FES Annual Report 2022

FES 65th AGM 25 March 2023 | 1 ANNUAL REPORT 2022

Copyright © 2023 Fellowship of Evangelical Students (FES), Singapore FES 420 North Bridge Road #05-05 North Bridge Centre, Singapore 188727 Phone: +65 6338 3665 Email: [email protected] Website: https://fellowship.sg

FES 65th AGM 25 March 2023 | 3 Contents Chairperson’s Address | 4 General Secretary’s Address | 5 People | 7 FES Council | 8 Advisors | 8 FES Subcommittees | 9 Staff Team | 10 Impact | 13 Impact Summary | 14 English Section (ES) | 16 Chinese Work (CW) | 19 Indonesian Ministry (IM) | 21 Graduate Ministry | 24 National Student Council (NSC) | 26 Human and Ministry Resources | 29 General Secretary’s Office | 32 Military Christian Fellowship (MCF) | 35 Highlights | 37 Leaders’ Party | 38 Graduates’ Party | 39 Engaging the University | 40 Stories | 41 Campus Stories | 42 Alumni Stories | 55 Looking Forward & Looking Out | 58

4 | Annual Report 2022 Chairperson’s Address 2022 was a year to reconnect for FES. With the engage and connect more with all our com- restrictions gradually lifted after COVID-19, munities (students, staff, donors, graduates, the year saw the resumption of many of our and partners) while supporting Jeremiah in plans and most-missed activities as a min- his new journey leading the organisation to- istry. We saw how the staff workers could en- wards Fellowship 2030. For the FES Council, ter campuses freely again, friends from affili- the work is cut out for us to continue the good ate movements in the region gather on our work started by my predecessor – in continu- sunny shores and students could resume ous governance development, reviewing our meeting up in person in large groups and at constitution, updating robust policies by con- camps. We give thanks also for the opportu- stituting subcommittees with committed and nity to hold our FES-GCF Reconnect Dinner competent volunteer professionals, and suc- bringing together students, staff, graduates, cession planning, aside from our longstand- volunteers, donors, and partners after years ing commitments to activating volunteers apart. and fundraising. These efforts have started, but they will take time to bear fruit. As things gradually get back to normal, and our people began to settle into “business as As you can see, there are many new and uncer- usual”, the most dangerous thing we could do tain things in this season, but I also recall the coming out of the pandemic was not to main- words I shared at the last AGM, that we all be- tain the status quo, but rather aim at getting long to this fellowship (koinonia), a joint par- back to the way we were before. Ministry and ticipation in the same work of making Christ life in the “New Normal” require us to read the proud on campus and in society. Through times more than ever before and engage head- each of your tireless service and generous on with the landscape ahead that is changed contributions as students, staff, graduates, indelibly. In all honesty, we entered the year volunteers, partners, and donors, the Lord has apprehensive about funding as government done exceedingly abundantly above all that grants no longer existed, giving seemed irreg- we ask or think, according to the power that ular during the pandemic, and ministries works in us, bringing us through another year looked like they were struggling to survive, and to sustain us in our labour for His glory. amid uncertain participation and engagement with campuses dealing with the realities and For that, I am deeply grateful. challenges of a post-COVID world. Reuben Ang Suffice to say, my first year as FES Council FES Council Chairperson 2022/2023 chair was indeed a learning journey for me, meeting new stakeholders, connecting with old partners, and endeavouring just to get up to speed. In the year ahead I hope to gradually

FES 65th AGM 25 March 2023 | 5 General Secretary’s Address In 2021, the FES Council adopted a new plan GCF Reconnect Dinner in September shows for FES called Fellowship 2030, which covers the strong support that student and graduate three immediate priorities: digital ministry, ministry has built and still has since the 1950s wellbeing ministry, and graduate ministry. It and which continues till today. With this sup- also covers four intermediate priorities: inter- port, it is essential then for FES-GCF to use national students, futures, value-based, and 2023 to rebuild its ministries and programmes lifelong learners. All these priorities are based in light of a changed context and an uncertain upon three qualities that have always driven future. The hope is for all our communities – FES’ approach to student ministry: student students, staff, donors, alumni, volunteers, leadership, missional identity, and intergener- and partners – to then be ready by 2024 to ational fellowships. minister effectively regardless of the future years ahead. Fellowship 2030 continues to guide our deci- sions and activities. Many of our plans and In short, Fellowship 2030 continues to set the programmes follow these priorities that have overarching priorities that FES needs to focus been set out. However, it became clear by the on to remain effective in student ministry for end of 2021 that the parallel context of the the coming decade. Yet this post-pandemic pandemic has not helped FES achieve its pri- context has also provided the immediate nar- orities in the best possible way yet. Many fel- rative for FES to build resilience in 2021, recon- lowships and student leaders were struggling nect in 2022, and rebuild in 2023, so as to be with survival, uncertainty, and digital disrup- ready for 2024 and beyond. tions. Some staff had to deal with the re- stricted access to campus and to students. A The evolution of the FES Annual General common sentiment by the end of 2021 was: we Meetings and Annual Reports is also a sign of managed to do something rather than noth- the steady development of FES. You will no- ing. At best, this sentiment revealed the re- tice a very different look for the Staff Team. silience of the students and staff. Amid the More importantly, more voices and names – myriad of changes to classrooms, campuses, graduates, volunteers, subcommittees – are curriculums, and CFs, we just had to keep go- included in this iteration. Everyone has played ing little by little. This led to the natural theme a part in keeping the spirit of FES-GCF stu- for 2021 – Resilience – which then led us to the dent and graduate work alive. This is the spirit themes and directions for the next three of reconnecting and rebuilding communities years. at work. I hope more of us will look forward then to what is yet to come next year, at the In May 2022, everything opened up again. next AGM. May we be found faithful and fruit- Staff could enter campuses freely, students ful ministers of God’s Word and Work on cam- could meet up with little restrictions, and pus and in society. large-group gatherings and camps were possi- bilities yet again. Revenge travel became a Jeremiah Goh thing. Reconnecting with our students, gradu- FES General Secretary ates, donors, and alumni became the immedi- ate priority for this year. The successful FES-



FES 65th AGM 25 March 2023 | 7 PEOPLE

8 | Annual Report 2022 FES Council Reuben Ang Nicolas Kevin Melvin Tan Joshua Lum Chairperson Vice-Chairperson, Treasurer Secretary IM Working Comm Chairperson Kevin Chung Daniel Tay Dorothy Ng Mark Lauda ES Working CW Working CW representative IM representative Comm Chairperson Comm Chairperson Joel See Pang Tzer Yeu Shannon Chieng Low Sue-anne GCF Chairperson MCF Chairperson NSC Coordinator Audit Chairperson Advisors The Rt Revd Bishop Dr Ernest Chew Dr Lawrence Mr Kua Wee Dr Titus Chung Dr Gordon Wong FES Vice- Chia Seng President Bishop of the Bishop of the FES Vice- FES Vice- Anglican Methodist (2009–present) President President Church in Church in (1996–present) (2019–present) Singapore Singapore FES President FES Vice-President (2021–present) (2021–present)

FES 65th AGM 25 March 2023 | 9 FES Subcommittees English Section (ES) Chinese Work (CW ) Working Committee Working Committee Cheong Song Yu 张颂宇 Kevin Chung Daniel Tay 郑万锋 Joshua Lum Dennis Koh 高志豪 Lee Gah Hung 李佳训 Indonesian Ministry (IM) Ng Tian Tian Dorothy 黄恬恬 Working Committee Finance Subcommittee Nicolas Kevin Christianto Melvin Tan Mark Lauda Lauw Dennis Koh Joshia Manggala Joshia Manggala Grace Jasmine Winona Wijaya Nomination Subcommittee Bennett Clement Reuben Ang Matheus Calvin Clarissa Audreylia Property Subcommittee Joel See Audit Subcommittee Low Sue-anne Human Resources Subcommittee Reuben Ang Governance Training Melvin Tan

Staff Team Michael KANG Victor W IBOW O Associate General Secretary, Head, Human & Ministry Resources GCF Graduate Secretary Jeremiah GOH General Secretary LAI Sze Khiong Darryl PUTRA Prarthini M SELVEINDRAN Head, Chinese Work Head, Indonesian Head, English Section (ES) (CW) Ministry (IM) CHAN Sook Ching Elaine CHAN CHONG Yun Mei Graduate Ministry (CW) Alumni Relations, Communications Events FONG Qi Hua Rebecca GOH Sindy GOH Sin Tee Campus Ministry (CW) Campus Ministry (ES) Campus Ministry (CW)

FES 65th AGM 25 March 2023 | 11 Jerry Lisman KOMALADI KW OK Siew Hwee Steve LAM Campus Ministry (IM) Seconded to Campus Ministry (CW) Campus Ministry (CW) IFES East Asia Gabriel JIANG Campus Ministry (ES) Rachel LENG LIM Jie Joel LIM Rebecca LIM Campus Ministry (ES), Campus Ministry (ES) Campus Ministry (ES) Seconded to FCS Communications Mongolia Timothy LEUNG Ministry Intern LIM Ying Adrian NUGROHO SIAH May Lan Joyce SUNE Lee Qin Campus Ministry (ES), Campus Ministry (IM) Resources, Campus Ministry (CW) Communications Campus Ministry (ES) LOO Kee Wei Campus Ministry (ES) Nancy Elisabeth Lilian TAN YAO Fu Ji Zephy W ONG SURYADARMA Admin, Finance Graduate Ministry (ES) Campus Ministry (ES) Graduate Ministry (IM) (on sabbatical leave) Leal TAN Resources, Campus Ministry (ES)



FES 65th AGM 25 March 2023 | 13 IMPACT

29 197Staff14 | Annual Report 2022 22Campus and Graduates Who graduated in 2022 Graduate 142 CW 252 0Non-campus ES 26 29 IM No. attending programmes for Graduates 87 90 CW ES Seconded Staff 8 1 IM Honorary Staff 70 Attended Graduates’ Party (ES, CW , IM) Impact Summary

22NYP FES 65th AGM 25 March 2023 | 15 932Students 26 CFs 15 Campuses ES NUS NTU 681 SMU SIM SUSS 171 80 CW SIT JCUS IM Undergraduates SP 742 NP TP 11 NAFA 179Postgraduates LASALLE 82 Polytechnic PSB and ITE ITE International students attending our CF programmes ES CW IM

