Adventist Crossroads
February - April 1999

New Captain at the Helm

He is the new president of the Seventh-day Adventist Mission (Singapore) as of April 16,1999, but Pastor Toh See Wei is no stranger to us. His varied career in the Church started in 1988 when he joined the then San Yu High School (SYHS) as a teacher and chaplain. Barely three years later he became a church pastor with the West Malaysia Mission. A year and a half later he returned to teach at the SYHS and in 1995 was appointed the principal. From 1997 he served as the Singapore Mission secretary till his appointment as the president.
Editor: Pastor Toh, as the leader of the Adventist Church in Singapore, what role do you see yourself in?
Pastor Toh: When I accepted the appointment I was very encouraged by the prayers and visits of many members and colleagues. I see myself as captain of a ship with my fellow colleagues and church members as the crew. It is a team ministry to reach out to the communities in Singapore with the Good News of Jesus Christ.
Editor: What positive area of the work in Singapore would you like to further strengthen and how?
Pastor Toh: Under the leadership of Pastor Matthew Yuen, the former Mission president, the Church in Singapore has developed a very strong team ministry with a clear direction. This team spirit among the pastors and the unity in direction of the Church is evident in all the local churches through the sermons, and other forms of church communications. I believe this team spirit and unity in direction must be continually fostered and strengthened so that the whole Church can be energized to move as one body to fulfill the Gospel Commission.
Editor: And the weak areas?
Pastor Toh: The Church though weak, is still the beloved object of God’s love. An area perceived to be weak is evangelism. There should be a change in our methods and a shift in paradigm. We must use the "small groups" method. In the last couple of years the Mission has been providing the pastors and some members training and materials to this end. This is already starting to bear fruits. However, this effort must be sustained.
Editor: During your term of office what do you envision for the Church in Singapore?
Pastor Toh: I envision that the Church will grow both in spiritual maturity and in numbers in the next few years. An immediate goal is to achieve Conference status within a year. Conference status is granted by the World SDA Church in recognition to, among other things, the maturity of a Mission in its financial self-sufficiency and its contribution in personnel and resources to the global work of the Church. I also forsee the emergence of a team of specialist pastors. An example is Pastor Johnny Kan who specializes in discipleship training. The specialized skills will help lay-training to be more effective. It will bring us closer to realizing our goals.

Camp 40
John Tan
Youth Ministry

Forty youth leaders and members from the various SDA church youth groups gathered recently over 40 hours in the eastern part of the island. Camp 40, held from 16 to 18 April at the Navigators Singapore headquarter, had four main objectives:
a. To equip participants with basic spir itual formation skills;
b.To expose participants to basic leadership concepts;
c.To provide opportunities for the youth groups to do strategic planning; and
d.To foster bonding between members from the various youth groups.
The camp’s tight schedule saw sessions ending as late as midnight and campers having to rise by six the next morning. Topics covered included the principles of quiet time, personal Bible study, prayer and witnessing. Participants had hands-on experience practicing and planning group-building exercises like creating a loving atmosphere and healthy group image-building.
Perhaps one of the highlights of the camp was the affirmation and dedication of the youth group leaders held on the camp’s second and final night. The campers treated their leaders to a surprise affirmation ceremony complete with standing ovation and certificates and gift presentations. Camp trainer John Tan then led in a highly-charged dedication ceremony for these leaders.
Throughout the camp, participants were constantly bombarded with one key word - "intentional". Everything has to be done intentionally if desired results are to be achieved.
An evaluation conducted at the end of the camp revealed that an overwhelming majority of the campers rated the topics, worship and fellowship experienced as good and excellent. "Let’s do it again!" one remarked.

Thank you,Pastor Kan

To some, 1 April 1999, does not mean anything. To others, it is April Fool’s day. But for the Singapore Mission it holds unusual significance—Pastor Steven Kan retired after 26 years of work with the Church.
So what is so unusual about that, you may ask? For one, he has worked in the Mission longer than the Mission has existed. This is because when he first started work it was in the West Malaysia-Singapore Mission. Only in 1988 did the Singapore Mission come of age. It is also unusual because this is the first ever retirement in the Singapore Mission.
Our thanks to Pastor Kan. We wish him an enjoyable retirement

Leaving But Staying

Four and a half years ago when the leadership at the Singapore Mission seemed so uncertain with the departure of Pastor Phoon Chek Yat after a very brief term of office, Pastor Matthew Yuen was appointed as president.
His gentle manners lend him naturally to a leadership style that encourage cohesiveness in the pastoral team.He has also been instrumental in forging a united effort among the local churches to support the annual jumble sale of the San Yu Adventist School. For health reasons, Pastor Yuen has decided to step down. His love for ministry in the church will be given greater expression as he pastors the Jurong East Chinese Church.
Thank you, Pastor Yuen. We are glad you are still part of the team.

San Yu Adventist School - 1 April 1999 Report
Primary School Students 65
Secondary School Students 270
Primary -SDA 38%
Primary - Non-SDA 62%
Secondary - SDA 7%
Secondary - Non-SDA 93%