3 . A Voice To the Churches
How can we , the bride of Christ , expect the poor to understand the love of Christ by giving oranges , mooncakes , or even money seasonally ? Handing out money is not a ministry . A ministry is about relationships .
Mercy ministries must be a way of our Christian life , not designated for only a few people to run . If our churches really decide to serve the poor around us , it will change how we run our ministries . The main congregation will be actively participating and engaging with the poor , not just contributing financially . We will be pastoring our community , opening the door of eternity to the people , and transforming their lives inside out .
The 3 strands of the Gospel — salvation , transformation , and serving the poor and marginalised — must be the Great Commission that we build our church programmes on . Not everyone is called to be a missionary , but everyone is called to think missionally .
TROLLEY MINISTRY
Working On Ourselves First
The Trolley Ministry started 9 years ago , without any intention to reach out to the homeless . We were missionaries who laid down our previous ministries to behold God in prayer and worship . Every morning , for a year , we prayed for nations , social issues and the suffering around the world . God eventually challenged us into action — to go out and share His love with the poor on the streets of Singapore .
The needs were manifold . At one point , we were ministering to 120 homeless people and were extremely stretched . We had no idea how to address the complex issues they faced , or how to empower older people from a different world . Amidst our ‘ success ’ of being a ministry , which engaged in this work long before it gained recognition in Singapore , we were disillusioned and lost . No longer could we merely give our friends short-term charity and mercy . They needed discipleship and life transformation more than crisis solutions . But that required God to truly transform us first .
In 2015 , we took a time-out for a year to let God work in us . Then we deconstructed the entire ministry and rebuilt it on the paradigms of hearing God , which we had used in our personal lives .
Allowing God to direct this ministry has kept the work fresh and bigger than us . This is the joy of prioritising extended
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