Our Faith Journey

Go all In for Jesus and His Kingdom!
Let’s build His Church.

Thank you for giving!
We are almost at our goal of 40 million

S$30.5M
S$9.5M

Pray with us for

God to grant our leadership wisdom as we enter this journey of building up Sengkang and as BPJ centre prepares for the upcoming A&A.

Our CEFC Property Faith Journey: God-sized Vision, Spirit-led Adventure

God may give us a vision.  God may give us a dream. But it will usually not materialize in the way we expect! The road…

Read more

Building the Church

We’ve often heard that the Seed Fund faith journey is not merely about a church building, but building the church. How does our giving…

Read more

My Journey as a Faith-Raising Chairman

“God then showed me that the fundraising is really a platform for faith-raising in the congregation.” …

Read more

We are led by the Lord

The Lord has led us through over 40 years of His faithfulness and goodness. Today, the same God is leading us. While the Seed Fund Faith Journey has been disrupted due to the pandemic, in the past few months, the church leadership have sensed a clear leading of the Lord to resume this faith journey now.

Joshua 1:9 reminds us, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

We act neither according to our own desires and intellect, nor with fear and hesitation. Our posture remains as one constantly seeking the Lord and being sensitive to His guidance and wisdom.

We stand together as a Covenant family

As the Lord leads, we are called to stand together as a Covenant church family to journey on. We must follow the footsteps of those who have run before us in building Bukit Panjang (BPJ) and Woodlands (WDL). Both centres have now become a safe base, a home for us. We now enjoy the fruits of the labour of our forerunners, and many of us who have faithfully and obediently built His church.

As a family, we must now find a more permanent home for our East congregation. Since planting our first seed in the East in 2016, the congregation has grown from 250 to close to 1,000 members now. We praise the Lord for this! We now need to give them a greater sense of permanency to allow them to anchor and integrate strongly in the community — to further grow and bless!

Beyond this, we have been blessed with the ability to complete recent renovations at WDL Centre to  better cater to the youths and children, as well as, to make ready funds for other A&A and building projects for BPJ and WDL Centres in the coming years.

We are future-ready and forward-thinking

Our mission is to win souls, change lives and send workers, as we anchor ourselves in our 3 Faith Exploits: Discipling the Generations, Discipling Singapore and Discipling the Nations.

As we become future-ready, we are building “a church without walls”. Our physical buildings are created to be more community-oriented to allow for integration of services and spaces for the children, youths and silver generation. Our worship centres double up as community services and ministry spaces, through various efforts including New Life Community Services.

We are also adopting a dual physical-and-digital  strategy where there are spaces for non-substitutable in-person interactions, and a base for content creation and outreach through the digital world.

Hear the faith stories of some of our Covenanters

“Building a church building is brick and mortar. Building lives in the next generation for the kingdom of God has eternal value.” Click to watch

Guok Suan Choo

Deaconess

Tian Ai's Story — a place where she can know God more and experience His love through a community. Click to watch

Tian Ai

found a home and family in church

“As we prayed about the Seed Fund, we were led to give an amount that was very large for us. Though it wasn’t emptying our accounts, it left us with very little savings.” Click to read more

Jonathan Goh

Covenant East

We praise God for leading us to Sengkang!

Explore the plans and updates of
our new centre in Sengkang

A Church Without Walls

A space that draws the community in
and points people to Jesus

L1 Fellowship Hall
L1 Entrace to Church From the Rear
L1 Iconic Stairway (visible from outside)
Coffee Corner (visible from outside)
L2 Main Auditorium

A Place of God's Joy and Rest

God’s sanctuary of shalom
in a weary world

L2 Post-service Newcomer Fellowship Space
L3 Chapel

A Home for All Generations

A space to disciple generations
of disciple-makers

L4 Classrooms for Children

And there's more!

  • Entire floor (L5) for youths to worship and fellowship, with multi-purpose hall and various rooms – will be doubled up for weekly community activities
  • Al-fresco rooftop BBQ space for all generations

Giving as
the Lord leads

Your giving will go to

the building construction of church in Sengkang.

I Would Like to Give

I have questions

1. Why should we be giving to build things on earth when we should be looking forward to the return of Jesus?

To answer this, we need to have a proper eschatological understanding of the end-days and what will happen when Jesus returns.

