Gospel Partnership with ACTS Baptist Church
One of our aspirations as a church is to establish gospel partnerships with other churches to fulfill Christ's commission. Pastor Oliver shares with us about this opportunity to partner with ACTS Baptist Church.
A team of eight men from GBC are currently partnering with ACTS Baptist Church (ACTS) to preach a series of exposition in 1 John from August to December this year. This opportunity came from last year's Preaching Labs sessions, which the Pastoral Staff conducted as part of our plans to train men to preach and teach the Word.
The origin of a friendship with Acts
I first got to know the former pastor of ACTS, Joshua Shoo, through some meetings and also met regularly for several months to read the Bible and pray thereafter. He subsequently invited me to visit and preach at ACTS, and I had the chance to preach 2 to 3 times a year at ACTS from 2018.
Over time, I was also able to get to know the other leaders and members of ACTS after their worship services. Knowing ACTs and building a relationship with the church prompted me to keep them in prayer. We at Grace Baptist Church (GBC) have continued to pray for ACTS in our worship services as part of our efforts to pray for other churches regularly.
A chance to love and serve together
Roy and Victor, leaders from ACTS were invited to join us for the Preaching Labs. The sessions provided equipping but also a chance for us to know one another better. At the end of our training, Roy and Victor invited a team of men from the Preaching Labs to preach a sermon series together. We gladly accepted and formed a team that would do so. Mark, Yanadi, Joshua, Lup Meng, Hewlett, Marcus, Matthew and I (Oliver) hope to serve ACTS by preaching the Word this year.
About ACTS Baptist Church
Who is ACTS Baptist Church? ACTS first began as the ACTS Baptist Gospel Centre. On 20 May 1984, American missionaries Charles and Sharon Carroll, along with twelve other young men and women known as the New Life Team, were commissioned by Queenstown Baptist Church to begin a new congregation.
Then, all the team members were single young adults except for the Carrolls, and they collectively committed to staying for two years to help establish the group. Today, the original team members continue to serve the church faithfully, a testament to their dedication, tenacity and God's empowering grace.
The name "ACTS" is actually an acronym that stands for "Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, and Supplication". This name was proposed and adopted because of the importance of prayer to this new team. Each component in the acronym is a vital element in prayer.
ACTS also reminded the team of the Acts of the Apostles of the New Testament. This reminder was an encouragement and a reminder to the team to rely on the powerful and continuing work of the Holy Spirit in all believers' lives.
Currently, ACTS has 50-60 in attendance in their worship service on Sunday afternoon. They meet on the premise of Pasir Panjang Tamil Methodist Church. More details about them and their ministries can be found on their website here.
Importance of such partnerships
Why is it important for GBC to establish such relationships with other churches? As part of the aspiration of GBC, we want to develop and build gospel partnerships. We aspire to strengthen cooperation with other like-minded churches, both along and across denominational lines, to fulfil Christ's commission. We hope to follow Paul's model in Philippians 1:3-5, as he partners with the Church in Phillipi for the gospel's sake. We desire to make disciples by proclaiming the gospel, so non-Christians are evangelised and Christians built up in the faith. One key way to make disciples is to partner with like-minded churches so that gospel opportunities are multiplied as we share resources and work together.
So what can we as a church do? GBC, we can be praying for ACTS for the fruit of changed lives from preaching God's Word. Pray also for ACTS to raise a team of shepherds -- elders who would be able to teach the Word and lead, guide and protect the church.
Do continue to pray for the preaching team as we preach a series of expository messages from 1 John from August to December. Pray that we will be faithful to the Word and speak with gospel conviction and clarity. You can also come alongside by encouraging the team when you meet us in our worship services. In praying and encouraging, you will partner with us as we partner with ACTS for their good and the gospel's sake. Soli Deo Gloria!
Check out the sermons of ACTS Baptist Church, and by our team here.