June 2010 Schedule

13 June - Evangelistic Event (Bring Friends!)20 June - Fruits of the Spirit (Uncle Blond)27 June - Angel & Mortal Sharing Session

PHOS TeamEditor: NatWriter: JeremyDesign: LydiaPrayer: DorothyComic: NatalieWrite-up: Constance

Thanks Rev Daniel for vetting! :)

“We must decrease and God must increase!”

PHOSN e w s l e t t e r

Discipleship

Bare-headed monks, mint tea,

and the cycle of discipleship!

Page 4-5

POSTER!!!

Giant A3 sized poster of the

Torchbearers that you can paste

on your room wall!

Page 6-7

Nepal Adventures

Constance tells us about her

trip to Nepal!

Page 8-9

Interview

We find out more about our

very own dynamic duo -

Darren and Wenqi!

Page 10-11

WHAT MAKES A “DISCIPLER”?

Coming back to coach rugby at my old school was tough initially. There were some major changes to the rules of the game, and we had a new Australian coach who had altered the style of play quite a bit. In addition to that, my relationship with my juniors got off to a shaky start. >.<

However, things slowly improved. I found myself most comfortable teaching my juniors techniques that I had used when I was their age. While I wasn’t familiar with the new stuff, I could easily explain to them what to do in situations that I had found myself in before. My relationship with my juniors also improved as we spent more time together and got to know each other better.

I guess these two things can be applied to discipleship. Firstly, when we choose to disciple a younger Christian, we must live out what we’re teaching them. We can’t tell our “mentee” to live a God-centred life, if we ourselves are so preoccupied and distracted by the things of the world. We can’t encourage them to evangelise to their friends at school if we ourselves never had any hands-on practice.

Secondly, mentoring is a relationship that needs to be cultivated. There needs to be a sharing of lives, and this takes time. We can’t expect to make any progress if we are only willing to devote a morsel of our time and energy to discipling others.

To disciple another person is a tough calling as it requires commitment and dedication. But if you are willing to sacrifice the time and effort, it will prove to be one of the best investments you can make with your life.

WHEN THE MUSIC FADES

Lip Service

Isaiah 29:13

The Lord says:        "These people come near to me with their mouth        and honor me with their lips,        but their hearts are far from me.        Their worship of me        is made up only of rules taught by men.”

One of my favourite Hillsongs songs has a verse which goes, “Don’t want to stand here and shout your praise, and walk away and forget your Name”. But how many times do we walk out of church untransformed and unchanged because we worship God with our lips but not with our hearts?

During worship, we sing songs about God’s goodness and love, and use our mouths to praise His Name. But what is really going on in our hearts? We sing songs about honouring God and offering our lives to him, but how many of us actually commit these words into action? Sometimes I feel that it is better for us not to sing, than to mouth out words that we don’t really mean.

In Isaiah’s day, the Israelites were doing all the “right” things. They were going through the rituals, saying all the right words and keeping all the right laws. But what was really on their heart? Was all this really to draw closer to God and to know Him more?

Likewise we must always question our motive in going to church. Is it just to feel religious? Is it because our parents force us to go? Or is it for the company of friends?

Let God examine you, and allow Him to instill within you a heart that yearns to worship Him for the correct reasons.

“bare-headed monks”?I don’t know about you, but the word ‘disciples’ conjures images of bare headed monks in a secluded mountainous region, living amongst the ruins of an ancient temple. The disciples train day and night, doing a thousand and one exercises (such as sitting under a waterfall) to develop themselves physically.

We’re not that different; except that our discipleship programme’s primary purpose is to train us spiritually. Through constant contact with our mentors, we learn more about God’s Word and His will for us, and are better equipped to fight against Satan and temptation.

