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Should the ministers of the Word (and others who are called to serve the Lord full-time) support themselves by taking on a secular job, or should the church provide them with a regular salary? To put forth the question more bluntly, is materially recompensing a pastor (or a preacher) by his church an unbiblical practice?

Some advocate that all preachers should support themselves because the apostle Paul engaged in ‘secular work’ on some occasions (e.g. tent-making when he was in Corinth – cf. Acts 18:3; 20:34-35; 1 Corinthians 4:12; 2 Thessalonians 3:8-9) in order to support himself. However, this was not the norm for either Paul or others who are called to be ministers of the Word (pastors, preachers, etc.). The instructions in Paul’s writings and the rest of the New Testament on the subject is that the church should support her Gospel-workers so that they may give themselves to the ministry of the Word and to the care of souls, without being burdened and distracted by their own personal and families’ needs.

Paul asked the Corinthians, “If we have sown unto you spiritual things, is it a great thing if we shall reap your carnal things?” (1 Corinthians 9:11). In other words, Paul was asking the Corinthian church whether it would be too much to receive material rewards from them for the spiritual work that Paul and his apostolic team had rendered to them. In fact, Paul had earlier argued, “Who goeth a warfare any time at his own charges? who planteth a vineyard, and eateth not of the fruit thereof? or who feedeth a flock, and eateth not of the milk of the flock?” (1 Corinthians 9:7). Here, Paul gave three illustrations to show that paying workers is normal and valid, and hence it was nothing wrong for Gospel-workers to receive their wages/support. Paul put forward this truth through rhetorical questions which obviously anticipated the answer: “None!” Soldiers, farmers and shepherds do not fight or labour during the day and then take a second job at night to procure food, clothes and houses for themselves and their families. Soldiers do not serve their king and nation at their own expense. They are provided with food, clothing, arms, lodging, and whatever else is needed to live and fight effectively. Farmers who cultivate crops, and shepherds who tend their flocks eat their food and earn a living from the products of their farming and shepherding respectively.

The apostle then said that such an expectation to provide for the ministers of the Word is Scripturally lawful - “Say I these things as a man? or saith not the law the same also? For it is written in the law of Moses, Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn. Doth God take care for oxen?” (1 Corinthians 9:8-9). The law of God, cited by Paul from Deuteronomy 25:4, states that God expects His people not to neglect the animals that labour for them. Even more importantly, according to Paul, the Lord’s command to care for their labouring animals was meant to teach His people about the duty to provide for the needs of human workers who faithfully and diligently labour. God’s concern is greater for men than animals (cf. Matthew 10:31; Luke 12:7, 24, 28). So Paul wrote, “Or saith he it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written: that he that ploweth should plow in hope; and that he that thresheth in hope should be partaker of his hope” (1 Corinthians 9:10). Paul’s emphasis is that God was speaking altogether for man’s sake, rather than for animals. Men should earn their living from their labour. The ploughman and the reaper should be able to work in the hope of having their share from the crops.

In fact, Paul observed that some who have been serving in the Corinthian church were already receiving material support from them – “If others be partakers of this power over you, are not we rather?” (v. 12a). However, he chose not to receive the material support that was due to him – “Nevertheless we have not used this power; but suffer all things, lest we should hinder the gospel of Christ” (v. 12b). Paul decided not to receive the support from the church in Corinth, not because that it was wrong to do so, but he felt that (in this case) it might have hindered the Gospel work. The Corinthian believers, who were young in faith (and with some from Gentile background), might have thought of Paul as peddling the Gospel for money.

He went on to affirm that the right thing is for the ministers of the gospel to receive support from the church - “Do ye not know that they which minister about holy things live of the things of the temple? and they which wait at the altar are partakers with the altar? Even so hath the Lord ordained that they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel” (1 Corinthians 9:13-14). Paul provided two examples from Israel’s religious life and Jesus’ ministry. Paul’s first reference was to the Old Testament practice of supporting the priests who performed sacred services in the Temple with the tithes of crops and animals, as well as with portions allocated from sacrifices of the people. Because the tribe of Levi had no inheritance in Israel, God demanded that the Levites should receive their income from the gifts which the people brought to God’s sanctuary (Deut. 18:1). The priests received a share of what was offered on the altar. So, Paul’s emphasis is that the provisions for the pastors and preachers of the gospel should be based on the same principle of provisions for the priests and Levites of the LORD’s temple in the Old Testament. The second supporting precedent that Paul cited was Jesus’ instruction to His disciples whom He sent out to minister to the people – “Even so hath the Lord ordained that they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel.” Jesus had advised His disciples that “in the same house remain, eating and drinking such things as they give: for the labourer is worthy of his hire. Go not from house to house” (Luke 10:7; cf. Luke 9:4; Matthew 10:10-11; Mark 6:10). The Lord Jesus’ advice for His servants was that they ought to receive their support from those whom they ministered. Jesus considered the preaching mission to be a full-time task that would prevent the preachers from earning income in a normal occupation. So, He affirmed their right to be supported.

