“God’s mission for the Church is to make disciples. The moment we miss this, we miss the mark. We need to keep the focus,” Senior Pastor Jeff Chong from Hope Church reminded the audience of pastors and ministry staff at the last day (Jan 13) of Summit 2022.

The annual gathering by LoveSingapore this year saw an attendance of over 400 in the English track and 150 in the Chinese track from 87 churches and 20 organisations.

Participants were split into two locations – Victory Family Centre Sembawang and Victory Family Centre Tampines – with a livestream of the events binding all.

“On our knees, perspectives change. Paradigms shift. The practical help we all need to lead our churches forward will fall into place,” said Chairman of LoveSingapore, Lawrence Khong, in a message to church leaders at Summit 2022.

The annual gathering by LoveSingapore this year saw an attendance of over 400 in the English track and 150 in the Chinese track from 87 churches and 20 organisations.

Messages over the four days (Jan 10-13) revolved around the Summit theme of “Love One Another” based on John 13:34-35, and were expressed in four movements: Look Up. Look Within. Look Around. Look Forward.

Speakers included Pastor Lawrence Khong and Rev Edmund Chan, who were among the original co-founders of LoveSingapore, next-generation committee members Pastor Edric Sng, Pastor Daniel Khong and Joseph Chean, as well as Rev Dr David Wong, General Secretary of the BPCIS (BP Church in Singapore) presbytery.

The Summit 2022 theme of loving one another is “an important principle to come back to as we gather as shepherds of the city”, FCBC Senior Pastor Daniel Khong told the gathering of over 400 church and parachurch leaders.

Rev Dr David Wong, one of the 2022 Summit speakers, shared on the theme verse, John 13:35.

“As we love one another and receive this love, the world will be impacted, changed and will know of His love as well,” said Senior Pastor Daniel Khong of Faith Community Baptist Church (FCBC) at the opening of the Summit on Monday (Jan 10).

Pastor Jeff Chong was one of four leaders today who urged the Church to stay true to our calling to evangelise – in Singapore, overseas and online. 

#PublishPeace

“We’ve talked about the ugly side of the Church. But why not be that Church with beautiful feet who publishes peace and who brings Good News of happiness, who publishes salvation and who says to Zion, ‘Your God reigns’?” said Pastor Edric Sng, Editor of Salt&Light and Thir.st. (Isaiah 52:7)

The Year to Publish Peace is a 2022 campaign that aims to equip and embolden the Saints to share their testimony online, said Pastor Edric. Plans are underway to create social media campaigns and collaborate with organisations like Cru to equip Christians to write their testimony and share the Gospel online.

In 2019, the Year of Proclamation, a three-day Celebration Of Hope evangelistic event saw more than 6,000 respond to the altar calls and almost 2,000 take the first step to receive Christ.

“Unfortunately, that was followed by two years of pandemic. Now we’ve got to stop wallowing, stop playing catch up. Why not make this the Year to Publish Peace?” challenged Pastor Edric.

“In the last few years, almost everyone has gone digital,” Pastor Edric pointed out. “If you weren’t before, by now, you’re on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube or TikTok. You even know how to use Zoom.”

“Why 2022? Why not 2022?” challenged Pastor Edric Sng, who shared plans for a year of campaigns to equip and encourage Christians to share their testimony with friends and family online.

“Everyone is now equipped (to evangelise online) – not just to people in church but to people outside the church who have not yet heard of Jesus.”

Proclaiming the Gospel through digital means has a unique multiplier effect, he added. “You can invite five people to your home and tell them about Jesus. But on your Facebook, or Instagram, you can post it there and have 200, 400, people reading about it.”

The recent #metoo campaign galvanised people to share how they had been abused in the past, Pastor Edric noted. “But those are negative stories, stories of hurt. We want to call forth stories of hope.

“There’re a lot of people struggling out there. They need hope, they need healing. We know the real source of Hope and healing is in our God of Hope, our God who heals.

“Why not let this be the year when we motivate every believer to maximise their social media influence – even if you have 200 friends, you are influencing people, right? Influence whomever you can with the Gospel of Good News.”

