After a break of two years, we came together again—our annual two-day overnight BPCIS Retreat for pastors and leaders. Seventy of us gathered at Changi Cove, 4-5 July, from 10 member churches with speaker Pastor Denesh Divyanathan and guests from The Crossing Church. Under the banner, Strengthening Our Churches, we were stirred by expositions from 2 Timothy to train future leaders, navigate challenging landscape, and preach the Word.
Pastor Denesh asked, “To what extent is your church facing stagnation or extinction?” He warned against gospel dilution and alerted us to gospel opposition. The biggest challenge in our churches is materialism, and the greatest need is “the crucial work of passing on the gospel”.
A workshop “Grilling the Crossing” attracted many questions on the vibrant growth of the church, especially its emphasis on one-on-one passing on the gospel (2 Tim 2.2). Another guest, Pastor Tan Ye Peng, shared his experience with another church which saw phenomenal growth, but posed sober lessons along a different track.
— An excerpt from a news update by Ps David W.F. Wong for The Bible-Presbyterian Church in Singapore (BPCIS)