With all the above arguments, Paul had put forth a watertight case for the support of the full-time ministers of the Word. He had cited the social norm, God’s Law and God’s Son to prove the legitimacy and necessity of material recompense for the teachers of God’s Word. It would be difficult to overemphasise the force of Paul’s argument about the duty of the believers (or the church) to remunerate those who taught them. To the Galatian church, he insisted, “Let him that is taught in the word communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things” (Galatians 6:6). Likewise, while exhorting Timothy, he wrote, “Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honour, especially they who labour in the word and doctrine. For the scripture saith, Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn. And, The labourer is worthy of his reward” (1 Timothy 5:17-18; cf. 2 Timothy 2:6).

It is abundantly clear that Scripture stipulates that the beneficiaries of the ministry of God’s servants ought to supply their needs. The remuneration which they extend to the minister must adequately provide for his necessities and personal expenses in equipping himself for the ministry. Providing a salary that would sufficiently support the minister and his family is the duty of the church where he ministers.

If it was Paul’s view that the church must remunerate the full-time workers of the church, why did he refuse his legitimate and irrefutable right to remunerations from the Corinthians at a great cost to himself? And why did he choose to be bi-vocational at times? Paul’s reason was that while he preached in pioneer areas in a pagan environment, he did not want the matter of his remuneration to be a distraction or hindrance to his hearers. He advocated greater flexibility in winning their hearts to the Gospel (cf. 2 Corinthians 11:8-11). Paul could hardly go to a new community and say, “The Lord commanded me to be supported by you.” Jesus’ words did not apply in the context of spreading the Gospel in the Hellenistic world. Modern missionaries too face similar circumstances as Paul in their pioneering work. Hence, the sending churches must support the missionaries. Paul himself gratefully accepted the help sent to him by the established churches, such as the church in Philippi – “I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at the last your care of me hath flourished again; wherein ye were also careful, but ye lacked opportunity… Notwithstanding ye have well done, that ye did communicate with my affliction. Now ye Philippians know also, that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church communicated with me as concerning giving and receiving, but ye only. For even in Thessalonica ye sent once and again unto my necessity” (Philippians 4:10, 14-16; cf. 2 Corinthians 8:1-2; 11:8-9).

Written by Sharon dela Cruz

Lamentations 3:22-25 declare, “It is of the LORD’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him. The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him.”

I praise and thank the Lord for His grace and goodness, mercy and faithfulness in my life, and for the wonderful privilege to serve Him. Indeed, there is no greater joy than to serve our faithful and loving Shepherd. Through the many changing scenes of life, the Lord has been my Guide and Strength. In times of sorrow and trial, He has been my Comfort and Friend. As I learn to trust Him more and more, my prayer is that I may continually submit to His will for my life.

By God’s providence, I was led to study design and animation during my polytechnic studies. When I first started my course, it was my prayer that I could use these skills to develop children’s teaching materials in the future. I desired and prayed that I may use my talents for the Lord, though I did not know how or where I could serve Him in the future. During that period of studies, I was also searching for a youth fellowship to attend; by God’s wonderful working, I came to know of Gethsemane Youth Bible Hour (GYBH), and thereafter started regularly attending GYBH and services at Gethsemane BP Church.

Upon my graduation in 2004, the Lord answered my prayer and guided me to render some months of service to the Lord. I started as a volunteer in Bible Witness Media Ministry (BWMM) and was later employed as a full-time staff in this ministry. I was convinced in my heart that I should put my skills, energy and time fully to serve the Lord, rather than serving worldly companies and be vexed in my heart doing secular projects that promote worldly ideologies. I was exhorted through the Word of God, in 1 Corinthians 15:58, that I should give my best efforts for the Lord: “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.”

I started with doing illustrations for various children’s materials and the Bible Witness magazine, in particular the series of comics on the life of Jonathan Goforth for the Children’s Page. Subsequently, I worked on the animation and graphics for the first production of “The Scripture in Song” DVD. With each new project for the children through BWMM, whether through DVDs, CDs, online and printed materials, I learned the importance and priceless value of teaching God’s Word, especially to the young ones, for there is no greater knowledge than that found in the Bible. “By humility and the fear of the LORD are riches, and honour, and life. 5 Thorns and snares are in the way of the froward: he that doth keep his soul shall be far from them. 6 Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:4-6).

I also thank God for the opportunity given to me to study some courses in FEBC. When I joined BWMM, Pastor Koshy encouraged us to take the Systematic Theology course so that we would be better equipped and grounded in the doctrines of the Bible, which I found to be a truly helpful and needful study. Praise God that He has enabled me to continue studying part-time courses online. I have been greatly blessed and have learnt many spiritual lessons under the guidance of Pastor and fellow labourers. Through the years, I have seen the Lord’s marvellous work in providing for our church. I particularly recall how our Bible Witness magazine used to be printed only in dual tone-two colours, but now the Lord has provided us with the means to print in full colour. Over the years, I have also witnessed how the Lord has always provided new brethren to serve when many left. Truly, the Lord is faithful.

