Pastor Lawrence has been with Hope Singapore since moving to Singapore from Australia in 1991. He has been extensively involved in pastoral ministry beginning with the Polytechnic ministry. In 1993, Pastor Lawrence and team spearheaded missions work in Melaka, Malaysia. This culminated in a seed church being pioneered that is still growing. His heart for missions has led him to minister in churches in Australia, South Africa and South America.
Pastor Lawrence was also instrumental in establishing our worship ministry. Today he is the Deputy Director of our Equipping Division and directly oversees our Event Programming and Community Ministry. His ministry is marked with a prophetic dimension.
Pastor Lawrence also serves on the Central Committee of the Evangelical Fellowship of Singapore (EFOS) and the Board of Hope Centre (S), a non-profit organisation dedicated to empowering youth to build caring communities.
Pastor Lawrence is married to Pat, a dentist who serves fully with him. Pastor Lawrence holds a Bachelor of Applied Science (Physiotherapy) from Perth. Before joining the church staff, Pastor Lawrence worked as a senior physiotherapist at a local hospital and also in private practice.
Pastor Lawrence enjoys playing the flute, saxophone and a variety of outdoor sports.
Hope Centre 10th Anniversary Video
How to build a Community Ministry
During Jesus’ ministry on earth, he paid special attention to people in need. In the early church, leaders were carefully selected to take care of the physical needs of people around them.
As leaders, we build our people to serve in community ministry because God wants to use us as an agent of change for holistic ministry – body, soul and spirit – as we live in whole communities.
We believe the primary agent of the Kingdom of God is the local church (Eph 3:10) and the Community ministry is one of the main pillars in building a strong and biblical church.
We hope to reach people with physical, emotional and spiritual needs and provide opportunities for all to serve in caring and meeting the needs of others through building the community ministry that touches people and transforms lives.
Below is an acronym that can help to build the community ministry.
S hare the value
Even non-believers care, so how much more should we, as Christians, care for others?
Luke 6:32-33 "If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even `sinners' love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even `sinners' do that.”
Luke 6:36 “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.”
We do not need to have the gift of mercy or be the next Mother Teresa to show compassion to those in need. Simply be others-centred. Look around your neighbourhood or workplace. Read the newspapers/internet and watch TV with your hearts tuned to the news about the less fortunate in your city. Incorporate it as part of your outreach campaign!
Being actively involved in community ministry is not only biblical but a wise investment, as others outside the church can see we are interested in nation building. It adds balance to the other activities that we are engaged in.
A 
llocate resources – people and time
Identify people in the care group/unit who have a desire to serve in the community. Appoint a Community Ministry Co-ordinator. He/ she will help champion the co-ordination and organising unit / sub-district community care projects. Give them the support he/she needs to successfully carry out the projects! Help them to empower our members and attendees to get involved.
Allocate time to train the Community Ministry Coordinator. They need to understand the ministry to effectively serve. It also helps them to remain on the forefront of ministry issues and feel equipped; not only involved. This can be accomplished at regular meetings or at designated training meetings. Check out whether there is an organisation that promotes volunteerism in your city. They would likely have information or possibly courses that further our understanding of opportunities to serve the under-served in your city. Networking with other organisations can be beneficial from the short to long term.
Annual appreciation and thanksgiving events can build awareness of how your local church is making an impact in your community. It is also a good avenue for recognising our coordinators and members’ “heart” work, integrating new members, building cohesion among members, and taking time to reflect on and celebrate the past year's service.
L ifestyle of care
It should become part of our members’ daily lifestyle. As they continue to serve, they find their personal faith and church commitment strengthened in exercising love, touching lives of others and being touched in return. In empowering others, we ourselves become more alive.
To cultivate the lifestyle of care, start with something simple e.g. helping other students in their studies before moving to something more challenging e.g. visiting and befriending the terminally ill. May it be our growing desire to care.
Prov 11:25 “A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.”
Gal 6:9-10 “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.”
T ake ownership
Pray together for God’s direction as to what area to focus on. It may involve serving those with special needs or from a particular people group.
Mobilise each care group/unit to be involved in the community ministry project, be it small or significant; visitors – even pre-believers can get involved and serve!
There are numerous ideas how a church can serve the community, whether in a big or small way. Below are some suggestions.
30 ways to touch the community
- Soft drink giveaway
- Mineral water bottle giveaway
- Ice cream giveaway
- Wet tissue/ dry tissue giveaway
- Exam pointers giveaway
- Mother's day carnation giveaway
- Toilet cleaning
- Window washing
- Appreciation gifts/ parties for the police/ firemen/ nurses/ doctors etc.
- Blood pressure screening
- Collection of working toys/ soft toys
- Collection of unwanted furniture
- Cleaning one-room flats
- Collection of textbooks/ books
- Befriending and care of elderly
- Cooking for elderly
- Running errands for elderly
- Giving tuition for students from low income families
- Before and after school care of children from low income families
- Giving out balloon, candy, lollipop, mint sweets
- Newspaper and old clothing collection
- Collection of unwanted office equipment from multi-national companies
- Car wash
- Organise outing or gifts for orphanage children
- Organise monthly or quarterly bazaar sales to dispose of all items
- Organise children's story-telling contest
- Beach and park cleaning
- Newspaper or used cans collection
- Donating blood as a group
- Providing free/ low cost legal/ medical services for the needy
In conclusion, the local church is God’s agent to reach the world, and we are commanded to do good to others. With building a strong and impactful community ministry, we will be able to lead our people to be vibrant and active, with lives that look beyond themselves to extend the kingdom of God, filling it with His love!
References
- “101 Ways to Reach Your Community” Steve Sjogren; NavPress Publishing Group
- “50 Ways to Help Your Community” Steve Fiffer & Sharon Sloan Fiffer; Doubleday Dell Publishing Group
- “Churches That Make A Difference” Ronald J.Sider, Philip N.Olson, Heidi Rolland Unruh; Baker Book House Co.
- Sub- District Leader Course: Hope of God Church (Singapore)
- Hope Church (Singapore) Community Ministry webpage:
http://www.hopesingapore.org.sg/community.htm
- USA / Canada Mission Evangelism, church of the Nazarene website:
http://www.nazarenecompassion.org/12step.html
llocate resources – people and time
