the USA , Canada , UK and the Netherlands — and sent them to some of the 300 locations on our database . These trips built a steady momentum for missions in the first decade of 2000 , culminating in the recruitment of many long-term workers to reach the unreached in Asia .
INSTILLING A MISSIONAL MINDSET
The Antioch call looks beyond sending out missionaries . It is about being discipled to become missional in our thinking and lifestyle — that is , how we use our time , money , talents and gifts for the Gospel .
Since 2015 , YWAMSG has supported the missions-vision of churches by running short-term mission trips , assisting with facilitation and discipling them during their annual church camps . We challenge these churches to move beyond the walls of their comfort zones to seek the welfare of the city where their camp is held . As the entire camp moves into the community to mingle with its people , they encounter a powerful transformational experience . Their acts of mercy and witnessing give them a taste of what it means to cultivate a lifestyle that aligns with the Great Commission .
This Antioch missional mindset has also been cultivated right at our doorstep in Singapore . During the 2010s , God drew our attention to a hidden and neglected community in our otherwise rich and affluent nation . Ministries to the homeless , youth delinquents , street ladies and the migrants began and grew . YWAMSG welcomed churches and individuals to join us , who thereafter , took the initiative to hunt down and serve the needs of a forgotten segment of society on their own . A government minister recently noted that many of those who are involved in this network are a result of YWAMSG ’ s pioneering work in this area .
FORGING AHEAD WITH THE ANTIOCH CALL
For the last 40 years , YWAMSG has responded to the Antioch call by being a catalyst . Through our visionary and pioneering works , we have seen an accelerated response in the Church body to the Great Commission . We have influenced a generation of Singaporeans through our mobilisation efforts , and equipped and sent long-term workers into the field .
In order to persist in our Antioch call , Joe believes that the Singapore church needs to de-clutter our lives of all things that have no bearing on eternity . This will enable us to live with a sharper focus on what God has called us to do . He also sees an urgent need for deeper unity and synergy to complete the Gospel task . In a world that grows increasingly hostile toward the Gospel , YWAMSG and mission agencies must work together with the Church and the body of Christ in the marketplace to see the lost reached and nations transformed by the power of the Gospel . Finally , he believes that God will re-fire those who are retired and use their years of training to further His Kingdom purposes .
May all the generations , hand in hand , cross the finish line together to fulfil God ’ s unquenchable desire to see the earth filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord , as the waters cover the seas . ( Habakkuk 2:14 )
Bottom Left : At an orphanage for ethnic minorities in Yunnan . Bottom Right : Woman from the Naxi tribe , Yunnan , China .
Photo credits : Joseph Chean
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