by Bethany Khng
The church family of Mount Calvary Baptist Church was ‘settling’ quite snugly and happily at the tuition centre at Bukit Batok. We entered into our third year in 1996. The Lord has been good to us. The attendance was encouraging with some regular visitors joining our fellowship. Although we were feeling the space constraint a little, the folks were willing to put up with the inconveniences and noise problems with the thin partitions could hardly be expected to keep out. We needed more room, but where to get a bigger place, considering the difficulty of getting an “approved” place for religious activities in Singapore? And with property prices escalating, how could a young church afford to pay for a building?
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by Pastor John Khng
Praise the Lord that Mount Calvary Baptist Church finally owns the double-storey terrace house at No. 3 Lorong 25A Geylang, Singapore 388219. Our initial budget for a church building was $500,000 which could only buy an office space with a 99 year lease. We increased our budget to $700,000 after realising that the budget set was far too low. We prayed and scouted around for a suitable piece of property knowing that it would take a miracle from God to find a suitable place for our church in land scarce Singapore with a tightly controlled zoning law. These twin difficulties of cost and getting a change of use for a property to be used as a place of worship, have caused some preachers to give up the idea of planting any new church in our country. by Bethany Khng
I would like to share 2 verses from Colossians 3:23-24. The Apostle Paul wrote, “And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.” He was writing to the slaves of his days for whom it was hard to throw their soul into the work. He reminded them that they were not working for men but for God. by Bethany Khng
“Mrs Khng? I am Daniel Khoo. Do you remember me?” Standing right in front of me with a bright, radiant smile, was a strapping, well-built young man who extended a hand that gripped mine in a warm handshake. He had indeed grown taller and much more matured, but that winsome smile and unsuppressed enthusiasm of his had not changed over the years. Memories of my early years teaching in Bukit Ho Swee Secondary School came back, overwhelmingly, and once again, I was in the little canteen sitting across a young lad of 14, with his head bowed in prayer as he asked Jesus to come into his heart… The year was 1974. by Lydia Lee
My husband Vincent and I have celebrated our 11th wedding anniversary. (Where have all the years gone?) But I certainly would not trade now the 11th year for the first. As the years progress, it seems so wonderfully that each year has become richer and far more satisfying than before. Of course, I remember and treasure too, the special ‘tingling’ I had and the wonderful feeling of falling in love with the ‘right’ man, the first date, the first kiss, the first day of marriage, the first honeymoon, the first home. These are all memories still lingering in my heart. First experiences are never to be forgotten. The delight and wonder of spending the entire life with the right man is sweet-sweeter as the years go by. by Sister Bethany Khng
‘…We regret to inform you that your application to re-join the teaching service is unsuccessful…’ A numb, cold feeling crept in and suffused every part of my body as I held the ‘rejection’ slip limply in my hand. I stared in disbelief at the unexpected bombshell, an impersonal, 2-liner, that threatened to end my 15 years of teaching career. That was in February 1993. Today, I can still vividly recall that feeling of utter despair. It was near to grieving the loss of a loved one or some other hopeless situation, for I could never conceive myself as anything else but a teacher. Teaching was my passion. My sole aim in life is to be a Christian teacher, whom God can use in school, whose presence would make a difference in the lives of my young charges. In fact, the days following my submission of the application form to re-join the teaching service with the MOE, I was full of confidence and optimism about the future. I had painted a rosy picture, viewed through rose-coloured tinted glasses of my own making, of how privileged the pupils would be to have me as their teacher. Mentally, I had geared myself up to return to the teaching service with vigour and renewed enthusiasm after out stint of studies in America. I had a number of great plans in mind for the well-being of my ‘lucky’ students….And now, this rejection slip from the Ministry of Education has come to shatter the ‘castles built in the air’! by Betty Khng
Our family first met Dr. and Mrs. William Ward Ayer in the summer of 1985, at their lovely home in St. Petersburg, Florida. John was a ministerial student in Bob Jones University, Greenville, South Carolina, pursuing his Bachelor of Arts (Bible). We became acquainted with the Ayers through “The Marching Truth” newsletter whose editor was Dr. Ayer himself. The first “significant” letter we wrote to them was sometime in February 1984, seeking their advice concerning a good, fundamental Bible college to go to for training. by Pastor John Khng
Without our own awareness God's work of church planting began way back in 1979 when Bro. John Khng started a Sunday School ministry in his 4-room HDB apartment at Marsiling Drive in Woodlands. There was no established church at that time in Marsiling, which was nicknamed a ‘ghost town’ as few people wanted to stay there because of its location at the far north of Singapore, next to the Causeway that links Singapore to Malaysia. From this humble beginning to reach out the neighbourhood, the band of believers grew and established the Faith Independent Baptist Church in 1983. Bro. John Khng and his family went for theological training at Bob Jones University, Greenville, South Carolina, USA from 1984 to 1987 in preparation for the church ministry. Upon his return, he was elected to assume the pastorate at Faith Independent Baptist Church. Pastor Khng went back to Bob Jones University with his family in July of 1990, to finish his Master in Pastoral Studies which was disrupted because of the need to come back half-way through his studies in 1987. With his studies completed in 1992, the family returned to plant another new church in Singapore. |
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