Press In and Press On

Written by Dn Timothy Ong

Timothy Ong is our Church Apprentice (Home Missions). He was previously an engineer in the telecommunications industry. He is a strong advocate of inclusivity and felt called to a season of training and service at Zion Bishan. On top of in-house training, Tim is also undergoing theological training at the Biblical Graduate School of Theology. He serves in several Zion Bishan home missions programmes and is a member of the Missions Education & Mobilisation team. He shares below his reflections on the just concluded Missions Month theme. – Pastor Zheng Haoren

If there is one thing from Missions Month that I am still thinking about, it is: Missions first began with God; it has always been His idea! We have relationship with God through Christ only because someone first shared the Gospel with us. To quote Danish theologian Johannes Aagaard, “There is church because there is mission, not vice versa.” Now if we ‘are church’, what does it mean for us to ‘be church’ now?

I was at one time lost and trapped in sin, but by the grace of God in Christ, I am now a child of light (Eph 5:8). While prayer meetings might have shed light on how other parts of the world are seemingly dark, apart from seeing the needs out there, I have also come to realise how privileged and blessed we are! Even in this current time of pandemic when traveling is not feasible, I don’t have to worry about going overseas because here in urban Singapore, opportunities to cross cultures and witness about Christ abound, especially in my workplace and through my vocation! God can and will use us wherever we are, only if we allow Him to.

I have only begun to see how God’s Mission is really big. If His heart is for all Creation to be reunited with Him through the Church, our mission is to bear faithful witness to the good news of Jesus and His Kingdom, whenever we are gathered but also wherever we are scattered. If being a disciple of Jesus is to be a disciple-maker for Jesus, it means missions begins with me. May we as His children in this family of God, be empowered and enabled by His Spirit, to:

(1) Press In to our Father’s heart day by day. As we listen to the voice and words of Jesus our Good Shepherd, may we catch His heartbeat for those who are not yet of His fold; and

(2) Press On in doing His will! As His agents of light, we partner with Him in bringing His Kingdom to the ends of the earth, knowing that our Father will be delighted when we do His will.