Hi church, my name is Priscilla. In the beginning of 2009, I was full of excitement about enrolling into SOT. However, a tragedy took place in my family. My father collapsed one day and was rushed to hospital in a critical condition. The doctors tried to revive him, but it was in vain. My family was in a state of shock at my dad’s sudden death and we went through a time of grief and great uncertainty for the future.

To make matters worse, my father left behind a business and a huge pile of debts. After his death, his creditors came after us and demanded for money. The banks started calling and sending their letters to demand for payment. Almost daily, I would receive calls from banks and lawyer letters that threatened to sue us. I was so tired and afraid of the calls that I resorted to plucking out the phone line. The business that my father left was in chaos. There were uncompleted projects and since we were not familiar with the operations of the company, my family did not know what to do and wanted to close down the company. All that happened were physically and emotionally draining for us.

I wanted to give up the idea of going to SOT as I was afraid I would not be able to cope financially. But thank God for my mother, who encouraged me to go ahead and enrol into SOT. She assured me that our family was behind my decision and would support me financially.

During the SOT orientation, even though I looked excited, I carried a heavy heart. I was constantly disturbed and affected by the death of my father and the financial situation my family was in. During one of the sessions, God spoke to me through Hebrews 12:1 “Therefore, since we have great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.” I thought to myself, if the devil wants to take me down, then I shall make it even harder for him.

My 5 months in SOT proved to be the best decision I ever made. One of the principles I’ve learned in SOT is found in The Sermon On The Mount series, where I learned the importance of developing good relationship with people, being a peace maker and learning how to relate to people that are different from me. Applying this knowledge has actually enabled me to resolve conflicts among my colleagues at work.

Another principle that I’ve learned in Christian Faith and Ministry is the Lifestyle of Tithing and Giving. This is a lesson that touched me deeply. Despite the lack of finances, I continued to sow into the Kingdom of God faithfully. The teaching on sowing and reaping has helped me to navigate through the problems we faced in my dad’s company. As a result, my family was able to slowly clear the debts and business even began to pick up.

Today, the company is doing well and by God’s grace, we managed to finish the uncompleted projects and secured new projects in spite of the economic downturn. While other companies are cutting bonuses and salaries, we gave out pay increments and performance bonuses to our staff because we experienced tremendous breakthrough in our sales. In a span of 6 months, we hit an all time sales record of S$1.6million dollars. Praise the Lord!

As I went through the series on Home Cell Leadership, God began to rekindled my vision of being a cell group leader. Now I am undergoing training and I’m looking forward to leading a cell group within a year.

Joining SOT 2009 was a decision I never regretted. And I thank my family, especially my mom, for all their support and encouragement. The Bible says that “God is faithful even when we are faithless.” Through SOT, the presence and encounters I have had with God has built up my faith, love and trust in Him. Even though I lost my earthly father, God has never failed to fill the emptiness within me.

I want to thank Pastor Kong and Pastor Bobby for the teachings and impartation during SOT and most importantly I want to thank God because with Him all things are possible.

Hi friends. My name is Joanna from N282. I am a graduate of the School of Theology 2009.

One of the modules to learn in SOT is Homilectics, which means the art of preaching. Not only we have to learn the theory, we have to apply it practically too! We prepared 10 sermon outlines in total and preached 5 of them. 

It was fun sharing my revelations while preparing it. My first audience was my team mates. We laughed at our bloopers and whangdoodles. My team mates are very supportive and encouraging. This gives me great courage to preach the word of God. 

By having 10 book review assignments, 10 sermon outlines, 15 mock cellgroups in a week and 4 hours of non-stop bible study every day, it is no doubt that my capacity is being stretched. But just like a rubber band, once it is stretched, the size of it will never the same. 

Through SOT, my walk with God gets even closer. I have not only received head knowledge but I have also experienced God myself. Through times like this, God has shown Himself more faithful to me even when I am not faithful. 

All in all, I encourage you to join SOT. Just like what other SOT graduates will always say, it is an experience that you will never forget. =)

Hi! my name is Weijian and I am from N423. I had just finished my National Service (NS) last year November before I enrolled for School of Theology (SOT) this year 2009.

