Singapore Takes on a World Mission

Singapore is a small country with some of the fastest growing Christian communities in Asia.Now the island nation is making waves for world evangelism.Sandwiched between Malaysia and Indonesia, Singapore was once counted as a Third World country.But since it's independence in 1965, Singapore has risen to become a rich and thriving Asian metropolis.It not only has the busiest port of trade, best airport with the world's number one airline, but also the world's fourth-highest per capita income at $23,000. Singapore is also a major financial and high-tech hub.Joseph Prince, senior pastor of New Creation Church, one of the largest churches there in the country, says there's a reason why his nation is so blessed."In terms of a small country, with no natural resources, it is amazing that God has prospered our country, for this purpose: so that the Gospel of Jesus Christ can go forth from this tiny island," he said.And today church leaders and mission groups are taking advantage of Singapore's strategic location to reach major countries like China, India and Indonesia with the Gospel."We are positioned to be major sea-routes, air route, where within a seven-hour flight; we can actually reach to most of the populated cities and nations around us," Rev. Stanley Ow of Singapore Centre for Evangelism & Mission said.His group plays a vital role in encouraging churches on the island to get more involved with mission work. As a result, a large majority of churches have active missions programs."And that's exciting because we are not only talking about individuals or groups, but we are actually taking nations for Jesus," he said.It's all part of what Christians there say is Singapore's calling to be a spiritual hub and stepping stone into Asia."We've had wonderful prophesies from different ministers, genuine ministers of God that have said in times past that Singapore is going to be an Antioch of Asia and it has come to pass. When they said that we didn't have mega-churches, we didn't have many missions work," Pastor Prince added.Singapore maybe a small country, home to some four million people. But today, the tiny island has some two thousand short-term and long-term missionaries scattered around the world.And not only are churches sending out missionaries from the shores of Singapore, they're also giving generously to the work of world evangelism.Pastor Prince has set aside 10 percent of his annual church budget for missions."Last year we gave about 4 million US dollars for the mission work...And we are not the only ones," he proclaimed.And while Singapore serves as a strategic base for missions in the region, it also boasts one of the fastest-growing Christian communities in Asia. Christians makeup some 17 percent of the population here. The rest are mix of Buddists, Muslims and Taoists.One of those congregations is Pastor Prince's, New Creation Church. Every Sunday, some 16,000 people pack into the Rock Auditorium in the heart of Singapore's business district.Founded in 1983, New Creation Church has witnessed explosive growth in recent years. Prince says that as Asia's economies have grown, so too has the demand for faith."I was at a point in my life where I had pretty much everything I could ask for," said Ken, a member of New Creation Church. "I had my own house, I had a job ready for me, I had money, doing things I'd love but I still felt empty. So in the end, once you have everything, it doesn't mean that you have everything."So much of life here in Singapore is built around wealth, and the five C's of career, cash, credit cards, condo, car, and country club."People are crying out for grace. The world is full of religion and what we have is the grace of God to offer to people," said Pastor Prince.Prince and others also realize that the world is coming to Singapore. The nation has a diverse mix of cultures."We have as many as 400,000 mainland Chinese among us, 80,000 Indonesians, 80,000 Filipinos," explained Rev. Ow. "The latest I heard is that there are thousands upon thousands of Mongolians are here, Russians are coming here. So this is basically a place where the Lord is bringing them right into our doorstep."[[[[Today, the trends show that in Asian countries like Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and mainland China, Christianity is growing so fast that experts predict this region will be home to the largest Christian population in the world.]]]]"There is a time and season for Asia," concluded Pastor Prince.
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As in the days of Noah....