When the topic of planting a church in Singapore is discussed, we can expect to hear concerns raised about whether such a project is practical. Our culture prizes pragmatism, and it may not be sensible to plant a church in Singapore especially when you consider the small size of our City State. Here are some reasons against it:

1. There is saturation. By some online directories, there are about 400 to 500 churches in Singapore.
2. There is limited space. If you want to buy your own space, you are looking at a huge price tag, and not every space is available for religious use.
3. There is no need to plant a ‘local church’ to reach a neighbourhood when you have high urban connectivity. People can travel relatively quickly across Singapore.

The above concerns have merit but allow me to present another perspective – one premised not so much on pragmatism, but on the church’s mission.

Onward and Outwards

We begin with the mission given. We know well the words of the Great Commission:

¹⁶ Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them.¹⁷ And when they saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted. ¹⁸ And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.¹⁹ Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:²⁰ Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen. (Matthew 18:16-20)

The word ‘mission’ comes from the Latin word missio, that is, to send out. Christ has sent out his church to make disciples of all nations, and to baptise them in the name of God.

What motivates our mission? Consider Jesus’ exhortation to his disciples shortly after his resurrection. He said to them:

²⁰ And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord.²¹ Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.²² And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost: (John 20:20-22)

The Triune God is, himself, intimately involved in the church’s mission. Recall the meaning of ‘mission’, and see how the Father sent the Son, the Son sends the church, and the Spirit is sent to the church. The message is clear. The church is not sent out alone on this mission. God is not uninvolved. Indeed, this mission that He sends us on is foremost his, and we are his humble instruments.

But what motivates God? We see a glimpse of this in Jesus’ High Priestly prayer where he said:

²⁵ O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee: but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me. ²⁶ And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them. (John 17: 25-26)

We see how the love of God flows out from within Himself toward His people. This then must push us to share with others the pleasure of our fellowship with God. One writer puts it well when he writes: The mission of the church comes from the overflow of love, from the uncontainable enjoyment of fellowship.¹

To Reach and Teach

We turn now to how the mission should be carried out, and we do so through the lens of church growth.

One writer observed that church growth in the Reformed context often involves either biological growth or transfer growth.² Biological growth is growth through covenant families. Children raised in godly homes, catechized and instructed in the church. These add to the numbers of the church ‘biologically’. Transfer growth is growth through the addition of people from other churches who develop Reformed convictions (e.g. through their own reading and learning) and leave their previous churches to find their home in a confessional Reformed church. These types of growth are entirely legitimate and, indeed, blessings, but they should not be the exclusive areas of growth in Reformed churches. There is also a need to reach the ‘unchurched’.

By the ‘unchurched’, I mean those who are not attending any church. This is a broad category, including those who have never heard the gospel, and those who were once church-going but, for various reasons, have stopped attending.

These are good things, but when we see this, do we think: this space is filled – we need to find another space and fill that as well.

Considering the above categories, there is a need to reach (the unchurched) and to teach (those gathered into the Reformed community). As one commentator observed, this was how the Apostles did it.³ They preached the gospel to reach the lost. From Acts 11:19, 20, some reached out to the Jews, and some spoke to the Gentiles. Once the church was gathered, the teaching continued. The Apostles wrote epistles to exhort the churches, instructing them in doctrine (e.g. the instruction on justification by faith in Romans). They proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance (Acts 28:31). They also taught through the way they lived their lives, setting an example for believers to follow (1 Timothy 4:12, 1 Corinthians 4:16, 1 Thessalonians 1:5-6). Following their example, we are also to reach the lost and faithfully instruct those entrusted into our fellowship.

Proliferation not Pragmatism

We understand that we are given a mission to reach and teach, but what does this mean for church planting?

We need to see the mission of the church as a wildfire that cannot be contained in a single congregation. The aim is proliferation. Rapid, unstoppable spread. This mission informs how we organize ourselves. We want to organize the church in a way that best allows us to accomplish this mission in our context, while remaining true to biblical principles.

We may have to ask ourselves, are we getting too large that space becomes a barrier to our reaching out to the unchurched? We look across the worship hall and see the pews filled. We look across the fellowship spaces and see the crowding. These are good things, but when we see this, do we think: this space is filled – we need to find another space and fill that as well.

We may also have to ask ourselves whether our size affects our ability to teach. Teaching can take place in a church that numbers in the thousands. There are modes of teaching (e.g. sermons, lectures, articles), that are suitable for such crowds. But what about the more personal modes? What about the teaching that occurs only in small groups where iron sharpens iron, and where bonds are forged for eternity?

I close with this comment: While pragmatic considerations have their place, they should not rule the day. The church of Jesus Christ has never been defined by pragmatism. It was not pragmatic for the early disciples to drop everything to follow Jesus. It was not pragmatic for them to keep following Him even in the face of persecution and death. But God is sovereign. By His power, thousands were brought into saving faith and a new life, all through the impractical and inconvenient early church. We should follow in their footsteps. To move by faith and “turn the world upside down” (Acts 17:6). Proliferate.