Dear Church,

The Church world of every tradition remembered last weekend as the Day of Pentecost. It’s the official birth date of the Church when the Holy Spirit was poured out as God had promised.

“When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance” (Acts 2:1-4)

What happened on that day was of great significance to all of us in 3 ways:

1. The Church was destined to be birthed with power. The disciples were to wait until they received power – divine dunamis, supernatural power, before they fanned out to express their belief in the suffering, death and resurrection of Christ (Lk. 24:46-48). It was to be a celebration of power: “Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.” (Lk. 24:49)
2. The Church’s responsibility is to be a witness wherever and in whatever situation she may be in. “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1:7-8)
3. This call to be a “witness” is possible because they would be overshadowed and endued with the power of the Holy Spirit. “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you…” (Acts 1:8)

God has blessed Metro Tabernacle in so many ways. We are blessed to have a large and faithful congregation who is supportive of the vision and direction of the church. But we need to ask God specifically to give us the passion and anointing to win the lost soul, preach the Gospel to the unsaved and bring them to our loving Savior, Jesus Christ.

Soul winning is a clear sign of a Church that is following after Christ:

“And He said to them, “Follow Me [as My disciples, accepting Me as your Master and Teacher and walking the same path of life that I walk], and I will make you fishers of men” (Matt. 4:19)

Thank God for leading and making the church available for other believers to come to worship and grow with us. This kind of movement should be a result of God’s leading in an individual’s heart and life’s experience. They are welcome to know and join our family, but our priority must be to win the lost. We are to “win the lost and not be a keeper of aquariums”, displaying the blessings, abilities, facilities, giftedness to attract other believers to join us.

If we only concentrate on transfer growth, it adds nothing to the Kingdom of God, just a transference of pockets, and if we are not careful, we may even be guilty of discouraging and, God forbid, destroying smaller congregations. Some have even had the audacity and arrogance to declare they are the best. None of God’s family unit is better than another irrespective of their size or ability.

Let’s welcome those whom the Lord leads to us but let Metro Tabernacle be a soul- winning Church. Go out and bring in the unchurched and unsaved to every service and share the love of God with them.

God Bless You.

Your Pastors, Pastor Ong & Pastor Nancy