In school, there were 250 of us from 30 nations serving, worshiping and seeking the Lord. We had the privilege to hear from amazing speakers including the founders and missionaries from other nations. Besides soaking and listening to the miraculous stories, we too had a chance to minister. We went to at least 10 different villages to preach the Gospel and heal the sick. We witnessed instant healing before our eyes – blind eyes seeing; backaches and headaches healed; even a growth of a leg that was 2 inches shorter than the other. The Lord also used my sister in Singapore to help set a woman free from spiritual attacks and nightmares. I remember meeting a lady who had been experiencing chest pains, and after praying for her she was healed and she danced and praise God for the first time.

I was blessed to be able to bless the people and and see how God moves through His people. Currently, I am waiting on the next step/direction. Instead of just bumming around, I am taking bible courses, working part-time and praying for the sick. I have been joining a group of brothers and sisters in Christ to reach out and pray for the sick. I believe that in this season God has called me to prepare, to wait and continue to exercise the gift while waiting. Missions is not just limited to overseas but includes local ministry too. I get to pray for the sick and release words of knowledge to bless and encourage the people I meet. For those who have a desire to serve in missions but are wary of the financial and cultural differences, you can start from where you are now. We live in a strategically-placed country where we have access to many nations!

You are free to join me or you can join our outreach efforts in the Church’s Sports Ministry or other missions organisations.

Alisa

The post Alisa’s Mission Story first appeared on 3:16 Church.

In 2015, I came to 3:16 Church with the intention of helping to fill the gap, as a Cajonero in the Praise Band. Though I hadn’t expressed my commitment to stay with the church, everyone made me feel like I was already part of the family. There was an atmosphere of authenticity which drew me in, and I found myself looking forward to Sunday services with them.

It has only been less than 2 years, but I have grown to become who God has uniquely purposed me to be. I have a people who journey with me through various seasons in life. More importantly, its culture of vulnerability allowed me to be fully known and accepted for who I really am. I have a voice, and I am heard.

And this is how I know what God’s family feels like.

Eunice Foo

The post What God’s Family Feels Like: Eunice first appeared on 3:16 Church.

Wesley, our 9-year-old son, absolutely loves Lego. Given a chance, he would eat, sleep, play with Lego 24/7. You could say he is obsessed with it. So, it was no surprise that God used Lego to teach Wesley about letting go.

The topic of baptism came up when we heard Pastor Ian mention it in church. David and I knew it was time to ask Wesley about baptism.

We’ve always known that Wesley had asked Jesus into his heart when he was younger – we prayed with him several times to confirm it. He often has questions about God:

“If Jesus loves me, how come I can’t see Him and touch Him?”
“If Jesus is in heaven, how can He live in my heart too?”

He also has a heart of empathy:

“Grandma, are you okay? I’ll pray for you to get better soon.”

But when we approached Wesley for baptism, his fears kicked in:

“I’m afraid…”
“Will I drown?” [says the boy who can swim full laps in the pool]

We assured him that baptism was just a public declaration of his faith; a testimony of his belief in Jesus Christ and His resurrection. Our old self dies with Him and our new self rises with Him!

The day came.

Everything was beautifully prepared – the baptismal pool, the cool, balmy air, the row of flower bouquets, the musicians. Wesley’s Ye Ye and Nai Nai and the supportive 3:16 family eagerly looked on.

Then, stage fright. He shied away from his prepared speech. He just uttered these 2 words – “Obey Jesus”.

The fears melted away once he hit the water.

A picture of him emerging together with the roars from the crowd says it all.

This is what God’s family feels like.

Something changed in him that night while playing Lego. His beautiful Lego structure was accidentally destroyed by a toy. Devastation and despair overtook him and he was inconsolable:

“It’s the worst day of my life!”
“Don’t touch it! You don’t understand Lego!!!”
“I don’t want to talk about it!”

We took the chance to work through Wesley’s emotions with him – he had to let go of self-pity, despair and anger at everything and everyone.

