50 Years Building His Kingdom - Far Eastern Bible College

Timothy Tow and Elder Quek Kiok Chiang
were determined that the Life Church English
Service be raised as a Polemical Witness
for the Faith.
Dissolution of Bible-
Presbyterian Synod
The year 1988 is epochal in the annals
of the B-P Church. A dissentious spirit
had been brewing for some years “mainly
on strong differences in interpreting the
Doctrine of Biblical Separation, Fundamentalism,
and Neo-Evangelicalism”. Despite
much prayerful consideration and discussion,
and a subsequent moratorium, the
differences persisted, and on 30 October
1988, the Synod was dissolved as a last
resort.
Inasmuch as the defence of the faith
is concerned, the history of B-Pism here
has been no less dramatic than its American
counterpart. Though the saga was confrontational,
the accompanying acrimony
was more subdued, perhaps due largely to
the nature of self-restraint and moderation
intrinsic in Oriental culture.
Nevertheless, the conflict is still raging,
and is expected to become increasingly
more ferocious and intense as the Day of
the Lord draws nigh. We thank God for
wisdom and guidance, enabling our beloved
pastor to stand his ground without
ever wavering all these years. As a consequence,
each battle was lost and won according
to God’s holy will. We lost because,
each time, our repeated warning
against flirting with the enemy went unheeded.
And we won because, in the parting
of the ways, instead of being bogged
down by debilitating strife, we could now
marshal all our energies and channel them
into the Great Commission.
Growth and
Development
From a little mustard seed of 30 members
in the Life Church English Service in
1950, the Life B-P Church had grown into
a tree of more than 50 churches and missions,
including the Far Eastern Bible College
(FEBC), by 1988. The dissolution of
the Synod seemed to toll the knell of the
Church, but it was not to be. There was
accelerated growth on all fronts. By 1995,
the tree had grown into 150 churches and
parachurch groups around the world. The
FEBC, first envisioned as early as 1954 and
established on 17 September 1962, has
been responsible in no small way for the
rapid expansion of the Church. A new generation
of ministers of the Gospel, passing
through the portals of the FEBC, provide
the much-needed manpower to sustain this
impetus of growth and development.
The Future
At the time of going to press, the
Mersing Youth Camp is almost complete.
This outreach, overlooking the South China
Sea, will be not only a retreat for Bible-
Presbyterians and like-minded brothers and
sisters from other churches, but also a Gospel
kelong to harvest precious souls from
and around Mersing for His Kingdom.
The launching of the $20-million
Beulah Tower project in May 2000 marked
another milestone in the history of our
Church. For the next few years, Lifers will
be totally mobilised to give of their best to
their Master. With its expected completion
in the year 2004, Beulah Tower will provide
our Church and College enough space
for the extension of His Kingdom for many
years to come.
The foregoing, among other projects,
concerns our immediate future. Should the
Lord tarry, we are assured that He will bless
our Church by opening many other doors
of service for Him, as He has done since
1950. “Behold, I have set before thee an
open door, and no man can shut it: for thou
has a little strength, and has kept my word,
and hast not denied my name” (Rev 3:8).
So long as we remain faithful to Him, we
are as confident of His assurance as was
the Church of Philadelphia. While waiting
for the soon return of our Lord and Saviour,
we are to occupy till He comes “for
we are his workmanship, created in Christ
Jesus unto good works” (Eph 2:10).
Our Prayer
In compiling this brief history of the
Life B-P Church, the writer has been mind-
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