16 | Annual Report 2022 English Section (ES) Head of Ministry: Prarthini Selveindran Ministry Team: Gabriel Jiang, Leal Tan, Lim Jie, Lim Ying, Loo Kee Wei, Rachel Leng, Rebecca Goh, Joel Lim (part-time), Zephy Wong (on sabbatical leave w.e.f. June 2022) Ministry Direction way, community building was taken in concert with VCF’s strategic place and Overall, our CFs continued their endeavours purpose on campus. to be more outward-focused while investing in community-building efforts. While work- Engaging the campus: Some CFs empha- ing in tandem with the student ministries, our sised engaging their campus which was exem- ES ministry team sought to build our own plified in the following: staff worker capacities – in terms of team building, improving our team structure and • NUS VCF’s (AY 2021/2022 and AY 2022/2023) developing our ministry know-how, honing Christianity Awareness Week (CAW) ini- ministry skills as well as addressing knowl- tiatives: The 2022 event saw VCF partner- edge gaps. ing with the NUS Muslim Society through a joint public exhibition to engage the Bright Spots campus on the topic “Pain and Suffering”. This was VCF’s attempt to engage the This year the ES staff and student leaders’ re- public square in a posture that was collab- ports reflected initiatives and intentional ef- orative and conversational, while opening forts that marked growth across the follow- space for further dialogue – AY 2022/2023 ing: saw an increase in interfaith engagement. The 2023 CAW event will centre around Community building: With the considerable hospitality, with the approach of listening easing of COVID-related restrictions many to and addressing grievances and miscon- CFs took appreciable effort towards commu- ceptions their fellow students have about nity building. For some CFs, Academic Year Christianity. (AY) 2022/2023 marked their first full year of in-person campus activity. The impact of this • Two campuses sought to practise hospi- return to physical fellowship can be seen in tality: NYP-TP CF’s ‘Game Night’, which the following: was aimed at welcoming friends into the CF space, and JCUS CF’s Christmas bless- • JCUS CF and SP CF invested in efforts to ing, for cleaners and security staff. reach out and intentionally welcome new- comers. These efforts have seen some • SIM SCF’s ‘SIMple Hopes’: an initiative community growth. (planned for 6–10 March 2023) aims to en- courage SIM students to have more mean- • SIM SCF has seen a more fruitful discus- ingful conversations about the value of sion from their in-person engagement studying and campus life. This marks the with their Bible studies. CF’s effort to motivate the student body to be involved in the ‘life’ of the school, spark • NUS VCF held a Fellowship Teaching on a conversation on ‘worth’ within a campus “The Importance of Physical Fellowship” climate that may view itself as ‘inferior’, (with Mr Kua Wee Seng as the speaker), and ultimately, engage their culture as where the Exco invited their body to agents of Hope. reimagine physical fellowship (with the overarching themes of hospitality and ac- • NTU CF’s “The NTU Dream”: an attempt to countability) on a ‘map’ of NUS. In this hear from and engage with the wider cam- pus student population regarding their

FES 65th AGM 25 March 2023 | 17 priorities. These sentiments would inform Challenges and Needs and shape the CF’s strategic plans for the next AY. This is a cross-ministry (with the Ownership and commitment: Several CFs Chinese and Indonesian CF) collaborative have cited challenges revolving around own- effort that will take place from 28 to 29 ership and commitment from their members. March 2023. Both student leadership and staff highlight that there is a lamentable lack of conviction Managing and Leading the CF: We have seen from the CF about the strategic purpose of some CFs place a greater emphasis on good ministry on campus and service. Notably, governance and communicating vision. This some CFs report a sort of ‘disempowerment’, reflects greater intentionality on the CF lead- where CFers appear to lack agency or motiva- ership in managing and leading their min- tion in taking action and initiative. Other CFs istries. Two efforts well worth commending highlight a desire for members to step out of here are: their passivity as an audience and actively pi- oneer ground-up efforts or commit to campus • NP CF’s Exco, who not only refreshed their engagement. This has implications also for fu- leadership structure for the AY ahead but ture leadership, CF growth and presence also introduced a membership class for within the campus, as well as ministry sus- their CF. This was a means to communi- tainability. cate the ministry's vision, purpose, and structure to the CF, and promote greater Leadership: A corresponding concern is that participation and ownership of this min- of leadership. A number of reports high- istry. Significantly, this was conducted to- lighted issues pertaining to communication, gether with the Chinese CF. planning, and management of the CF by the student leadership. Further, some noted the • SUSS CF’s first formal AGM and Exco elec- challenges that leaders faced not only in wel- tions. coming newcomers into the ministry, but in effectively communicating vision and pur- NP CFers at their membership class pose of ministry, and in managing all their re- sponsibilities to reliably serve within the CF. Pioneering: This year, the ES celebrates the Our student leaders are busy, and many are pioneering initiative on the SIT campus. overwhelmed with juggling different commit- While this is yet a fledgling ministry, we are ments (school, service in church, external hopeful for its continued growth, and I com- commitments), which limits their own time, mend the dedication of the current student imagination, and capacities in serving within leader, Gaius, and staff worker, Gabriel, to- the CF. Significantly, we observe that student ward that end. leaders are often unable to commit to a sub- stantial period of time to undergo training (before school begins) or to afford sufficient time for planning – this means planning for the CF often happens in the flurry of the school term. Administrative procedures: A related chal- lenge that several CFs reported was the diffi- culty in responding to growing administrative demands from the school. For some, this took the form of (detailed) proposal writing, with considerable checks, alongside delayed re- sponses from the school (with regards to ap- proval, bookings, etc.). Notably, there is an ob- servable rise in attention that the school stu- dent affairs department gives to matters re-

18 | Annual Report 2022 NTU CFers (English, Chinese, and Indonesian CFs) at their combined get-together in August 2022 lated to the CF administration and daily oper- presenting ‘doing service’ and understanding ations (the list includes AGM processes, CF ‘leadership’, such that students step away en- structure/organisation, and leadership termi- ergised by their active participation, rather nology, as well campus initiatives, wider sen- than ‘burnt-out’ or ‘burdened’ by service. We timents towards CF, programmes run within lament how members may seem ‘disempow- the CF – this includes considerable question- ered’ and lacking in agency, within a ministry ing on more ‘sensitive’ issues). CFs must con- that prizes student initiative. These areas of tinue to build a good relationship with the leadership and commitment necessitate at- school administration while having systems tention within our ministry section. in place to address these demands without significant cost to the CFs’ time and mental While we express these laments, there is cor- energy. respondingly much to be thankful for. Our ES staff expressed gratitude for the dedication, Ministry Opportunities conviction, commitment, and resilience of the student leadership in serving the CF. We are I am happy to report that this year, our min- blessed by the opportunity to walk alongside istries have reflected a greater impetus for our students and by their willingness to part- collaboration and connection across different ner with us in doing ministry together, for the groups (whether with the Chinese or Indone- glory of God. sian CFs within the campus, across the Eng- lish Section or with other clubs on campus) compared to last year. This is an opportunity that should be further mined: there is yet room for deeper, more meaningful dialogue and cross-collaboration here. Reflection The year that passed has not been without its significant challenges. As all the CFs returned to physical fellowship, there were moments of lament and loss felt across the ministries. We lamented the occasions of miscommunica- tion – whether within Excos or between lead- ership and members. What continues to be lamentable is how tired leaders are, which limits their imagination and inspiration, and how service may be perceived as an onerous duty rather than an opportunity for energis- ing and exploration. We need new ways of

FES 65th AGM 25 March 2023 | 19 Chinese Work (CW) Head of Ministry: Lai Sze Khiong Ministry Team: Chan Sook Ching, Joyce Sune, Goh Sin Tee, Fong Qi Hua, Kwok Siew Hwee, Steve Lam, Chng Yu Juin (till June 2022) Ministry Direction Chinese Bible study group while other staff are looking out for opportunities in the other In our ministry with students and alumni, we polys and SIT. seek to: Bright Spots • encourage students to serve in the CF and engage their campus with the gospel Working with the school administration: In of Christ. 2022, it was exciting to see God’s faithfulness, providence, and empowerment upon the stu- • enable the students to see their present dent ministry as it continues to thrive, regard- and future identity as salt and light in the less of whether the campus was closed, or marketplace (campus). even opened with multiple restrictions. Some- times, though the application for a meeting • partner with the Chinese denominational venue has been granted, the content for the churches to help youths to envision what fellowship meeting has yet to be approved, as the Chinese church is and can be. the school wanted the students to be more ‘sensitive’. Eventually, God moved the school • guide students in their transition from to grant permission for the meeting to carry the student CFs to the respective alumni on. Through this, student committee mem- groups as starting and sustaining in bers learned to be patient in waiting upon alumni groups is crucial. God. They also learned to dialogue with the school administration to better understand Ministry Team the advice given by the school. At the beginning of 2022, Steve Lam rejoined Bible study camps: Both the Poly (Oct 2022) FES and was assigned to support Yu Juin in and Uni (Jan 2023) Bible study camps were NUS CVCF. When Yu Juin resigned in mid- held at Foochow Methodist Church. For this 2022, Steve stepped in to oversee CVCF and at round, we studied the Epistles set in the back- the same time, connect with the CVCF post- drop of the New Testament church, which has graduate Bible study group. Sze Khiong over- both similarities and differences to our sees the Chinese postgraduate ministry and present-day context. For us now, not every- supports NTU CCF’s postgraduate group. thing may be smooth sailing and we may meet Joyce is the international student ministry with some hindrances in our Christian walk. staff, partnering with Qi Hua in SIM-SUSS But the early church faced persecution. For CCF and Siew Hwee in NTU CCF. Since 2021, both the early and present-day church, we Siew Hwee has been pairing up with Qi Hua at learned to dialogue with our neighbours and NP CCF. engage the authorities. While we are physi- cally safe, the apostles and early Christians Besides being the SP CCF staff, Sin Tee han- were martyred. dles the CW administrative work in FES and at the same time edits the CW newsletter, Fol- Youth Leadership Camp (YLC): Formerly lower. All the CW staff support the fresh grad- known as Youth Theological Forum, YLC is uates camp with Sook Ching who helms the co-organised by the FES Chinese Work and CW alumni ministry. Partnerships with GCF the National Council of Churches Four De- are being explored while the CW initiatives in nominational (4D) Chinese Work Committee. mentoring and ministering to alumni are on- going. Sze Khiong leads the pioneering SMU

