Our Story
To understand ourselves and our place in this generation, we need to know how we fit into the larger story - God’s story.
In learning what God has been doing across time, we can bring forth His promises, innovatively carry out His work, and bear the fruits of past generations.
Coming out in faithfulness, Simon and Randy led street meetings in Ama Keng Village. Source: National Archives of Singapore
When the flawed becomes extraordinary
Our history at Centre of New Life (CNL) has been an unusual one because we saw God using flawed individuals and dismal circumstances to create something extraordinary. In fact, CNL was born out of Ama Keng and Thong Hoe villages, places steeped in idolatry, and was superstitiously named the ‘devil’s stronghold’. God raised two young men, Simon Chan and Randy Sing, to start a new work here, and they later became one of Singapore’s greatest theologians and missionaries.
1970: God was our Shepherd
Known then as Ephratah Assembly, or the ‘faithfuls’, the small congregation of 15 adults used to meet as a tight-knit community. In the next decade, the church went through a period of turbulence, changing pastoral hands more than 10 times. Still, God moved through the lives of these young believers, so that they continued to journey together, from strength to strength, and faith to faith. And so we honour the contributions of Sister Deborah K.C. Tan, Brothers Francis P.W. Cheong, John Gunasagran and Dennis Koh, Pastors Wong Chang Heng and Pail Tan, Reverend Andrew B.H. Yeo, Charles Tan, Fred and Cecilia Durrant who have ploughed into the work of starting and building Ephratah.
Eventually, Ephratah opened its doors to Pastor Lawrence and Helen Ong. God’d called them to be who left Bethel Assembly of God at God’s calling to be church planters and the word God had given to them:
“God, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer's; he makes me tread on my high places.” - Habakkuk 3:19 (ESV)
Pastor Lawrence and Helen Ong embarked on a clean sweep by not only moving the church out of a place of inaccessibility, but also changing its name to Centre of New Life - a statement of commitment to continue nurturing Christ-centered communities.
This movement sparked a revival in the church, awakening a generation that stepped forward to lay the foundations of CNL in daring faith.
This awakening translated itself most visibly in CNL’s missionary efforts. Since the time when its pioneers planted the word of God in Ama Keng and Thong Hoe, CNL had understood that the seed sowed in us had always been a move towards missions. Even without significant resources and money, the young church caught the heartbeat of its missional calling and decided to take its first foray into the Philippines, eventually other parts of Asia, and most recently Sydney.
Through our missionary efforts, we do not simply seek to save souls; instead, by planting centres of new life, we empower local communities to reorder their lives - regardless of their hopes and challenges - around Christ.
1990: Embracing Missional Calling in Daring Faith
As CNL grew, however, the church became acutely aware that it had no permanent home. While settling down would offer the congregation a sense of stability, CNL wanted to ensure that a physical establishment would not confine the way the church acted and thought. “CNL needs a priestly grounding, but that will not come from its geographical location. Our vision in planting the church must be larger than the building itself,” reflected Ps Ong.
Even in this dilemma, God established the plans He had for us. He gave new meaning to our nomadic nature through a prophetic encounter with Ps Ong.
Instead of scaling the church at a singular place as a traditional church would, He challenged Ps Ong to plant a multi-centered Church in Singapore, reflective of its missional efforts across Asia.
“All through human history, we see ourselves pursuing ideas and things that can inspire meaning, happiness, and a sense of belonging.”
2010 - present: A New Generation Reaching People and Transforming Lives
At this present juncture, how can we continue carrying a sense of our history while looking ahead to the plans God has in store for us? We can do so by taking our place as Kingdom leaders who, despite different personalities and backgrounds, become a model and catalyst of new life for the world.
Our defining moment came through a prophecy, when we pivoted from a traditional congregation amassing approach to a multi-centered matrix across various local communities. This approach acknowledges the diversity of communities across Singapore and Asia, and caught the missional heart that is core to CNL’s history.