Grow Communities Team

Team Head: Raymond Wong

Staff & Ministries: Lee Twee Kim, Raymond Wong, and Dawn Lee (LCG); SK Khoo and Ho Kum Weng (CE); Joshua Lim (Prisons)

LIFE CHANGE GROUPS (ENGLISH)
Most LCGs now meet regularly face-to-face, with many groups meeting in church. These physical meetings provide a more conducive atmosphere of community that Zoom meetings cannot provide. And with more LCGs forming huddles, there is a deeper level of fellowship among members. It is encouraging that many huddles meet outside of LCG time, which leads to more personal sharing and accountability.

Interspersing with DBS bible studies on Hosea, Amos and Micah, we introduced Grow Class Mobile (GCM) in LCGs. This is in collaboration with Christian Education Ministry, where we bring Grow classes to the LCGs, to promote learning. GCM classes are shorter (mostly two sessions); they are like samplers to motivate individuals to keep learning. These classes focused primarily on Christian essentials such as personal devotion, prayer and inductive bible study. Feedback was positive and we will continue with this in 2025, with modifications.

In January, we held two equipping meetings for leaders, where the entire leadership community gathered for dinner fellowship and learned coaching skills, as well as how to lead bible studies on the minor prophets.

LIFE CHANGE GROUPS (CHINESE)
The Chinese LCG’s focus for for 2024 was to get into fellowship again. In addition to regular bible study meetings (on Sundays), we held an in-house LCG retreat in June and a Cluster fellowship to get the LCGs to know one another and to create a more welcoming environment in the Chinese congregation. We joined the Love Elderly ministry for a walk at Woodlands Botanic Garden in September. To close off the year, we held a thanksgiving worship night in December and prayed for our ministry in 2025. 

PRISON MINISTRY
In 2024, we continued with the buddy system where catalysts (NLG volunteer leaders) mentored the brothers one-on-one. While it is still too early to see concrete results, this has been working out relatively well so far.

The year also underscored the challenges our brothers face as they navigate life outside the ministry’s structure. Many struggled to maintain their newfound paths, reverting to unsustainable lifestyles and, at times, mismanaging their finances. Sadly, we lost some brothers to these pressures, while others are now enduring the consequences of their choices. By the grace of God, many are recognizing the importance of financial wisdom and personal accountability.

However, we remain committed to supporting each brother with empathy and a renewed dedication to financial literacy, spiritual grounding, and emotional support. This year has deepened our resolve to create a more robust network of guidance and encouragement, knowing that transformation is always possible, even in difficult times. 

CHRISTIAN EDUCATION (ENGLISH)
We thank God for His watchfulness and help as we completed the full roll-out in 2024 of all our Grow classes in the final phase of the CE Ministry Roadmap that began in 2022. We also began trialling the Grow Class Mobile initiative to encourage LCGs to sign up for Grow classes.

Over the past 3 years, over 1,600 participants have availed themselves of the diverse classes, workshops, and seminars to be built up in their faith and to be equipped to serve the LORD. Despite strong initial interest in 2022, our numbers have dipped and stabilised at 175-200 participants annually. The CE ministry continues to pray earnestly and work hard to make lifelong learning a strong pillar in our discipleship journey. We are very excited that from 2025 onwards, the full slate of 30+ Grow classes will be available every year to WEFCers and you can find out more about what’s in store with the 2025 CE Calendar here.

So, come and join us in discovering that we are never too young or too old to learn and to be used by God! See you in class!

CHRISTIAN EDUCATION (CHINESE)
In the Chinese congregation, the Grow classes moved from online to on-site classes in 2024. The first class in January was Essentials of Minor Prophets, to enable members to have a better perspective on the sermon series on the three minor prophets. Other Grow classes mostly focussed on topics related to Christian living. By holding classes on Sunday mornings after the worship service, attendance was good with an average attendance of 35.

Grow Communities Team