“mint tea”?Disciples come from the root word “Discipline”. Discipline is often viewed negatively, as it is associated with punishments and hardship. However, discipline is also a synonym for dedication and devotion. It is the responsibility of both the mentor and disciple to be committed to their respective duty. The mentor must be disciplined enough to meet up regularly with his disciple, and impart godly knowledge and instruction. Conversely, the disciple must be punctual and attentive, and pay attention to what his mentor says. (By the way, there’s no such word as mentee! Sounds like a kind of drink though, like mint tea.)

DiscipleshipDiscipleship is perhaps one of the least understood terms in a young Christian’s life. However, we can see that a large portion of our Lord Jesus’ life was spent discipling his 12 disciples. As we seek to imitate Christ, we must also cultivate a passion to disciple and mentor other young believers. As a Torchbearer, each of us has the duty of passing on our faith and beliefs to the future generations. Will we be ready when the time comes for us to mentor a younger youth? Let us start equipping ourselves with the right skills and attitude now!

“DISCIPLESHIP IS A CONTINUOUS PROCESS...”Discipleship is also meant to forge stronger bonds between the youth. The relationship between a mentor and disciple is a friendship, and not that of a teacher and student. The mentor can be viewed as an older brother (for we are all brothers in Christ!), who takes care and guides his younger brother along.

Matthew 28:19 says “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” We are given a command by Jesus to make disciples of all nations. We must seek opportunities for sharing His truth to the people in our social circle, and take time to follow up on them.

Discipleship is a continuous process, as we learn more about God. Just as Jesus’ disciples spent a great deal of time with Him as they travelled together. We too must devote time and energy to meet up and spend time with each other. Our attitude and commitment towards our discipleship should be positive, whether we are the mentor or the disciple. Discipleship will help us to grow continuously in Him, and become more Christ-like each passing day.

The Discipleship Cycle

The Torchbearer’s

Mission

The Multiplying Process

Constance shares with us how she got out of her

comfort zone to spend time with the children in Nepal!

(warning: some parts might be slightly disgusting!)

“From 2-9 May 2010, I went for an Internationalization trip to Nepal for service learning with my school. It was really exciting, and we got a chance to fly there on an airplane! Well, as for some of us, we even got to see Mt. Everest!

THE WATER PROBLEMOnce we touched down in Nepal, Nicole (my group mate) and I dashed into the airport’s toilet. I turned on the tap, and was just about to wash my hands when I noticed that the running water was brown. I felt disgusted and turned the tap off immediately. I was just standing right beside Nicole, too stunned to speak. “What do you think THAT was all about?” She asked me. I took 5 seconds to absorb what she had just mentioned and answered “Well, maybe its H2O mixed with faeces? We should really consider using baby wipes instead.”

However, that wasn’t just it,

after we checked into a hotel in Kathmandu, the water supply wasn’t as sufficient as expected. The showers and everything, they don’t work all the time but are only available during certain of hours. I’ve really learnt to appreciate the water supply in Singapore!

MEETING PROTESTORSThe next morning, we were setting off for Nagarkot. Our only transport was by bus.

“A 2 hours ride? No kick!” I thought to myself. But I was wrong. We barely started out ¼ of the journey, before we saw large crowds of people gathering. As we drove further up, all of a sudden a group consisting of 7-15 people stopped our bus. At that point of time, I felt really insecure and confused. They were holding on to wooden s t i c k s i n t h e i r h a n d s . Thankfully, our Nepalese tour guide explained to them

Some of the craft work done with the Nepalese children

Beautiful scenery from the hilltops of Nepal

NEPAL ADVENTURES BY CONSTANCE NEO

The Nepalese villagers with garlands in their hands

to them something (which we couldn’t understand), and they allowed us to continue our journey to Nagarkot. He then explained to us that they are the anti-government protestors. I’ve learnt to appreciate the kind of s a f e t y t h a t w e h a v e i n Singapore!