20 | Annual Report 2022 The steering and organising committees of the YLC Staff together with the students are serving together with patience knowing that student The YLC steering committee, comprising CW initiative is at stake But knowing that stu- staff, Siew Hwee, Qi Hua, Sze Khiong, and dents have passion for the student movement Steve, as well as representatives from the four reminds us of the continuity of the fellowship denominations, developed this new curricu- (koinonia). lum where we started with the history of the church in Singapore (for 2022), and will be fol- Ministry Opportunities lowed by culture in 2023. With the limited ac- commodation at Trinity Theological College Through the Alpha course run by CVCF, one (TTC), we managed to secure additional lodg- undergraduate has accepted Christ. She has ing at Praisehaven, Salvation Army so that 72 graduated and is now studying for her Mas- campers could be housed from 18 to 20 De- ters. In the meantime, she was brought to a lo- cember 2022. The theme 《雾锁南洋》 aimed to cal church and eventually got baptised. An- clear the mist of what church is all about from other postgraduate student from NTU at- the 19th century, and knowing the history tended the Alpha course run by a local church truly set the stage for campers to ask ques- and accepted Christ. There are undergradu- tions and ponder further about this topic. ates and postgraduates receiving follow-up in NTU CCF. Challenges and Needs Reflection With several students having graduated from NUS CVCF in 2022, and not that many first- Looking back in 2022, year students have joined, there was quite an we saw students nur- issue of critical mass that caused the commit- tured throughout the tee to make adjustments to their weekly pandemic and becom- meetings. The same situation was seen in ing leaders, led by lead- NTU CCF. Having insufficient students to ers (their staff work- serve, the usual three Bible study groups have ers). We pray that they been reduced to two groups to facilitate dis- will continue to grow beyond what is present cussion. But numbers aside, the CFers have now to envision hope in these uncertain been keen to invite their friends to their regu- times. I would like to conclude with the CW lar meetings. Currently, both CFs have non- Big Family Gathering theme for 2022, 《与袮同 Christians who come regularly to their meet- 走过》 Walking Together with You – it is not ings. just about the physical CFs or alumni groups that have been going through thick and thin SIM-SUSS CCF will now be adding one more all this time; it is about God being present in institution to their acronym, to become SIM- our midst, through the wilderness, darkness, SUSS-SIT CCF as some SIT students at the and stormy days and now, seeing hope from Ngee Ann Polytechnic campus have joined. Him just as the people of God saw hope when Due to sustainability issues, the SIM-SUSS they crossed the Red Sea in the book of Exo- CCF committee has stepped down but thank dus. God that they are continuing to meet for weekly Bible study and meetings on campus.

FES 65th AGM 25 March 2023 | 21 Indonesian Ministry (IM) Head of Ministry: Darryl Andriyan Putra Ministry Team: Adrian Nugroho, Jerry, Nancy Suryadharma (w.e.f. Sept 2022) Ministry Direction longing among the group members in PATH, though not so much in SKETCH, due to the In 2022, we sought to: different challenges faced. • better equip and empower student lead- A PATHxSKETCH small group session held in October ers in their ministry. 2022 • facilitate the transition of ministry in the Incorporating casual gatherings in addi- post-pandemic era, particularly in the tion to fellowship meetings: It has been ob- area of outreach. served that casual gatherings seem to attract more students to fellowship together. This • improve the execution of several key ar- was seen in NUS ISCF’s picnic day, as well as eas in our campus ministry. SIM ISCF’s BBQ event and outing day. Such gatherings are observed to be conducive to • rethink and reconfigure a ministry model cultivating bonding amongst the fellowship for new graduates. members in these post-COVID times. Involving freshmen: In NUS ISCF, holding Bright Spots informal activities (e.g. playing badminton) with the freshmen who are not yet part of Doing spiritual disciplines together: In NTU ISCF’s committees, resulted in a larger ISCF, there was an initiative to do devotions turnout of many other freshmen at our meet- with friends within the fellowship. Called ings. These activities then became opportuni- IMAN (Inisiatif Membaca ALkitab dengan ties to engage them further. This could be the Niat), the Indonesian word for faith, it utilises reason for the higher number of freshmen the devotional plan in the YouVersion Bible membership recruitment in NUS ISCF this App. Members will individually read the devo- year (about 19–20 freshmen). tional materials, and through the App, ex- change comments or lessons learned on a NUS ISCFers playing badminton together with given devotional material. As a result of this, freshmen some students mentioned that they started to have more regular personal devotions. Some others shared that they have a better under- standing of the Bible as the staff worker is present to help explain the difficult verses/ passages of the Bible. This programme is easy to share with others and relatively simple to sustain as we just need to find new plans once we have completed the current plan. Adopting the small group model (for the smaller CFs): As opposed to having a big group meeting, in the second semester of AY 2022/2023, the ministry in SKETCH (NAFA and LASALLE) and PATH (SMU) adopted the small group model, which emphasises sharing, dis- cussion, and flexibility. The model appears to have worked well to develop a sense of be-

22 | Annual Report 2022 Challenges and Needs lacking as well. The busier atmosphere in school, along with the involvement of some Deepening biblical and theological under- students in their church youth groups, may standing: One important thing that the CF have contributed to this increasing feeling has been doing is helping the students grow that CF is just one of many options. in their understanding of the Christian faith, and in the process equipping them with Bible Help in transition upon graduation: Final- reading and interpreting skills. However, year students have a lot of worries about se- many have felt that such emphasis has been curing a job, especially during the ongoing re- quite lacking in the CF. One reason for this cession. Nothing much seems to have been could be the non-existence of a curriculum done to specifically and strategically address that emphasises building theological and bib- these concerns. lical foundations (and skills). Concerning this, we also see a need for students to better un- Recent and fresh graduates at the Graduates’ Party derstand the Christian faith and think held on 9 July 2022 through their response to ethical issues such as LGBTQ. Participation in overseas mission work: Several students have expressed the desire to Leadership and management: Several stu- know more about mission opportunities in In- dent leaders have expressed their confusion donesia and how they can make meaningful about their role as leaders of the fellowship. contributions with what they have. Some have also expressed not feeling confi- dent and sometimes clueless about how to Ministry Opportunities manage and facilitate the fellowship as well as their team members. Some areas that will offer good growth oppor- tunities for the ministry include the follow- Outreach to new students and freshmen: In ing: some circles, students tend to gather and in- teract only with those they are familiar with • Having more measurable and specific or share a similar background (e.g. from the ministry indicators, for example, ministry same church), which may hinder newcomers success indicators will help in clearer goal and freshmen from settling down in the fel- setting; leadership readiness indicators to lowship. We also see the need for mutual nur- assess the student’s readiness in taking up turing and discipling, especially between the leadership positions. seniors and freshmen. • Rethinking and redesigning the way min- The spiritual growth of CFers: In addition to istry is done, along with the integration of their lack of biblical understanding, it is ob- digital space into ministry. served that members of various small groups were struggling with their spiritual growth. • Reintroducing topics relating to the ba- This is of great concern especially noting that sics of the Christian faith and Bible study we rely quite heavily on small groups in our skills as part of the ISCF curriculum. ministry. Some students also expressed their desire to be closer to God and experience Him • Collaborating with different entities, such in their daily lives; In their sharing, they as churches and other organisations, may sometimes share their frustration with the enable us to better serve the students and state of their Bible reading and spiritual jour- help them be more comfortable with the ney. Strengthening members’ attachment and ownership of ISCF: In some CFs where the attendance and participation of the students are irregular, their ownership of the CF is

FES 65th AGM 25 March 2023 | 23 ISCFers with their staff workers at the FES-GCF Dinner on 16 September 2022 CF, and at the same time, we can explore • The decrease in student leaders’ initiative opportunities that may benefit students and enthusiasm in leading the fellowship in their participation (in terms of experi- as the academic year went on. ence, lesson, exposure, etc.). Despite all the above, there are many things to • Introducing holding camps in the smaller be grateful for. It has been encouraging to see campuses as camps are usually a good several students share their recent “conver- platform for building bonds amongst the sion experience”. Some students have also CF members. shown that they understood what the staff workers have been telling them, as seen from Reflection the way they explain the same matter to their friends. Some concerns that we have observed are: • Students who lack understanding of the This transformation of students’ lives is also basics of Christianity or have a lot of observed in some of the student leaders in questions about God, to the point of find- terms of their service, character, knowledge, ing it difficult to believe and accept “ba- and self-awareness. We have student leaders sic” biblical truth, (e.g. about salvation). who are willing to stay and press on despite This is also related to their lack of Bible constant rejections that they face in reaching study/reading skills as well as their ten- and inviting their fellow friends, as well as dency towards activism in ministry. leaders who take the initiative to lead a dis- cussion and execute programmes when the • The possibility (or fear) that students may rest of the team were occupied. I also com- not grow in the CF. Several observations mend the initiative of some Exco members in hint towards this: low interest of students continually trying out new programmes al- to belong and journey with the fellowship; though they didn’t always turn out to be as little initiative and ideas from the stu- well as they wanted them to be. Some have dents; low or no turn-up in many of the also shown sensitivity and discernment in dif- outreach events planned (especially when ferentiating primary and secondary issues/ there was a manpower crunch) concerns in ISCF as a whole. • Ongoing personal struggles of the Exco that hinder them from growing and wit- nessing effectively (both in word and deed).

