St James' Church

We (including Pas Henry and Glenn Lim) have just returned from an amazing one-week Vision trip which was called ‘witnessing the revival hearts of Korean churches.’ It was jointly organised by Alpha Korea and Alpha Asia-Pacific. More than a hundred pastors and leaders from Asia and Central Asia participated.

We travelled to a few cities and learned about 14 growing churches, with size ranging 100+ to over 10,000. We were briefed on the impact of Alpha in their churches and how they ran the course. The talks are all done live (in Korean, of course). Almost every church has a fully equipped kitchen and dining hall. The growth in terms of new believers is phenomenal by any standards. One church grew form 4,000 to 10,000 in a period of 6 years. Another pastor shared about pastoring a church which was stagnating at about a hundred and how he was very discouraged. Then he learned about Alpha and attended a training retreat for senior pastors. His church grew to over a thousand since then and with that, new life and purpose.  Interestingly, most of these churches are Presbyterians ones.

Some courses are done in centralised locations (in church) while others are in homes. The basic ingredients are all there: lots of prayer, every member mobilised to invite friends, women folks work hard at decorations and cooking, pastors do the talks, always a Weekend away (not day) and well, in good Korean style, they even do the traditional foot washing ceremony for their guests!
The trip ended with a visit to Prayer Mountain which was a very moving experience. Then we attended a service at the famed Yoido Full Gospel church.

All in all, it was an insightful trip as we get to experience a bit of all that the Lord has been doing in this country. Our vision of what God can do in a nation and in every local church has certainly been expanded. In November, through the pulpit, I will share more on what the Lord has been saying to me during this trip.

Meanwhile, we begin our missions month this Sunday. It is one organised with a difference to flow along with our emphasis on discipleship. We welcome Kua Wee Seng from Church of the Good Shepherd as he shares from his work in China with us.