Family 12 09

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december 2009

for private circulation only

inside

The 1-1-1 philosophy of FGT is simply to Invite 1, Save 1 and Disciple 1.

The Lord Jesus’ last words to His 11 disciples were “Go, therefore and make

disciples …, baptizing them… teaching them …” This is the all important Great

Commission to the Church. It is also the mission of FGT.

We are rst of all to “Go”. We are to go into the highways and byways and to the

best of our abilities bring them to a place where they can hear the gospel and

be saved. Invite someone at every opportunity. People need the Lord. Have you

invited someone to church these few months? This year?

Secondly, share the gospel. Soul winning have been the thrust and focus of FGT

from Day 1.

This is evidenced by the monthly evangelistic meetings and frequent crusades and

the emphasis on one-on-one sharing of the gospel. The Evangelism Explosion ministry was established in this church in the very early years of FGT because

we are passionate about saving souls. We have not ceased to encourage every

Our ‘1-1-1’Philosophyby eu hong seng

TheMissionalChurch

page 3

GoodWorks

page 4

GettingMarriedIn FGT

page 6

fgt newsletter

continued on next page

“Go, therefore and

make disciples …,

baptizing them…

teaching them

…” This is the all

important Great

Commission to the

Church. It is also the

mission of FGT.

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2

continued from previous page

member of the church to be trained to share the gospel

condently and be actively sharing it. Today, we have

an average of 2-3 saved

every week. The survival

of the church depends on

souls being added regularly

to the congregation. Are

you trained? Did you sharethe gospel with anyone

recently?

Thirdly, disciple someone.

The strength of the church

is never in its Sunday

attendance. It is in the

number of disciples that are

committed to the cause of

Jesus Christ. True followers

that are taught the Word

and will do His will.

There are few willing to be spiritual parents, to disciple

new converts and guide them to a place of spiritual

I n the spirit of the event, everyone came attired in colourful

traditional costumes for the 365 World Tour held on 5th

September 2009.

365World Tour

After a quick quiz on world

cultures, the different youth groupsput up an array of performances

showcasing the cultures of their

respective nations. Apart from

enjoying the rare occasion of

our youth pastor, Ps Richard,

showing off his vocal skills, the

performances put up by our

Nigerian brothers and sisters

singing and dancing along to

‘Igwe’, and our Indian dancers

strutting their ‘Bollywood ’ stuff

were nothing short of spectacular!

Ps Hock Huat then shared an aptmessage on ‘The Tower of Babel ’.

We later traipsed down to the

‘coffee bean’ area where different

by lai yi jan

booths had been set up to display

the sights, scenes, informationand trivial facts of 10 different

countries represented in the 365.

And of course, the event would

not have been complete without

food, and this time, the youth got

a ‘taste’ of every nation as tidbits

and delicacies of different countries

were served.

The 365 World Tour was an

enormous blessing to all of us as

we were given an insight on how

God has created every nationunique and special in its own

way. To top it off, attendance that

evening rose to an astonishing 384

people, with 100 rst-time visitors!

maturity. Spiritual parenting is rewarding and one of

the most enriching experiences in life. No where in

Scriptures, is it suggested that

this is an option.

There are only two things we

take with us into eternity – our

character and the people wehave saved and helped to

grow in their faith, people we

will see again in heaven. Have

you ever discipled someone?

Are you discipling someone?

Church, let’s have a 1-1-1

Philosophy. It’s spiritual body

building - like going to the gym

for physical body-building.

It brings rewards in eternity.

Paul speaks of the crown of

rejoicing – having those saved and discipled by him in

the presence of the Lord Jesus at His coming (1 Thes

2:19).

“The 365 World Tour was an enormousblessing to all of us as we were given an

insight on how God has created everynation unique and special

in its own way.”

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... reports from various

FGT churches brought

further inspiration

and insight on how

a nation-building

agenda has helped

nurture the expansion

of God’s kingdom and

transforming lives in

the far reaches of the

world.