“Not everything is destroyed, Wesley,” I assured him. “I’m sorry I let the toy drop. I didn’t fix it properly. It’s mommy’s fault. I’ll help you rebuild the Lego, okay?”

In between sobs and tears, he cried out, “It’s not your fault, mommy. It’s mine. I’m sorry I was angry at you…

I sacrifice myself for you. Uncle ZY taught me this in church. Where is he? Sacrifice is when you take someone’s punishment so that they won’t be punished, just like what Jesus did.”

He kissed me on the shoulder and the crying stopped. Big smiles came back on while we spent the rest of the night recreating the Lego structure, piece by piece.

With Christ in the center, LEt’s GO!

David and Adeline Ong, parents of Wesley Ong

The post I Have Decided: Wesley first appeared on 3:16 Church.

“I see a light ahead of me
Behind the misty veil
Lit against the weary sky
Lonely as I sailed
It glows and swells in between
Heaving rock and waves
But unmistakeable was it
Its glimmer bright as day
And as I try my best to see
Through the thrashing wind
In the mirrors of the seas
All along that light was me”

Unpacking the poem a little, it truly is a picture of our Christian journey. Sometimes it is filled with uncertainty and fear—just as how sailing a ship in a storm can be. We know that there are light and hope at the very end, and we strain towards it. Eventually, we discover that this light we see is actually the light that we are giving off, reflected in the waters around us.

For the longest time, I found it very hard to believe that I am a shining light. I know it in theory, but along the way—especially last year—I lost the fighting spirit and confidence in my identity. Yet, God says in Philippians 2:15 that we, as children of God, are like shining stars in the sky.

A month ago, Shinan and I started this one-year bible reading plan alongside with Jeremy and Eishen. Hence, we started reading Genesis 1, Matthew 1, Psalm 1… Matthew 1 records the genealogy of Jesus Christ. Who begot whom, and the list goes on for a while. Most of us only remember the key patriarchs: Abraham, David, and so on. Those men and women in between, whom we have forgotten, God remembered and honoured by having their names written down: those men and women were still used by God to fulfil His purposes. In fact, those men and women were very broken and sinful people. Rehab was a prostitute; David was an adulterer and murderer; etc.

In spite of that, they were still lights.

Like constellations in the sky, some of us are called to play a role in the foreground, like big stars, while some of us are called to play a role in the background, like smaller stars. Even so, every star is as important as the other, and every star is called to shine. Some of us have very different dreams and passions from one another, and we all have our individual callings. Be that as it may, they all should collide in the house of God. All of us play a part in the bigger picture, in building God’s Kingdom on earth. It’s only when two or more stars cross paths and collide, a supernova can come forth.

When I was young, I used to think that stars only exist at night because I could only see them at night. The truth is, they are always in the sky. They shine just as bright in the day as they do at night, but only in darkness do we appreciate them. Even when a star dies, there is an incredible explosion of light. However, unlike real stars, our light will never go out. We will never lose our precious salvation because God sustains us with His amazing grace. And in His grace, He has blessed us with free will: the choice to believe in Him or not. And if we say we believe in Jesus as our saviour and redeemer, then we need to take Him at His word. He says that truth is the light and truth will set us free. He calls us to live in this light in Ephesians 5:8-9: “For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of light! For this light within you produces only what is good and right and true.”

We were one full with darkness. Now we have light. Maybe we still have darkness in us, since we are still sinners. But now we have light!

And whatever darkness there is in our lives, God wants us to face it with courage. Some of you may not know this, but I experienced the darkest period of my Christian journey last year: I found myself in this pit of depression, not seeing a way out at all; believing at one point of time, that the darkness had consumed me. But God spoke to me through a passage in Exodus 20:18-21. Verse 21 reads, “So the people stood far off, while Moses drew near to the thick darkness where God was.” What Moses did was so counterintuitive! Yes, we are called to live according to the light. But… if you find yourself in the darkness, God is still there. And that deeply comforted me—to know that my God is truly with me wherever I go, even when I walk through the valleys of the shadows of death.

