BRMC launches a new (old) way of doing small group ministry

Barker Road Methodist Church (BRMC) announced the launch of the Connect Experience 2023 (CE'23), with the objective of unifying its approach to small group ministry. The official launch took place on 22 April, kick-starting a sermon series on biblical koinonia or fellowship.

Recognising that many church members are not yet in a small group, while others attend small groups that have been running for decades, CE'23 will run separate programmes to close this gap. BRMC members who are not part of a small group—called "Connect Group" in BRMC— can sign up for an Experience Group, while those who are already in a Connect Group can join the BRMC family in rediscovering and experiencing transformational community life through a weekly guided exercise spanning eight weeks. Registration for CE'23 is open now until 17 June.

At the 47th Trinity Annual Conference (TRAC), President Rev Stanley Chua exhorted all TRAC churches to make small group ministry a place where members not only experience God through the Holy Spirit, but also hold each other accountable for their discipleship. 1 Rev Lai Kai Ming, the pastor leading CE'23, believes that the Lord has "already started the renewal of [BRMC]", and that being in a Connect Group is "the first step to rediscovering what being a Christian and a church is really about".

The Connect Group model is based on the original Wesleyan method of community life (also known as the Class Meeting), one which emphasises the sharing of the believer's daily experience with God rather than just head knowledge of the Bible. With the initial aim of re-examining what being a Christian and a church really means, BRMC's 3-week sermon series on biblical koinonia will dive deep into the 4As: taste the goodness and joy of authentic Christian community. It will give people the opportunity to reflect on how God wants them to apply his Word in a safe and encouraging small group environment. BRMC hopes that CE'23 will strengthen existing groups and encourage those not in any to join one.

• Authority of God's Word: We are called to be doers of the Word, not just hearers.

• Authenticity in relationships: How real and honest are we with each other?

Accountability for good works: We are commanded to watch over one another in love.

Acts of the Holy Spirit: The Spirit helps us connect with God and one another for the sake of the world.

Leong Mei Lin, a Connect Group leader at BRMC, believes that such sessions are a start to authentic fellowship with fellow churchgoers, and a protected time where one can reflect on his or her walk with God.

"Small group sessions give me a window to look into the lives [of group members] and to learn from them—how they live out their Christian faith."

Based on these 4As, CE'23 continues in July and August with an 8-week guided exercise that will help participants

1 https://www.methodist.org.sg/methodist-message/recovering-our-methodist-doctrine-spirit-and-discipline/

The mystique of space and galaxies is fascinating to adults and children alike. It invokes curiosity, sparks imagination and fuels the quest to explore, discover and learn about the unknown. That is the objective of the Methodist Preschool Signature Space Buds Programme. The first of its kind to be incorporated into a preschool curriculum, the STEM-focused programme for K2s was piloted at Faith Methodist Preschool in 2021 and rolled out to all centres in 2022.

The Bible teaches that God is the creator of the universe. "It is our hope that the learning and exploration of space inspires a sense of wonder and awe in our preschoolers about the vastness and amazing design of God's creation," said Adrian Lim, Director of Education Services, Methodist Preschool Services Pte Ltd.

In Part 1 of the Space Buds Programme that was conducted in April, educators from the Space Faculty conduct lessons and fun hands-on activities on various space-related topics to pique preschoolers' curiosity and interest about space.

The aspiring astronauts are looking forward to Part 2 of the programme that will feature interactive learning with an astronaut through a live virtual session during World Space Week in October. As part of the celebration of World Space Week from 4–10 October, children of all levels across the family of Methodist Preschools will also engage in a myriad of space-themed lessons and activities throughout the week. Children will be transported to "outer space" through space-themed lessons and setups that will ignite their imagination and fuel their passion for space exploration and STEM learning.

Methodist Message chatted with some young space cadets to see what they learnt during the engaging Space Buds journey! Here are snippets of the conversations: Sheld

If you were an astronaut, what experiment would you want to do in space?

I would try to create big explosions outside of the spaceship! I also want to find out how black holes suck things in.

Which was your favourite Space Buds lesson? The lesson on planets. I can also name the 10 dwarf planets, can you?

What's special about Uranus? Uranus spins on its side. It is blue because it has methane gas. It smells like fart!

What did you learn about the food in space?

The food is dry in space. If there's water, it will get mouldy very fast.

Tell us about the space ice-cream that you tried.

I enjoyed the space ice-cream! It's the flavour that I like—vanilla! Space ice-cream is not cold.

What do astronauts wear in space?

Astronauts wear a special suit in space. The helmet protects the astronaut from the very hot sun!

Can you tell us what you learnt about satellites?

Satellites are objects that go around the earth. The moon and the ISS are satellites.