Missions At Our Doorstep

BY PR NANCY LIM

“You don’t have to go overseas to do missions.” You would have heard this statement many times. This statement could be easily misinterpreted by some Christians. Some might argue “Why go overseas when there are still so many people in Singapore who have yet to believe in Jesus?” Others might raise questions regarding the usefulness of sending short-term mission teams or the viability of supporting long-term overseas missionaries. 

I believe that there is a place for both short-term and long-term missions in God’s redemption plan. I also believe that God calls certain people to serve overseas as missionaries, but He also expects all Christians to play their part to witness for Christ and to bring the gospel to the lost.

For those of us who are not specifically called to serve overseas as missionaries, there are still many opportunities to participate in The Great Commission. We can partner mission agencies and missionaries in their ministries such as going as part of a short-term mission team, giving prayer and financial support, attending to the needs of missionaries’ aged parents etc.

“Missions at our doorstep” is another comment that is often uttered. This is particularly true for Singapore because our strategic location has attracted people from many countries to come here for work or studies. Therefore, it is true that we do not necessarily have to go overseas to do missions, in the sense that we can get involved in cross-cultural missions without stepping out of Singapore. We can do this by intentionally engaging in friendly conversations with domestic helpers, migrant workers, or expatriates etc. and seizing every opportunity to share the gospel with them. On this note, our Fillipina Fellowship and Indonesian Fellowship offer us the opportunity to befriend and care for our Fillipina and Indonesian sisters, literally right at our doorstep. 

GPC is strategically situated in the Toh Yi neighbourhood. This neighbourhood has long been regarded by our church as a mission field that we need to reach out. Unfortunately, our efforts to build relationships with the residents were greatly hampered by the pandemic.

However, GPC Evangelism Ministry has geared up to re-establish our relationship with the residents and our contact with the Toh Yi Residents’ Network since last year. We continued to carry out the annual door-to-door Christmas gifts distribution and extended invitation to the residents to attend our Christmas concerts. We also co-organised the Christmas Carnival with the Toh Yi Residents’ Network in December last year. This year, we are again looking to the church members and various ministries to support this event that will take place on 2 December 2023.

We have also been getting good responses from the Toh Yi residents for our Basic Beginner Guitar Course. We have just completed the third run of the course and the fourth run is planned to start on 2 September 2023. We are glad that some residents have been joining us regularly for our monthly Strum and Sing sessions. Not only did they come, but they brought along friends who love to sing or strum (or both). There are opportunities for non-believers to hear the gospel and establish friendship with Christians while making music together. This would not be possible without a handful of church members who are faithfully serving in this outreach program. There is so much more that we could do if not for the lack of more helpers and volunteers.

Jesus told “The Parable of the Good Samaritan” in Luke 10:25-37 when he was asked by a lawyer “Who is my neighbour?”. Both the priest and the Levite chose to pass by on the other side when they saw the half-dead man lying on the road after he was attacked by some robbers. But a Samaritan had compassion for the man and stopped to help him. Jesus asked, “Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbour to the man who fell among the robbers?” And when the lawyer said, “The one who showed him mercy,” Jesus responded, “You go, and do likewise.”

Could you identify with the characters in the parable? Perhaps some of us have been too busy with own personal matters that we, like the priest and Levite, choose to “pass by on the other side”. How can you “love your neighbour as yourself”? Would you consider some of the above opportunities that are open for you to participate in missions at your doorstep? 

For our next Strum and Sing session, we will be celebrating National Day with our neighbours. We will be strumming and singing many familiar “NDP Songs”. You may bring along your musical instruments or simply sing along with everyone. Do come and get to know our neighbours on 5 August 2023.