In 2008, some months after the inauguration of Gethsemane Mission Church in Bogo, the Lord moved Pr Dominino to ask me to serve with him in the mission field. At first, I struggled with the thought of leaving my family and friends in Singapore to go to a foreign land, but I remember Pastor telling me to have the courageous spirit of Esther, that “If I perish, I perish.” The Lord rebuked me and convicted my heart with Jesus’ words in Matthew 10:37 – “He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me”. And so in March 2009, we were married in the Philippines and we laboured together in northern Cebu, in Bogo and San Antonio. By God’s grace, He enabled me to serve Him and I found much joy in teaching the children in both Bogo and San Antonio, as well as the various children’s ministries in Gairan and Binabag. The Lord also blessed us with our son, Nehemiah, in 2010.

However, in 2011, Domy was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer – Pseudomyxoma peritonei, a rare malignant growth characterised by the progressive accumulation of mucus-secreting (mucinous) tumour cells within the abdomen and pelvis. Though he went for many rounds of chemotherapy and tried various treatments, even coming to Singapore for surgery, the Lord took him home in July 2013. Through all the struggles, I thank God for His grace and strength, comfort and guidance, and for the love, prayers and generous giving of the brethren to aid us in our time of need. We truly experienced the Lord’s goodness and providence through the body of believers.

I would like to share 2 blessings that came through Domy’s sickness. Firstly, when Domy felt unwell in the beginning, a doctor misdiagnosed him with TB of the intestines, but this turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Nehemiah had been suffering from a persistent cough that would not go away. His paediatrician, upon knowing Domy’s condition, decided to test Nehemiah for TB. The test came back positive, and Nehemiah was put onmedication for 6 months! Looking back, I see the Lord’s sovereign Hand working in all these events. Secondly, I recall the day after we received the news of Domy’s cancer, when we went home with heavy hearts and minds. It was a Saturday, and there was to be Youth Fellowship that afternoon. Domy decided to bring the youths to do evangelism in the Binabag and Libjo area. Through this effort, a senior gentleman, Bro Toto, was brought back to Christ after years of backsliding. He offered a small shelter next to his house for a children’s ministry – and there, the Libjo children’s ministry was born, which continues till today.

At that time, I did not understand why the Lord made me a widow at the age of 29, with a 3-year-old son to care for, but I took comfort in that the Lord knows the end of each path that I take, and when I am tried and purified, I shall come forth as gold (cf. Job 23:10). Indeed, “Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; 4 Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God” (2 Corinthians 1:3-4). When I moved back to Singapore in September 2014, I desired to serve the Lord in any area that He would lead me to. However, I also had a duty to fulfil as a mother. I struggled for some time, facing criticism from some that I was neglecting my service to look after my child. But I thank God that I could still do little (but no less important) things for the Lord, even from home. I praise the Lord for every opportunity given to me to be part of this great work of spreading the Gospel and providing godly materials for children to be nourished up in the faith. I thank God I could finish the “Growing in Christ” animated Bible lessons (which are now on YouTube) for children to watch. I thank God also for enabling me to help in the packing and distribution of the Bible Witness magazine, and for Dn Lok’s patience in guiding and teaching me in these matters.

I also praise God that I can now have the privilege to work part-time in GMC, doing designing and coming up with illustrations for various projects, such as the activity book for the Genesis lessons, story-boarding and videoediting for the scripts being recorded for WebTV. Praise the Lord that I am also involved in transcribing some of Pastor’s messages, mixing of songs, as well as editing and compiling the weekly “Women of Virtue” segment for BWWR (Bible Witness Web Radio). I am particularly thankful for Sis Melissa, who patiently taught me how to use the software and do the mixing / editing. This became especially useful during the “circuit-breaker” period, when the choir had to do remote recordings from home. Praise the Lord for His enablement and grace each day.

Though I have faced some criticism for not working full-time and supporting my parents and child, and for not upgrading myself so that I could get a secular job and secure better prospects for the future, I thank the Lord for strengthening my resolve to still take care of Nehemiah and serve the Lord where He places me, trusting Him to provide. “Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?... But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matthew 6:26, 33).

I pray the Lord will continue to use me in BWMM, and/or in other areas of service in Gethsemane – for His glory and for the edification of the saints, and that I may serve Him in humility and faithfulness.

Written by Dorcas Koshy

On 1st of August 2020, I joined GBWL to serve in the area of music and multimedia. This would not have happened, had not the Lord broken me down greatly and moulded me through the past 2 trying year.

Though I have been earnestly praying over many years that I may know whether God would call me to serve Him fulltime, God has not confirmed that in my heart. Be that as it may, I would like to share my testimony prayerfully and with much gratitude, concerning how the Lord led me to offer my time and effort to the Lord’s work through GBWL. I hereby give
testimony not as one who is called into full-time ministry of the church, but as one who is constrained to glorify the Lord for bestowing on me so great a salvation (Heb 2:3), together with its accompanying spiritual blessings and benefits, that I can’t do otherwise but to serve Him.

