For Such a Time as This – Sensing the Times

Arise Church and meet the Caleb Generation during this opportune season.

Our AG Family gathered for 2TIP on October 10, 2024 and sung these words during worship,
“You are worthy, O Lord so let this life bring you praise.” The worship was a time of preparation of our hearts for the message that we were to hear that morning.

Our speaker, Dr Kenny Tan, is the CEO of St Luke’s ElderCare (SLEC). St Luke’s Eldercare is an organization that reaches out to the elderly in Singapore. Dr Kenny is also the Senior Pastor of Zion Full Gospel Mission. He is a trained medical doctor and a lecturer at NTU and SIT. Dr Kenny’s passionate message to the Church was for her to sense the times. It was a plea to realize the circumstance that Singapore is in, sense what the Lord is doing and gather the Body of Christ to respond. For it is for ‘Such a Time as This’ that the Church is called to act.

Singapore Today

Singapore’s changing demographic started in the 1970s since the “Two is Enough” campaign. Now, we find ourselves in the midst of an ever-increasing aging population. By 2026, we are slated to join the ranks of ‘Super-aged’ countries such as Japan. The following paragraph holds some of the statistics that were presented.

Today, Singapore has about 600,000 seniors. This number will reach one million in 2030 where 1 in 4 people in Singapore would be a senior. The fertility rate has been around 1.2 in the last decade. However, Singapore’s fertility rate has dropped to less than 1 in 2023. The replacement rate of 2.1 would make recovery an arduous challenge. 13,000 seniors lived alone in the year 2000. In 2020, the number skyrocketed to 63,000. 1 in 10 of elders above the age of 65 will have dementia. The impact will certainly be felt on the economy, society and the church.

The Church’s Response

Some seniors are socially or physically isolated. Emotionally, it takes a toll and contributes to the declining mental health of a fearful population. There is the fear of dying alone. The anxiety of coping with a declining health and rising medical care cost. The statistics paint a picture of reality. Yet, it points to souls, sheep or absent members that the Church should not neglect but reach.

The conversation that the Church should now have been, how seniors should be mobilized for ministry in their next season of life. The Caleb generation can arise. Their race is not over. It is about defining seniors by their potential in the Lord. They can continue to grow and be involved in mentoring and nurturing and be contributing members of the Lord’s body who leave behind a godly legacy. Globally, this is something that the Church can catch on.

Dr Kenny shared that Active Aging Centres (AAC) in Singapore enables the community (Enter in, The Church!) to partner with the medical community in providing social prescriptions for the elderly. SLEC has AACs which now supports 31,000 elders. In carrying the spiritual mandate of the gospel, SLEC also partners with churches, both big and small, to reach out to seniors and its foreign staffs. Dr Kenny shared that the Church can bring awareness through Christian Education, partner with Christian faith-based organizations and collaborate beyond denominational and generational walls.

Announcement

The AG Executive Committee thanked Rev Isaiah Fadzlin who pioneered the NextGen AG Singapore and led it with passion and commitment. Ps Jay Ong from Calvary Assembly of God will now lead the NextGen alongside a team to provide a platform and support for Children, Youth, Campus and Young Adults leaders and ministries.