Recap of Members' Meeting (12 May 2024)
We held another Members' Meeting on 12 March 2024. During this meeting, we received and saw out members, were updated on upcoming pastoral team transitions, and heard of updates about our life together as a church.
Members of GBC filled the Fellowship Hall on 12 May 2024, to welcome new members, see out members who have settled in other churches, and also hear of updates from our Elders. Though it was a packed agenda, Elder Gerald led us in prayer at the start of the meeting, as a reminder that the church is fully dependent on God in all of these matters.
Membership Matters
Pastor Oliver then took the time to speak of membership matters. He reminded us that meaningful membership in a local church is lived out when we believe and obey Christ, and also meet and gather regularly with the other members of body for worship, fellowship and encouragement.
Next, different elders came up to introduce the members that we are seeking to welcome in. These elders have done an Elder Chat with each individual and affirm their profession of faith. A total of 11 individuals were presented, with 3 joining by baptism and 8 by transfer. As members, we were encouraged to hear of how God has worked in their lives to save them from the deadness of their sin, gave them new life, hearts and desires. All present affirmed and welcomed each of them as a member of GBC.
Pastor Oliver also led us through the Members’ Covenant. As the opening paragraph of our Member’s Covenant states, “Having been brought by God’s grace to repent from sin, believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and be baptised into Him, and desiring to live our new life in Christ in light of the Gospel, we joyfully and solemnly enter into this covenant with one another as one body in Christ.” The regular recitation of this Covenant at our Members’ Meeting is meaningful, as it continues to serve as a reminder of our roles and responsibilities to one another as members of GBC.
Next, Pastor Oliver also shared with us the names of members who are transferring out. We thank God that these members have found another Gospel-preaching church that they are seeking to be a part of, and we pray that they will continue to grow there.
To end this session, Pastor Oliver shared the names of members that have not been present at our services for the past year. He encouraged members to reach out to these members and care for them, as well as to encourage them to return to gather with the church family. Due to the sensitive nature of this list, we will not list it here. However, if you’d like to find out who they are, do speak with any one of our Elders. At the same time, if you know of members who have been irregular or have other concerns to gather regularly, feel free to chat with any of the Elders too.
Pastoral Plans and Transitions
Elder Caleb presented two updates on our pastoral plans and transitions. First, he shared that Samuel, our Ministry Worker for Care Groups will be sent out in a cross-cultural missionary role, supported by the Missions Committee and under the Elders. He will be supported financially and we will also check in with him to receive regular updates and to encourage him. Caleb also took the chance to pray for Samuel ahead of his move.
We thank God for Samuel’s ministry among us, and are thankful for how God has also worked in his heart to bring about this desire to bring the gospel to the nations. Let us keep him in prayer as he moves and adjusts to life in a new country and culture. Samuel also wrote a “farewell note” to us in this article.
The second update was related to the search for a new pastor. Last October, we had shared our growing sense, from our 8 Aspirations, that there was a need for a missions focus and to establish plans for a church plant. The Elders continue to believe that God’s Spirit is leading us towards exploring planting a church and that is work in progress.
But some things have also changed. Today, we have 416 members attending 34 Care Groups (CG), which is quite a high participation rate. Therefore, there needs to be more attention devoted to it, especially as we send Samuel out. CGs plays a key role in Christian education and is also a core part of how many members experience body life and form relationships. The Elders recogise that if God continues to grow us steadily, we will need to form new groups, identify new leaders and recommend care groups to new members. This requires training, guidance and care. Thus, there is a significant area of work in this aspect.
The Elders also sense there is also a growing need for counselling in our midst. Our active member care and CG ministry give us an excellent line of sight, but we do need more training in the area of biblical counselling. We desire to train members to walk along one another while drawing on the resources in God’s Word, and hope to develop a pool of members we can tap on for some of this work.
Because of these two needs, Elder Caleb shared that the elders hope to bring on a pastor to provide oversight in these areas. This does not mean that plans for a church plant or missions are taking a back seat. The Elders continue to work on these, and will try to work within these five pastoral headcounts to meet those goals in the days ahead. But for now, there is a sense that these needs to be met, and we are seeking to do so.
He encouraged the church to pray alongside the Elders, that we will find a suitable candidate. There was also a time for members to ask questions, and he encouraged members to seek out the Elders if they still have more questions or need clarification about these matters.
Looking Ahead
Pastor Jeremy took us through some key events in the months ahead. As we seek to grow in the word, our sermon series will be in 1 Thessalonians from now to July. Find out more about the themes as well as the sermon schedule here. This is a relatively short book, so we do encourage us all to read to prepare ahead of time.
In terms of growing as a church, Pastor Jeremy shared that the Elders will be having their Retreat on 22 June. He encouraged members to pray for the Lord’s leading, and wisdom and unity. He also highlighted the ongoing need for volunteers to help with our Nursery and Children’s programme on Sundays. Members who are interested can write to the team (kidsmin@gracebaptistchurch.sg).
As we seek to grow the gospel, we plan to do the following in the months ahead:
Host a student who is doing her field education in the months of June and July.
Conduct our Ministry Traineeship, which is now running for 10 months from July 2024 to May 2025. All who are interested to find out more or apply can do so here.
Organise a Weekender for lay and full-time elders, ministry workers from other churches from 5 to 8 September.
The Elders also highlighted the following events for members’ to note:
Baptisms on 19 May
Church Matters on 13 July
Members’ Meeting on 14 July
In 2025, we also hope to hold our Church Camp from 4-7 June! We hope that by releasing the dates early, members can save the date and plan to participate!
Announcements
Next, Elder Chuan-Xin shared three key announcements. Firstly, he shared that the Elders are putting forward Toshiyuki Mori (or more commonly known to many as “Toshi) and Steven Ngiam to be Elder Candidates. Both these men have been Elder Associates for the past year, where they learnt from and alongside the Elders and also participated in their meetings.
Chuan-Xin called both men up to briefly introduce them to the members. Toshi is currently a Deacon serving in the Worship ministry, and he has been involved in worship leading for many years. He is leading a CG now with his wife. Steven has also served as a CG leader, and has been actively involved in many of our outreach efforts to the MacPherson neighbourhood.
Their testimonies will be made available in the coming weeks. There will also be a time for Q&A with these men on 30 June 2024, after our monthly Prayer Meeting. More details will follow. In the meantime, members are free to speak with them, or with any of the Elders if they have questions!
Next, Bryan Tan and Daniel Chen will be invited to join as Elders’ Associates for the next year. These men have been serving in various ministries and have also participated in the Shepherding Training Group.
Finally, the members will also need to participate in the re-election of Pastor Thian Chye to ECL. Once again, more details will follow closer to the date of the meeting. Members, do look out for emails or announcements regarding this matter.
Small Group Prayer and Closing Prayer
To close the meeting, members were encouraged to break up into smaller groups to pray for these items, as well as for one another. It is always heartening to see God’s people praying together for His church and His people.
Our next Members’ Meeting will be on 14 July 2024. See you there!
If you have any questions about any part of this meeting, we encourage you to speak with our elders in person, or you can also write to them at info@gracebaptistchurch.sg.