In the beginning, I do not have any intention to go SOT this year as I always thought that SOT is for the very mature members in the church like the PCGL, CGL, church staffs etc. Even a good friend of mine encouraged me to go SOT as she told me that I should make good use of this time before I enrolled in the university. But without much consideration, I turned down her good intentions as the school fee is one of the major hindrances.  Then on one Saturday, while I was travelling on a train to church, God spoke to me to enroll myself into SOT. Initially I thought it was just a random thought so I did not think much about it. That same day during the pre-service prayer meeting, as pastor Zhuang began to pray for the upcoming SOT students, I began to feel moved in my heart. At the end of the meeting, I told God that if He is going to show me one more confirmation, I will go for SOT this year. And true enough, just 15 minutes before service, my CGL told me to meet Yilun after service. Immediately after service, Yilun met some of the zone members and she encouraged us to go for SOT. By the end of this meeting, I was convicted to enroll myself into SOT 2009.

During this five and half month of SOT, there were countless of close encounters with God. My passion for Him was ignited to another level. I enjoyed those ‘moving in the spirit’ sessions with Pastor Derek and Pastor Ming, they were unforgettable, and I do not even know how many times I had cried in the presence of God. Pastor Kong, Pastor Tan, Pastor Aries and Pastor Bobby’s teachings on the word of God brought laughter and convictions.  My values were challenged, my attitude was fine-tuned and my character was molded.

I had a lot of fun in SOT as well. I will never forget all the friendships that were crafted in SOT.  There are times all of us were struggling to stay awake during lessons, times where we practiced the gifts of the Spirit on one another, times when we made full use of the breaks to sleep, times when we stay up late in the nights to complete our assignments, the awkward moments we had during mock cg and preaching tests and so much more. Last but not least, my hunger for God grew even more. I had never regretted coming to SOT though there are many sacrifices that need to be made. Lastly, I believe all of us should really go for SOT. I assure you that you will definitely fall in love with God once again in SOT.

Hi friends. My name is Yuliana from N423. I am a graduate of the School of Theology 2009. 

I used to think that SOT is not for me. I remembered I told my leader that it is impossible for me to go, bible study is just enough for me. But I was prompted by God to go this year. And I have never regretted this decision in my life.  

The friendships that I have made in SOT is unforgettable. I have met friends from Sweden, India, China Hongkong, Korea & Japan. These friends also had a calling from God to join SOT. This is like an international school, where different nations come together to know God more. 

I remembered very vividly, once Pastor Derek was leading the meeting. He was moving in the gifts of the Holy Spirit in the session, it was the first time that I felt so near to God. I started to tear, God began to give me flashbacks of my life and comforted me. God gave me a vision of what I am going to be. 

I went to my home country for my mission trip. It was the first time I saw my own countrymen worshiping God passionately. I was very touched by their love for God. And God spoke to me during that session about being a successful professional to bless the lost & the needy.

After SOT, I know that I have yet to finished my race. There are still many things that I have yet to do. I grew to be more fervent about God’s purpose. That is to love people wholeheartedly, love God fervently. 

SOT has really transformed my life in these 5 months. I experienced a heart “operation”. I had a greater understanding of the love of God so that His love can manifest out from me. It is the goodness of God that leads to man’s repentance. 

If you think that you have known God enough, think again. There’s so many things to learn about Him! Just join SOT, it will be an experience you will never forget. = )

Hi LYL, I’m Joycelyn from W479.

Four and a half months ago, I enrolled myself into School of Theology 2009. I attended bible school because I want to be equipped with the word of God and for my capacity to be expanded.

Truly, my capacity was greatly enlarged when it comes to the Week of Prayer. Everyday I need to wake up very early at 5am and reach JW to pray. God is good all the time, He never fails to turn up in my personal time with Him during all the 3 Week of Prayer we had in SOT. God renewed my visions again and again during those Prayer Meetings and I could still remember that I would just weep in the midst of the prayer meetings.

During the lessons on Cultural Mandate, I felt challenged to really shine in the marketplace and to excel in my career as an Accounts Assistant. Although it’s a small position in the Finance Department, I determined to do my best to shine for God. It’s not just the position it’s about the attitude for excellence. I want to thank God for motivating me during my time in SOT. With a renewed vision and equipped capacity, I can run the vision of Pastor Kong to penetrate the marketplace with greater purposes.