His Gracious Sanctification of My Life

The Lord has been working in my life gently and yet firmly to bring me into subjection, that I may live humbly towards Him. He mercifully continues to show me the dangers of a lurking spirit of haughtiness and of esteeming oneself better than others. Through His Word and His providential working in my mind and life, the Lord has been instructing me on the value of submission to Him and towards those whom God has placed above me. Recent sermons by Pastor on the life of Moses, which I hear twice as I prepare them for weekly broadcast on the web radio, have been God’s gracious means of further sanctification and nurturing of my life.

I am acutely aware that the habit of rash speech must be tamed – for “the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell” (James 3:6). Thus, the counsel of Ecclesiastes 5:2-3 must be taken hold of by my heart – “Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few. For a dream cometh through the multitude of business; and a fool’s voice is known by multitude of words.” Through daily repentance, prayer, consecration and communion with the Lord, I pray that my thoughts, words and responses will be fully tamed and used by the Lord. “Yea, let none that wait on thee be ashamed” (Psalm 25:3).

His Gracious Equipping of My Life

I rejoice to recall the truth of Ephesians 4:8, that when our Lord “ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.” I thank my Lord for granting me certain abilities and talents which I can trade for Him in GBWL. Many a time, I felt the talent(s) placed into my hand were too big and heavy, ‘not-my-thing’ for me to trade. But as Matthew 25:15 reminds us that the Lord gives “to every man according to his several ability”, none of His gifts must be pushed away. Rather, I received them with trembling hands, joyfully “trading” in His service with ardent prayers at the throne of grace. For God has commanded – not “whatsoever your heart pleaseth to do”, nor “only whatsoever you are familiar or secularly trained to do easily”, but rather – “whatsoever thy hand findeth to do”. Indeed, “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest” (Ecclesiastes 9:10). He will not deliver unto me His “goods” for me to trade for Him (cf. Matthew 25:14) if He has not the necessary graces at hand to be dispensed to me according to the prayer of faith. Praise Him for the exceeding great and precious promises given to me according to His divine power to do His will (2 Pet 1:3-4). In chronological order over the past 5 months, these are some “goods” delivered unto me, and areas of labour provided by Him:

Firstly, the necessitated broadcasts from home during the Circuit-Breaker (CB) compelled me to observe my brother using Vmix (a video streaming software), and preparing the necessary related physical set-up. Unknown to me, the Lord equipped me through that opportunity to assist now in the weekly set-up for Pastor’s GBI lessons at GMC, as well as the streaming of GYF and (soon to be resumed) GLF physical fellowship meetings from Level 2’s seminar room. This is just the beginning; there’s more to learn and to regularly upgrade – I just have to keep “trading”.

Secondly, I thank God for His enabling grace in the maintenance of social media platforms for TGCM till early October 2020. Allow me to recount particularly how the online Shopee shop was initiated in May. Hearing of our brethren’s lack of income during the CB and the possible closure of removal services, I asked Pastor and Uncle John Peh for permission to initiate a Shopee shop for TGCM (though that was during a busy time for me as I was still working on my graduating submission). As Shopee was revising several policies, it became harder and took more time than I thought, since online guides were immediately outdated and unhelpful. Frankly, I did wonder if this labour of love to “supply the want of saints” was worth it, as I also was concurrently struggling to complete my assignments. But 1 Jn 3:16-18 admonishes me: “Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.”

Truly, He is a faithful God who does not fail us even in the least. The difficulties were from Him to once again prove the abundance of His power and goodness unto them who earnestly seek to be fruitful stewards of His provisions (cf. 2 Cor 8:14). Not only did He grant me grace to complete my academic work requirements and graduate (to my surprise) as best graduate, the Shopee shop was also successfully set up, which continues to be useful today. Incidentally, it was through Carousell that the order of 900 mask-cases from Bearyfun Gym came, and through Shopee that a rush-order of 300 mask-cases from a Citibank department came, alongside other smaller-quantity orders. Needless to say, while we work faithfully at whatsoever our hand findeth to do in “talenttrading”, God does the manifold multiplying!

Thirdly, I thank God also for grace to learn and build a simple CRM system for TGCM, with Bro Jordan’s recommendation of certain tools to systematise and increase the efficiency of TGCM Print’s order-collation and fulfilment workflow. My prayer is that the Lord be pleased to keep TGCM’s Gospel door open, for the bondage and destruction of vices will only get severer and darker. Thus, our light must shine brighter in this island, as the days become increasingly evil before our Saviour returns.

Fourthly, although Pro Tools is the digital audioworkstation software used here in Bible Witness, I was unsuccessful (providentially) in multiple attempts to set Pro Tools up from home during the CB. This compelled me to explore the next readily available option, Adobe Audition. Again unknown to me, it has proven needful and useful with a few crucial audio analysis and cleaning tools (that were lacking in Pro Tools), which have helped to better clean stray noises in many of the remotely recorded hymns. A key provision is also its usefulness in the recent prolonged ‘diagnosis’ of the highpitched frequencies experienced throughout our studios’ audio system, caused by electromagnetic interference from our GMC lift. With our own simple in-house recording and use of Audition, we could determine the frequency, loudness, etc. independently. (May the Lord continually grant His wisdom and grace to Dn Lok and team as they continuously troubleshoot this issue.)