Firstly, when Jesus returns, the earth will not be destroyed and replaced by something else. Instead, it will be restored and renewed. When the Bible speaks of a new heaven and a new earth when Jesus returns (2 Pet 3:12-13; Rev 21:2), the Greek word for ‘new’ used is not ‘neo’ (which means new in time, completely new) but ‘kainos’ (which means something that is qualitatively new or restored). Therefore, the passages are not alluding to a heaven and earth that are destroyed and then replaced by heaven and earth that will be newly created. Instead, they are both speaking of the current heaven and earth passing from one condition to another (parachomai), and being qualitatively renewed (kainos) to their full glory.

Based on this understanding then, what we do on earth now, matters. As Christians, we are often reminded to bless the communities where we live (Phil 2:15; Col 4:5–6; 1 Thess 4:11–12; Tit 2:9–10). Hence, the work we do now, the relationships we build now, and the places we grow roots in now will continue on in a glorified manner when Jesus returns.

The Board has been authorised by a resolution passed during AGM 2019 to acquire and purchase a property for a sum not exceeding $40m, which includes cost of land purchase, construction, renovations and other necessary expenses.

Following the successful balloting of the land in Sengkang, this $40m Seed Fund will be channelled solely for the use of Covenant Sengkang, including the purchase price of the land and the remaining to be used for construction and other purposes as stated above.

The $40m Seed Fund will be used only for Covenant Sengkang. The funds needed for BPJ Centre’s lease renewal and A&A will be from a separate source that comprises saved and invested funds from past years of church surpluses. Hence, there will likely be no fundraising needed for BPJ Centre’s lease renewal and A&A.

Our heart is always towards serving and outreaching to the community that we are located in. The land in Sengkang is situated amidst diverse socio-economic surroundings which provides many opportunities for us to do so. A Covenant Sengkang Building Committee has been set up to look into the building plans.

Ways to Give

Let’s go all in for Jesus and His Kingdom
in building His church. 

PayNow

Please remit to:


UEN: S92SS0116BCBF or scan the QR code below.
Please enter your contact number in the Reference field.

(Scan with your Banking Application)

Telegraphic Transfers / Electronic Banking

Please remit to this account:

Beneficiary: Covenant Evangelical Free Church
UOB Bank Account: 393-300-802-7

Bank Code: 7375
Branch Code: 437

Crossed Cheques / Bank Drafts / Money Orders

Payable to Covenant Evangelical Free Church
(indicate “For Building Fund” behind the cheque).

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Our CEFC Property Faith Journey: God-sized Vision, Spirit-led Adventure

God may give us a vision.  God may give us a dream. 
But it will usually not materialize in the way we expect!

The road is often long. The challenges are many. 
And it is, by divine design, no express ticket to the Promised Land!

But it will be better, infinitely better – if we embrace a God-sized vision and a Spirit-led adventure!

Our Covenant East journey has all the hallmarks of such a faith-shaping classic!

A Prolonged Waiting Season…

For a time that felt like an eternal winter, we prayed in earnest; we deliberated hard.

We petitioned to God for a permanent place, in a heartland community, and one where Covenant East can truly call home! 

We exercised great diligence; we studied countless options.  We engaged the church at various platforms to catalyse conversations and to gather feedback.  In time past, we were a whisker close to one, but it was not meant to be.  Some were disappointed, and understandably so!  But as good faith stewards, we remained on our bended knees; we soldiered on for the greater land promise.

With hindsight, we are incredibly thankful! We side-stepped a massive financial burden during a global pandemic. It was an uncertain period, a seismic moment that seared our collective memories.

The Search is Over Now!

 Yes, it is official, and we all excitedly know, Sengkang is indeed God’s answer to our land search for Covenant East. It has fulfilled all that we had petitioned for! It is a blessed land.  It is God’s promised land for us!

CEFC’s history books must remember this day: 23 Feb 2024. 
It was a glorious day at the HDB land ballot!
We saw the Hand of God! Grace shaped the verdict.

We became an unmerited recipient of God’s grace!  Our God of “How much more” prevailed. 

In His signature fashion, the magnitude of blessings was immense! The land came steeply discounted at one-third the estimated market price (a generational low at $4.47m )!  Even more so, the manner of blessing was supremely providential – by ballot!  We were leaning in feebly with only one-third chance! It was against the odds. It was the Hand of God that sealed our place! 

We were not the better one. But simply, the chosen one – for His glory in Sengkang!

Not the End of the Journey…

In the (paraphrased) parlance of Sir Winston Churchill, this is certainly not the end of our property faith journey. It is not even the beginning of the end.   It is only the end of the beginning of our faith march towards Sengkang.

