WHOLE CITY, WHOLE WORLD
For Hope Singapore, 2009 was the year of preparation. We took great efforts to prepare our leadership, our base camp and our lives. In 2010, God spoke to us that just as a chain is only as strong as its weakest link; the church is only as strong as its weakest member. We needed to build and to work hard with the Holy Spirit to present everyone perfect in Christ. With that revelation, we embarked on ID2010 where we worked hard to help everyone become disciples and disciplemakers.
Since July 2010, I had been praying and asking God to tell us clearly how we should move from 2011 onwards. God dropped a message in my heart that from 2011 until 2015, we will need to work hard on making a big impact in our city, and as a result, to make a great impact in our world as well. Hence the theme for 2011: Whole City, Whole World. With the help of the Holy Spirit, we will transform our whole city to reach the whole world.
WHOLE CITY 
1. God’s Plan For Cities
In “World Urbanisation Prospects” published by United Nations, it was stated that by 2006, half of the world’s population would be urban dwellers; the urban population was growing three times faster than its rural counterpart and by 2030, three in five people would be living in urban areas.
People are important to God. You are finding more and more people in the cities. Thus, cities are important to God. Cities are in the plan of God. Whoever wins the cities will win the nations.
Cities are where churches can reach the next generation (young adults want to live in the city); reach more unreachable people (people are far more open to the Gospel in the cosmopolitan city than in their hometown); reach people who potentially can have a big impact on the world (filmmakers, authors and businessmen); and reach the poor (about one-third of city dwellers live in shanty towns).
Cities are both magnet and magnifiers. They are magnets in the sense that they draw the world to them. They are magnifiers in the sense that whatever that happens in the cities are then broadcasted to the whole world. It is also very interesting to note that when the most successful church builder and church planter, Paul, was converted in Acts chapter 9, the command was given to him to go into the city.
4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” 5 “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. 6 “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” (Acts 9:4-6, NIV)
God knew the best way to maximise Paul’s ministry was to call him to minister to the cities.
2. Singapore As A Cosmopolitan City
Wikipedia describes Singapore as a cosmopolitan and multi-racial society. Singapore is often identified as the “gateway between the East and the West”.
As a nation, we have different people from all over the world going in and out of Singapore. Over the past decade, we have seen Singapore’s population grow to 5.08 million people today. The population of Singapore has the 6th highest percentage of foreigners globally. Approximately 42% of the population in Singapore are foreigners.
3. Hope Singapore As A City Church In The City
Hope Singapore is a church in the city of Singapore. More than that, we are a city church. We are a church that reaches out to the people from all walks of life living in all different parts of Singapore.
We are now located in Orchard Road and by 2012, we will be moving into our new home at Textile Centre located around Bugis Area.
The Singapore lifestyle and pace of life is really quite different from many other parts of the world. Work life and study life are also mostly stressful for most of us. This difference does not only affect our work and study lives, but also our families, marriages, the way we bring up our children, how we plan for our retirement, recreation and the way we build friendships.
Therefore, to transform our city, we need to do ministry in a way that is relevant and effective for the people living in our city.
This year, we will be covering topics on life in the city focusing on issues like stress, sex, time crunch, addiction and consumerism. We want to help all of us in different life stations to excel with God in our lives. In doing well to minister in the city of Singapore, we hope to see both qualitative and quantitative growth.
- Qualitative Growth
I envision our people doing well in their careers, studies, family life, relationships with people, church life and growing in a global perspective.
- Quantitative Growth
We have more people in our church today than when we first moved into Nexus. We have grown from around 1400 to 5400 since we shifted into Nexus in September 2001.
As we move into Textile Centre, the initial feeling would be the same. But after some years, it will be, “wow… so many services!” once again! We want to reach the people in our city. Just like God, our desire is that none will perish but all to come to a loving and living relationship with Jesus.
