Grow Communities Team

Team Head: Raymond Wong

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

LIFE CHANGE GROUPS (ENGLISH)
Our LCGs met regularly to study and apply God’s word, to pray, to encourage and to support one another.  Our Bible studies followed the church sermon series on Mark and Psalms, using DBS and COMA bible study methods. Huddles slowly became an organic part of our LCGs, not viewed as an additional activity or a meeting but part of LCG life. It is encouraging to see huddles supporting each other outside of LCG time, as members share blessings and burdens, and pray together. 

We were encouraged to see many LCGs coming to church for the weekly prayer sessions during the Season of Prayer (July - August 2025) to pray.  A small but encouraging awakening  is taking place within our LCGs  —  a shift in our prayer posture: to be more active in prayer, not just for ourselves but for the church. It was also encouraging to see many LCGs continue to meet outside when the fire incident did not allow them to gather in church, even though not meeting would have been the easier way out. For some groups, members opened up their homes for fellowship, while other groups met in cafes or over Zoom.  

One challenge facing our LCGs is the lack of leaders. A few long-serving leaders have stepped down with no replacement of new leadership. Grow Leaders 1 (or GL1, our church’s leadership-equipping programme) which started two years ago, takes time to train and equip new leaders. Do pray for the Lord to raise up more leaders from among us.

LIFE CHANGE GROUPS (CHINESE)
Our Chinese LCGs continued to strengthen fellowship, with an emphasis on befriending newcomers. A highlight of the ministry was the first LCG retreat (post-Covid 19) at Pulai Springs Resort with a total of 50 attendees. We had the honour of having Elder Te Neng gracing this retreat and sharing with us words of encouragement. The theme of the retreat was “Rebuilding the house of God”.  Everyone had a wonderful time of learning from the book of Haggai; it was a good time of sharing and building bonds. 

CHRISTIAN EDUCATION (ENGLISH)
We thank God for His sustaining grace as the Christian Education (English) ministry continued its work of equipping the church in 2025, the first year in which the full slate of 30 Grow classes was offered. Of these, 23 classes ran, with the remainder cancelled due to low interest. Participation for the year (114 individuals) fell significantly below previous years, with fewer new participants and a heavy reliance on a faithful core of regular learners.

Classes in church history, specific Bible books, and spiritual formation drew the strongest interest, often influenced by who the instructor was, while the year also revealed the limits of offering too many classes amidst a weak learning culture where many seem too busy, complacent and perceive that they are self-sufficient in their spiritual journey.

Although Grow Mobile showed promise in bringing learning into Life Change Groups, its impact remains necessarily limited in scale. As we look toward 2026, the ministry will introduce a revised framework in which core classes will run regardless of numbers, while other offerings will proceed only with sufficient registration, alongside renewed efforts to strengthen the church’s culture of lifelong learning as an essential part of Christian maturity.

CHRISTIAN EDUCATION (CHINESE)
We conducted a Grow class introducing the book of Philippians, giving our congregants a more structured understanding of our pulpit preaching of this epistle. This was a hybrid of onsite and online learning with monthly online accountability group sessions, where participants experienced what it was like to be vulnerable as part of their process of becoming authentic leaders. Our Chinese Grow Leaders 1 (GL1) programme started in January, and the first batch of 19 leaders graduated in October!  

Two other ministry equipping sessions were also conducted to equip our Chinese LCG leaders: (a) Effective Listening Skills for LCG leaders and (b) Empathy, Sympathy and Boundary. A total of 30 leaders attended the sessions.  

PRISON MINISTRY
In 2025, our Prison Ministry continued to make steady progress despite real and ongoing challenges among the brothers. While some struggled and even reverted to unsustainable lifestyles, and others faced painful consequences linked to poor financial mismanagement, the ministry continued its discipleship. These real-life challenges sharpened the NLG’s sense of purpose — to walk with people patiently, to strengthen discipleship beyond event-based support, and to keep building a community where accountability and grace can exist together. The difficulties of the year reminded us that reintegration is rarely a straight line, and that spiritual growth often happens through consistent presence, honest conversations, and learning to depend on God day by day.

Even so, NLG grew in maturity and resilience through key moments of gathering and renewal, including the combined NLG retreat as well as the brothers’ and sisters’ retreats. These retreats became important checkpoints for spiritual alignment, deeper worship, and honest reflection — helping the brothers reconnect with God and one another, and with the call to live out their faith in daily life. 

Looking ahead, NLG has begun to explore how we can support Woodlands Social Centre (WSC) more intentionally — especially through mentoring women in crisis — with the hope that this partnership can begin in 2026. Through it all, NLG pressed on as a community committed to restoration: celebrating small steps of change, staying faithful in prayer, and remaining a visible reminder that God’s grace is still at work even in the hardest seasons.

Grow Communities Team