Editorial

In the first half of 2024, during a conversation at a BPCIS standing committee meeting, Ps Peter Warren of Mt Horeb shared with Ps Daniel of Mt Hermon about their search for a new place to worship post-June 2024. 

At the time, Hebron had plans to conduct significant renovations to their premises, which would take an estimated 18 months, so the three churches worshipping in Choa Chu Kang Bible Centre (CCKBC)l– Hebron, Mt Gerizim, and Mt Horeb – each had to find an alternative place of worship.

Hermon herself had freshly emerged from the task of relocating from CCKBC to their current place in Henderson, in 2022, so we well appreciated the challenge of finding a suitable home in a costly and saturated landscape, where the demand for religious places of worship far exceeds the space allocated for this purpose. 

Consequently, Hermon’s leaders were very willing to meet Horeb’s needs and promptly extended an invitation for them to consider using Henderson for their Sunday services. Horeb landed on a 2:00 pm worship timeslot, and an arrangement for their use of Henderson in the afternoons for 18 months. By God’s grace, the sharing of Henderson has brought both churches closer together, and we thank God that we have recently extended this arrangement. 

In this gospel partnership between our churches, Hermon has graciously benefitted:

Firstly, we now have an afternoon service in Henderson. We thank God for Horeb also being willing to be co-partners in our pulpit ministry, whereby the same sermon is preached in Hermon and Horeb, thus enabling Hermonites to have an alternate service to attend. 

Secondly, they have graciously shifted their Holy Communion service from 1^st Sunday to 3^rd Sunday. In so doing, there are now two Holy Communion services conducted each month in Hendership. One at 9.30 am on the 1^st Sunday of the month (Hermon) and the second at 2:00 pm on the 3^rd Sunday of the month (Horeb). This has been a welcome development for Hermonites who are unable to regularly attend our 1^st Sunday Communion services due to work or caregiving responsibilities. 

Thirdly, Horeb has added enthusiasm and numbers to our bi-annual church camps and our fortnightly Small Group Leaders training. As Hermon is not a large church, the presence of Horebians is noticeable and warmly felt. They have been a blessed encouragement through their presence and their participation in our extended family life. 

Finally, Hermon has been anticipating the new HDB town that will be constructed on the former Keppel Club. An estimated 10,000 flats will be built over the next decade and we sense that God has brought us back to Henderson for this purpose. It seems that He has provided additional resources in the form of Horeb for the work He has in mind for Hermon.

Providentially, both Hermon and Horeb have come full cycle in terms of our geographical ministry. Hermon was sent by Carmel as an outreach to the then-new HDB estate of Telok Blangah. Horeb was established as a continued outreach at Redhill after Carmel moved to West Coast. Today, both Hermon and Horeb are poised to be ready to minister to a new estate just at the end of the Henderson area, a stone’s throw away from where we both began. 

Only God could have orchestrated the journey of Hermon and Horeb in this way. His ways are infinitely higher than ours and it is thus for us to keenly sense His leading and be obediently walking in step with Him. To God be the glory.

Pastor Daniel is Senior Pastor of Mt Hermon BP Church, and a father to two young adult daughters, Inez and Elsa. 

Ps Luwin serves as Assistant Pastor of Mt Hermon BP Church, and enjoys watching and playing football in his leisure time!