2020 PARTNERSHIPS
December
Episcopal Consecration Service for Bishop Rev Dr Gordon Wong
On 4 December, the General Secretary was invited to attend the Episcopal Consecration Service for Rev Dr Gordon Wong to witness his consecration as the Bishop of the Methodist Church in Singapore, succeeding Rev Dr Chong Chin Chung. We thank Rev Dr Chong for his faithful service over the past four years and pray for the continued flourishing of the Methodist Church under Bishop Wong’s leadership.
Interfaith Sharing on Giving & Being Other-Centered
On 7 December, the General Secretary was invited to attend the Interfaith Sharing on Giving & Being Other-Centered, hosted by the National Volunteer And Philanthropy Centre (NVPC) and Inter-Religious Organisation, Singapore (IRO). During the session, the General Secretary shared about the Christian motivation for loving and caring for others.
Preaching at Diakonia Fellowship 4th Anniversary Service
On 13 December, the General Secretary was invited to preach at the 4th Anniversary Service of Diakonia Fellowship, held at the Lee Kong Chian Auditorium, YMCA Orchard. The General Secretary shared from 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12 on the topic of “Fulfilling the Calling of God.”
NVPC Future of Giving 2030 Workshop
On 14 December, the General Secretary was invited by the National Volunteer And Philanthropy Centre (NVPC) to participate in the Future of Giving 2030 Workshop. During the session, he shared how the Singapore society could change over the next decade and how these changes could impact charitable giving.
MSF PEERS Network Year-end Event
On 14 December, the General Secretary attended a year-end event organised by the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) for its Partners Engaging and Empowering Rough Sleepers (PEERS) Network partners. During the event, SowCare—the social services arm of The Bible Society of Singapore—was acknowledged for our contributions towards enabling rough sleepers to find temporary shelter, especially during the Circuit Breaker period. The General Secretary received a partnership certificate on behalf of SowCare as its CEO, and Hope Initiative Alliance as its President.
AGWO International Migrants Day and Christmas Celebration Launch Event
On 17 December, the General Secretary attended the launch ceremony of a series of International Migrants Day and Christmas celebrations from 17 December to 26 December. The event kickstarted more than a week-long celebration in various factory-converted dormitories (FCDs), which included meal and goodies distribution, Christmas decorations, setting up of booths across multiple recreation centres, and a nation-wide prize draw. Mr Tung Yui Fai, Chief of the Assurance, Care & Engagement (ACE) Group of the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), was present at the event.
SowCare Christmas Celebration for Rough Sleepers
On 19 December, SowCare organised a Christmas Celebration programme held at the Bible House for about 15 rough sleepers from all over Singapore. The guest-of-honour, Mr Alvin Tan, Minister of State for Culture, Community & Youth and Trade & Industry was received by the General Secretary. Mr Lee Kim Hua, Senior Director for the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) Partners Engaging and Empowering Rough Sleepers (PEERS) office, was also present.
Preaching at New Life Church
On 25 December, the General Secretary was invited to preach at New Life Church, where he shared a Christmas message.
Meeting with Chief of Assurance, Care & Engagement Group, Ministry of Manpower
On 28 December, the General Secretary met up with Mr Tung Yui Fai, the Chief of Assurance, Care & Engagement Group, Ministry of Manpower as the CEO of SowCare and the President of Hope Initiative Alliance. During the meeting, they discussed plans to continue serving the migrant workers moving forward in 2021.
November
SHARING AT ASIA EVANGELICAL ALLIANCE
On 17 and 18 Nov, the General Secretary was invited to share at the general assembly of Asia Evangelical Alliance (AEA). He was also elected as a member of the executive committee of AEA.
APEX LEADERS FELLOWSHIP
The APEX Leaders Fellowship was held on 2 Nov, where senior pastors and leaders from the Evangelical Alliance of Singapore, National Council of Churches of Singapore and Love
Singapore gathered. The Alliance of Pentecostal and Charismatic Churches of Singapore (APCCS) was also invited to participate in the fellowship and discussion.