Indeed, “Is there anything too hard for me?” saith the Omnipotent. By His enabling grace, today I also use Adobe Premiere Pro (a software I had not used prior to serving here), and am exploring the potential of Youtube tools (CC, autotranslation, etc.) for a more effective spread of the Word.

Thank God for the following biblical principles imbibed through these areas of service: cost-effectiveness over against extravagance; prudence over against parsimony; stewardship coupled with efficiency; patience / perseverance in tandem with compassion / courtesy. May I never misallocate / waste time and strength digging in the earth to hide my good Lord’s money (cf. Matthew 25:18); instead, may I rise early to trade daily. Ours is a high calling to service, to labour, to duty, to industry – such are opportunities not to be spurned foolishly. I pray that with clean hands and pure hearts, daily repentance and consecration, I may press on, be sanctified daily in the Spirit, and be “faithful in that which is least” (Luke 16:10). I pray that through this testimony, more hands (and hearts included, of course!) will be encouraged to labour diligently to fulfil the Great Commission, whatever the talent(s) He delivers unto us personally – as exhorted by the hymnwiter:

“Give of your sons to bear the message glorious;
give of your wealth to speed them on their way;
pour out your soul for them in pray’r victorious;
and all thou spendest, Jesus will repay.”
(from the hymn, O Zion, Haste!)

On a side but crucial note, I praise God for lovingly granting me much relief of pain in recent months. Though the usual aggravating factor of my pains - sedentariness - reached its peak during the pandemic-imposed CB, the Great Physician has been upholding me, that I may daily consecrate this frail body as a holy temple for spiritual sacrifices, in my seeking first God’s kingdom and His righteousness (Matt 6:33). “Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear” (Heb 12:28).

Written by Jordan Ballega

Psalm 66:16 declares, “Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what he hath done for my soul.” Indeed, I thank the Lord for this opportunity to share my testimony of His marvellous works in my life.

God’s Preservation of My Life

I truly believe that God has preserved my life, and all things that have happened in my life are due to His sovereign works, which are beyond my imagination and ability. I possess no merit of my own. Only God could have weaved such events into my life story. Never did I foresee that I would be able to land and even work here in Singapore.

I was born in a not so well-to-do family, and lived through a rather complicated childhood. All I could say is: those pains and struggles that I came across in those days were too early for my young body and mind to experience. Yet, that “eventful” life was allowed by God’s love and care for me. I managed to read a comics-Bible in my early age, and accepted Jesus Christ while I was in my secondary school. I thank God that in spite of all the hardships in life, I had parents who were dedicated in guiding me along the way. Looking back at all those past experiences, I never found a single moment that God had left me all alone in my struggles. “We love him, because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19).

Due to financial difficulties, I thought I would not be able to continue with my tertiary education. However, God moves in a most special way. I found a scholarship brochure through a fish-wrapper, which gave me the idea to apply. To my surprise, my application was accepted and I managed to enrol in the university. Due to some unforeseen event that happened during my senior level of study, my scholarship was terminated following the closure of my programme. But another scholarship came along the way through God’s using people/ organisations to support my study. This would allow me to get my diploma, which I never imagine I would need later to apply for a job in Singapore.

Finally, I graduated with a B.S. in Civil Engineering and began to search for a job, but God never opened the door for me to work in this field. Instead, I found my way into the multi-media industry. Thank God for the humble talent He has given me, though it never came to my mind that I would be serving God through this gift from Him. “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end” (Jeremiah 29:11).

God’s Leading in My Life

In my early years, I’ve been with various denominations – Seventh-Day Adventist, Roman Catholic and Charismatic. But God opened my eyes and showed me how Jesus Christ saved me from sin. God’s Word spoke to me: “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). That was in 1999, and subsequently I was baptised in a Baptist church in Philippines.

I see it as God’s “provision” when I lost my job in 2010 and suddenly decided to look for a job in Singapore. As it was the year when (my son) Jored was born, it was one of the toughest decisions that I made, to leave my family in that crucial time. Never did it come to my mind that God was leading me in the contemplation of my decision.

I came alone to Singapore, not knowing anyone and having no clue of what was going to happen. Upon my arriving at Changi airport, I went straight to Lucky Plaza (around 12 midnight), with no planned place to stay for the night. Through communication with my wife in the Philippines, a brother from a Baptist church (who had been working in Singapore for some time already) came, and helped me to find a place to lodge for that night. Truly, God is full of mercy; He took care of me and sent His help in the right circumstances when I needed it most. By God’s grace and mercy, I found a job. Two years later, my wife, together with my son, were reunited with me here in Singapore. Despite the stringent Singapore government’s rules and regulations concerning staying here with my family, God’s supreme power has also settled that for us.

In Service to God

It was 2013 when God led my family and I to Gethsemane B-P Church (through Pr Dennis Kabingue who shared to us a Gospel tract at a bus-stop in Geylang). That was in the midst of another tough time when I needed to go back to Philippines with Jored, as the renewal application for my E-pass were rejected many times. Those were moments when we were looking for a church (with children’s programme) to worship in. God’s perfect timing brought us to Gethsemane. I thank God for leading my family to a faithful Bible-believing church to worship Him. And from then on, we’ve been drawn closer to Him.