“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.” We are already standing on higher ground—on the hill that is our Lord. He is our firm foundation, and when we plant ourselves in God, we will light up the world. – Matthew 5:14

Bianca 

The post This Little Light Of Mine first appeared on 3:16 Church.

The wart was located in the heel of my foot, known in medical terms as a plantar wart. Each time I walked I was in extreme pain and the only way I could have any mobility was through the constant consumption of painkillers. To add to my frustration, no matter how much I peeled the skin, it regenerated in a blink of an eye as my body repaired itself. It became impossible for me to walk normally.

After suffering for over 2 months, I heeded a friend’s advice to do laser treatment around Chinese New Year 2016. According to the doctor, the wart had grown too deep and an intensive beam was necessary. The estimated recovery time was 4 days. Even 2 weeks post-treatment, the agony persisted.

I cried out to the Lord as I longed for supernatural healing. I held on to the Word in Isaiah “by His stripes you are healed”. I believed that Jesus, the Messiah and chosen one, who healed the sick, cleansed the leper and raised the dead, could heal me.

I am not anti-medical treatment, I believe that medical and technological advances are also a gift from Him. But deep down, I felt that trusting what the doctor told me rather than what the Scriptures say about divine healing would be taking the easy way out (in my case). For a long time, I struggled to accept that this miraculous healing was only exclusive to those who lived in biblical times. Jesus said that we would do even greater things than He, and even our modern medical treatment surely pales in comparison to the miracles we see in the Bible.

Close to giving up, I looked for a third opinion – a podiatrist advised that the virus location was beyond the laser treatment and the only option was surgery. This would cost me at least 6,000 SGD. He tried to convince me that this was the only solution, and that the pain would be unbearable as long as I put off surgery. I met yet another podiatrist who also recommended treatment but at a lower price. Knowing that I would be covered by insurance, I was so close to going ahead with the treatment. All I wanted was my life back.

But there was no peace. A voice kept telling me to wait upon the Lord if I really wanted to experience the power of healing prayer. I was torn between surgery and the desire to experience supernatural healing.

I made an appointment for my surgery. The day I went to the clinic, my soul stirred up a great sorrow of how I was about to give up my faith in divine healing. Though the pain persisted, I decided to remain steadfast in my trust in our healing Father. It was a Thursday when I cancelled the appointment and the excruciating pain remained with no sign of letting up. On Friday and Saturday, the situation was no better.

I cried out to the Lord during this time of affliction and He reminded me of the story of Sadrakh, Mesakh and Abednego, three Hebrews who put their trust in the Lord even at the risk of Him not saving their lives. A voice asked, “Will you still love me even if you are not healed?” It was a tough question, but I answered “Lord you know my heart, my desire is to love you through the good and the bad.” On Sunday night, I had no idea how, but I managed to do household chores without experiencing any pain. Finding it hard to believe, I went to work the next day without any painkillers and the excruciating pain was no more.

I have a long way to go when it comes to exercising my faith in the Lord, but for the very first time in my life I see the verse “by His stripes you are healed” to be so real.

Back then I always thought Raphael was a Latin or Spanish name even though I was familiar with Jehovah Rafa (God/The Lord who heals). To my surprise, Raphael is Hebrew. Rapha, derived from the same Rapha used in Jehovah Rafa, and El for Elohim. I named my second child Raphael Emmanuel Lee, born 28 January 2017, because I have a great hope that we will experience healing, revival and the Lord’s greatness.

Francis 

The post My Messianic Miracle: Francis first appeared on 3:16 Church.

2016 was a year where the praise and worship culture took a dramatic shift. I will never forget the one Sunday where God simply unlocked the worship culture at 3:16 Kids, it was a Sunday where the kids were totally engaged in the worship experience; they were jumping around, hands raised, eyes closed, kneeling and praying on the floor… It was awesome. It was a great victory for the ministry after taking the kids firstly through sing-along video worship with dance moves, then the big decision to worship together with the main congregation and finally a Bible Teaching Series on “Worship”… I believe all this laid the good soil for our worship tree to bear fruit.

