Rev Dr Quek Suan Yew

Ministries in the Church –

A Blessing!

All the ministries of the church have been designed for the blessings of God's people. The fellowship groups are grouped according to ages to cater to specific needs. The teens may have certain teenage struggles. The youths have their struggles in school, at home and with BGR. The Young Adults have early working life and family life challenges. The Adults have mid–life, career and family life challenges. The Senior Adults may be retired, are at the tail end of their careers, their children are grown up and are about to leave or have left home, and they have to wrestle with the empty nest syndrome. Some of them have to learn from God's Word how to be godly grandparents! The Golden Years Fellowship is made up of seniors who have much to reflect upon in life and to learn how to be prepared to meet the LORD. Their race is about to be completed and prayerfully all of them will be able to say, like the apostle Paul, in 2 Timothy 4:6-8 (KJV), "For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. 7 I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: 8 Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing."

As such, the programmes and messages are designed to cater to their respective age groups. The Christian fellowship is centred round their respective shared challenges and blessings. The primary function is to help God's people grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. The fellowship groups help to strengthen Christian fellowship which is very needful for maturity and mutual encouragement when trials come upon us. Believers need to know that they do not struggle alone. The trials they face are common among all believers. It is comforting that the journey of every believer on earth as he serves the LORD is similar, with many stumbling blocks placed by the evil one, but always only if God allows it.

We thank God for all the ministries and God's people who are called to serve in them. The committee members are to be spiritually mature, to pray and plan programmes and activities that God would want His children to experience when they attend the activities. The message themes/topics are to be prayerfully considered and must be from God because God knows what His children need best!

Local churches that do not have such fellowships as part of their ministries will suffer. Their members are left to fend for themselves when they could have easily found help from brothers and sisters in Christ of the same age group in fellowship groups. More importantly, they could be more spiritually prepared from God's Word through the messages given in the fellowship groups before the trials come. If you have not been attending any of these fellowships, please prayerfully reconsider. You are missing out on tremendous blessings that your heavenly Father has prepared for you. Many of your struggles and problems could have been solved much earlier and with better ease if only you had come and listened to the messages that God had prepared for you! The many mistakes you made could have been avoided and the damaging consequences changed if only you had learned the teaching from God's Word to guide you in your struggles. Of course, there is also the Christian fellowship with your brothers and sisters in Christ that can be most encouraging and comforting. This is a symbiotic experience that is mutual and ought to be regarded as a foretaste of heaven because in heaven the sweet fellowship will continue to eternity!

When I read one of the testimonies from the Adult Fellowship Thanksgiving Night, I was very much encouraged. The LORD constrained my heart to share this with you because I know that the blessing ought to be for all of God's people and not just a few.

This is a brief summary about the founding of the AF ministry written by Dn Lee Kong Sing:

"In 2012, it was proposed at Session Retreat to establish a new fellowship group catering to adults of ages ranging from 35 to 50. We thank God for moving the hearts of our leaders to take this important step in providing for the spiritual needs of CPBPC. By God's enabling, the new fellowship was established in 2013. Since then, the AF has steadily grown in attendance over the last two years. We thank God for bringing His sheep to be ministered to by the AF. For the year 2016, we start a new series of 15 messages entitled "the Kings of Judah".

"At our first 2016 meeting, the AF conducted a Thanksgiving Night. The AF Exco viewed this event with great significance. It was an evening of remembrance and thanksgiving towards our loving and Almighty God for blessing the AF over the last year. Deuteronomy 27:2-8 was shared. The people of Israel were commanded to perform two duties when they had successfully crossed the Jordan River and entered into the Promised Land. They were to write out God's Law and they were to set up an altar to worship God. We took cue from this. The evening was a time for AFers to recommit themselves to the Lord for a year of service and obedience as well as an evening of worship and thanksgiving for what the Lord has done for the AF thus far. There were two testimonies shared that evening. One of them has been reproduced for your blessing. Please continue to pray that God will continue to use the AF to bless many."

The following is a Testimony by one of AF's members --
It’s Thanksgiving night and I really thank God for the privilege to be able to stand here and share with all of you "how AF has been a blessing to me and my family".

The first time I heard about the plan to set up a new fellowship group was between mid to late 2013. There was talk of setting up a new fellowship to cater to people who are a bit older than the current YAFers, but younger than the AF, who have young children as well. I really do thank God that the leaders of this church recognized the need. My family and I certainly belong in this category. Before the establishment of the new AF, we had yet to commit to any fellowship. It has indeed been a blessing that we are able to join a fellowship group and grow in it. My family and I have been in AF since its inception and thank God for the opportunity to contribute and serve in various areas.

The experience in AF has been great. I really thank God for the faithful preaching of God’s Word at every session. I have enjoyed the messages as they are topical and relevant to some of the challenges we face daily. The other aspect is the discussion that takes place after the message. I have been very encouraged by the discussions and sharing. The group’s willingness to open up and share about certain topics and issues is a true blessing for me. I really have learnt a lot from it.

Being able to listen to messages and participate in Bible discussions are things that we can take for granted. With two kids, it can be difficult to participate. With that, I would like to thank God for Dn Simon, the teachers and helpers who have been so faithful in teaching the Word of God to the children, keeping them occupied with activities and fun while the parents learn God’s Word. Without their support and help, we parents would not be able to listen to and learn God’s Word in peace. My two kids always look forward to coming to AF and to be blessed. They look forward to learning God’s Word as well as learning how to cook, play games and other activities.

I also thank God that I am able to serve in AF, helping with coordinating and the cleaning after dinner. I am very encouraged by all who are involved, always ready to help with the clean up after dinner. And sometimes those who were not on duty or were asked to help willingly chipped in to clean up.

Thank God for the cooks who have prepared and contributed to the dinner fellowship. I always look forward to the time that we can have fellowship dinner together, to share the challenges in life and to be encouraged. Thank God for the F&B team. I know the amount of hard work put in and these are the unsung heroes who ensure that we have food to eat.

Last but not least, I would like to thank God for the Exco. It’s not easy to organize activities suitable for such a big group of people. Thank God for their hard work and dedication in making sure that the programmes are enriching as well as the little hand-made gifts and presents.
The following is a summary of how the AF been a blessing to me and my family:
- We are blessed by the faithful preaching of God’s Word.
- We are blessed by the fellowship; after joining AF, I got to know more people in church, involved in various ministries.
- We are blessed by faithful servants who teach our kids at each meeting.

Being able to fellowship with brothers and sisters in Christ is amazing. It is important to be part of a fellowship group especially in a church this size because we can easily slip into our own comfort zone. This was what happened to us during our early days in Pandan. Ever since we joined AF, a strong bond has been built with so many of you here. It is amazing. Being able to talk, enjoy and participate in activities like Pandan Cup at church camps has truly been a blessing.

I would like to encourage those who have yet to participate in a fellowship group to start now. It is important to be in the company of like-minded brethren. I would like to end with a few verses:
- 1 Thessalonians 5:11, Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.
- Romans 12:1, I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.