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Lifeline Family Church - affiliated with the
Assemblies of God in Singapore - is a merger of two small congregations
that took place at the end of 2000. At that time the congregation numbered
about 80 adults and less than 20 children. Within six months, however, the
church suffered a split and about 20 people left the church with one of
the pastors, leaving behind a disappointed pastor and a discouraged
congregation. It was at this stage when the first NCD survey was taken...
... and the result showed the minimum factor
to be Loving Relationships. For the church leadership this did not come as
a surprise. In 2002, Lifeline Family Church did another NCD survey. This
time the profile showed every factor was below 65, with 5 factors even
below 35 points. Need-oriented Evangelism measured only 13 points, and
Loving Relationships 15 (see diagram). Rev Loh Hung Chey, NCD National
Partner for Singapore, advised the church to work on Loving Relationships
rather than Need-oriented Evangelism. He said that without good
relationships, people would not be motivated to reach out. We took his
advice and designated May to November 2003 to improve relationships among
church members.
A six-member NCD Team was formed to plan how to improve the minimum
factors. The senior pastor and his associate also sat on the team. The
chairman of the team was given the assignment to study the NCD book and to
teach the concepts to his team members. The team also made a visit to
Bethel Church in Malacca, Malaysia, to find out how they had improved
Loving Relationships. The team met every Saturday for about nine (9)
months in planning sessions. These sessions were lighthearted and
interesting as we slowly steered the church towards the short-term goals.
Eventually, the theme "My Family, My Friends" was introduced to the
congregation. This led to a 40-day fasting and praying to kick start the
spiritual momentum for the church.
Once a month, both the English- and
Mandarin-speaking congregations met for worship and a luncheon. For these
combined services, the sermon was replaced by a seminar on how to improve
Loving Relationships. Topics included The Five Love Languages, The Art of
Communication, Understanding Different Temperaments, and Building Bridges.
Existing cells also studied Bill Hybels'
Lessons on Love. An Agape Department was formed to organize fellowship
activities. The congregation had several outings, retreats and even
table-tennis matches to gel and have fun. It was not all play either;
members worked to spring clean the church premises as well. By November,
the relationships among church members had grown warmer. We closed the
year with the Month of Love in November. On the 1st of January 2004, we
organized a New Year Dedication Service and launched the church's vision
and mission. We felt the church was now ready to address the minimum
factor Need-oriented Evangelism.
 A new profile was done in the first quarter
of 2004. The result was really encouraging. All factors increased by 20 to
33 points, with the exception of Holistic Small Groups, which decreased by
3 points, making it the new minimum factor (see diagram). Even though all
factors are still below 65, with the exception of Empowering Leadership,
we now have greater hope of seeing a healthy church emerge in the next few
years. The atmosphere in the church has really changed. It is more vibrant
and warm. There is an air of excitement. Through the lay leaders taking
different responsibilities in bringing up the minimum factor, the church
has in fact become lay driven as well. Commitment is up. People have also
started to flow into the church. We are truly looking forward to seeing
what God has for us in the near future.
Rev. Winnie Wong is
Associate Pastor of Lifeline Family Church in Singapore |