2016 was also a year where we began to see the kids take on more spiritual ownership. It was a year where we actively encouraged the kids to embrace their spiritual gifts and exercise them. In line with 3:16 Church’s Year of Kingly Influence, we saw the kids pray and prophesy more over each other, sharing their dreams and visions and they interpreting it for each other. I recall one Sunday where I could sense that the Kids Teachers weren’t spiritually aligned with God and hence not ready to serve the kids, so I called the kids to form a circle around us and asked the kids to lay hands on all the teachers and pray over us. Sure enough, the spiritual atmosphere changed after that. What a wonderful picture, that it was no more a norm for teachers to pray for kids, but for kids to pray over their teachers.

In the second half of the year, we also taught and trained the kids how to share the gospel using a simple colour method, and we witnessed kids using this method to share the gospel with other kids… Amazing!

There were many other highlights but I will share just two more that were big victories regarding one of our core values. At 3:16 Kids we firmly believe in the importance of family in shepherding kids. We believe that parents are the first and most important shepherds in a child’s life. Two events encapsulated this perfectly. Last year we saw five of our kids being baptised. At our baptisms, we had the parents baptising their own children. This was to recognise the role the parents had played in bringing their children to Christ: What a wonderful joy and privilege for any parent to have!

The second event was when we had our 2015 Christmas outreach at Paya Lebar Square. We had several families going around, blessing strangers and giving out Church invites and Christmas cards to strangers. As a ministry leader, I was so happy to see the parents setting such good examples for our kids to follow, and the kids must have been so proud of their mummies and daddies, it was extremely encouraging and a wonderful memory.

One of the main challenges we faced in 2016 was manpower. I am so thankful for the faithful 3:16 Kid Volunteers like Lydia, Heather, Daniel and Malcolm who served continuously throughout the year, but many times we didn’t not have enough volunteers to rotate inside a month, resulting in Meishan and myself having to serve most of the time.

One of the personal challenges I had was how to build a team around me for the ministry. It was only after our Strengths Finder course that the tide started to change. The Church leadership sent Dawn Teo, a dear sister whose Strengths and Personality are very different from my own, to “coach” me on how better to lead the ministry. Despite our differences, we actually seemed to complement each other pretty well. The Lord also moved in another sister’s heart during the Strengths Finder course, Jan Ng, a gifted teacher, to come alongside me and join the ministry. Towards the end of the year, Jessie, another sister whose “Includer” strength (one that I lack) really helped bring in more labourers for our ministry. So as you can see, Strengths Finder was a key milestone in helping the ministry, not just in it’s timing but in application.

I really thank God for my wife, Meishan who has been a constant support and a willing listener to any problems I had. With her support and encouragement, I was able to press on. I remember a counsel she gave me late one sleepless night, a word she spoke over me unlocked and exposed a lie that had a big stronghold in my heart… It was a very important personal breakthrough. Of course my personal thanksgiving wouldn’t be complete without mentioning the best gift God gave me last year, Faith, our daughter. The personal joy and happiness of being a father is a completely new one. Thank you Jesus for such a beautiful and cute baby girl.

Lu Zhenyuan

The post 2016 Year In Review: 3:16 KIDS first appeared on 3:16 Church.

During my time with the Praise Band, I learnt what it meant to worship God even in life-wrecking situations. The fundamental essence of worship, regardless of any negative circumstances or emotional turmoil, is to surrender your life, issues and heart before God. A great example would be the lives of Abraham and Job, who worshipped in the midst of the most life-shattering circumstances.

Worship comes from the heart and in that lies a beautiful connection with God and the Holy Spirit which overflows into our playing that is transformed into music. Serving as a musician for the past 15 years has been an immense honour. What sets us apart from musicians in the secular world is that we do it as a service unto God.