CREEPY CRAWLIES We arrived at Nagarkot and checked in (once again) into the hotel. I felt really lazy at that moment, so I decided to just rest for awhile on my bed. I turned my head and found a new best friend. It was a spider. Guess what? That spider can be measured up till the size of my palm! I screamed. Every day, we had to fight for our right to the r o o m w i t h t h o s e c r e e p y crawlies.

A LONG WAY TO SCHOOLEvery morning, we would have to take a bus to one part of the hill, and then from there we would hike to the Primary school to conduct our lessons for the kids. Oh boy, every single second you would find yourself shaking onboard the bus. The paths were really very rocky.We would stop outside the principal’s house and from there; we took a 45 minutes hike to the school (I found my sweat drying of f fast due to the cooler climate!) Transportation sure is

something we should not take for granted.

BEING A BLESSINGThe kids were really nice and sweet children. They love playing s o c c e r, c a p t a i n ’ s b a l l a n d volleyball. We played with them and taught them how to do balloon sculpting, cheers. Having interact ions with them in Nepalese was awesome! But overall, I’ve learnt that it isn’t just about Mt. Everest, or the type of food we get to eat everyday, or even the type of

transport. But instead, the most important thing was to be a blessing to the people around me and to show God’s love for them. 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 says “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud, it is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, a lways hopes , and a lways perseveres.” That’s what we’ve been called to do.

PHOTOS

Playing ball games with the children

Kids posing merrily with their balloon sculptures

So

lets

PRA

Y

Pray for the Torchbearers!

Pray for all the schooling Torchbearers to have a meaningful holiday!

Pray for Army People(John, Yuiwing, Tek, Yanhan, Jim, Jason, Victor)

Pray for Overseas Studying People(Jeanette, Angie, Zhiwei, Ian, Tiff, Melvin)

Pray for our Evangelistic Event on 13 June! That our friends will be willing to come! :)

Pray for Hakka!!!

Tips: Focus on praying for one specific thing everyday! For example:

Monday - FamilyTuesday - Classmates & TeachersWednesday - CCA friendsThursday - Torchbearers & ChurchFriday – MissionariesSaturday - God's Will for your lifeSunday - Free (i.e. can pray for anything else)

Pray for Church Camp (6-9 June)

Pray for our dearest pastors[Rev Chin and Rev Daniel and all the church leaders!]

The PHOS Team caught up with Darren Chong and Wu Wenqi to find out how they’ve been since joining the Torchbearers last year...

PHOS: Hi Darren and Wenqi, how old are you and where are you studying?

Darren: Hey! I’m 17 this year and studying in RI (JC).

Wenqi: Hi! I'm seventeen this year. And I'm currently studying at RIJC too!

PHOS: Not everyone knows how you came to Hakka Methodist. Would you like to tell us?

Darren: Yeah. Early last year, I was curious and wanted to understand more about Christianity and God and decided to ask my close friend,

Ansel, more about it. That was how i came to know about HMC.  

Wenqi: Well, it kind of began with Darren introducing me to Ansel during my secondary school days. One day, Ansel invited Darren and I to Hakka Methodist Church and after a short discussion, we decided to come. For my part, I guess the reason was that I was curious about Christianity then because I didn't really know much about it at that time.

PHOS: So how did you find it when you first stepped into our church?

Darren: Oh, I was mostly excited, but at the same time wondering about what I might expect from my first visit. When I stepped in, I felt a sense of joy, actually, to see everyone happy and treating one another like family. Yeah, so there was this homely

kind of feeling when I first entered HMC.

Wenqi: The first thing I noticed was that people at Hakka were very nice people. I remembered that when Darren and I first came, many people would welcome us warmly without hesitation. Also, during the worship, as the songs were being played, the lyrics of the songs really touched me because they were so beautiful and they made me want to know so much more about Christ and what he has done for us.

“Two are better than one... if one falls down, his friend can pick him up” Eccl 4:9-10

InterviewJUNE 2010 PHOS NEWSLETTER ISSUE FOUR

So inseparable we had to interview them together!

