Reflection: A look back at our history
by Dr Gilbert Tan
God is good! In accordance to His promises and blessings on our church, we have grown from strength to strength over the past 15 years. As we move forward in faith, we believe that we will bear testimony to greater and mightier things that God has in store for His people in Bethesda Cathedral (BC). But, even as we look forward, it is timely that we pause to encapsulate how God has blessed our church over the past 15 years under the leadership of Senior Pastor Tay Cheng Kee.
Indeed, the church now is different from that which started out 15 years ago in many ways. Then there was no BC but our church existed as part of Church of praise (COP). We later became known as Church of Praise (East Coast). On May 26 th 1992 , Church of Praise East Coast became Bethesda Charismatic Centre (BCC), an independent and sovereign Church. Two years later, on 14 th November 1994 , BCC changed its name to Bethesda Cathedral (BC).
‘The big white church along Chai Chee Street ’- that’s what BC is referred to unofficially. As one approaches the church grounds, the big white building, with its steeple rising mightily up into the sky and the words “Jesus is Lord” will awe first-time visitors to the church. For the seasoned church goer, it is a physical testimony of God’s goodness to our church and a fruition of the vision of the church that God wanted Pastor Tay to build.
Looking back, during our early years, we had no building to call our own. Church of Praise held its services in Hyatt Hotel. Even when we became independent, we had to content with worship services held in cinema theatres, which were neither conducive nor permanent. Services had to end on time as cinema patrons are waiting to enter the cinema for the next show! At one point, we even held our services in the hall of La Salle School of Arts. The early prayer meetings were held in a rented bungalow at Dunbar , followed by an office place in Katong People’s Park, which also doubled as the church office. The church office was also where we had our meetings and bible classes. The small rooms were often crammed full of worshippers during our special meetings. Although we were short of space, fellowship was literally warm and close. There was also a period when we had to rent the function rooms of Sea View Hotel to hold our regular prayer meetings.
Now, with our sprawling church premises, we are able to conduct most of our activities and services in the church. The sanctuary on the third floor is able to seat 2000 people, having doubled in capacity after an expansion project completed in March 2002. The many rooms and classrooms available also meant that the church is able to conduct many activities all through the week. In other words there is no shortage of space in BC now! Having the capacity also meant that BC is also able to host major church events involving collaborations with other churches.
The main services held in church are now attended by a good mix of Christians of different ages, from the very young toddlers to grand elderly brothers and sisters-in-Christ. In this congregation, most of them are working adults. This was different from the church in the beginning where it consisted mainly of students. The working adults then were a minority group! Since then the average age of the congregation has matured significantly. We are now able to have separate services catering to our youth, children and even toddlers.
In the early church days, there was only the main English service. With our own building and continued expansion, we now have other services such as the Mandarin, Hokkien, Cantonese, Filipino, Youth services as well as the children church and Sunday school. We look forward to having more other services in other languages and dialects.
The ministries in BC have also grown tremendously over the years. In the early years, the main ministries were the music ministry, teaching ministry and the usher ministries. The ushers back then were almost all students. Since then, the usher ministry has grown and matured; most ushers being working adults now. Professionalism and efficiency are qualities that have developed markedly within the usher ministry now.
The music ministry was on the forefront; young, dynamic and growing as God allowed talented musicians to join the expanding music ministry. Again most of the musicians were students and guys serving out their national service. It was not uncommon to see that our male musicians often wore caps during playing for the worship sessions in order to cover-up their crew cuts! The early music ministry was beginning to carve its own niche and as the musicians served together, a common bonding and vision emerged. Many of them also diligently served as logistic support personnel as the musicians themselves have to move, carry, setup and store the instruments after each service. It was hard work, having to wake up early to go to church and prepare the place for worship and pack up afterwards. But, the work was seen as a sign of worship and a labor of love for God, hence joy was derived just for being able to serve in the music ministry. God has blessed the church now with state of the art sound equipment and musical instruments to enhances the worship experience. No more major shifting of equipment and elaborate setting up are needed and the music team now only need to assume their right places and start playing right away. The music team has also expanded from a single musician playing a synthesizer to a full band including the drummer, bassist, keyboardist and piano player. There are also musicians serving in the various services in the church.
In the early history of the church, there would be bible study classes after service, as the adults in the church assumed roles of bible study teachers. As the church was so young, there was a need to break the bread of the Word in the form of structured bible study. The Sunday school concept of class based bible study after worship was borrowed and utilized for the early church. As the congregation grew and matured, the services slowly took the current form of worship followed by a sermon for all. Bible study is now catered to special groups such as new believers or as topical bible study series conducted for those who have an interest. Bible study is also part of the oikos activity.
As the church grew in numbers, cell groups called “oikos” were started. The idea was that in order to maintain contact at ground level, and to encourage the intimacy of fellowship, the church should be divided into smaller cells, each with a leader to direct the group and also minister to the needs of the individual in a more personal way. The small group size also meant that it would be easier for newcomers to be assimilated into church. It also served as a place where pre-believers could come into first contact with the idea of a church. The oikos ministry has been fruitful, as new leaders were identified and trained. The numbers of oikos groups in the church has also multiplied catering also to special groups such as the youth, Hokkien and Mandarin speaking congregation.
With growth in physical numbers, there were more and more people willing and committed to help out in some way in church, and thus more ministries were formed and each functions in its own special and important way to ensure the smooth running of the church. Special ministries such as the tuition centre, social concerns and most recently the women’s ministry are just some examples of more which have been formed over the years.
The growing need for a dedicated leader for the early church also saw Pastor Tay obeying God’s calling to full time ministry on 1 June 1992. For most of the early years, Pastor Tay labored and toiled, establishing the church, ministering to the people and like a shepherd provided direction for the growing flock of sheep. God was with him and the church every step of the way, blessing the church. Pastor Tay’s initial core group were a handful of commited and fervent fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. They did much of the backstage work in running the church. Moving on subsequently, appointed elders and church board members helped in making decisions for the church and help decide on the operations of the church. Over the years, the workforce in the church has also expanded to include other full time staff and volunteers. The full timers now include the pastoral staff, administrative personnel, IT support personnel and technical staff. Pastor Tay now also has 2 assistant pastors; Pastor Andrew Chng (appointed in 2003) and most recently Pastor Mark Chew (appointed in April this year). They now help run the church and receive direct mentorship from Pastor Tay.
God is indeed our Jehovah Jireh and has provided for all our needs at every single chapter of the church’s 15-year history thus far. As we move to the next year in BC history we are mindful of the vision given to us to be a church of 7,000 strong.
God be glorified!
