Where Is God On A Sunday Evening?

It's been a long time since I've been so amazed.


Tonight was the first night that I've attended the PRC migrant worker service at Fairfield Methodist Church, and it has been nothing less than a huge eye-opener. Over 600 of them came busload after busload from different dormitories all over Singapore from sites as near as Marina Sands to locations as far as Woodlands. Quite a number of them even took their own transportation, walking and cycling to the church.

Packet food was catered, CCTV news was broadcast life, Chinese newspapers were provided, and basic necessities were given out to each person who came. I had the joy of witnessing 15 baptisms and 18 people who received Christ during the service. I've never seen people so enthusiastic about knowing Jesus!

Of course, I'm not leave it as that by painting such a rosy picture. There were also some things that I'm personally skeptical about, like the provision of food and other gifts that certainly acted as a huge draw for these migrant workers who are trying to save as much money as they can. Free food, free air-con, the company of fellow Chinese nationals from the same province etc. are all incentives for the workers to come.

But this doesn't explain why some workers are so eager to help in serving food and ushering. It doesn't explain why so many of them are eager to share their testimonies of how their lives have changed dramatically. Neither does it explain why they are so enthusiastic about getting baptized, going for discipleship class and Bible study! I do agree that quite a number of our own baptism classes are really boring (although necessary), and more often than not I'm weary of going for weekly discipleship classes.

The scene I saw tonight put me to shame. To see the workers giving one another free haircuts, encouraging their peers to answer altar calls, singing WAY louder than most of the "conservative" congregations that I've heard. When the worship leader casually asked who wanted the gift of the Holy Spirit, so many hands went up! And before we get skeptical and blame it on the Asian groupthink mentality, I must remind you that they don't really care what other people think. When they think it's time to sit down, they'll sit down, even if 70% of the congregation is waiting for the minister to tell them to sit!

And God is not simply working among the workers. Even the volunteers and clergy have been so blessed! The minister-in-charge is a guy who can't even read Chinese properly, and prior to the ministry taking off last year, he couldn't even speak Mandarin! It's been almost two years since he answered God's calling to serve, and now he's giving sermons in Mandarin. Amazing, no?

I was also surprised to find that most of the local volunteers are not even from the church, but from other churches with a desire to serve in this ministry. And I thought my presence would be quite an exception. Well, God rightly burst that bubble before any semblance of arrogance would get to my head.

Been a great start. I've never seen so many salvations in one night for a long, long time. When the Bible says that God is among the poor and the needy, I sensed it tonight as fact fleshed in front of my own eyes. When I saw so many hands indicating their desire to know who God is, when I see the baptism candidates calling the name "Jesus" out loud, I couldn't stop the tears of joy that flowed down my eyes. You'll never see a scene like this WEEK AFTER WEEK without fail in any established congregation in Singapore. You'll never sense such hunger and desperation in any long-serving laity of any local church. His presence was so strong, one straight away knows that it's more than an overwhelming emotion or a worship "high".

It's true, my friends. God is a god of justice. As Christians, we cannot and must not sit back on the laurels of those who went before us. Our calling has always been to the poor and needy, and this post is my testimony to where God really is. I particularly enjoy the fact that I can finally participate actively in a ministry that recognizes our God as a god who lives among the sick and the desperate.

I can't wait to play guitar for the service next week. +) I know my commitments are going to kill me, but who cares. For His pleasure, and His alone.






It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. -Jesus (Luke 5:31)

I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me. -Jesus (Matt 25:40)