We also want to make an impact in our community. From 2011 onwards, we have made plans to intensify our community work through Hope Centre. We are in the midst of studying the needs of the community and current programs in the Bugis Area. The word and works should work hand in hand.
- Ethnicity Growth
Singapore is a melting pot for different cultures and ethnic groupings. In our church, we have 15 different nationalities just in our membership alone, not including those of us who are yet to be members! And we want more. We want more people from more nationalities and more ethnic groups in God’s church.
As a church, we are taking responsibility to make a difference in our city. We want to flow in God’s plan for Singapore. However, beyond our city, we are also determined to make a difference in our world.
WHOLE WORLD
God is a global God. He created the whole world. He died for the whole world. He longs to redeem the whole world back to Himself.
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16, NIV)
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8, NIV)
“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20, NIV)
In our church, this is how we say it: Think Globally, Work Locally.
We must have a global mindset in all that we do. We must not confine God’s blessings to our own lives, our own care groups or even to our own church alone. We must have a global mindset to bring God’s blessings to the ends of the world.
And we begin to impact our world by starting locally. There is no point in loving the whole world and yet not loving the people in our own city. We begin in our city, but it does not end in our city. We desire to transform our whole city to reach the whole world.
The city of Singapore is only a 6-hour flight to over 60% of the entire world population. Singapore has been called the Antioch of Asia. Hope Singapore has the potential to become not only the Antioch of Asia, but also the Antioch of the World!
Since 1991, Hope Singapore has planted many churches around the globe. Some of these churches have, in turn, planted many other new churches both in their cities and around the world.
At this point in time, our church is directly overseeing seven churches. As you are reading this right now, one new church is being started in a very large nation in Asia. Within the next 3 months, we will be pioneering another one in the Indo-China region.
Our church in Kenya had four of their core African leaders here with our church in December. One interesting discovery is that they love durians. More importantly, they had been envisioned and empowered, and they are now back in Kenya pioneering in three new universities.
As a church, many of our pastors and leaders have also been involved in serving the existing Hope churches all over the world. We have conducted camps, conferences, training seminars, special services and other sessions with these churches. We are aware of the blessings that God has poured into our church and we want to be blessing as well to others. We are blessed to be a blessings; individually and corporately.
Since 2009, Hope Singapore has set the goal to plant 16 new churches. Thus far, we have started 3 churches. We will continue to work hard to plant the other 13 by the year 2015.Not only do we want to pioneer new churches, we are also working towards having our existing churches cross the 50 people mark in service attendance. With more than 50 people in service attendance, our churches will reach a greater stage of stability and strength. It would help them then to be effective in reaching out to more people in their cities, other surrounding cities in their nation and even other nations around them.
As we reach out to the different nationalities here, some will return to their homelands or move to another country. As they return or go somewhere else, they too can take the gospel with them and plant a new church. Its call M@D – missions at your doorstep.
Conclusion
Here’s the bottom line on how we can all participate in living out “Whole City, Whole World”:
- Discipleship and Outreach: By being a disciple and a disciple-maker for God, and outreaching to the pre-believers that God has placed in your scope of influence. Exert your God-given leadership as His people in your sphere of influence.
- Going, Going, Gone: Be involved in God’s global work. Go for short-term mission trips to capture a greater glimpse of the heart of God towards people all over the world, or to be intentional to look for a new job in a new ground to start a new church for Jesus. It is time to get going!
- Give: Be a faithful giver to God’s vision. Tithe faithfully. Be committed to not miss a single tithe in this entire year. God is no man’s debtor and you simply cannot outgive God.
- Pray: Keep on praying for God’s help to fulfil what He has put into our hearts. Unless the Lord builds the house, we labour in vain. Unless God is in it, whatever that we may accomplished is meaningless. Pray regularly when you spend personal time with God, when you do your quiet time with your family, in your care groups, in your units, in your sub-districts, during services and after services, anywhere and anytime.
Pastor Jeffrey Chong
Hope Church (Singapore)
www.hopesingapore.org.sg