All these years, I have been well-trained technically. In 3:16 Praise, I am not only the resident electric guitarist but also a utility player, moving between the drums, bass and acoustic guitar. I also train the younger musicians and assist the worship leaders in technical aspects and help out in directing the band and sound aspect. The praise band is a young team and I felt that I have a lot to contribute to the team.

This, however, has been a struggle. Unknowingly, I lost touch with the true meaning of serving, the ability to listen to the heartbeat of God and what it means to truly worship. With that, came the downfall. Pride got in the way and it hit me real hard. But God never fails. As much as I took a hiatus from Him, He never failed to remind me of His love and the true meaning behind serving Him.

Pride is arguably the most deadly and the root of all sins. It was probably Satan’s original sin when he said, “I will make myself like the Most High” in Isaiah. Likewise, it ate into me. I wanted to be recognised for what I have done for the team. It was for my personal glory. I then began to realise that ministry has been exhausting me. I just wanted to give up. I was depending a lot on my own strength and what I had been trained for. Until one day, God spoke to me in his Word. He reminded me of John’s motto in John 3:30, ‘He must become more important while I become less important.’ As simple as it seems, it brought me back to learning what humility in God’s eyes is. It stems from understanding who God is and who we are. I understood what God’s sovereignty is but I have inflated views on myself. I forgot what it was like to first be a worshipper. God reminded me that day to align my heart with His and that He should take the highest honour. With this, He is to be exalted.

Marc Wan

The post The Heart In Worship first appeared on 3:16 Church.

Then the high priest and all his associates, who were members of the party of the Sadducees, were filled with jealousy. They arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail. But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail and brought them out. “Go, stand in the temple courts,” he said, “and tell the people all about this new life.” – Acts 5:17-20

Our society is all about freedom – especially the freedom to do as we wish. That explains our frustration when we find ourselves in a public jail: circumstances in school, camp, or in our workplace that trap and cripple us.

As students, it is not uncommon to feel as though CAPs, GPAs and MSGs define who we are; we find ourselves caged up in a wire mesh of stress. In our journey from ah boys to men, regimentation can feel like imprisonment. Hurtful words exchanged in a fresh workplace can become emotional cells we feel trapped within.

God desires to open the doors of your “public jail” and bring you out. But He is much more concerned about a “private jail” we may not be aware of.

He yearns for us to step out of the jail of religion, into new life: an intimate relationship with Him through Jesus.

In Acts 5:19, an angel of the Lord instructed the apostles to stand in the temple court, the embodiment of religion in those days, and “tell the people all about this new life”. This new life starts with our hearts. It begins not with our love for God, but His love for us.

Take time off our busy, cluttered life, sit back, close our eyes, and remember the times that Love came down and rescued each of us.

That period of depression God lifted us out from, the family tensions he eased, the loving community He placed us in, the gentle whisper of love in the dead of night where loneliness seemed to prevail, the excruciating pain he bore on our behalf on the cross…

God. Loves. Fiercely.

When we soak in memories of His amazing grace, supernatural affection springs from our hearts for Him, and slowly but surely, our life is transformed as an overflow of that well-spring of love we have for our Father.

Step out from a jail of religion, a captivity of to-dos or do-not-dos. Walk into a new life: an intimate relationship with our Father in heaven.

Darrell Tan

The post Walking into Freedom first appeared on 3:16 Church.

“Elmo’s here! Elmo’s here!”

One by one, Barney, Rilakkuma and Sharkie mascots (“monsters”) suited up and trooped out from the shade, which sent the crowd into further peals of laughter. Never mind the sweltering heat of the afternoon, youths and young adults had gathered at *SCAPE on 29 October for a romp of gargantuan proportions: dodgeball, with a monstrously funny twist. We wanted to celebrate Halloween in a merry-not-scary way.