Phenomenal results from a challenging pivot

Pastor Jeremy Seaward, Victory Family Centre (VFC) Senior Overseer, also shared updates on how, even in the midst of lockdown in Japan, churches are engaged in innovative methods of outreach as part of the LoveJapan vision.

Re-launched in 2019 by 120 pastors and leaders in Singapore, LoveJapan is a church-planting movement with a core vision that believes that Japan will be saved.

“It’s been very challenging. Just as we were starting, everything was locked down,” said Pastor Jeremy.

But digital evangelism to Japan has been “happening with phenomenal results”, he shared. Churches are running language-learning classes and cultural exchanges and one church even ran a virtual tour of Singapore to try and connect with the Japanese.

Hope Church, which ran a cultural exchange programme online in December, had three visitors who “walked in” and will be joining a cell group this month.

Four church planting teams from VFC, who had been ready to move to Japan since March last year, were forced to pivot online and have since seen 48 salvations, started 10 cell groups, and connected with over 2,000 people through their online efforts.

“It’s the cheapest evangelism you’ve ever done in your life,” he quipped.

LoveJapan is concentrating efforts at reaching the next generation of youth and young adults in 20 key cities over seven regions, believing God for signs and wonders, shared Pastor Jeremy. “We need a miracle for breakthrough in Japan. Japan needs churches, they do not have enough churches and not enough believers.”

Pastor Jeremy also gave an update on Timor Leste, sharing that although the capital, Dili, was badly hit by massive flooding last April, churches mobilised to provide relief and meet community needs in the midst of a Covid peak and lockdown. Some youth even helped to clean up the President’s compound.

“It’s been difficult but churches, ministries and missionaries have been faithful,” he said, adding that it was a “tremendous testimony of the unity of the Body of Christ in Singapore” as different churches and organisations rallied together.

“The need is different, but the call is the same.”

Missional fellowships within the Antioch of Asia

The special updates session today also introduced the recently re-launched Antioch21, the missions arm of LoveSingapore. 

“We are not a missions organisation, we do not send missionaries. We are here to serve the body of Christ to fulfil the Great Commission,” said YWAM’s National Director Joseph Chean, who was appointed by the LoveSingapore committee to lead the movement. 

Singapore was once listed as a highest missionary sending nation, as a ratio of population, Chean shared, quoting a missions survey conducted by Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary. “God has gifted us with so much, what then can we do?”

Chean, who is also the Chairman of the Fellowship Of Missional Organisations Singapore (FOMOS), said that he decided to “pull all the strings together so that we move in one direction”.

“We may not be in the same river, but we can all move in one direction, using our resources and competencies to help each other fulfil what God has designed for Singaporeans,” he said.

Look Around: Space for prayer and conversations amongst pastors to re-connect with each other was a key feature in this year’s Summit.

After several years of prayer, a core team, members of whom are all currently involved in missions, was assembled with the aim of effectively serving the next generation of missionaries.

The Antioch team meets regularly to talk and pray about how to effectively serve the Church – both the current and the next generation of young people – and stir obedience to their call to missions.

The upcoming Goer Missions Forum on January 25, is one such event organised specifically for believers who are intending to go into missions within the next one to five years. There are now 101 participants from over 41 churches – many who are from churches which are not part of the LoveSingapore network, shared Chean.

“It is a catalytical gathering whereby we form missional fellowships. We have designed this to connect them and help them to thrive.”

Antioch21 has also formed a missions preaching team to serve in churches and help churches who want to “mobilise and stir your members with a passion for missions”.

 “We know that Singapore cannot do everything by itself and therefore we will obey God to do whatever we can,” Chean added.

 “Evangelism really, really must be the heartbeat of the Church. The Great Commission must be our biggest focus,” said Pastor Edric.

“We have the duty, responsibility and, in fact, the privilege of sharing the word of our testimony of God’s goodness.”

MORE FROM SUMMIT 2022:

“Is the Holy Spirit in His rightful place in your life?”: Pastor Lawrence Khong at Pastors’ Summit 2022

“In times of affliction and fears, live for what really matters,” challenges Rev Edmund Chan

This season of disruption is a kairos moment for the Church to arise: Day of His Power 2020