Zion Serangoon and Grace Bible-Presbyterian Church Partnership

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Zion Serangoon (ZSBPC) and Grace (GBPC) belong to a family of 11 sister churches in the Bible-Presbyterian Church In Singapore (BPCIS). In recent years, BPCIS has encouraged congregations with more resources to support those in transition—like Zion Bishan with Emmanuel, and Mount Hermon with Mount Horeb. These collaborations have brought renewal and revitalization to the churches involved.

In September 2024, Grace Session reached out to ZSBPC Session in view of the retirement of pastor, Rev. Dr. Tan Eng Boo. Grace church asked if Zion Serangoon church could assist in the aspect of pastoral leadership and succession.

After almost a year of prayerful consideration, ZSBPC Session sensed the Lord’s leading to partner with GBPC for the sake of the Gospel and the strengthening of His Church.

Broadly, here’s what this partnership involves (which takes effect from 1 Jan 26):

• Pastor Joseph Tee will serve part-time at GBPC as the Interim Pastor while continuing his

ministry with ZSBPC. We thank God for his willingness and joy in doing so.

• Pastor Wendell Chua will mentor Pastor Zhang Li Feng who was recently ordained as a

Minister of the Gospel

• Elder Oswald Goh will mentor deacons at Grace for eldership.

• Representatives of both Sessions will meet quarterly to pray, review, and strengthen this

partnership.

• ZSBPC preaching team will also support GBPC pulpit ministry in 2026.

The goal of this partnership is for ZSBPC to help Grace develop, assess, equip and mentor a strong composite team of ministry leaders (building up present & future pastors, elders, deacons and lay leaders) to lead the church in the years ahead.

Our (both ZSBPC & GBPC) prayer is that, by God’s grace, this partnership will bring about leadership succession and renewal at Grace with the guidance of Holy Spirit, just as the Lord has done through other BPCIS collaborations. The Apostle Paul exhorts us like this: “Therefore, as we have opportunity, we must work for the good of all, especially for those who belong to the household of faith.” (Galatians 6:10, HCSB)

ZSBPC & GBPC Session

Grace church is very grateful to the Lord for His leading in this matter & for ZSBPC leaders who are so willing to walk alongside us. Although we have some help in the area of pastoral leadership and succession, Grace session, lay leaders and members are still spear-heading all the other aspects of church ministries. Let’s pray that through this collaboration, the Lord will build us up and grow us as a church under a strong leadership team, having Christ as the Cornerstone, being founded on the Word of God and filled with His Spirit.

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Guarding the Deposit

First Timothy opened with an exhortation to beware of “different doctrine” and to avoid unprofitable speculations (1:3–4), and it closes with a final charge to Timothy to “guard the deposit” and “avoid irreverent babble” (6:20). But while Timothy is the chief addressee of this letter, these commands are really given to the whole church, for the “you” of “grace be with you” in verse 21 is plural, indicating that the entire church has a responsibility to attend only to reverent teaching — the truth delivered to the saints once for all (Jude 3).

Paul’s reference to “deposit” (1 Tim. 6:20) is important as it conveys the unchanging Word of God. In the original Greek, the construction was used of the solemn obligation of having been entrusted with another person’s possession with the responsibility to keep it safe and return it to the owner in the same condition in which it was received. In light of the Christian faith, this means the deposit of truth is “on loan” to the church who must keep it safe so that it can be “returned” to the Lord unchanged at the last day. Again we see that we are never permitted to water down the truth or make its content inoffensive to the world around us; rather, we are to guard it with our very lives. Dr. John MacArthur says, “Every Christian, especially if he is in ministry, has that sacred trust to guard the revelation of God” (The MacArthur Bible Commentary p. 1,800).

Originally published in Tabletalk August 2009 Issue, our daily Bible study magazine © Ligonier Ministries. Used by permission of Ligonier Ministries. All rights reserved.