Meeting with Heart of God Church
On 12 November 2020, the General Secretary met with Pastor Tan Seow How, Senior Pastor of Heart of God Church, and some leadership team members to discuss ideas and potential opportunities for collaboration in engaging the younger generations.
Preaching at Kum Yan Methodist Church for Bible Society Sunday
On 22 November, the General Secretary was invited to preach at Kum Yan Methodist Church. A sermon from the General Secretary, recorded in Mandarin and Cantonese, was played during their Sunday service to observe Bible Society Sunday. Pray that more people will understand the Bible Mission and commit to support its mission of making the Word of God known to all peoples.
Trinity Annual Conference
The General Secretary attended the 45th Session of the Trinity Annual Conference (TRAC) of the Methodist Church in Singapore via Zoom on 25 November 2020. During the session, he made a presentation on The Bible Society of Singapore's Bible Mission work in 2020.
October
MOM Appreciation Event
HIA-AGWO -- a key partner of SowCare, the charity arm of The Bible Society of Singapore -- is humbled to have been a part of a virtual appreciation event by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) on 21 October. The General Secretary is also the President of Hope Initiative Alliance. Minister for Manpower, Mrs Josephine Teo; Second Minister for Manpower and Trade and Industry, Mr Tan See Leng and Senior Minister of State for Manpower and Defence, Mr Zaqy Mohamad also took the opportunity to thank MOM's NGO partners, who have worked with them to help guest workers during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Meeting with the new Principal of Trinity Theological College
On 1 September, the General Secretary met with the new Principal of Trinity Theological College, Rev Edwin Tay to congratulate him and to build rapport and partnership.
Meeting with Rev Dr Bobby Lee
On 3 September, the General Secretary met with Rev Dr Bobby Lee, Executive Director of Singapore Baptist Convention and other Pastors at the SowerHub to discuss potential collaborations in Bible mission and charitable projects.
Meeting with the Senior Director of the Ministry of Social and Family Development
On 8 September, the General Secretary met with the the Senior Director of the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF), Mr Lim Kim Hua regarding partnership with MSF for S3P and SowCare’s new homeless shelter.
Meeting with Dato Desmond Lim
On 9 September, the General Secretary met with Dato Desmond Lim, Founder of Dedicated Locals' Caring Community at the SowerHub to discuss on collaborations in charitable initiatives.
September
New ETHOS Institute Steering Committee
The General Secretary is also the Executive Director of ETHOS Institute. On 4 September, he met with the new ETHOS Institute Steering Committee and discussed plans for future initiatives. Pray that the discussions will bear fruit, so that many people and pre-believers will be impacted by the ETHOS Institute work.
August
BSS 183rd Anniversary Events
On 2, 8 and 9 July, The Bible Society of Singapore held three Zoom sessions as part of the 183rd anniversary celebrations. The session on 2 July was the Missions tract, whereby leaders of the Bible Societies in Bangladesh, Mongolia, Arab-Israeli and Peru shared about Bible Mission work in their countries. The sessions on 8 and 9 July were the Chinese and Tamil Language tracts, where leaders from churches in Singapore, China and India shared about caring for their congregations amidst COVID-19. Over 500 people joined in across the three sessions.
Sharing at Evangelical Free Church of Singapore
On 29 July, the General Secretary was invited to share at the Evangelical Free Church of Singapore (EFCS)’s Monthly Association gathering, a time for pastors of EFCS to engage in fellowship with one another. He gave a short sharing about his heart for Bible Mission work in Singapore and in the region.
Meeting with Faith Comes By Hearing
On 31 July, the General Secretary met with representatives from Faith Comes By Hearing, an organisation that records and provides the Bible in different languages. The General Secretary shared about the Bible movement in Singapore, and they discussed plans for future partnerships and collaborations.
