Joining another new Spiritual Family

About 2 months back, we attended a briefing at RiverLife church for new membership. I guess, it is about time for me to think seriously where I should have a more permanent home rather than just be a worshipper. It has been almost 7 years when I came to RIverLife Church, which is less than 2km from my house. There are strong and weak points in this church, as with all churches for we are not perfect.

The strong emphasis of RiverLife Church of being a missional church is perhaps what makes it a vibrant and growing church. Throughout the year, there are many mission trips to various part of Asia, each with different objectives, be it training of church leaders, medical helps, evangelism, youth outreach & ministries, or even training Children ministries. These mission trips are also inter-generations. It was the 2015 mission trip to Saragani in the Philippines that help me to better understand how RiverLife Church operates their mission events. Also, by participating in this mission trip, I got to know more people and hence it is about time to seriously consider being part of the new family.

  Evangelism is quite common and there is nothing about  “fear” as we always heard it being mentioned in the previous church whenever we talked about evangelism. As such, the church is a growing church. New members and baptism classes are conducted regularly, about 3 times a year. However, for some reasons which is not mention, the recent worship attendance showed that there is a drop in worshipper. Guess, RiverLife Church may be strong in opening their “front door”, the “back door” is also quite wide! I think they may not have realized this yet and there is no mentioning of how to retain membership.

This year, I joined the Word ministry as a facilitator / Bible study leader in the PRECEPT ministry. The leader of my study group approached me and invited me to be a facilitator.  It is in this ministry where we get participant to do Inductive Bible Study. So, I think I have finally found what I have always wanted to do – to study the Word of God – in RiverLife Church.  Without the proper studying of the Word, there is really no Spiritual food in RiverLife to feed the flock. Sunday sermons are usually more like public speaking speeches, and picking verses from the Bibles to substantiate what the preachers want to say. For me, it is not really a sermon but rather a pep talk. Some speakers share their stories, others try to make it look like a sermons but it is just sharing of their devotional thoughts, like our own “Quiet Time” every morning. So, for the undiscerning, the speakers seem “anointing”, a word that we commonly hear in RiverLife. In any case, I don’t really rely on the Sunday Sermons to grow in the Lord. I do have my own Study-the-Bible plan, even before I came to RiverLife church.  Now that I am in the Precept Ministry, it is more in-line with my plan of growing in the Word.

 Hopefully, with a new cell group which I joined in 2016 and now being in a bigger family, may Heb 10:24,25 be living in my life:

 “And let us consider how to stir up one another in love and good works. No neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encourage one another and all the more as you see the Day drawing near”

 Agape