10 Benefits of Being Part of the Bible-Presbyterian Church in Singapore Presbytery
Jul 5, 2022
It has restored the friendship and fellowship of our pastors. A good friend of mine from another BP church did not talk to me, and I to him for over 30 years. Now we meet for lunch every month with other BP pastors as part of the Presbytery’s standing committee. We share a meal as we deliberate over matters affecting our churches and beyond.
It has helped us work together to raise the next generation of pastoral leaders. We bring together pastors, elders and ministry leaders every year for a retreat. There older leaders who have grown up together renew their ties. Younger ones cross generation to connect with older ones and also with one another.
As a result, we have been ordaining pastors (and elders) for our churches. Ordaining councils are formed from representatives from different churches. This year, God willing, three men will be ordained from Mount Hermon, Mount Gerizim and Zion Serangoon. More are in the pipeline, ensuring the rise of next generation leaders.
To ensure we do not lose our rich history and heritage, we published a definitive work last year. Titled Heritage and Legacy and launched with 1000 copies, more than 90% have been bought. All who wish to know about how the denomination was born, how it grew, and then fell apart, will find the book an instructive read.
Four years ago we held our first ever combined Good Friday service. Never in the last 30 years had BP churches come together for service and communion. Last year Zion Bishan hosted the event which drew 1,800 worshippers. The YouTube post of the service was viewed over 1,000 times.
At the retreat of 2017 we laid out the agenda for next three years. Using the acronym DBS, we set goals for Developing Leaders (2018), Building Relationships (2019), and Sharing Resources (2020). The last is our focus this year with Dr Bishop Solomon addressing us in July. How timely! As Mount Carmel embarks on the Church Plant, fellow BP churches are rallying around with prayer and practical expressions of support (e.g. interest-free loans).
Recently, our concern has been directed at our children. At our 2018 Presbytery meeting, we addressed the topic, “The Future of Christian Preschool Education in Singapore”. We were alarmed to learn that half of church kindergartens in Singapore had closed down in the past five years. An initiative has been launched to form an alliance of church kindergartens to help one another, and to represent ourselves to the government.
Among the needs discussed is that of our young adults finding life partners, some ending in an unequal yoke. This May our first ever Singles Retreat will be held to provide opportunities for singles from our churches to mingle. The rest is left to the Lord!
In 2017, we filed in an application for BPCIS to be registered as a society. Praise God after 1.5 years, our application was finally approved a year ago. As a legal entity we hope to better represent our churches to the authorities and the wider community of believers in our nation.
Pray for us as the number of our charter member churches stand now as seven: Mount Carmel, Mount Hermon, Zion Bishan, Zion Serangoon, Herald, Shalom and Emmanuel. Another seven churches join us for our activities while they consider becoming members.