24 | Annual Report 2022 Graduate Ministry FES Associate General Secretary, GCF Graduate Secretary: Michael Senjaya Kang Ministry Team: Chan Sook Ching, Fuji Yao, Nancy Suryadarma, Sean Mulyadi (GCF) Ministry Direction Bright Spots In 2022, as a ministry we sought to: Graduates’ Party: We celebrated and com- missioned our fresh graduates, including • have better integration for the student those who graduated during the pandemic (in and graduate ministry. 2020 and 2021), with the Graduates’ Party on 9 July 2022. Around 70 fresh graduates attended • provide support to young graduates in the event, along with 40 students and older their transition from study to work life. graduates who supported them. There were some questions or doubts about the purpose • explore more ministry collaborations and effectiveness of the Graduates’ Party. among the different ministry sections. However, we are still determined to hold the Graduates’ Party, to make an important state- Ministry Size ment that we are serious about commission- ing our graduates to be salt and light in the Last year we tried to run C2C (Classmates to marketplace. Colleagues) for the fresh graduates from all three ministry sections (ES, CW, IM), but the Tuning retreats: Our tuning retreats that fo- response was not as good as expected as only cused on life direction, spiritual disciplines, 5 people signed up for the one-year pro- and mental health received a positive re- gramme. In the past year, our young gradu- sponse and were well attended by young grad- ates’ ministry served around 40 young gradu- uates. With that in mind, we decided to organ- ates, through the Beyond Season (Year 1), the ise tuning retreats on a yearly or twice-yearly Refined Life (Years 2 and 3), C2C day, and the basis. tuning retreats. Meanwhile, the CW graduate ministry served more than 90 graduates in to- tal last year. Recent graduates at the Graduates’ Party held on 9 July

FES 65th AGM 25 March 2023 | 25 “Garden of My Soul” tuning retreat (13 Mar 2022) pus and graduate ministry integration. On top of that, campus ministry staff workers also “Loft Up Your Soul” tuning retreat (18–20 Feb 2023) need to convince the student leaders of the importance of graduate ministry. Artwork done at the retreat Publicity of programmes: We noticed from Team support: We are thankful for the C2C the recent poor response to the C2C pro- facilitators and graduate volunteers who min- gramme that we need to improve the publicity istered to the young graduates amid their and exposure of our graduate ministry pro- busyness and life transition. The graduate grammes, to ensure that the graduating stu- ministry staff team has also put much effort dents as well as young graduates are aware of into the new initiatives for the young gradu- the programmes that we organise. ates’ ministry. I am also thankful for the sup- port of the GCF Council for this ministry and Over-compensation on uncertainties: in the ministry integration with the campus Some of the graduates whom we spoke with ministry. Some of them even made inten- expressed great concerns about the uncer- tional efforts to join the young graduates’ pro- tainties (of the future, financial stability, job grammes. security, etc.), which dissuaded them from committing themselves to any ministry or Challenges and Needs programme. Communication between campus and Ministry Opportunities graduate ministry staff teams: Having clar- ity in the role and expectations of campus and For many years, the CW ministry has been graduate ministry staff workers, to support conducting annual combined fresh graduates’ the graduating students and their transition camps for both the Poly and Uni ministry. But to graduate life, is an important factor in cam- we have not seen it done for the ES and IM graduates regularly. So this year we are plan- ning to organise a fresh graduates’ camp that will be open to all the three ministry sections of FES. Reflection Understandably each ministry group has its legitimate concerns for its ministry. This may be exacerbated by the limitation or lack of manpower, which causes us to narrow the scope of our direct roles and responsibilities. However, sometimes this sectarianism may hinder us from working together as one big team. Nevertheless, I have been excited by the new initiatives brought about by the work of the graduate ministry staff team, as well as the collaboration with the campus ministry team. I am thankful to God for His provision during the difficult period around the last quarter of 2022 to the present. The positive response from the young graduates to the tuning re- treats we ran in the past year has been en- couraging as well.

26 | Annual Report 2022 National Student Council (NSC) NSC Coordinator: Shannon Chieng (NTU CF) Ministry Size As the NSC Weekend drew to a close and we were preparing for our AGM, greater clarity Following the initiative to reform the NSC to came to our committee as we considered what have a clearer purpose, the previous organisa- were the possible paths forward for NSC. After tional structure of the NSC, with an NSC much consideration, we decided to reform Chairperson and Exco has been replaced with NSC by not having an Exco succeed the cur- an NSC Coordinator. Official membership rent NSC Exco, but to form a task force to re- stands at 20 presidents/chairpersons across 12 build NSC instead. The task force would con- campuses and three language groups. sist of the incoming NSC Coordinator and the FES General Secretary. NSC meetings and Bright Spots events will also be scaled down in the process. Building clarity and direction NSC AGM on 24 September 2022 During the lead-up to the NSC Weekend (5–6 Rebuilding Aug 2022) and subsequent NSC AGM (24 Sept 2022), we decided to relook at how the needs At the NSC AGM, the task force sought to re- of student ministry have changed over the last build NSC by understanding the needs of our few years and considering the long-term ef- current leaders, and from them their under- fects of the changing busyness of the min- standing of their CFs and the struggles they istry, as well as the pandemic. We concluded face. This year we decided to conduct inter- that the current direction of the NSC had been views with chairpersons, grouped according outdated, and NSC struggles to relate or bring to campuses, in small group interviews of two value to current members, with most of them to three. not being very clear about the purpose of the NSC or even the purpose of sending delegates Through our interviews, we discovered some or representatives. points worth noting: At the NSC Weekend, we sought to bring clar- • There is a gap in how the church views its ity and direction to what NSC does. NSC mem- members serving or being in CF and what bers got to hear from Natalie, our previous we are doing. Generally, there is a com- NSC Chairperson, and Jeremiah, our General mon lack of understanding of what the CF Secretary, on what NSC is and how it serves to is. The CFers and chairs were also unable provide a platform to its members for na- to articulate their identity as a CF to their tional-level discussions. Members also got to church and even to their family members, participate in a case study about various is- sues such as comparisons with other Chris- tian organisations, the church, and even new off-grid movements. This helped to expand their perspectives as they shared, as well as sharpened their skills as chairpersons/presi- dents.

FES 65th AGM 25 March 2023 | 27 which further perpetuates the perception NSC Membership that the CF overlapped heavily with the church. Moving forward, we decided that the NSC • The church is not doing so well at retain- membership will only change during the NSC ing its young adults, providing mentoring AGM. This will help reduce the problem of opportunities, and building a community members not being familiar with each other for them. This has led to a higher rate of as well as provide direction with an annual young adults leaving the church after they project taken up by each year’s NSC (This year transition from tertiary education to the being CF X Church). Ideally, this would also start of their careers. help other CFers learn how to better articulate Understanding these problems, a project to their CF identity and communicate that with build a stronger partnership between CF and the community around them. the Church (CF X Church) was proposed and is undergoing its ideation phase. Challenges and Needs NSC interviews with the various CF leaders Aligning transition periods: One of the ma- jor obstacles we realised was that given how every CF had its own academic calendar and AGM periods, the transition and handover of the current NSC members to new NSC mem- bers were not handled well, and there were many periods of overlap between the previous and incoming members. In addition, the dif- ferences in academic calendars meant that NSC would only be able to hold full member- ship without transitions for months at best, with the longest stretch being the months of May to September without any changes to the membership. Even then, with the number of NSC meetings being kept to once a quarter, this meant that NSC would only be able to keep the same membership without transi- tions for a maximum of two meetings before changing members. This hindered the ability of NSC to truly forge its own identity, and for its members to get to know each other, what more discussing national level issues. It is truly no wonder how that had been a struggle for previous generations of NSC. We sought to solve this issue by aligning the NSC transition periods to once every NSC AGM, which for the year 2023 would be August, while for the year 2024 onwards it would be in late May to early June. This change was also done to align with the long-term goals of FES for future genera- tions of leadership. Platform to discuss issues and trends: Be- cause of the lack of time spent with each other in NSC, members were not given a platform to truly share their hearts for their CF and to no- tice national trends to discuss together. NSC comprises the Chairpersons and Presidents

28 | Annual Report 2022 from CFs across different campuses and sec- and how these actions reflect on us as believ- tions and is a worthy platform on a national ers and where our hearts are. The busyness of level to discuss and coordinate efforts across students nowadays also makes it hard to find these boundaries. This is a platform that has time to meet, to have progress on projects and value for both CF and FES, and we hope initiatives. through our project this year that we will be able to do so for the church in Singapore as I am grateful for this opportunity to be able to well. serve and grow my perspective on a national level, as well as learn how to view the needs of Lack of knowledge and skillset: While mem- the CF from an organisational needs perspec- bers have expressed a strong desire to build a tive. It is often hard to see this at the ground welcoming and enriching culture for their level even as an Exco member in a local CF. CFs, many have also shared their lack of both Having a mentor like Jeremiah, who discipled knowledge and skillset to do so. Many of them and gave me room to experiment and grow, know what they want and why, but they are has been a blessing to me. I would especially stuck at the ‘how’ step. Members have also ex- like to thank Jeremiah for the many late-night pressed a desire to be able to articulate their conversations about NSC, ideas, the state of identity as a CF, but are hindered by their in- the church, ministry, books, and even games ability to do so. and anime. Ministry Opportunities I am also thankful for the NSC members, for without their thoughts and heart, this min- We believe that having a strong partnership istry would be for naught. During the inter- between CF and the church is essential for not views we conducted with them, I was able to only the growth of CF but also for the church. get some insights into not just the kind of per- Many CFs are declining in numbers over the son they are, but also their heart for their CFs years, and some churches are struggling with and the church. Their service to their ministry retaining and providing a community for and their dedication to continue coming for equipping their young adults. As CF continues meetings is something that I will treasure as I to be church-oriented, we hope to be able to continue to serve in this role. Huge shout-out equip and grow Christians who come into our to Chloe and Jamie for always helping with community before sending them back to their the food and logistics for meetings. Truly churches to serve after their term in CF. Many without your service, we would be homeless CFers have continued to be strong church and hungry. The willingness of the NSC mem- leaders in the various churches in Singapore, bers to serve the needs of CF and the church and we firmly believe that this partnership through the CF X Church project is a huge en- will be able to contribute to the growth of the couragement as we continue to iterate this church. The first step of this partnership will plan, and I hope to be able to share more in the be to establish connections, and this will be next AGM. done by the NSC who will design an interview to be conducted with their local church pas- tors and leaders. Reflection The busyness of student ministry has changed with the changing needs and de- mands of Singapore. Nowadays there is a lot more competition within the tertiary educa- tion sphere, and it is not unheard of to take on multiple internships during their studies and even during their school term. I wonder how as a CF we may be able to address such issues,

