Building Our Legacy

What kind of legacy are we intending to build as a church? When our younger generation looks back, what will they remember — infrastructure and programmes, or a people who passionately loved Christ and remained faithful to His Word?

That is the challenge before us. And God’s Word gives us both a warning and an encouragement as we consider the theme: Building Our Legacy.

Two books that we will be preaching through in 2026 — Hosea and James — speak to this. They may sound like unlikely partners, but together, they show us what it means to leave behind a spiritual legacy that honours God.

We build legacy by returning to God (Hosea 6 and 14)

The book of Hosea is a heartbreaking story. Israel had a glorious spiritual heritage — rescued from Egypt, given God’s covenant promises, blessed with the temple, the Law, the prophets. Yet, along the way, they forgot the Lord. They enjoyed the blessings but drifted from the One who blessed them.

And so God calls out to them: “Let us press on to know the LORD” (Hosea 6:3). “Return, O Israel, to the LORD your God…” (Hosea 14:1).

Is this not where legacy truly begins? Not with activity. Not with structure. Not even with ministry expansion. Legacy begins when God’s people return to Him, love Him and remain faithful to His covenant grace.

And, isn’t that what the BP heritage emphasises? That it is God, not us, who takes the initiative. He restores. He revives. He builds His people. We press on to know Him because He first knew us and called us into His family. For Hermon in 2026, that means we must keep pushing deeper into God’s Word, raising children who love the Lord wholeheartedly and passing down a legacy of faith lived out daily.

We build legacy by living out our faith (James 2)

James tells us something very direct:

“Faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” – James 2:17

He is not saying we earn our salvation. No! We and our BP brethren stand firm upon Sola Fide (salvation by faith alone). But Scripture also teaches that true faith is never alone. It produces fruit. It shows up in a transformed life. A legacy of faith is not about what we say we believe, it’s about whether people can see Christ in us.

And this is where our Henderson 2.0 vision comes into the picture. As a church, we are praying and planning to purchase the additional unit next door. Not because we want more property, but because we want to prepare for more ministry, more discipleship, more space for the Gospel to impact future generations.

May we thus see it as a step of faith, not luxury. That it is about the mission, not convenience. That we seek to provide the spaces so that God can build people through us.

I submit that such steps we are taking reflect the living faith James calls us to. We are not sitting still and admiring heritage, we are building upon it so that more can come to know and love the Lord.

We build legacy by depending on God in humility (James 4 and Hosea 10)

Scripture reminds us, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6), and, “Sow righteousness… break up your fallow ground” (Hosea 10:12).

Wisdom tells us that legacy can be destroyed by pride: “Look at what we achieved!” So, may we endeavour to instead build legacy by grace: “Look at what God is doing in us!” As we have overwhelmingly approved the resolution to invest in our neighbouring unit, let us not focus on finances alone, strategies alone or heritage alone. Let us seek instead to rely on Christ alone. Let us depend on Him through prayer. Let us act humbly, asking Him to lead, provide and open doors. Because if we do anything without Him, it is empty effort. Let us walk in step with Him, never before nor lagging behind.

As we start 2026, may our confidence be not in owning more space, but in belonging to a God who is building His Church.

Christ is our True Legacy

At the end of the day, we resemble Israel more than we want to admit. We stumble. We doubt. We fail to be consistent. And, so, we cling to the Good News: Jesus Christ is the faithful One we are not. He lived perfectly. He died sacrificially. He rose victoriously.

Because of Christ, we can return to God, we can live out real faith and we can trust Him for the future. Our legacy is not finally about what we leave behind, but Who we point people to. May our lives reflect the lyrics of Find Us Faithful:

After all our hopes and dreams have come and gone

And our children sift through all we've left behind

May the clues that they discover and the memories they uncover

Become the light that leads them to the road we each must find

Oh, may all who come behind us find us faithful

May the fire of our devotion light their way

May the footprints that we leave lead them to believe

And the lives we live inspire them to obey.

Let’s begin to build such a legacy, a legacy where future generations continue to magnify His Name.   Ps Daniel Tan