Workers ConferenceThe Missional Church by lim fang say

“It is not enough to be mission-minded – FGT needs

to be a ‘missional’ church.”

Emphasizing the difference between being mission-

minded and missional during the last FGT Workers

Conference in November, Senior Ps Eu Hong

Seng drew the point that while a traditional churchwould usually send some members

out as missionaries, the missional

church expects every member to be

a missionary in his workplace, school,

home and community. In other words, a

missional church must intentionally seek

opportunities to connect with the larger

community outside its walls if it is serious

in obeying God’s command to restore the

lives of those who are lost, weary and in

need.

Embracing a ‘nation-building’ church

agenda calls for some major shifts in how

FGT will need to approach its ministries.

First, we will be challenged to direct our

resources externally instead of internally,

i.e. our ministries may likely benet

people outside of the church more than members of our

own church.

Second, rather than developing programs, our core

activity would focus on developing people – meaning

we move from studying Jesus to joining Him to

participate in His redemptive work in the world!

Lastly, leaders will need to develop a kingdom-based

rather than church-based mentality. Simply put, as a

missional church our objective is not to collect people

to ll our buildings, but our task is to help them get

where they are supposed to be.

The conference earlier caught a glimpse of the

missional church at work when Ps Sunil Abraham

from Pusat Kebajikan Kalvari Johor (PKK) shared theexperience of his church rising against the

odds to meet the needs of the broken and

needy in Johore. Beginning with virtually

zero nance, manpower and experience,

PKK moved in faith and prayer back in

1987 to obey the call of God to begin its

rst social work to care for an abandoned

autistic child. Today, PKK runs 5

rehabilitation centres for substance abuse;

2 homes for senior citizens; a home for

single mothers and abused women; 9

homes for children and teenagers; and 3homes for the psychologically challenged

– in which a total of 700 residents are

helped. The greater miracle lies in the

fact that PKK’s entire social ministry runs

solely on God’s provision as no active

solicitation of funds either from the main

church or external bodies is encouraged.

Meanwhile, reports from various FGT churches brought

further inspiration and insight on how a nation-building

agenda has helped nurture the expansion of God’s

kingdom and transforming lives in the far reaches

of the world – from Kota Kinabalu to Miri, Myanmar

to the Philippines, and India to Nepal. The energy,

enthusiasm and hardwork of the respective pastors can

only but conrm the Missional Church is indeed coming

alive in FGT.

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Transforming Our NationThrough Good Works

Disaster Relief

Dialysis Centre

In line with its nation-building agenda, NECF Malaysia recently held its National Church Conference themed

‘Transformation – Leading with Conviction and Creativity in Times of Crisis’. The two-day conference attracted

more than 200 participants, of whom 82 were from FGT alone!

During the conference, participants attended workshops on various social works ministries which provided insights

and information on how churches may begin to do social ministries within their communities.

Some of our church members came away tremendously inspired and encouraged by what they learned and what

they can potentially do.

Well, according to CREST Malaysia, a non-prot

Christian humanitarian organization set up to provide

Crisis Relief Services and Training, anyone who wishes

to obey the Lord’s commandment to help those in need

– can!

Whether we are home-makers, ofce workers,

professionals, retirees, teenagers, full-time or lay

workers, there are many ways in which we can apply

our natural and secular skills to aid those affected by

crises and disasters. As rightly pointed out during the

workshop, the needs of disaster victims can often be

met by very down-to-earth and practical actions.

Apart from medical support, crisis-hit areas generally

require substantial manpower to manage and

coordinate the efforts in distributing food, clothing

and building shelter for victims. Other forms of aid

include counseling or simply being a friend to the more

vulnerable group of casualties, such as young children.

The workshop on the dialysis centre opened up my

perspective on the immense opportunity available for

evangelism simply by meeting the practical needs

of kidney failure patients and their families in our

community. By getting involved in their lives, be it by

running simple errands, lending an ear or spending

time on a day-trip out with them, we actually are

embarking on simple steps of winning souls for Christ

by demonstrating His love for them through practicalcare and visible action.

by lim fang say

by alvin wong

So, how difcult can it be to qualify as a friend?

