Newton Life Church
Above: Newton Life Church, which is suprisingly at Newton Road.
This is my 'spiritual home' back in Singapore. Newton Life Church is where I have accpeted Christ into my life, and started attending services regularly for about 3 years. NLC is situated near Newton Hawker Center, which is in my opinion a 'hive of scum and villany'. Anyway, I have never expected myself to join this church and become part of this family. Surely, I thank God for bringing me here and growing up in this wonderful church.
If you happen to drop by Singapore for a transit flight or as a tourist, and would like to visit a church there, do contact me and I would love to invite you as a friend. The NLC website can be accessed here:
How I Came Here
That's quite a long story itself, and deserves a page by itself! I am not a Christian since birth, and interestingly NLC was so near to my house and I was initially oblivious of its existence. God had good timing.
Before this, I was quite an anti-Christian, and an automatic skeptic. I was irked of Christians, who seemed to be false people who profess to be religious, and yet lead life no different from the normal person. Religion for me was seen as the opiate of the poor, something to eat on and to ignore reality. Jesus seemed to be a figure who just did not have any relevance to me, He did not do anything substantial for me or for the world. Why would a God allow so much pain and suffering to go on unhindered? It did seem to me I could think better than the Christian God.
At the same time, I recognized an intangible need to live a moral life. Purpose of life was something I assumed I had grasped, to satisfy oneself. On introspection, it did seem that that statement was contradictory in nature. How can I live a moral life if some of my satisfaction has no firm moral guidelines? What good is it to the world if I just worked for my own benefit (grades, money...) and professed I lived a moral life without commiting any huge sin? Everyday went by with sin, and my attempts of self-justification were not free of the shadow of hypocrisy.
So faced with so much contradiction in myself, and an image of worthlessness in the longevity of my efforts, I posed this question to a classmate after school ended. Well, she recommended I should consider Jesus in my life, and I guess I did take that into mind. I tried looking up to Jesus before, and maybe it might be a good idea to see Him again.
Since the first day I stepped into NLC, I began to have contact with a couple of seminary students. A message seemed clear to me: Jesus is not here to prove you wrong. Christians are not here to prove that they hold the moral highground. Jesus is here to save you, regardless of who you are and what you have done. Why? Love. Simply love to get us back.
The rest can be said as history. I accepted Christ into my life and grew in NLC.
A brief testmony I shared in the church can be found here. It's more brief and does cover areas not included in the paragaphs above:
NLYM
NLYM (Newton Life Youth Ministry) underwent huge changes during the past 3 years. It has been great to be a part of NLYM, to bear witness to the group's growth. NLYM is not a group that just exists for socializing, but to reach out to youths for God, and provide a place for them to fellowship with one another in Christ.
As stated earlier, NLYM is a rather new entity in the church. It is very different from the youth groups before, which were seperated into TF (Teenage Fellowship) and YF (Youth Fellowship). Once we had a youth pastor, we merged the 2 groups together and began to meet regularly after the main Sunday Service. NLYM began to grow to what it is now. Of course there were times of obstacles and failure, as NLYM can be counted as a 'pioneer group', and thank God for seeing us through this endeavour.
Activities span a wide range such as weekly Saturday services, a summer camp in Sentosa, an outing to East Coast Park and an open air steamboat dinner at NLC. Some of these events were outreach events where our youth were encouraged to bring new friends to, and others focused on the spiritual growth of NLYM's members. Also, the group is divided into a few Small Groups, which comprise of youth of the same age, led by a Small Group leader. Ususally SGs meet to discuss issues related to a sermon, or even to go out together to bond as a group.
During the last year or so, I began taking pictures, and NLYM was my subject most of the time. It was great to take pictures of youth together and worshipping the Lord, fellowshipping (if there is such a word) as one, and play with my camera. All of the photos are posted on my facebook profile and are open to viewing. I thank God again for having the opportunity to take wonderful shots for the youth.
Currently, NLYM is being lead by a group of faithful brothers and sisters. With a Pastor-in-Training at the helm, supported by Youth Workers and further supplemented by Student Leaders. I maybe away from Singapore, but I have been keeping contact with the group, and they seem to be all right. When I can, I try to wake up for their Saturday Services at 5pm (or 5am EST).
God bless NLYM.
NLYM keeps a blog and it can be found through this link:
Treasure Hunters
This was another venture I have never expected to be a part of, and I thank God for it. TH (Treasure Hunters) is a weekly program for geared for kindergarten children, its aim was to teach the children about Jesus in a involving and engaging way. Run by an infatigible team of adults and youth, TH ran an array of events such as puppet shows, outing to a petting farm, art and craft sessions and even giving the children ice cream!
It was about a week before TH started that I was approached by Aunty G (who leads the TH team), to take photos and video of the program. Although it was about a month from college, I thought it was a great idea to practice my photography, help out with the team and hang out with little children.
In the end, it was a rewarding experience. Although it meant my Saturdays started early in the morning, I was able to capture quite a few good shots and get to know the children better. Concurrently, I was working with the kindergarten and I was getting more familiar with the kids. It broadened my experience with children, having the chance to see how they behave, how I should communicate with children, and have fun playing with them.
Most importantly, I was part of a team that held God first in their lives and worked for the glory of God. I have full respect for them, as they continue on serving the children without me.
