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Stepping Out With God - Pasir Panjang Church of Christ Singapore

Stepping Out With God - Pasir Panjang Church of Christ Singapore

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The Most Important Question:<br />

Are You A Team Player?<br />

"In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple<br />

in the Lord" - Ephesians 2:21<br />

Looking back over 40 years <strong>of</strong> my full-time ministry, the single most important<br />

pillar <strong>of</strong> the work at PP is the team ministry that has developed through the<br />

years.<br />

In the Lord's vineyard, we must understand that every member loves the<br />

Lord as much as we do and gives his best in service to <strong>God</strong>. We must be<br />

willing to bear and forebear one another as we patiently serve the Lord with<br />

joy to the end. When we focus on self and do not work with the established<br />

committees <strong>of</strong> the church, we rob the church <strong>of</strong> our loyalty and deprive<br />

ourselves <strong>of</strong> the resources that can come only from the corporate body.<br />

The church at PP was started by brother Ong Aun Nam with a group <strong>of</strong><br />

teenagers in 1964. He carefully organised the church and parcelled out<br />

various responsibilities to different ones. But after inviting missionary A.L.<br />

Harbin to work with them, brother Harbin took over the leadership and took<br />

on the decisions by himself. In doing so, almost all the original group <strong>of</strong><br />

teenagers left the church, discouraged.<br />

Build a team<br />

After little more than a year, brother Harbin left <strong>Singapore</strong> to return home to<br />

USA, putting me in charge <strong>of</strong> the work. The first thing I did was to call the<br />

church together for the first <strong>of</strong> a series <strong>of</strong> regular business meetings and<br />

reassigned responsibilities to various ones. This team ministry has been<br />

tweaked through the years, and has put PP in good stead.<br />

The past decade has seen the mentoring <strong>of</strong> a group <strong>of</strong> men from the church<br />

we call 'Awareness'. They come together regularly as a team to lead the<br />

church. Now our elders and deacons, together with our ministers and the<br />

elected ROS (Registrar <strong>of</strong> Societies) members meet regularly for formal<br />

meetings at the church building. Just as any male member was welcome to<br />

attend past 'Awareness' sessions, we also welcome male members to the<br />

regular ROS sessions.<br />

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