Adapting and Growing

WORDS & IMAGES: SJSM CHINESE CONGREGATION

January 2020, when COVID-19 broke out in Singapore, was the first time that not a single guest registered for Alpha course. The church’s atmosphere was starting to be tense.

In February, as required by the government, we began conducting temperature screening and providing hand sanitiser for our members. Online service registration via Google Forms was set up, and the 9am Sunday service was streamed on Facebook Live as a trial.

The World Health Organization’s announcement on 11 March that COVID-19 was now classified as a pandemic, and the subsequent decision was made to suspend all onsite services across the Diocese, posed us a great challenge.

In order to allow more of our members to participate in our online services, we created our own YouTube Channel so as to stream our service videos. At the first online service, our peak attendance was only five persons. Rev Thong rallied our members, and the next service saw a great increase to 139 attendees! Thank God!

The government’s declaration of the Circuit Breaker period from 7 April to 1 June meant 2020 was the first time that Good Friday and Easter Sunday services had ever been held online.

Since we could not physically gather, we started a YouTube Sharing & Testimony initiative. We invited our members to participate by submitting entries, so as to cheer one another on, and to maintain their relational connections within the church. To date, we have over 50 videos featuring words of encouragement, testimonies, musical pieces, Bible readings, prayers, photo albums, and more.

April to July 2020 also saw us using the Zoom platform for our Annual General Meeting, children’s Sunday School, Youth Fellowship, as well as cell meetings. In collaboration with YMCA and the larger SJSM family, our young adults also distributed dinner packs to needy Dover residents.

When Singapore entered Phase 2 of Reopening from 19 June 2020, onsite services could finally resume! Online registration was shifted to JotForm to provide a better experience for our members. And as members could not sing their hearts out during the worship services due to safety restrictions, the music ministry decided to pre-record worship sessions to help members better experience God during service.

We also decided to make a bold move and try out online Alpha. From mid-August 2020, the Alpha team participated in training, sent out flyers and registration forms, and encouraged our members to invite new friends. And at 2pm on Saturday, 3 October 2020, the 38th and first-ever online Alpha in the history of SJSM’s Chinese Congregation kicked off. About 20 new guests registered for the course, and five eventually received Christ.

As we entered 2021, God through Rev Thong led the us to start a Saturday service. This new arrangement not only solved our earlier problem of limited time to run two services on Sunday, but also created a new time slot choice for our members.

The evolving pandemic has required the Chinese Congregation to adapt. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 12:10, “When I am weak, I am strong”; in this odd and unusual time, we overcame many weaknesses to became strong by God’s grace! All glory be to God and our Lord Jesus Christ!

我们想起2020年1月，疫情在本地爆发后， 启发首次无人报名，教会气氛开始紧张起来。

根据政府的要求，我们在2月份开始为崇 拜参与者量体温和提供消毒液。我们也借用 Google Form 进行网上登记，和Facebook Live直播早上9点的C1 崇拜。

当世界卫生组织在2020年3月11日宣布冠病 为大流行病的时候，教区决定暂停所有的实体 聚会。这是本堂前所未有的大挑战。 为了让更多会友可以上网参与崇拜，我们创 立了自己的YouTube Channel，直播崇拜的 录影。还记得首次的YouTube直播，网上只有 5人参与。之后，在汤牧师的大大鼓励之下， 下一次的线上崇拜参与者人数竟升到139人！ 感谢神！

政府宣布在2020年4月7日开始阻断措施， 我们也在本堂历史中首次进行受难节和复活节 的线上崇拜。

在不能聚会的情况下，教会推出了 YouTube 分享与见证视频活动，鼓励会友参 与和投稿，借此给彼此打气，让教会在疫情当 中保持连接。从当时到今天，我们所制作的视 频已超过50个，内容包括鼓励的话，见证，弹 奏，献诗，读经，祷告，照片集等等。

从4月到7月，教会开始借用 Zoom 平台进 行会友大会，也在线上重新开始了祷告会，儿 童主日学，少年团契和各小组聚会。我们的青 年区也在5月份和YMCA及牧区配搭，到杜弗 分派晚餐。

在阻断措施解封的进行下，实体崇拜在7月 终于恢复了！为了让会友顺畅的登记崇拜，我 们把网上登记移到更好的 JotForm 平台 。音 乐事工也开始了赞敬录影和制作视频，让会友 在无法高声敬拜的崇拜环境中，能有更好的感 受和体验。

因疫情措施的限制，教会决定大胆尝试线 上启发课程。从8月中旬，同工们开始参加培 训，发放宣传单和报名表，鼓励会友邀请新朋 友报名。2020年10月3日，周六下午2点，圣 约翰圣玛格烈堂第38期启发课程，也是本堂历 史上第一次线上启发，正式开课！新朋友报名 人数达到16-25位，其中5位决志信主。

进入2021年时，神借着汤牧师，带领华文 堂开始了周六崇拜。这个新的安排不只解决了 主日不能允许同时进行2堂聚会的问题，也让 会友和新朋友多了一个崇拜时段的选择。

在疫情当中，华文堂需要应变。使徒保罗在 哥林多前书12章10节这么说，“因我什么时候 软弱，什么时候就刚强了”。这一年，我们真 的是经历了许多软弱，也因神的恩典，在软弱 中我们刚强了起来！荣耀归于我们的神和主耶 稣基督！