CREST ’s vision is to have teams of volunteers armed

with multi-disciplinary skills who are ready to be

deployed on immediate notice to do relief work for short

durations. For a start, churches are encouraged to

each establish a small team of volunteers keen to serve

in crisis relief work. These volunteers would be trained

and equipped with fundamental knowledge and skills to

be ready to serve when the need arises.

Nobody ever knows when a natural disaster or crisis

will strike. But when it does, especially in your own

backyard, are you equipped to respond correctly to

save and support those affected? Are you ready to

demonstrate God’s love where and when it matters

most during times of crisis?

If you are, make the effort to sign up for the next

Disaster Relief training program to be held at church.

That’s the least we all can do.

Through what I learned in the workshop, I now begin

to see how FGT’s proposed Eagles Dialysis Centre

will have a deep impact on our community. To see this

project into reality, I realize the need for a personal

transformation in my own life and attitudes. I need to

develop a greater heart to care for the sick and the

poor just as Jesus did. Passion and dedication is the

order of the day while sincerity will be key to gain the

trust of those we intend to help as evidenced from myown experience with my dialysis-patient mother. After

all, genuine love builds hope and opens the way to

effective evangelism.

I don’t know about you – but each time I read news of a major disaster or natural catastrophe devastating

the lives of hundreds or thousands of people, I get overwhelmed by a sense of helplessness. I’m no doctor, paramedic or nurse – can I actually do anything to help in the midst of such tragedy?

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“We couldn’t have pulled off the

wedding without our friends and cell

members. They took care of every

detail -from decorations and hall

set-up to music and PA to ushering

and reception to running all around

town catering to our every need,”said Lina.

Meanwhile, Emely Chai found the

pre-marital counseling conducted

by the church to be useful. The

pharmacist was married to network

support engineer Edward Soo a

week after David and Lina.

“We learned a lot of things like

nancial planning, do’s and don’ts

of marriage life, the meaning of marriage and that communication is

the key to a happy marriage. After

attending the counseling, we were

further afrmed that we were meant

to be together!” Emely shared.

After you have

decided to get

married, the next step

is to nd a reliable

team of helpers if you

plan on tying the knot

with peace of mind.

“Our caterer came

late because their van

broke down. So they

Getting Married in FGT

asked a few church members to help

lay out the food and utensils. When

we came down for lunch, everything

looked so perfect. We weren’t

informed of the incident until after the

wedding day,” said Emely.

Many wedding helpers, like Elsa

Sun, work in the background. Elsa is

a regular decoration coordinator for

weddings at church.

“It’s stressful at times. I often wonder

why the brides are not ‘gan chiong’

(anxious) about their wedding as

I have to rush them for details

and to meet deadlines. I will have

hypertension if I am in this business,”

she laughs.

Meanwhile, soundman Devan

Sivanasan has attended a fair share

of weddings at FGT due to his work

with the church PA department.

Doesn’t he get tired

of being at the sound

control area at every

wedding?

“There are times I

do, but I just keep

reminding myself

that there is denitelyone wedding when I

won’t have to do PA

- and that will be my

own,” he quips.

by yam phui yee

David Chua and Lina Loong’s wedding took place in early October.

The warm and intimate ceremony of the accountant and dentist was

the culmination of hours of preparation by the couple and their team of

wedding helpers. Call it a ‘gotong-royong’ of sorts in FGT.

Planning to get married in

FGT? Some valuable tips:

• Before anything else,

ensure you and your soon-

to-be spouse have attended

the mandatory pre-marital

counseling classes at FGT.

• Make sure you contact

Pastor Hong Seng beforexing your nuptial date –

there’ll be no wedding unless

he’s there!

• Find out from the church

ofce who can be assigned

as your wedding coordinator.

This person will be crucial to

help you ensure all aspects of

the wedding ceremony have

been looked into.

• Be part of a church cell

group – you will need to count

on your cell members for help

on that day!

• Be proactive in your

planning. Planning ahead

helps avoid unnecessary

stress for your wedding

coordinator and helpers.