A New Chapter of Our Covenant Story…

Now, we are envisioning our vision for Sengkang –  a “church without walls”.  We are asking God for a new philosophy of ministry. 

We want to be a “community church”, not a “commuter church”.  We want to weave into the fabric of our communities, where the gospel will be real to souls unsaved, lives untouched. We are dissatisfied to merely exist as a church that commuters flock to on Sunday mornings. God has a bigger ask of us! A glimpse from the first-century church, perhaps?

At the heart of it, we want to build deep and long-term equity in Sengkang – to build spiritual equity, to be His light and His salt!

Where do we go from here?

The Resolution for East was approved in the 2019 AGM with a $40m mandate.  We will keep to this prudent, perhaps tight, budget. We want to abide by our biblical principles of prudence and stewardship, as we navigate the global crosscurrents ahead of us.

And our fund raising must continue. 
We’re very grateful for your sacrificial giving that has already brought us past the $27m mark.  This faith journey perseveres on.

God willing, we should be ready for our first Sengkang Sunday service in or before the first quarter of 2028.  As always, we have planned diligently, and we intend to hold lightly – allowing the Lord to lead us at all times and at all turns.  By divine timing, this will perfectly coincide with our CEFC Jubilee Celebrations in 2028! It will be a high moment – 50 years of unmerited grace upon us!

Final Exhortation

I will end with this final exhortation, Proverbs 3:5-6 (ESV).

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and do not lean on your own understanding. 
In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your straight your paths.

Let’s acknowledge God’s Promises, Presence and Power in our property journey.  He will make our paths straight.

It has been both a privilege and honour to serve God and CEFC through the ministryof the Property Committee.

This is a faith journey. 
This is a spiritual journey. 

It has been a fascinating ride of faith! 

Come, join us!

Elder-Designate Paul Liu

22 April 2022

Building the Church

We’ve often heard that the Seed Fund faith journey is not merely about a church building, but building the church. How does our giving actually lead to the building of the church? And all the more so, since the pandemic seems to suggest that we can function as an online church without the need of a physical building. Allow me to answer the second question first.

 

We are grateful for the technology that allows us to still meet, albeit in our respective homes, in crisis moments like the recent pandemic. Yet that is not the true state as God intends. Our final state would be in-person gathering of the worship of our King (Rev 7:9 – 12), and there will be no “online” services then. There is a physicality of the church and worship that cannot be replaced by a mere screen. The mutual encouragement we receive by being present with other followers of Jesus in community and worship is irreplaceable. We need that space to gather to worship our Lord together. Of course, this begs the question as to whether we need to buy property versus renting. It is the collective discernment of the leadership that for Covenant, buying property is how the Lord is leading us. It builds for greater stability for our congregations and engages us deeper with our surrounding communities. Consider how the founding missionaries of Singapore had the wisdom to buy land and build schools and churches that exist till today.

 

Now, more critically, how does our giving grow the church? Consider our Lord’s encounter with the rich young man in Mark 10:17 – 31. Here was someone who had, in every sense of the law, surely been considered righteous. He would well be considered a poster-boy for a disciple today. Yet, you and I know the story: when called by the Lord to “sell all that you have and give to the poor…” he went away sorrowful, “for he had great possessions.” In some sense, this man did not merely have great possessions — he was greatly possessed by his possessions. There is nothing wrong with having great possessions. The danger is that it has such a hold over our lives we cannot really follow Jesus. I wish to say that I am unlike this man, freed from material grip in my life. Alas, I, too, am gripped by material things that hold sway over my life. The Lord is right, I cannot serve both God and money (Matt 6:24.) In calling us to give, God is actually presenting us with the opportunity to deepen His Lordship in our lives. The church grows as more and more of us are set free from the grip of money in our hearts, and Jesus is the Lord of our lives. This is a very critical part of discipleship in our modern materialistic world. May we give as our Lord so directs and find our hearts freed to follow Him more fully. Join us in building His Church!

Rev Dr Chua Chung Kai

10 February 2023

My Journey as a Faith-Raising Chairman

The Search
In 2008, when we had to renew the lease of our church office at Bukit Merah Central, our search for a third property began. It was to be a production and training centre with office spaces to support it.

As chairman of the Property Search Task Force, finding a non-residential property of about 20,000 sq ft at the fringe of the central business district and near an MRT station, at a price of not more than $1,000 psf, was not an easy job.