God’s special calling came in the middle of 2020, when He closed every possible way and opened one single door for me to go through. I was retrenched due to the effect of the pandemic on our company, where I had worked for nine consecutive years. All we could do as a family was to pray and trust in our Almighty Sovereign God, and obey whatever He wants us to do. In fact, I had already prepared myself to go back to Philippines. Then, a week before my E-pass was to be cancelled, I messaged Pastor Koshy to bid my farewell and thanksgiving (after I was called upon to pray during one Tuesday Night prayer meeting). We talked over the phone and discussed about my retrenchment. Little did I realise that God would move Pastor’s heart to discuss the matter of my possible employment by GBWL to the church elders. When God brought this to pass, I was amazed that the rest were taken care of by the Lord. God’s counsel prevails despite all the uncertainty. Nothing can resist His sovereign will. As Jeremiah 29:12 says, “Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.”

I started my full-time service to the Lord four months ago. There are “learning curves” that come along the way as I am not familiar with many things, but God’s Hand taught me what I should do. “The preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from the LORD” (Prov. 16:1).

I was assigned to serve in TGCM Print and lead my brethren in this department in terms of designing and social-media marketing. Thank the Lord for His blessing and wisdom He has bestowed upon me, together with brethren who co-labour with me: Sis Dorcas and Bro Andronicus who had assisted and laboured during the early stage and helped in marketing, as well as the dedicated team comprising Brothers John, Cayson, Arnold, and Teck Ern. With godly counsel, guidance and support from Pastor Koshy, the Lord has been blessing the efforts of every co-worker. May the Lord bless us with greater fruitfulness, that TGCM Print may have more projects, in spite of the Covid-19 pandemic affecting every business in Singapore. Although the increased sales (from National Day till the recent clearance sales) are still not sufficient to support TGCM, we trust in God’s Word to keep moving forward. “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness” (Isaiah 41:10). For if God is with us, He will surely give the increase of every labour we expend for His glory.

TGCM Print continues to introduce more designs, even as we promote commonly-used products, such as mugs, bags, T-shirts, masks (including mask-cases that prove to be very useful in this time of pandemic). Incidentally, TGCM Print had received hundreds of orders for mask-cases from different clients, including 900 mask-cases ordered by Bearyfun Gym! Besides the sales, we thank God for giving us wisdom to build a manual “CRM” system to facilitate the smooth and efficient running of our intricately-linked operations. By God’s grace, we are also looking forward to expanding TGCM Print’s network, such as consignment agreement with Tabernacle Bookroom of Calvary Pandan B-P Church. Do continue to pray for these – and more – blessings that God has prepared for this ministry. Likewise, thanks to all our brethren for their continued support, encouragement (to press on) and prayers for our TGCM Print ministry.

Looking back at all the struggles and challenges which all play a part in God’s unerring guidance and perfect timing in my life, I have no doubt that the Lord is with me to serve Him in Gethsemane. As for me, “I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed…” (Jonah 2:9). Truly, it is God who has prepared everything. My gracious Lord determines the outcome of every action that I take. He has already paved the path where I should walk, and will preserve my life for the days to come, wherever He wants me to be. He has absolute control over every event in my life. On my own, I am nothing. Yet, I have a God who is powerful, and His providence is assuring enough for me to move, work and to thank Him each day. “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).

All glory and thanks be to God.

Written by Cornelius Koshy

In penning down my testimony of calling and God’s continued working in my life during this pandemic, I acknowledge with the psalmist, “How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am still with thee” (Ps 139:17-18). Since a young child, the only ambition I desired was to be a pastor. My parents are in the service of God. My upbringing revolved around the ministries of the church. The knowledge of my dedication for service was always a relentless reminder that I should do no other work than the work of the Gospel. By the age of 17, I was sure I wanted to serve God, but I kept it to myself. For fear that I misunderstood the call of God as a transient emotional-hype, I continued with the path of most teenagers, which involved completing A-levels, National Service and pursuing a degree – but always with that inescapable thought at the back of my mind that I have to serve God.

This desire met with distraction. From age 17 to 24, offers of a more comfortable life were within reach. The desire to serve God was soon deferred to an indefinite time of “when I am older”. This desire was also met with discouragement. At that time, the B-P church was still embroiled in VPP battles. Pastors were fighting for the Truth and harder lines of separation were drawn. Some churches split over doctrine; others split over disagreements. Deacons, preachers, full-time workers left for different reasons. Family discussions frequently centred around church matters. Friends were lost along the way. Discouragement often has a downcast side to it. The childlike desire soon felt like a childish dream…

The desire also met with deception, “For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me (Romans 7:11). Youthful pride and lust waged their fiercest war during these years, but thanks be to God: “for a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief” (Prov 24:16). Finally, desire met with disease. In December 2015, I was diagnosed with Post-streptococcal Glomerulonephritis (PSGN for short), a rare disease which affects young babies or older folks. Young men would be the last of its victims, but God’s providential and directive will targeted my 21-year-old kidneys. Beginning with an unsuspecting sore throat during the finals of my third semester in NUS, it escalated to enormously edematous face and limbs, especially at dependent body parts – a horror to fellow youths in the combined retreat in Cebu, Philippines on Christmas Eve, 2015. Thank God for the prayers of many in the church and a complete recovery was made within a month. Indeed, “the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him” (James 5:15).