We were divided into 4 teams, each team tasked to protect their mascot from getting hit by flying balls, while trying to hit other teams’ mascots. What ensued the moment the starting whistle was blown was ebullient energy: leaping limbs, people who discovered their inner Flash, incredulous screams as their own mascots got hit, and joyful bellows as opposing teams’ mascots cowered behind human defense lines.

One of the day’s highlights was a mascot dance-off during half time. Imagine this: a breakdancing Barney, a shark who played a mean air guitar, an Elmo who boogied his furry way to a funky tune, and a Rilakkuma who was bear-y good at doing the one-two step. Passerbys even paused in their tracks from afar, laughing along to this comical spectacle unfolding in the unlikeliest (and perhaps hottest) of places.

We wanted to take the fun and cheer beyond the basketball court too. Off we went, arm-in-arm with the mascots, to stroll down Orchard Road and wave hello to evening weekenders. Public response was overwhelming as families, friends and couples swarmed around these familiar childhood figures to snap photos. We fondly recall a toddler who had been licking ice-cream from behind the glass window of a McDonalds, before jumping up excitedly when she spotted Barney ambling past on the pavement outside.

It was a compelling juxtaposition to see people dressed up as bloodied zombies or clad in ghoulish masks passing by, amid some “haunted houses” set up in the vicinity, while the mascots pranced about merrily on the streets. 31 October thrives on the scare factor, but we’d honestly rather draw out laughter than fearful screams. Laughter, after all, is the best medicine for a bad day, a heavy heart, or a broken soul. Our church community is founded on love – John 3:16 – and to love the larger community would be to inspire smiles across their faces.

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. We think that’s worth a grin from ear to ear. Don’t you?

Stephanie Yow

You may also like: Monster Dodgeball Photo Gallery
 

The post Monster Dodgeball first appeared on 3:16 Church.

I am thankful to Rei, to Marc, who sat me down one Sunday and asked, “Would you like to play the acoustic guitar for the Conference?” My heart leapt. The initial response that surfaced in my mind was, oh, good Lord, no. The subsequent response as they peered intently at me was, perhaps… maybe… yes. I can’t bear to say no to their sincerity. The heavens must have a purpose. This feels like a call to action.

Saying yes was akin to wearing my heart on strings in the public eye. I grew up a reclusive and shy child, where I carefully stored my inner world behind a fortress of storybooks, dollhouses, writing and piano; if you realise, they are solitary activities. Teachers often wrote in my report card, “Stephanie needs to speak up”, or “Stephanie needs to come out of her shell”. To tie this back to my journey as a musician, this followed me in part to adulthood, and I had spent 6 prior years in the closet (or quiet time) singing into space. Bible, guitar and I. I was supremely comfortable and it was my fortress. Quite suddenly, however, my closet’s door was flung wide open by a single question on a balmy Sunday afternoon.

It felt as if Heaven’s hotline rang, and I picked up the phone. It was Christ calling me to serve His people with all my heart on display, no less, for He does not like half-baked love.

I will not go into minute details of my Conference experience, though know this: Jesus showed up, and the praise band had a whirlwind of a time sustained by prayer, kopi, grace towards each other, and Subway sandwiches hurriedly devoured for lunch. When He walked into the room and sat down at the front row each time, it was enough to redeem bleary eyes and calloused fingertips.

I will be first to admit that the post-Conference journey is an ongoing mind(e)-field of apprehension and insecurity as a musician. What sustains me though? The fact that He will walk into the room. The fact that He delights in using unqualified people. The fact that brokenness is a sweet sound to His ears. The fact that the praise band’s music is only an entry point to ushering His presence, while the congregation’s collective voice carries it to fruition.

From this unqualified person to another who may feel the same – join the club, and take the road less travelled with Jesus Christ. I love how Matthew 7:14 so aptly reads, “But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” The journey will be a squeeze and our feet may slip; yet once we find Life, our doors will stay wide open to all He has to offer, the author and finisher of our faith.

Stephanie
Stephanie serves in the 3:16 Praise band as an acoustic guitarist.

The post Heart on Strings first appeared on 3:16 Church.