FES 65th AGM 25 March 2023 | 29 Human and Ministry Resources Head of Ministry: Victor Wibowo Ministry Team: Siah May Lan (w.e.f. May 2022), Leal Tan Yin Kai (w.e.f. January 2023) Ministry Direction Bright Spots In the area of human resources, we focused Implementation of Strategic Human Re- on: sources Management (SHRM) concept: This is a continuation of the staff develop- • Clarifying staff job descriptions and de- ment review we started in 2021. I did a job velopment to assess ministry effective- analysis by interviewing groups of staff. This ness. provided useful data on current perspectives of organisational objectives. I also incorpo- • Having more conversations on leadership rated more tangible tools for ministry assess- within the FES staff team to further de- ment using the Ministry Priorities and Devel- velop our ministry resources. opment exercise we have been doing every year. Scaling this up means that FES will be • Enlarging the ministry team. more intentional in staff recruitment, train- Ministry Size Human Resources (Jan–Dec 2022) As of December 2022, FES has 29 staff of which 26 are full-time and three are part-time. Two of our staff are seconded to IFES-related min- istries: Rebecca Lim to Fellowship of Chris- tian Students (FCS) Mongolia and Lisman Ko- maladi to IFES East Asia. Michael Senjaya Kang, the GCF Graduate Secretary and FES Associate General Secretary, is an honorary staff member. Three new staff joined us in 2022: Steve Lam Kuok Wang (w.e.f. Jan 2022), Rebecca Goh Xin Yue (w.e.f. Jul 2022), and Nancy Suryadharma (w.e.f. Sept 2022). There were two resignations: Yvonne Choo (Apr 2022) and Chng Yu Juin (June 2022). There were three ministry interns attached to FES in 2022: Rebecca Goh Xin Yue (Jan–Jun 2022), Leal Tan Yin Kai (Jun–Dec 2022), and Owen Lum Jun Meng (Sept 2022–Feb 2023). Ad- ditionally, 13 Singapore Bible College School of Counselling student interns were attached to FES, providing counselling services to 33 counsellees, comprising students and staff.

30 | Annual Report 2022 ing, evaluation, and compensation. This will Archiving of resources: While we have or- benefit both FES as an organisation and the ganised a good part of the resources, there are staff team. still other materials (e.g. CF archives, training reports, and materials) that have yet to be Partnership with ExcITE at ITE East: While sorted out and digitised. the conversation with ExcITE started in Sep- tember 2021, the ideas were only implemented Ministry Opportunities in early 2022. Before my involvement, Fuji has built a good relationship with them. While at The SHRM concept has been a helpful ap- this present stage, there is no clear indication proach to adopt in our ministry. However, we that ITE is a strategic ministry for FES where do not yet know whether the implementation a CF can be started, this partnership may of SHRM will truly benefit the organisation open ways for mission opportunities to serve and the staff team or burden them instead. So this marginalised group and possibly start a far, it has been good. We can be more inten- CF in the future. ITE ministry can be strategic tional to develop practical tools to integrate with the long-term view where students start them into our recruitment, training, evalua- being equipped from ITE to Poly to Uni (about tion, and compensation policy. 9–10 years). Reflection Staff devotion series: In May 2022 (till Apr 2023), we started a staff devotion series study- I think there was significant progress made in ing the prophets using the theme, “Prophetic the ministry in 2022 although the results have Leadership: Leadership Principles from Bibli- yet to be seen. As more conversations about cal Prophets”. The framework of prophetic the FES vision have been initiated through the criticism and energising was taken from The implementation of the SHRM and FES Staff Prophetic Imagination written by Walter Devotion series, I am looking forward to see- Brueggemann. This initiative gives a certain ing how all this can be worked out in 2023 and direction to the content of staff devotion and 2024. makes it more intentional, for example, the theme of prophetic leadership aimed to spark I am grateful for the learning experiences more conversations about the FES vision gained in producing the publication Pursuing among the staff. Humility? by Joël Cornuz as it involved work- ing with an overseas author within the IFES Challenges and Needs family. While this was unplanned, I think it was a good precedent set in terms of our Staff devotion series: We received feedback openness to work with other authors in the that it is not devotional and not directly appli- future. Furthermore, this experience has cable to ministry. While the series does give a helped me gain more confidence in coordinat- certain direction, more thought should be put ing publications for printing. into making it more relevant to the staff. Library: With space constraints, it is a contin- ual challenge to keep the library neat. Mem- bership recruitment can be also more inten- tional. We have also yet to look into having a mobile library and wider publicity for our e- books. Counselling scheme with the Singapore Bible College School of Counselling: This scheme is worth scaling up but we have yet to do so. With the increase of staff in our team, perhaps we can look into more active public- ity of this scheme to our students.

Decision Making Vision and Changing Times Shifting Flux and Seeking to Know Continuity Unchanging Currents Beyond World God’s Will Twist and Why Study? Engaging the Wait Campus The Mission of God Your Kingdom and the Church Come Your ID, The FES Journey of Pursuing Please? Singapore Story Grace and Growth Humility? (1959 - 2019) Remembering Rev. Choong Chee Pang 1942-2021 Publications For more information, go to: h ttps://fellowsh ip.sg/resou rces/fes-pu blication s/m on ograph s-an d-book s/

32 | Annual Report 2022 General Secretary’s Office General Secretary: Jeremiah Goh Leadership Team: Michael Kang, Victor Wibowo, Prarthi Selveindran, Lai Sze Khiong, Darryl Putra Ministry Direction Reviewing the FES Constitution: The FES Constitution needs critical updates to keep With the steady reopening of campuses and the Fellowship in line with the best practices society throughout the year, the focus of the of IFES and also the Singapore Commissioner ministry was on reconnecting with the vari- of Charities. It is a major project that impacts ous communities of FES: students, graduates, multiple stakeholders but we hope for it to be donors, and alumni. More attention was paid done and in effect by 2024. to community building and participation to revive and re-establish support for student FES Discourse and graduate ministry. This emphasis on community-building can be seen in the FES started a new platform among the min- launch of our two signature events this year: istry staff called Discourse. The purpose of the Leaders’ Party and the Graduates’ Party. the platform is to have time to discuss min- Please read more about this in the following istry matters as a staff team, as well as share pages. ideas to develop and establish community and organisational knowledge. In 2022, we Bright Spots have discussed the following: FES Council • Our students are asking: Does ministry need to be enjoyable? The FES Council met four times this year. Be- sides the regular governance responsibilities • Stakeholder engagement: Who are the of the Council, we progressed further in these stakeholders in the lives of our students? critical areas: • PESTLE analysis: the external factors that Alignment and articulation of ministry: affect student happiness in ministry The Council met online for the Council Re- treat on 5 March 2022 to clarify what the FES • FES as a learning organisation vision means for FES as a whole and how to articulate this to the different stakeholders. It • IFES Engaging the University: This was became clear after this retreat that changes the biggest commitment undertaken by had to be made for all sections and ministries the entire ministry staff team in enrolling in FES to be more aligned with each other to for this IFES e-course. Please read more work truly as one body but with many parts. about this later on. Council structure and subcommittees: One FES-GCF Reconnect Dinner critical change to the Council itself is the cre- ation of more subcommittees and functional Over 350 people gathered and reconnected at roles such as Finance, Human Resources, Au- the FES-GCF Dinner on 16 September at the dit, and Digital Transformation each with Raffles Town Club. The joy of the intergenera- their respective chairpersons. While not every tional fellowship was demonstrated with con- subcommittee has a full team, the framework tributions by alumni, students, and staff and intent are there for Council to fulfil more workers: a poem by Lucy Tay, a song by Benny governance and strategic roles besides repre- Bong, an exhortation by Rev. Dr Edwin Tay, an sentational roles. instrumental by Daniel Ong, and a closing prayer by the FES President, Bishop Dr Titus Chung. This was all supported by Cassie and Timothy as emcees, and Daniel and Joshann

FES 65th AGM 25 March 2023 | 33 Reconnecting at the FES-GCF dinner was decided that Singapore will host this RSG in 2022. From 10 to 15 October, 19 leaders from leading worship. It was a night to remember the East Asia movements gathered in Singa- as we gathered as such a large group for the pore for RSG 2022. Some met for the first time first time since 2019. The response and atten- but also some for the last time. It was a week dance show the strong communities that have to reconnect with one another and to ac- been built through the years since the 1950s knowledge the new challenges that each and the enduring support which remains for leader and movement, as well as the East Asia FES-GCF student and graduate work. region, will face. FES-GCF Legacy Fund IFES East Asia Staff Conference 2022 At the Reconnect Dinner, I introduced the IFES East Asia held its first staff conference FES-GCF Legacy Fund by recounting the lega- from 30 November to 6 December at Port cies left behind by student leaders and staff Dickson, Malaysia. 26 of our staff joined this workers, such as Dr Bobby Sng and Dr Choong inaugural conference with some of them at- Chee Pang, during the early years of FES and tending such a regional event for the first GCF. This project has made much progress time. While this was an IFES regional event, it since the formation of the Working Group became an FES staff event given that almost which comprises our FES Vice-President, Mr all our ministry staff went for this as a staff Kua Wee Seng, along with Mr Sin Boon Ann, team. It was an important opportunity to keep Mr Gerald Lim, and Mr Gideon Mak. in touch with our fellow regional movements and to reconnect as well after years of re- As of December 2022, we are at the stage of stricted travelling. drafting the legal documents necessary to es- tablish this as a joint fund between FES and FES-GCF Singapore staff at the East Asia Staff GCF and the instructions that go along with Conference administrating the Fund. IFES East Asia Regional Staff Gathering (RSG) Another gathering that has not happened since 2019 is the IFES East Asia RSG. Each year, the leaders of the East Asia student move- ments will meet to reflect and plan for the coming year. Three attempts were made since 2020 to meet in Taiwan but quarantine orders prevented that from happening. Eventually, it

