THE CHANGE FACTOR 3: DON’T WASTE THE PANDEMIC

REV DR FOREST KOH

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. – EPHESIANS 2:10

Every Sunday, when the onsite service comes to an end, the worship leader would gently announce: “We seek your cooperation to leave the church premises immediately.”

We have no time to say hello to each other, to exchange peace, or to share our lives. We can only smile and wave with our masked faces from a distance. We have encouraged brothers and sisters to meet at the hawker centre to catch up physically, but we know that not many responded – partly because the hawker centre is so crowded on Sundays. We are so near yet so far. I don’t think this is the outcome God would have desired for us in this pandemic.

The call for the setting up of the home church is getting louder. There is an urgent need to endorse and support the home church as a complementary way of doing church in GPC. But what is home church in GPC?

Please help me to think together... how does a home church in GPC look like?

1      The home church is a small group that gathers at home to worship, fellowship, study the word and 

        doing good works together.

2      The home church will worship with the GPC online service but has the flexibility of choosing its own

         worship time and venue (home) to gather together.

3      After service, the small group fellowship in the Word by sharing what they heard from God in the

        service, with discussions questions provided by the speaker.

4      Breaking of bread will be rendered by pastors or elders in person or by the hosts of the home

         churches once a month by following the online holy communion.

5      During the pandemic, it will be the same group of people gathering in a home. This is an intentional

         way of creating communities with God and His people.

6      When the pandemic is over, we can continue to reach out to friends to our homes. It is easier and

        friendlier to invite non-believers to home than to church as some may feel intimidated.

7      Periodically, the home church can arrange to go back to worship in GPC and fellowship outside the

        church.

8      Assuming the pandemic and the restrictions will be with us for a while, the home church will

        strengthen the bond among believers, and will guard against complacency in worship.

As I envisioned the home church, my heart is filled with excitement and expectation, and my heartbeat races. There are so many good things that can happen because of this pandemic. When we gather and worship God at home, we can experience authentic worship and form genuine relationships; this is because the home is a place where we can really get open and personal with each other. When our homes become a sacred place of worship, we encounter God personally and collectively. I just cannot imagine how much God will bless the home, the sacred place, that is used to worship Him! Moreover, this authentic worship and fellowship with real people can continue even into the unpredictable future. 

Worshipping at home with a group of brothers and sisters also underscores the truth that church is an assembly of God’s people, not a building.

If small groups in the CG Ministry, Safe Ministry and Women Ministry fully embrace this mission, meaning, they will meet every week before God and with His people. This will strengthen the bond among the Glorians and prepare us for the good work which God has prepared beforehand for all Christians to do. (Eph2:10) Don’t waste the pandemic.

Sounds exciting? But there will be challenges: Are we willing to embrace changes, changes in how we worship and fellowship that is pleasing to God? Are you prepared to commit to this mission to open your home as a home church?

If you are affirmative, or you have other thoughts about home church, do drop me a note at forest@glorypresbyterian.org