Nevertheless, I was mindful to approach the project with our core value of efficacy, and not effectiveness or efficiency. We waited upon the Lord to do the God-thing, in God’s time, in God’s way, with God’s motive, to achieve the God-result. We did not attempt to maximize our search by putting up advertisements, contacting as many estate agents as possible, viewing every prospective property, etc. We simply waited for divine appointments to accomplish the divine assignment in divine alignment.

The Lord Has Spoken
Lo and behold, I was introduced to a Christian fundraiser for a Christian charitable organisation, who knew the developer of CT Hub and saw the development as a potential for Christian organisations that needed large spaces for their use. The developer gave us a free hand in taking as much space as we wanted. It was both a privilege and an awesome responsibility.

 

As the chairman of the Task Force, I wanted to be doubly sure that CT Hub was the place from the Lord. One part of me was tempted to take more space, given the attractive price and features. The other part of me believed that no matter how attractive the place was, if it was not from the Lord, we must give it a miss and look elsewhere.

In my solitude time, the Lord spoke to me from Exodus 16. In verse 16, on the manna that the Lord was going to provide, the Lord commanded the Israelites through Moses, “Everyone is to gather as much as they need …” and added that no one was to keep any of it until morning. While the majority obeyed, some Israelites paid no attention to the command and kept part of it until morning. However, the next day, it was full of maggots and began to smell.

 

Additionally, God commanded the people that on the sixth day, they were to collect twice as much for each person as the seventh day would be a day of Sabbath rest (v.26). Nevertheless, some people disobeyed and went out to gather manna on the seventh day, but they found none. Such is the kiasu spirit of a man.

The Lord impressed upon me from these two incidents, “Take only what you need. Don’t look for what I have already provided.” There were no accidents! The Lord had spoken. My heart was rested. The Lord had identified — and provided — His third property for Covenant EFC. But that’s not the end of the story!

Platform for Faith-Raising
Having found the property, I thought my job was done. But it was not so. Elder Hock Choy, the Board Chairman, asked me to be the fundraising chairman to raise $25M for this property! Wow, $25M! “What if I failed?” I thought to myself. I didn’t want the job. Then in one of the Board dawn prayers, God chided me through a word shared by Ps Kay Kiong from Isaiah 49:6, “It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.”

There and then, I knew the LORD was asking me if I thought the job was beneath me; to think again — do I know whom I am really serving? And so, I said, “Yes, LORD. I serve the King!” God then showed me that the fundraising is really a platform for faith-raising in the congregation. My real job title is not the Fundraising Chairman, but Faithraising Chairman. To do this, I am to lead the congregation to do the following:

  • To make decisions based on the SPO paradigm: Spiritual, Personal and then Organisational — to seek to listen to the voice of God for themselves first, then to obey that voice (be it to give and if so, how much, or not to give as the case may be)
  • To walk by faith and not by sight (2 Cor 5:7)

 

Exhilarating Journey
It was an exhilarating journey — the easiest fundraising job! The people simply gave and gave. There were no fundraising dinners or events. Just lovingly, consistently and creatively pointing the congregation to these two paradigms in one way or another, month after month, as I joyously addressed the church, “Good morning, Church! Good morning, Committee!” and with a “Ruach!” battle cry.

Ps Sebastian Quek

31 January 2023

“It’s Not Much, but It’s Yours”

As we prayed about the Seed Fund, we were led to give an amount that was very large for us. Though it wasn’t emptying our accounts, it left us with very little savings.

I was the sole breadwinner and not earning very much. My monthly salary wasn’t enough to cover my family’s monthly expenses, and we had to get by through the savings from my year-end bonus. Right around that time, we decided to terminate some of my insurance policies so that we can have more savings and not be so tight financially. I had initially thought that if God required it of us, I would give to the building fund the amount I would save from that. However, God impressed on my heart a bigger amount.

We decided to obey. Though we were living from month to month now, God has blessed us much. We no longer have to buy clothes and toys for my kids. We have been blessed with so many hand-me-downs from friends and neighbours that we don’t have enough space at home to keep them. We even had to decline some of the blessings that came our way! I have just received my bonus letter. I’m glad that we now have some savings to tide us through another year.

I am grateful for the reminder of how faithful God is. Since then, He has blessed us even more and we aren’t too financially constrained. We are praying for this new round of seed funding for His Kingdom!

Jonathan Goh

Covenant East
June 2022