34 | Annual Report 2022 GoForth 2023 tinue to fulfil the potential of our students, spark within them the vision of God’s mission GoForth is a National Missions Movement in and ministry, empower them with the knowl- Singapore. It aims to instil a lifestyle of mis- edge and skills to do the work effectively, and sions-mindedness to reach out to our own build communities that will last for them, as spheres of influence. The last conference was what the Reconnect Dinner has shown. We in 2018 and was anchored by the Methodist cannot see youths as a commodity for organi- Church in Singapore. The upcoming GoForth sational continuity. The youths are individu- is in 2023 and is anchored by the Baptist Soci- als and a community with their rights and ety of Singapore and the Evangelical Alliance they must have the space and freedom to of Singapore (EAS). While it is an event in 2023, flourish through their own means. FES has decided to be involved in the steering and planning of this conference, most notably The growing need to work in teams in the track of Youths and Young Adults. A team of young graduates and students has Another question commonly raised by stu- been formed to prepare for this event. This dent leaders is this: how can we get along and marks our continued partnership with the work together? The problems and issues of to- EAS following the dialogue done on Census day have gotten more complex such that it 2020 last year. has become necessary for people to work to- gether in teams to handle complex tasks. Yet Challenges and Opportunities no matter how complex the problem or how technical it seems, the seemingly more basic Youths as an endangered community, not a question remains for our students: how to commodity manage conflicts and disagreements. This has come with growing interest in the workplace Since coming out of the pandemic, attention over the need for more organisational align- has been given to seniors and their ability to ment, commitment to causes, meaningful adapt to a changed digital society. At the same work, and team dynamics. It reflects a society time, youths and young adults have been fo- in which working as a team is not taken for cused on for various reasons. On one end, granted and that much energy and effort need there is a great need for youths to ensure the to be spent to build team spirit. Many student survival and continuity of their communities. leaders often raise the need to bond first as a In some cases, youths are pushed into leader- CF before thinking about outreach. Perhaps ship positions, not because of opportunity or what should be meant is the need to build a development but just to keep them within the team and align the vision and needs of the fold. Students share how it is only guilt that team towards the greater need of the CF, cam- prevents them from looking for better oppor- pus, and community at large. This will be tunities and communities elsewhere. While something to develop in our student leaders this sense of freedom and change can be said and young graduates of FES and GCF. to be part of what it means to be a youth and young adult, this attitude has caused more concern now due to the much smaller number of youths in Singapore. In time, there will be great competition for youths just to ensure survival and continuity. Pre-tertiary and ter- tiary schools have already begun to deal with this impact, some better than others. In this context, FES cannot be the lone player in student ministry but must learn to engage with partners to build meaningful and effec- tive relationships to wholistically engage our youths and young adults. We hope to con-

FES 65th AGM 25 March 2023 | 35 Military Christian Fellowship (MCF) Chairperson: SLTC (NS) Pang Tzer Yeu Ministry Size Social media platforms: We have also raised awareness and shared our MCF ministry Our combined size is about 122. This com- through the popular Salt & Light as well as prises participation and involvement in our Thir.st Christian social media news platforms MCF Council (19), prayer ministry (32), alumni to connect with and encourage Christians (26), Detention Barracks (DB) ministry (10), serving in the Singapore Armed Forces. You and NSF support groups (35) which we com- can read the interview story with MCF at http- municate with via Telegram, WhatsApp, calls, s://saltandlight.sg/service/take-up-the-ar- and Zoom. mor-of-god-military-fellowship-provides- support-and-strength-for-saf-servicemen/. Bright Spots These platforms have helped MCF share our events with the wider body of Christ here in Amidst this current post-COVID-19 pandemic Singapore, including our previous Pre-NS environment, we have continued to pivot and events, https://saltandlight.sg/?events=militar make good progress with in-person and on- y-christian-fellowship-pre-ns-enlistment- line mentoring, Pre-NS Talks (over Zoom and gathering physical meetings), and various prayer events. Pre-NS camps: We conducted Pre-NS camps SAF Prayer Dedication Service: We thank at the Centre for Performance and Transfor- God for the many who joined us “live” onsite mation (CPT) Campsite at Loyang Besar from last year on 9 July for the successful conduct 18 to 20 April 2022 and 11 to 12 December. More of our Annual SAF Prayer Dedication Service, than 20 pre-enlistees benefitted from the with more 50 than Regulars, NSFs, and NSMen camps. Some of the feedback included: joining us to worship and intercede for our fellow servicemen in the armed forces. We “Thank you for blessing us with your time found a very conducive venue through Faith and passing on your experiences. It is very Community Baptist Church (FCBC) which encouraging to know that there is a band hosted us at their chapel in Touch Centre, Ma- of brothers to come alongside one another rine Parade. The FCBC Senior Pastor gave a to journey through NS (and beyond).” timely word of encouragement, and we also – Victor had a powerful salvation testimony shared jointly by COL (NS) Marcus Tan and MAJ (NS) “Thanks for organising the event! I was George Chai. very inspired, and I look forward to NS.” – YW MCF SAF Prayer Dedication Service Brother Fook Loy who runs the CPT Campsite has been very helpful and instrumental in helping us organise and facilitate these re- treats together with our MCF staff David. In addition, Pastor Tony Lee from Riverlife Church and Pastor Henson Lim from Archip- pus Awakening have both been very generous with helping us anchor the “Identity in Christ” teaching and “Commissioning” segments of

36 | Annual Report 2022 NS Pre-enlistment gathering the same time, we are exploring more partner- ships with the local NS Praying Parents our Pre-Ns event for the pre-enlistees. This is Group, by joining their prayer meetings as a very good spiritual foundation to ground well to share and pray for their sons in NS. our young Christian men entering NS to From there we can connect and provide more achieve godly ambitions and aspirations – to discipleship and mentoring opportunities for not just survive but thrive in Christ during NS. them through our MCFers in the camps. Challenges and Needs Our next Pre-NS talk will be held on 26 March 2023, in partnership with SG Families, held COVID-19 had been a challenge, with the re- online and onsite. These talks are held quar- strictions on large gatherings stopping us terly and impact about 200 parents and enlis- from organising our Annual Thanksgiving tees during every run. Our next Pre-NS camp Dinner (ATD) since 2020, but on 18 March 2023, is planned for 27 to 28 April 2023, onsite at the we will be having our first ATD since the pan- CPT Campsite. Speakers confirmed include demic began. Pastor Henson Lim from Archippus Awaken- ing. In addition, MCF continues to garner new We have faced obstacles in terms of publicity online testimonies or devotional articles for and pre-enlistee attendance from local our MCF website, organise the monthly churches. More pre-enlistees could have been prayer meeting in partnership with Love Sin- allowed to join each of the Pre-NS camps, up gapore, and raise support for our DB ministry to a maximum capacity of 50 people. This whereby we are conducting Christian Educa- raises the opportunity for us to work on more tion classes for the detainees in partnership partnerships with local churches and leverage with volunteers from Green Shoots. positive publicity generated from the recent Salt & Light online features over their social Reflection media channels. Our Pre-NS camps in April and December 2022 Ministry Opportunities could have been better attended. We thank God for the more than 20 participants that at- In 2023, we would like to invite more like- tended but the venue could hold up to 50 par- minded Christians with a heart to pray for the ticipants per run. Last year we had also SAF to join us at our MCF prayer meetings. started planning for another Pre-NS camp to This is held every third Tuesday of the month, be held in February 2023, but it was cancelled in collaboration with Love Singapore as part due to low sign-ups. We hope that future Pre- of their national prayer initiatives, to keep our NS camps will be better attended, as this is in- next generation of Singaporean youths serv- strumental for us to build a stronger pipeline ing NS in prayer. We have thus far had differ- for new NSFs to join MCF and thereon join the ent ones from various camps and churches core ministry team. join us regularly to seek the Lord together. At Our DB ministry continues every Tuesday af- ternoon providing Christian Education classes to the detainees. We thank God also for the new SAF Regulars who have stepped up as mentors and facilitators for our pre-NS events. Five of them are now part of our MCF support group. We thank God for the faithful voluntary service of our fellow brothers-in- Christ and look forward to more members joining this important ministry. We are most grateful for every faithful MCFer in our Coun- cil, Exco, prayer groups, and partner churches.

HIGHLIGHTS

38 | Annual Report 2022 Leaders’ Party 2022 Organising committee: Prarthini Selveindran, Lim Jie, Steve Lam, Calvin Thenarianto (NTU ISCF) Commending, celebrating, and commissioning our student leaders The Preamble More details of these sessions can be found here: https://lparty.fellowship.sg A new initiative within the FES calendar in the past year (23–25 June) was our Leaders’ When planning and executing this event, we Party which gathered 55 student leaders faced some challenges like determining the across 15 CFs from the three ministry sections dates for the event, due to the conflicting of FES. It was an opportunity for our student schedules of the various campus ministries, leaders to deepen their understanding of lead- and the schedules of the student leaders ership as well as learn relevant skills and themselves. Given our limited time together, habits as they embarked on their leadership as well as the differing emphases on leader- journey, together as an FES community. ship across the sections and ministries, choosing and crafting the programmes for The Party this party also required much thought. Our student leaders were exposed to a variety The (Future) Possibilities of programmes for this, which were aimed at: Leaders’ Party is an opportunity for FES to in- • educating them about two significant as- tentionally articulate and embody our vision pects of leadership – the willingness and of cultivating a community of Christlike lead- courage to respond to failure, and the ers, even with the nuances and emphasis that strategic purpose of CF on campus as wit- each section reflects. We must involve our stu- nesses. dent leaders in crafting the programme, while being cognizant of contemporary conversa- • equipping them with critical leadership tion on leadership – whether within the acad- skills – such as people relations and com- emy or the church. munication, strategic thinking and deci- sion-making, Scripture engagement, as Further, we would do well to identify and seek well as sabbath practices. out partnerships that would allow for greater exposure and equipping on ‘Mission of God’- • commending and celebrating our leaders type initiatives. These collaborations could in stepping into their service, as well as help our student leaders expand their imagi- commissioning them for the year ahead. nation of the missional possibilities on cam- We wanted to recognise our leaders for pus. their commitment and invite the CF com- munity to participate in their journey by praying for and supporting them.

