Filipina Ministry and Church Matters
We have previously shared about a group of Filipina ladies that gather regularly on Sundays after service. This group has been meeting since 1985, and for years, our member Pat Chan has been faithfully caring for the ladies. Till today, this group continues to meet with Pat, and more recently, another member, Sze Gar has joined them.
Most of the ladies in this group work as domestic helpers or nursing assistants, and due to their unpredictable work schedule, they are not able to attend church service weekly. However, they make an effort to attend whenever they have a break from work, and there is always a group of them gathered in a room on level 3 on Sundays.
In 2025, Sze Gar went through the basics of the gospel with these ladies once a month. Using the God-Man-Christ framework, they learned and clarified who God is, how He made man and how man sinned, our need for Christ and how the gospel demands a response. As Sze Gar shared previously, this was intentional as many of them come from a Roman Catholic background or have family members who are still Roman Catholics. Knowing the gospel helps them to reflect on what they believe, equip the Christians to share with their family members, and provide a framework for their own Bible reading.
Another question that arose through their studies is the topic of church membership, Recently, over three Sundays from May to July, a special Church Matters class was held for them. The pastors and staff met the ladies to explain what the Bible says about church membership, why it is important, and what it looks like here at Grace. The ladies were eager to learn and also asked good questions about what was taught and how they should think about this topic.
A special lunch was also held to celebrate the end of this series. This also allowed the pastors and staff and the ladies to get to know each other in a more relaxed and casual setting. It was certainly an encouraging time of sharing. Some ladies how they came to faith while others shared how they brought others or were brought to GBC by another member of the group. It is not uncommon for visitors to join the group and even that morning, two first-time visitors to GBC joined them for lunch!
This was also an opportunity for them to to ask questions about membership or certain doctrines and articulate some of their fears and hesitation about becoming members. This is one area that the church can continue to pray for – that the ladies will be clear about what they believe, and seek to be a part of a local church where they can grow in and also love and serve.
As a church, we can pray for these ladies as they deal with sometimes demanding work schedules and job scopes. Pray for God to continue to sustain them and that they will also draw near to God in the midst of their challenges. Pray that they will also grow in their time here in Singapore and GBC, that the gospel will be clearer and dearer to them.
Church, we can also pray that God will enlarge our hearts as individuals and also as a church to see the needs of the foreigners in our midst. God has graciously allowed for the nations to gather in Singapore as they work, live and study together with us. Let us seek to live out the gospel and be ready to share it whenever we can.
If you would like to find out more about how you can help with this group, would like to join this group or know someone that would be keen to join, feel free to contact Sze Gar (tsgar@hotmail.com).