• Pay attention to your PA

needs to get the best sound for that day – after all, the last

thing you want is the music

to stop while you’re mid-way

down the aisle, right?

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“The reality is that Godwants to bless us fnanciallyand it is He who gives us the

ability to gain wealth...”

5th September 2009 saw perfect

weather for a day in the park!

Children and helpers (aka

‘buddies’) from the SuperZone

Class at Children’s Church

gathered at early morning for a time of FUN, FOOD and

FELLOWSHIP at the USJ11 Park.

The day got off to a great start

with a game where the kids were

required to pick a coloured ball

from the rst of three baskets

arranged in a line in front of them.

They would then go to the next

basket to pick up another ball of the

same colour and proceed to drop

both balls into the third basket atthe end of the path. For SuperZone

kids with special needs, the game

proved to be challenging but lots of

fun with the help of their buddies.

After an hour of energetic playing

and cheering, it was time to focus

on the delicious food prepared by

some mothers and the helpers

themselves. We also took the

opportunity to celebrate Abigail

Cheah’s birthday which so

happened fell on that day.

It was indeed a special day for all

– a day when God truly showed us

how special special kids can be!

The AmazingAdventure by chan chui fang

Team Axel F comprising my friends – Victor, Peng Yew, Felix

and myself, were raring to go when we met at church at 8am

for the start of the Young Adult’s Amazing Adventure 2009.

First, we had to complete a jigsaw puzzle and as well as a

Sudoku puzzle. From the jigsaw, we gured our rst destination

was CareMart, and we were the rst to arrive! We had to check

the availability of a list of items and to purchase 4 of them, sticking

the receipt to our page of answers. However in my haste, I forgot

the receipt -which meant lining up to pay again for another 4

items!

Then it was off to Sunway Pyramid. In the lift, we concocted an

ingenious plan to slow the other teams by pressing every single

elevator button just before we got out.

After running around designated areas for answers to a given

set of clues, we headed out to the archery centre. Unknowingly,

we had jumped the queue in getting our gloves for the archery

game, but the team who should have been ahead of us graciously

allowed us through. We thought we did pretty well until we noticed

the team on the next lane (who had allowed us to go rst) had

shot a bunch of arrows right smack at the bull’s-eye!

Next was the bowling alley. After bowling like mad for our scores,

it was a race back to Wisma Eagles. We handed in all our

answers but were given another pack of papers. The race was not

over yet! We had to do origami. We fumbled, folded and refolded,hoping that the end-product would resemble the creature we were

told to make.

During lunch, the judges viewed our art work and tallied our

scores. Then it was time to announce the winners. To cut the long

story short, we did not win anything!

What I learned:

1. Being rst to reach the 1st stop does not mean you will end as

the winner.

2. Pushing lift buttons on every oor is not good strategy. Play fair!

3. Be gracious and allow others to go rst. The team that allowed

us to go ahead of them actually won a price for archery!

4. Teamwork is important – working together is more fun and

enjoyable.

by jonathan tan

SuperZoneOuting

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The Elijah Challenge with Pastor William Lau on 16 to 17 October 2009

Coming up in 2009-2010: FGT Dharmapuri, Poonamallee, Ambattur and Andipatti!

Tony Yong’s father testies on God’s mighty healing power! Praying for Joshua Ho

Kathy’ Liang’s 89 year old grandmother receives theLord as her Saviour

Birth of new FGT Churches ...FGT Shivpur, Nepal

FGT Las Pinas - Church Service goes ahead in the aftermathof Typhoon Ketsana

FGT Yangon - the numbers seeking the Lord continue to grow

the elijah challenge

FGT Pennagaram

FULL GOSPEL

TABERNACLE

Wisma Eagles, 5 Jalan TP 4Tmn Perindustrian UEP47600 Subang JayaSelangor Darul Ehsan, MalaysiaTel: +(6) 03-8024 2270 • Fax: +(6) 03-8024 2271Website: www.fgt2u.org

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Family 12 09