Preaching at Fairfield Methodist Church
On 27 September, the General Secretary was invited to preach at Fairfield Methodist Church. A recorded sermon from the General Secretary was played during their Sunday service as part of observing Bible Society Sunday. Pray that more people will understand the Bible Mission and its purpose, as well as its mission of making the Word of God known to all peoples.
July
The Bible Society of Singapore’s 183rd Anniversary Celebration
The Bible Society of Singapore commemorated its 183rd anniversary by organising a four-part special Zoom session. The inaugural session began on 24 June with the Leadership Track—Faith Conversations on Servant Leadership—with Speaker of Parliament, Mr Tan Chuan-Jin as the guest speaker. Over 500 people signed up for the session on Zoom, while over 4,000 people joined the session via Facebook live. We would like to thank Mr Tan Chuan-Jin for gracing the occasion, as well as all who joined us for the session.
June
Meal Distribution Exercise for Guest Workers
On 23 and 24 May, Rev Ezekiel Tan, CEO of SowCare was present at a distribution exercise for 7,000 guest workers in 110 dormitories. On top of meals, other items such as new sarongs and festive treats were also provided for the guest workers hailing from Muslim and other religious backgrounds.
Distribution of Festive Care Packs to Guest Workers
On 7 May, SowCare, the charity arm of The Bible Society of Singapore was involved in the distribution of Festive Care Packs to 260 factory-converted dormitories all over Singapore. This distribution exercise provided 12,000 guest workers with meals and other essential supplies. More than 300 volunteers came together to take part in this initiative as packers and drivers.
May
Meeting with Ministry of Social and Family Development
On 14 April, SowCare met with Mr Lee Kim Hua, Senior Director of the Ministry of Social and Family Development to discuss the setting up of S3P—Safe Sound Sleeping Places—a shelter for rough sleepers at Bible House, as well as future plans to open a homeless shelter that provides integrated care.
April
Social Service Leaders' Prayer Meeting
On 6 March, the Social Service Leaders' Prayer Meeting was held at Bible House. About 40 social service leaders from the various social service sectors attended the meeting. Bishop Terry Kee, President of the National Council of Churches of Singapore gave a sharing at the meeting.
SG United Amidst Adversity
On 26 March, SowCare, the charity arm of The Bible Society of Singapore, co-organised SG United Amidst Adversity together with Hope Initiative Alliance—an initiative to distribute over 5,000 care packs containing surgical masks, hand sanitisers and food items to beneficiaries from over 50 partner charities. The launch of the initiative was held at the Ahava Auditorium at TSL 101.
Distribution of Encouragement Cards
On 2 and 3 April, The Bible Society of Singapore staff distributed over 1,000 encouragement cards to frontliners at Singapore General Hospital (SGH) and National University Hospital (NUH) to thank them for their dedication to fighting COVID-19 in Singapore. We pray for the protection for all medical staff and their staff during this period.
March
MoU Signing with Thunderquote
On 11 February, the General Secretary signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Executive Director of ThunderQuote, Mr Kevin Ng. The MoU was to launch a platform to encourage good stewardship among churches through the streamlining of procurement services.
February
Hainan Pastor's Retreat
From 14 to 15 January, the General Secretary was invited to attend the inaugural senior pastor’s retreat in Hainan as the Guest Speaker. During the retreat, the pastors also celebrated Holy Communion.
Social Service Leaders Fellowship
On 17 January, the General Secretary attended the Social Service Leaders Fellowship at Grace Assembly of God. About 40 leaders attended the session to engage in a time of fellowship and prayer.
January
Archdiocesan Inter-religious Christmas Celebration 2019
On 26 December, the General Secretary of The Bible Society of Singapore was invited to attend the Archdiocesan Inter-religious Christmas celebration at St Joseph's Church. Many delegates from the various religious groups in Singapore came together to experience the Christmas season and have meaningful dialogues.