“I felt a sense of joy... to see everyone

treating one another like a family”

WenqiDarren

PHOS: So how did you come to the decision to accept Jesus into your life?

Darren: Well, early last year, I started to wonder what my purpose in life was, and realised that I didn’t exactly have one. Adding to that, I realised that I was constantly committing many sins without knowing how to manage my thoughts and actions. Hence, I decided to turn to God and to have him take control of my life and to lead me on the right path.

Wenqi: After stepping into Hakka, I became curious about Jesus and began finding out more about him from my Christian schoolmates. From them, I heard a lot of wonderful testimonies about how Jesus has transformed their lives and many others as well. Also, I've had a few friends who were new Christians then. I realized that they were a lot nicer and warmer than previously.

After some time, I decided that I too, wanted to accept Jesus into my life, not only to be transformed by him, but also to know more about the wonderful things that he has done.

P H O S : I n v i e w o f Ansel’s willingness to bring you to church, how important do you think it is for us to bring our friends to church?

Darren: Yeah I feel that it is very important to invite our friends to church so that they may come to know God and that they may t ru ly understand their purpose in life. Furthermore, it would be great if friends could encourage and pray for one another in times of trouble. Christian friends can also build one another up in their love for God.

Wenqi: Haha, yeah if Ansel hadn't invited me to church then, I guess I wouldn't have known the love of Christ. Personally, I feel that it is very important that all of us should try to invite our friends to come to Hakka, especially those who haven't known Christ yet, so that they too will come to know of his love for us.

PHOS: Understand that you’re both quite pro at the sports you play (Darren plays table tennis and Wenqi plays softball. Both are national age-group players!). Does God help you in your games? And in what way?

Darren: Hahaha to begin with, I’m not a pro. But God definitely did help my game significantly over the past few years. To be honest, I am quite a hot tempered person when it comes to sports and I lose my temper easily when things do not go my way. However, after I came to know Christ, my anger has slowly ceased and I am able to keep calm during my games now.

Wenqi: Haha I'm not really that good. Yeah! Whenever I make an error during softball matches, I would not really feel any anxiety nor worry like before because I know that God is there for me. All I need to do is to play my best, and the result is up to Him to decide. Also, after accepting Christ, I feel that I can accept losses during competition better, and this has improved my sportsmanship I think.

PHOS: So what do you hope that God will do in your life for the 2nd half of 2010?

Darren: Well, I hope that God could help me through my studies and balance my time well between homework and

sports. I also pray that He can remove all distractions that come along and help me reach my goals in life.  

Wenqi: Firstly I hope that by the grace and power of God, I can live life as a better Christian and glorify Him better. I also hope that God will present me the opportunities to interact with more non-believers and give me the courage to introduce them to Jesus and bring them to Hakka. Lastly I hope that my family and current non-believer friends will come to know more about Christ with the passing of the year.

Thanks for sharing with us! We pray and hope that God will continue to finish the good work that he’s begun in your lives!

“If Ansel hadn’t invited me to church

then, I guess I wouldn’t have known the love of Christ.”

Darren and Wenqi have found a new

“family” in the Torchbearers!

God helps Darren and Wenqi in their sports!

DUE TO POOR RESPONSE, THE PHOS TEAM HAS DECIDED NOT TO CONTINUE WITH THE PHOS QUIZ...

HOWEVER, WE WILL BE STARTING OUR BRAND NEW TORCHBEARER PHOTO COMPETITION!

CHOOSE A PHOTO, ADD A COOL CAPTION & SEND IT TO PRAYERDINATOR@GMAIL.COM

TOP 3 ENTRIES EACH MONTH WILL WIN ATTRACTIVE PRIZES!

THE LIGHTER

SIDE

Which sport

are Christians

best at?

HIGH JUMP!

(Psalms 18:29, “By m

y

God I can leap over

a

wall” NKJV)