The LC-MS has been working in Singapore for some years in different capacities. While there is a Lutheran church body in Singapore (Lutheran Church in Singapore – LCS) we aren’t in fellowship with them due to different ideas about the ordination of women. Still, we want to have a good relationship with them as a respected church body that shares in our Lutheran heritage. Part of my work is to search for ways our organization can be of service to the LCS. But this trip I don’t have any meetings towards that end. I am excited though to help organize an event with the LCS and the LC-MS on the topic of encouraging and recruiting people for future work in the church. But more on that later.
Since the LC-MS has never had an official presence in Singapore we don’t own any property or buildings or anything. Singapore is one of the most expensive places in the world to live and much of that is driven by the small size of this island nation and the premium price of land. For some years pastors visiting Singapore have stayed at a Christian retreat center owned by the Salvation Army. As I took over this responsibility in the last year I was shocked at how expensive it was to rent a room for a small group of people to meet and worship for two hours. But I just chalked it up to being in Singapore and didn’t think more of it. However on my last visit I was having difficulty getting my payment processed properly to the center and some of the locals found out what we were paying to meet there and were shocked at the cost.
At that point I decided it was time to see if there were other options. I enlisted the help of some of our folks in Singapore and one of them put me in contact with a company that rents meeting space in different areas of Singapore. This morning I went to visit a small room that could be rented on a monthly basis for a couple of hours each time for a quarter of what the other place was charging. And while I like the idea of supporting Christian ministries and efforts whenever possible, the savings is too great. Additionally, this alternate meeting space is in an area of Singapore closer to our people, making getting there easier for them.
It’s very small and nothing fancy but for our group of a half-dozen folks or so it’s more than adequate. The Holy Spirit has brought two new members to the group in the past two months, making up for some of the folks who drifted away during Covid. Should we grow larger (by the grace of God the Holy Spirit!) I’ll look for a larger room. But for now this will serve us well.
Afterwards I met one of those newer members, Amy, for lunch near her office. She works as a food researcher for the government of Singapore, after having lived nearly 15 years in the US where she completed her doctoral studies and taught and researched for many years. It was good to catch up with her as she wasn’t able to meet tonight.
And then for dinner I met with Haley, the other new member of our group. She also did advanced studies in the US before ending up in Singapore for work. We were pleasantly surprised to be joined by Stephen, one of the veteran members of our group as his evening freed up unexpectedly. We had a chance to discuss some Scripture, based on a sermon he heard recently from another Lutheran pastor.
Please pray for this small ministry in Singapore. Pray that, if the Holy Spirit so desires, this ministry would grow and that we might eventually have a formal congregation in Singapore. But pray also for the work of the LCS and other Christian groups in Singapore as they seek to share the Gospel with others. Christians make up about 19% of Singapore’s population, just slightly more than the Muslim population but less than the Buddhist population. There’s great opportunity in this tiny land of beauty and abundance.
The Nelson Family Indonesia 