A Stagnant Pool or a Flowing Stream

I left Bethany Church at the beginning of this year and worship at a church near my home.

Some people may wonder why I do so. Have I backslide; one member of Bethany Church emailed me. Some see me as “quitter”, a famous word coined by a former Prime Minister for those who leave Singapore to stay in a foreign country.

I have been in Bethany church for 25 years. That is a long time. I have rendered my time, energy and money for the work of the church all these years without grumbling or complaining. Prior to coming to Bethany, I was with another church for 10 years which later closed down. I was also with the Navigators, a para-church organization during my youth and university days. So I am quite exposed to church growth, church health and how church fades away. All these years in Bethany, I have observed that the church health and growth have somehow impeded. Occasionally, I casually mentioned to the Pastor and sometime to the leaders. It is up to them to respond to my sharing.

Bethany is very small. In 1989 we had about 28 members. In 2011, I read from Facebook that Bethany have her 100th members. But, we know that not all the 100 members are still worshipping in Bethany. Most of these memberships are due to biological growth. Our children have grown up. Why is the growth slow? From my perspective, I see the church becoming a stagnant pool. I tried to change that many times. But after reaching the age of 50, I decide to find a flowing stream than to transform a stagnant pool into a flowing stream.

To grow, I need to drink from a flowing stream, not a stagnant pool.

I know that there are many good Bethany members also realize this. So they attend courses organized by other churches such as St. Andrew Cathedral and even the BSF classes. Some joined other churches on mission trips and training courses. I too, attended classes from the Singapore Bible College because Bethany is not feeding her flock. Sunday sermon is the bare minimum for every church. But primarily, the church should be feeding her lamb and her sheep. No, I am not talking about a 1 to 2 hours spur of the moment teaching or training. It must be a structured continuous feeding the lambs and sheep until they too are able to feed others.

With a change of leadership, my hope and prayer is that Bethany can become a flowing stream.

Psalm 1:3
That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither— whatever they do prospers.