Uni Ministries

It is great news to know that there's a sizeable number of Christian students in the largely secular universities in Singapore. The same rules hold: live in religious and racial harmony to safeguard the nation's security. We live alongside the Muslim, Buddhist, and other smaller religious groups around the campus, thinking of how to evangelise (maybe) while trying hard to be sensitive to them lest we say or do something offensive. 

I've been in NUS for half a semester. So far, I have seen or heard of 5 Christians group on campus. Some official, some not. I am rather heavily involved in two of them. From what I can tell so far, as a freshman, these groups, even though Christian, they say, do not exactly share the same values. I am not qualified to comment on all 5, because I have no clue to how all of them work except for the 2 that I am in. 

Regenerate  

"New Lord, new life, in Christ – receiving, growing and continuing in the new life in Christ"

Regenerate was planted in NUS by staff from one of the churches in Singapore. The main aim of regenerate is to help students understand the bible better through expository teaching and exploration of the bible during bible studies, led by full time bible teachers from the church. We use tools from the book "Dig Deeper" to help us discover and dig deeper into God's word. 

The bible studies were largely helpful, and I would say with certainty that they are focused on Jesus, not what we do. Being a fairly new ministry in NUS, regen has grown over the past couple of years. I have found myself learning a lot more and encouraged to read to bible on my own, using the tools and skills taught during bible studies. Having the bible as the core of the ministry is important, because the Word of God is not replaceable by any other human ideologies or literature. 

USP Ministry

"We are united by the transforming power of the gospel, working together for the advancement of the gospel in our community."

USP Ministry is a fully student-led and student-run ministry. It caters to the Christian community in the NUS USP. The main aim of this ministry is to gather Christians in the programme, encourage each other and work as a single unit to reach out to the community both in the residential college and the university. Similar to regenerate, students come from different churches that teach different things about the bible, and have slightly different values. However, the absence of bible teachers means that no one is there to teach the bible, or to ensure the validity of what was being shared during devotions. 

Without a proper structure, USP Ministry has been rather slow and cold to respond to needs of the ministry. When a problem arises, there isn't anyone you can approach to discuss about what can be done. There's an extremely high tendency for people to stick within their own comfort zone. Being a Christian community, if you do not even know what your issues are within the ministry and just want to remain status quo, nothing can be done. 

By no means am I saying that God won't touch the hearts of the non-believers in the community. We are called to live lives in a manner that honour and glorify God. We have to start with our Christian community before we say that we want to reach out. No amount of equipping and knowledge will be useful if they are all kept to yourselves. How can you love others when you don't first love Christ and your brothers and sisters who are in need?

I am in no position to judge either ministry. If I have to, I will choose to drop the USP Ministry. Yes, it has potential to grow and it is a good initiative. But I am not comfortable with a group that does not embrace the gospel and what we are taught we ought to do.