to thank our better halves.”

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