FES 65th AGM 25 March 2023 | 39 Graduates’ Party 2022 Organising committee: Fuji Yew, Chan Sook Ching, Darryl Putra, Prarthini Selveindran, Michael Senjaya Kang Background nurture our spiritual life to steward our tal- ents, submit to God’s leading, and attend to During the pandemic, we learned to be re- our walk with God, as well as His presence and silient and to focus on the essentials. How- work in our manifold experiences. ever, we also learned that some important milestones in life passed by almost unnoticed. In planning and organising the Graduates’ One of them was graduation or commence- Party, we faced several challenges: ment, where young adults begin a new chap- ter in their life. This reality heightened our ur- • Having a stronger conviction or impetus gency for student and graduate ministry inte- to hold the party – What is the purpose? Is gration, out of which the idea of the Gradu- it effective in helping to bridge the fresh ates’ Party, appropriately co-organised by FES graduates from student ministry to gradu- and GCF, was birthed. ate ministry? How do we follow up? Summary • Finding the right timing to hold the party as fresh graduates were going for gradua- The FES-GCF Graduates’ Party aimed to cele- tion trips or on long holidays (before they brate an important milestone in the life of our start working), attending their own uni- students as they completed their tertiary edu- versities’ graduation events, or starting cation and began work life and to commission work. them as missionaries sent into the market- place. On top of that, through this party, we • Integrating the party with other CF’s min- hoped to foster a sense of camaraderie among istry and graduate ministry, and to present our fresh graduates, as they transition from it as a whole package, rather than as dis- study to work life and live out their calling as jointed events. salt and light in society. Moving Forward Our speaker Dr Lai Pak Wah (Principal of BGST) exhorted our fresh graduates as they Although the impetus and effectiveness of the navigate through life amid uncertainties to Graduates’ Party left us with several questions and issues to address, the graduate ministry staff team is still convinced that it is essential for us (in FES and GCF) to make a statement on the importance of not only celebrat- ing a milestone for our fresh graduates but also commission- ing them into the marketplace. It may not be in the same format as the Graduates’ Party 2022, but the objectives should remain. More importantly, we need to continue working on the model for our student and graduate ministry integration.

40 | Annual Report 2022 Engaging the University Engaging the University (ETU) is an IFES gagement of the campus across sections and global priority that takes seriously the place campuses. The critical mindset was about ex- and purpose of the campus as part of student panding the vision of student ministry to em- ministry. brace the campus wholistically. Besides this, there are also four core skills for FES staff and The university is the place where people en- students to develop as part of our student gage with the big questions. The debates ministry toolkit: happening there today will shape the deci- sions of tomorrow’s leaders. We believe the 1. Campus exegesis and profiling: the abil- gospel has something vital to say across ev- ity to read the sign of the times for the ery discipline, from politics, economics and campus and for tertiary education as a science to ethics, education and the arts. We whole. How is the campus itself evolving want to see disciples of Jesus authentically and responding to changing education engaging in all aspects of campus life and and student needs? How will this affect conversations, so that the message of the the CF and future Christian leaders? gospel reaches and transforms every part of the university. – https://ifesworld.org/en/u- 2. Interviews: to engage beyond CF stu- niversity/ dents and learn from people all over the campus, from non-CF students to faculty This belief is also shared by FES when we pub- to administrative staff. lished the monograph Engag- ing the Campus: Faith and 3. Imagination: from Service in the Academy in the exegesis and interviews, 2014. A second edition fol- how might we imagine Chris- lowed in 2016. This mono- tian witness on campus such graph was inspired by the vi- that it meaningfully and in- sion and ideas of Terence C. carnationally engages with Halliday, then the co-director the questions and issues that of the Centre of Law and the campus faces? Globalisation and Research Professor at the American Bar 4. Professional reflec- Foundation, and Vinoth Ra- tion: to regularly reflect on machandra, the IFES Secre- the work and task of the cam- tary for Dialogue and Social pus staff worker; to collec- Engagement. It is a mono- tively develop the ethics and graph that many of our stu- practices of what it means to dent leaders have read as part be an FES staff worker with of their leadership training. the missional mindset of en- The book, however, covers gaging the campus incarna- only so much about what it tionally and wholistically. means to engage the campus. IFES offers an e-learning course on ETU that The goal for 2022 was to intro- goes deeper into what it can mean for staff, duce the core concepts and students, and faculty. skills related to ETU and to align the campus staff and students towards witness and out- From May to September 2022, the FES Singa- reach as engagement of the campus. The plan pore ministry staff team collectively enrolled is for these concepts and skills that have been in the ETU e-learning course and spent those introduced to now form a core skillset and five months learning and discussing the en- toolkit for all staff, students, and volunteers of FES.

FES 65th AGM 25 March 2023 | 41 STORIES

42 | Annual Report 2022 Campus Stories National University of Singapore Varsity Christian Fellowship (NUS VCF) NUS VCF has English, Chinese, and Indonesian ministries, namely NUS VCF, NUS CVCF, and NUS ISCF respectively. NUS VCF VCF has an official membership of 218 and an Students at the exhibition on “Pain and Suffering” unofficial attendance of 350 students at our jointly organised by VCF and the NUS Muslim Society fellowship teaching sessions, contact group from 12 to 14 April 2022. meetings, and other events. to serving, outreach, and pledging. When Her 70th year of existence was graced with His members are not convinced about the heart blessings that came with the return of His and importance of student ministry, it is dif- flock to physical fellowship, and the return to ficult for His people to catch His heart for this God’s heart for student ministry. This year, the ministry and sustain it. Nonetheless, if this is phrase “students reaching students” unfolded His will, He will surely let it be done. in our increased engagement in interfaith events. From hosting a fellowship teaching on An area to explore further would be the recon- Interfaith Engagement to attending interfaith sideration of how outreach can take shape in dialogue sessions with the NUS Muslim Soci- light of changing times and needs. ety, these were opportunities for CFers to share the love and life of Christ with our Mus- Joshann Lee Chean Wen lim peers as we learned about their faith. Chairperson These opportunities not only allowed us to ex- press our desire to learn and love peacefully but more importantly, challenged us to reeval- uate the way we have been living out our faith. Holding this space truly pushed us to relook at how to live as effective salt and light of the world on campus and in society. A consistent challenge experienced was the lack of conviction from members with regard

FES 65th AGM 25 March 2023 | 43 NUS CVCF CVCF has a membership of 18 and an average lives. This is especially important today, as attendance of 10 at our weekly fellowship many university students are seeking commu- teaching sessions as well as cell groups. nity and mentoring more than special activi- A noticeable improvement is the quality of fel- ties or events. lowship due to the initiative of the seniors to build relationships with the juniors and new- CVCF consists mainly of Singaporean stu- comers. The reopening after COVID, together dents who are more comfortable with using with the demands of heavier workloads, have English. There is only one student from Year 1 led us to rethink and refocus our activities on and one from Year 2. This leads us to ask these the central task that God has called us to. Fel- questions, ‘How can CVCF reach out to the lowship teaching sessions and outreach ini- Chinese-speaking students?’, ‘Where are the tiatives allow God’s Word to be imparted and workers for this harvest field?’, and ‘How sown in the hearts of CFers. Having discus- should we reach these students? Though sions and conversations during and outside of some of the obstacles are beyond our control, the regular meeting times help them see and it drives us to pray for God to provide abun- learn how God’s Word is applied in our daily dantly for this mission He has given CVCF, and to continue His good work. CVCFers after a fellowship teaching session in October 2022 We must pray and seek God’s wisdom in part- nering with Him in His mission, especially in NUS ISCF forming a community that equips and sup- ports university students in living out their identity as Christians on campus, and in reaching out to the Chinese-speaking stu- dents. In the process, CVCFers will also be able to improve their proficiency in the Chi- nese language and hence, be more equipped in witnessing to their Chinese-speaking family members. Jensen Chan Jie Sheng Chairperson NUS ISCF has an official membership of 57 Students generally have more commitments and an attendance of 20 to 30 students at our outside of the CF. Due to the pressure to per- weekly meetings. form well in their studies, some devote more time to their studies, while others simply Last year, we organised a picnic at Botanic want to explore other CCAs now that COVID Gardens to gather NUS ISCF students and has subsided. As such, the commitment to at- alumni for a time of fellowship. About 50 peo- tend CF events regularly is lacking. This in- ple attended this event. Besides being a good consistency results in them not being able to way for alumni and students to interact, it was follow the series of teachings from the Word also an opportunity to invite the less active of God delivered at our meetings as well as not members and non-ISCF students to have fel- having a general sense of belonging to the CF. lowship together. However, the follow-up work for this one-time event can be further Currently, we do not have a strong culture for improved in the future. personal discipleship between friends. When

44 | Annual Report 2022 members do not turn up for our events, we could try to ask them the reason, for example, if they are busy or have some personal strug- gles that we can pray for. This will show that we care for them. We hope that such efforts will help to build better relations between members and forge a greater sense of belong- ing to the ISCF community. Bennett Clement Chairperson Picnic at Botanic Gardens Nanyang Technological University Christian Fellowship (NTU CF) NTU CF has three language ministries, namely NTU English CF (ECF), NTU Chinese CF (CCF), and NTU Indonesian Students’ CF (ISCF). NTU ECF and are the firm foundation for the tree, we need to be grounded in Scripture which is fun- NTU ECF has 75 official members and an unof- damental to our faith. Next, just as the trunk ficial attendance of 89 at our regular meet- is a core part of a tree, the trunk represents ings. Amidst the COVID-pandemic, we’ve seen NTU CF and thus, the emphasis on being a greater desire amongst students to be part of a community where they can grow spiritually as evident in the increase in number of new CFers who are in their 2nd, 3rd or 4th year of study. Our direction for this academic year is “Roots to Fruits: Grounding our Identity on Campus through All Seasons”. As Psalm 1 illustrates, “Blessed is the man who is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither”. Utilising the imagery of a tree, the soil represents Scrip- ture. Just as the roots are grounded in the soil

FES 65th AGM 25 March 2023 | 45 united as a community. Lastly, like how trees A Hermeneutics and Bible Study (HERBS) session adapt to seasonal changes, NTU CF hopes to held during Semester 1 ground her identity on campus through all seasons as she discerns the need(s) and con- and her people and in doing so; to better meet text(s) of this generation. With these key fun- their needs and engage them according to damental factors in place, we can yield fruits their generation and times. by being salt and light on campus. Cassie Heng, Chairperson Particularly, if we pride ourselves on being the Brittany Kan, Vice-Chairperson “indigenous Christians” in NTU (where CFers have “relational capital”), holding a strategic cluded praise, worship, and prayers during the position in NTU, we ought to be more obser- event. On the day itself, everyone played a part vant and discerning towards the NTU commu- to talk to the new friends and make them feel nity. However, a challenge has been to help welcome. more CFers see being salt and light as a per- sonal calling and a key part of experiencing I think this was a good platform for our mem- God’s perfect love [1 John 4:12 “No one has ever bers to step out of their comfort zone because seen God; if we love one another, God abides some of them might be more reluctant to in- in us and his love is perfected in us.” (ESV)]. To vite their friends if the event has a strong address this, NTU CF is working towards en- evangelistic message. Since the hotpot dinner couraging more creative and innovative com- was a chill event, it was easier to build a rela- munity engagement efforts, whether individ- tionship with new friends and invite them to ually and/or as a ministry, to better know NTU future outreach events. One of the areas that need to be improved is passing down the vi- NTU CCF sion to the members and helping them under- stand its importance. Some of the members NTU CCF has 23 official members with an av- do not understand why things are done in a erage of 17 students attending our regular certain way or what is the purpose of the meetings. event. The reasons for this could be the lack of communication on our part to give a timely Recently NTU CCF organised a Chinese New reminder of the direction and vision of NTU Year Hotpot Dinner. We encouraged our mem- CCF, or being caught up with the stress of a bers to invite their friends (mainly the non-be- tight timeline of the event and our busy lievers) to join us for the dinner and take this schedules. opportunity to build rapport with the new friends as well as help them have a glimpse of Yong Che Yuan what a Christian community is like. We in- Chairperson At our Chinese New Year Hotpot Dinner