Life turned around slowly since then – slow because there was still some disobedient denying of the desire for full-time service. It should have been complete denial of self, but it took another 1½ years for His Word to have absolute sway. In the final semester of my undergraduate studies in 2017, the Lord called me through 3 passages, the last of which is 2 Tim 1:5-9 [the fuller version of my testimony may be found in Burning Bush Vol. 24 No. 1 (2018) and the summarised version in our weekly bulletin (16 July 2017)]:

5 When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also. 6 Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands. 7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. 8 Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God; 9 Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began…

The Spirit of God used this passage to speak directly to my heart. Reading this passage in the attic-studio of CRC at Lor 28, Sunflower Building, Paul’s encouragement to Timothy was God’s charge to me. There were some residual fears of the challenges of the ministry which still resided within, but v. 7 allayed those. Shame is fear’s twin sister, and v. 8’s charge to be unashamed of the testimony of our Lord challenged my heart. My calling is not to the agreeable work of the Gospel, but to the afflictions of the Gospel, calibrated according to the power which He imparts.

3 years of trying theological studies passed quickly. Friday night, 1 May 2020, was most memorable. The typical Thanksgiving dinner, which marks the end of the semester, was held in the third week of Circuit Breaker. No singing, no skits. No preaching, just prayers of thanksgiving offered before our packeted dinner. It was a quiet night. Just after 12 noon of that day, which was also the deadline of the last submission, I had called my dad over lunch to inform him that I had completed all my academic requirements. Then at night, I called my grandparents in India, elders and friends in church, to share the good news that I had completed my studies. It was almost 2 hours of “happy-calls”.

On Saturday morning, 2 May, Eld Mah called to ask of the direction and place where the Lord was leading me. I told him that there was no reason to leave Gethsemane, but neither was I ready to begin preaching. In a subsequent meeting with the Board of Elders on 7 May via Zoom, I shared in addition that I felt like a novice-preacher, having only 3 formal years of theological instruction, with little experience of preaching. I still was tearfully frightened at the thought of preaching in Gethsemane, and daunted to take up any responsibility. Knowing the spiritual expectation of a mature congregation and my ineptness, I expressly said that ‘I am not ready’, and that I needed more time to prepare myself to “feed the flock” (Acts 20:28). Being also acutely aware that preaching is never a piece of art for people’s listening pleasure, but a piece of bread for people to feed and grow, the BOE accepted my request to continue studying with Gethsemane Bible Institute (GBI), and I was received into Gethsemane’s staff as a “Student-Preacher” on 1 June 2020. This probationary position was for the Elders’ close supervision and monitoring, and Pastor’s instruction as his understudy.

Although I would have preferred to start small, and slowly grow with preaching by and by, it pleased God to grant me not a few preaching opportunities. In the first month alone, the Lord gave 10 different opportunities to preach via virtual means – an overwhelming thought for any “fresh” graduate whose preaching opportunities used to be, maximally, once a month. On 20 July 2020, GBI inaugurated a Pastoral Bible Studies (GBI-PBS) and I joined Pr. Kelvin, Pr Sujith and Pr Zhu Xin Kai for weekly sessions on Pastoral Theology and Ecclesiology. On my own, I am re-doing Systematic Theology’s Theism and Soteriology under GBI-PBS as well, with Pr Samson Hutagalung as my tutor. On that same day, FEBC began a new semester, and Dr Jeffrey Khoo encouraged me to consider a ThM programme. Presently, I am doing an additional 4 subjects with FEBC this semester: Acts of the Apostles, Theism (Chinese), Intertestamental History & Theology of Prayer to fulfil the requirements of ThM, albeit remotely.

Recollecting the past 5 months since June, I give thanks for God’s enabling in my preaching / teaching ministries at Gethsemane. They include recording a devotion every Monday on the topic “The Christian and His Neighbour”, for Youth Bible Hour segment on Bible Witness Web Radio (BWWR), which has reached its 20th (final) message. Beginning in mid-November, will be the next series, “Following After” – a topical study of biblical instructions on who, what and how Christians are to follow in our walk with God. On fortnightly Wednesday nights, I join Pr Sujith (via Zoom) in his Puritan Reading Group (started as his initiative to encourage a reading habit of good Christian literature), with around 12 participants across India (and one Singaporean young adult), to revisit Puritan literature and Reformed Theology. In each session, I’d summarise / explain a chapter or two of Puritan literature, followed by an expositional preaching of the verses in the chapter. We have completed 10 sessions on John Owen’s “On the Mortification of Sin”, and just embarked on Thomas Watson’s “Repentance”. In Gethsemane Youth Fellowship (GYF), the Lord moved me to begin a 6-part series on “Living in Knowledge of God”, wherein youths are taught on the practical implications of the Aseity of God, Solitariness of God, Condescension of Christ, Friendship of Christ, the Person of the Spirit and Witness of the Spirit. Praise God also for my ongoing involvement in GYF’s YouTube series on “The Biblical Case Against Homosexuality”, which is also used by Ebenezer Youth Fellowship of Tabernacle BPC. {Providentially, when Pr Xin Kai invited me to share 2 devotions (in Mandarin) in their university students’ retreat in August, I was prepared to preach for 30 minutes each, but was “terrified” to realise an hour was allotted for their devotion slot! Thank God for his help to preach two 40-minute devotions on the topic, “Our Duty for Holiness”. May God’s especial blessing be upon me to stir up gifts to preach in both English and Chinese.}