46 | Annual Report 2022 NTU ISCF Our official membership is 51 members with NTU ECF. While the event requires some im- an attendance of around 20 to 25 people at our provements, I believe it provided the frame- weekly meetings. work for future collaborations. This year we tried to do more outreach and One area that we want to improve on is to see one of the things that we attempted is to im- more ISCFers participating in volunteering prove relations between ISCF and the Pelajar activities as a way to give back to society. Indonesia NTU (PINTU), an association for In- While we have increased the number of volun- donesian students. Some of our Exco mem- teering opportunities, not many ISCFers have bers took part in their activities and we also been taking part in them, probably due to in- extended our invitation to them to join our sufficient publicity or a lack of interest in this events. Thanks to that, some students who activity. A common reason for members to were previously not in ISCF became interested join any event is that their friends are partici- to join an ISCF small group. We also had a pating in it and “jio” them. Maybe we need combined programme with NTU CCF and more such people to invite their friends to join. It will be good if we can look into organising a mission trip in future. While this may be hard to realise, it can be a very good learning point to show us what evangelism is like and the real issues faced by people rather than just be- ing in the “comfortable” environment we are used to in Singapore. NTU ISCFers at their Christmas 2022 event Matheus Calvin Lokadjaja Chairperson

FES 65th AGM 25 March 2023 | 47 Singapore Institute of Management Students’ Christian Fellowship (SIM SCF) SIM SCF has English, Chinese, and Indonesian ministries, namely SIM SCF, SIM CCF, and SIM ISCF respectively. SIM SCF SIM SCF has an official membership of 36 and a regular attendance of 20 to 30 members for our weekly sessions. We are deeply heartened as we have been blessed with many new mem- bers who display a passion to deepen their un- derstanding of Scripture and their faith! This year SCF embarked on our direction of SIM SCF hosting an International Friends Games Day being incarnational witnesses, which we em- for International students in SIM bodied in our tagline, “Full-time Christians; Full-time Students”. This was the foundation members. Much of these were due to schedul- for all our activities and events as we explored ing conflicts. As the campus continues to what it means to be fully present and to fully adapt to a post-pandemic environment, our participate on campus while embodying the members too, begin taking up a wider variety gospel message. In practice this involves of activities and responsibilities which com- CFers engaging the campus and its communi- pete for their time and attention. We see this, ties through dialogue and service, and in the however, as an opportunity. While our mem- spirit of humility and love. This was deeply bers have begun participating more actively transformative for SCF as it challenged the on campus, we must rethink the format of our prevalent culture of non-engagement and activities and events, creating opportunities non-involvement within the campus. It al- for our members to take ownership of the or- lowed CFers to see the importance of their ganisation. Ultimately, we aim to create a cul- platform as members of a student ministry ture of commitment and engagement that en- and understand their role as agents of cultural courages members to stay involved and con- change in the wider society. nected with our CF activities even as they serve as examples of the grace and love of God However, the year was not without its chal- to the wider student body. lenges as we faced difficulty in maintaining the involvement and engagement of our Joshua Bok Chairperson SIM-SUSS CCF As of January 2023, we have 8 official members ular, we predicted this scenario of the CCF dis- with around 6 attending our weekly fellow- integrating if there is no sustainable member- ship regularly. Occasionally, some alumni will ship. join in our sessions too! But God blessed CCF! Six CCFers began serv- Recently the Exco held a meeting with the ing in small roles and regular attendance has CFers to discuss the future of CCF given that been at its best since mid-2022. We foresee all the committee members wanted to step that current CCFers will grow closer in fellow- down in 2023. As attendance was rather irreg- ship and become each other’s source of

48 | Annual Report 2022 strength in our continued efforts to reach out CCFers after a theme talk session to the SIM-SUSS community. We have faith that God will multiply the people in CCF just would offer good challenges and growth for as He did across the end of 2022 and into 2023. the ministry. There are bountiful opportuni- ties for us to create, befriend, and journey In an English-saturated school environment with others. Hopefully, we will all be ade- and culture, there have been struggles for us quately equipped for such days when they to see the need for a Chinese-speaking com- come! munity, let alone invite our peers to join CCF. Outreach aside, we need to be convinced that Zoe Low CCF’s existence is meaningful and purposeful Chairperson and that we are a part of God’s movement and His big plans. the feedback received and the warm atmos- phere that we witnessed ourselves, our mem- To grow as a ministry (not just in size), inten- bers enjoyed the event as they could talk and tional efforts and the “know-how” to build mingle with one another in a more casual en- friendships and explore Christianity with vironment, and showed good teamwork (Chinese) international students are also through the games that we played. needed. The current fellowship rarely experi- ences having non-believers in our midst. In The main unexplored area would be having a God’s perfect timing, this “unexplored area” to SIM ISCF Camp, where members can stay welcome and share God’s love with them overnight and go through some teaching ses- sions as well as bonding activities together. SIM ISCF Unfortunately, due to scheduling issues, we haven’t been able to initiate a camp yet. How- The official membership of SIM ISCF is 49, ever, we feel that the camp would be such a while the unofficial attendance at our meet- good growth opportunity for the ministry. ings is around 15 to 25 students. Jioe Clarissa Audreylia One of the critical areas that we have faced is Chairperson nurturing the consistency of our members to attend the fellowship. At the beginning of last year, our membership fluctuated quite a bit due to the transition to the reopening of bor- ders. This year it has been quite a challenge for us to keep it consistent and to reach out to the new members. As such, we feel that strengthening the bonds between members in the fellowship is important to help them grow a sense of belonging to the CF. This semester, we increased the number of outdoor activities to facilitate this. So far, we have held a BBQ night and a picnic at Botanic Gardens. From Strengthening our bonds through outdoor activities

FES 65th AGM 25 March 2023 | 49 Singapore University of Social Sciences Christian Fellowship (SUSS CF) SUSS CF has an official membership of 13 with CFers attending the theme talk on being wholistic an attendance of about 10 members at our witnesses in our school, during internship, and as we weekly meetings. transition on to the workplace. On 20 October 2022, we organised a theme talk regular CF meetings to allow members to on “Wholistic Witnessing at the Workplace” bond with each other, especially for our part- where we invited three speakers who are time students. We hope that this will help in- alumni from various CFs, currently working crease their sense of belonging to the CF as in different fields – social work, accountancy, well as in mutual support and accountability. and human resource. This was one of the ses- sions that many of our members found useful To deepen their love and appreciation for the and insightful, as some of them are currently Word, we hope to create more opportunities studying in these fields, and it allowed them for our members to apply the skills and to better understand how to integrate their knowledge they have learned on how to read faith with their field of study, and later on in their Bible during their Bible study sessions. the marketplace. Valerina Tang As most of our current members are new to Chairperson SUSS CF and some are part-time students, we are still in the process of building their sense of belonging to the CF community and com- mitment to come for our weekly sessions, which are not held within the school premises. We are currently planning for more internal fellowship sessions outside of our James Cook University Singapore Christian Fellowship (JCUS CF) The official membership of JCUS CF is 13, the CF ministry itself, this exposure to bless- while the attendance at ministry meetings ing the school brings some people out of their ranges from around 18 to 25 persons comfort zone to show God’s love. During the Christmas period in 2022, we or- This year there has been an increased number ganised a Christmas blessing for the cleaners of non-Christians who have joined us for our and security staff of JCUS. We prepared some sessions. The challenge for us is how we can games, food, and prizes for them to show our best connect with them and go deeper with appreciation to them, as well as bless them them outside of the CF time, and journey with with a meal and some household items. As the them into having a personal relationship with students are much more comfortable within God.

50 | Annual Report 2022 We would like to have more collaborations with the CFs of the other universities to ex- pose ourselves to the various CF ministries in Singapore. However, we do acknowledge the difficulties for the students as the trimester academic system is fast-paced and students would be under much stress to comprehen- sively plan an activity outside of our campus. Joshua Yip Chun Meng Chairperson Showing appreciation to the security staff PATH (Singapore Management University) xSKETCH (NAFA-LASALLE) Indonesian Students’ Christian Fellowship We have 12 members (5 from PATH and 7 from SKETCH) and a regular attendance of 8 stu- dents at our fellowship meetings which are held once every two weeks. PATHxSKETCH experimented with a new fel- At our BBQ event lowship style since the previous style was less interactive. Since October 2022, PATHxS- them and get to know them better. One such KETCH used a small group setting rather than activity that we held recently at the start of a large-scale fellowship format. The groups the semester was a BBQ event, where we had are divided based on the members’ universi- fun cooking, eating, and catching up with ties. The content of these small-group gather- each other over the holidays. ings is Bible study. This semester, we are studying the book of James. This new setting One area that PATHxSKETCH has not ven- allows the members to have a greater sense of tured into yet is vacationing together or hav- belonging and encourages members to con- ing a gathering with our alumni. We feel that tribute to the discussions as they feel less in- events such as these can strengthen the bonds hibited in the more casual environment. For within the members as we get to know God now, the SMU group (PATH) has a more con- better. Moreover, these events can potentially sistent member attendance. improve their sense of belonging to our com- munity and possibly make them look forward The area that needs improvement is the same to the event each year. as last year, regeneration. Although there were quite a lot of new members at the beginning of Davina Wijaya the semester, the number of active members Chairperson dwindles as the semester gets busier. This is understandable as all university activities are onsite now and many members cannot make it to the fellowship due to schedule conflicts. We have tried to encourage members to return by holding casual events to reconnect with