Having led the Youth Choir (2013-2020) and being in the Youth Committee (since 2018), GYF is an area of service close to my heart. During the pandemic, I joined Aunty Diana Chan in our earnest efforts to encourage our youths. From July-Sept 2020, some 20 visitation (‘over-food’) sessions were made involving 54 youths, with sharing of specially chosen verses for everyone, and a prayer for the struggles shared by them. (Pastor and Eld Choy, who took lead by laying the guidelines of visitations, were given regular updates.) Round two of youth visitations will resume as soon as regulations are further laxed. Personally, I thank God for the first physical meeting since Circuit-Breaker (held in GMC Seminar Room on 17 October) which was smoothly conducted, due in part to the foresight of Bro. Wei Heng (Youth Media Team) and assistance of Bro. Amoz (Youth Choir) in pre-recording hymns to be played as substitute for singing during our fellowship meetings. May our faithful God continue to bless our efforts to feed every young heart with the Word of God and to urge them to hate every false way (Ps 119:104)!

I thank God for serving with Pr. Kelvin and Aunty Luan Kheng in the weekly Gethsemane Children’s Ministry (GCM) Zoom fellowships on Saturdays (11am and 2pm). Praise God for every child who has been diligent in memorising Scripture passages as part of an informal Scripture Memorisation Programme. The average child might have already memorised more than 20 verses (some as many as 50!) in English and some in their mother tongue. A selection of these verses have been incorporated into scripts and 11 scenes are currently recorded for future Bible Witness web-TV programmes (with help of others, including Melissa, Luan Kheng, Carolyn, Arnold, Matthew, Dorcas, Jenice, Amoz). In addition, a web-series called “Soteriology for Kids” is compiled (with Dorcas’ help), to explain soteriological doctrines such as Election, Justification, Adoption, etc., to children. Verses concerning these topics are phone-recorded by parents and I record my explanation of these verses for young children to understand. Motion graphics and texts are overlayed by Dorcas. May God strengthen me as a member of the GCM Committee, for our children’s continued spiritual growth during these changing circumstances of the pandemic.

The Gethsemane Church Choir (GCC) is another ministry which has changed drastically, beginning from April 2020. I thank God for the help of Sisters Melissa, Sharon, Dorcas, and Bro. Amoz for recording and mixing the voice-tracks, lightening my burden as I continue to have oversight of this ministry. From monthly presentations of song during pre-Covid days, the choir now sings every week! 4 groups (of 4) come down to GMC studio on Wednesdays and Thursdays, to record hymns for the Sunday worship services and Tuesday prayer meetings. Special thanks to Bro. Amoz who, during his university break (20 Aug-20 Oct 2020), took over the administrative duty of scheduling singers for these recordings (no easy task given their changing work-schedules!), thus freeing some time for me to pray, plan and prepare for my upcoming wedding / marriage life. Thank God also for singers from the Youth Choir and the congregation who have reinforced and supplemented the GCC for our weekly singing. In collaboration with Bible Witness, the GCC now prepares for recordings of music videos and the release of albums in 2021.

Finally, thank God for the opportunity to be part of Faithful Men’s segment of BWWR: re-listening to Pastor’s (prayer meeting) messages on “The Life of Moses”, recommending timestamps for Sis. Dorcas to splice for airing on web-radio, and organising brethren from the Gethsemane Men’s Fellowship in weekly singing for the same purpose. I thank God that since the last week of October, 8 men come down once a month to offer the sacrifice of their singing lips.

My service hitherto has not been offered alone. Being dependent on multimedia platforms in this pandemic, the pulpit ministry is heavily reliant on the audio, video and technical assistance of GBWL staff. None of my aforementioned areas of service would have been effectual without the God-fearing and God-serving team in GMC, who are as “the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord” (Eph 2:21). Prayers and support by family and church brethren have been my “powerhouse”, as I learn the ropes. This testimony won’t be complete if I don’t mention Abigail Sarah George, who would (on Friday, 11 Dec 2020) become my helpmeet, and join me in fulfilling my calling to be a partaker of the afflictions of the Gospel (cf. 2 Tim 1:8). Pray for us, as we prepare ourselves for each other and for the Gospel work in Gethsemane! May our union be blessed of God and a blessing to God’s people in the days to come, to the praise and glory of His name!