Reflections 2020: My first "ministry" in Hope Church

God's never done with just landing you in a church - that's just the first step; where the potter plonks a pile of clay onto his pottery wheel. You can read about how I got yanked onto the "pottery wheel" here: https://historymakers-jonnyboy.blogspot.com/2020/05/reflections-2020-how-god-led-me-to-hope.html

In Hope church they have 4 steps called the "ABCD"

• Acknowledge Jesus as your Lord & Saviour
• Belong to a local church
• Contribute to God's work
• Disciple others to follow Jesus

Now that I was well-settled-down with my LG in Hope church, I am deemed to have completed steps "A" and "B". But, I wasn't keen on moving on to step "C" as yet. Why? Partly because I'm lazy and mainly because I've my reservations ಠ~ಠ

I have served in church for the longest time. I know how it works. I know the different kinds of Christians that I'll encounter. In fact, I was serving in high-capacity in 6 ministries in my first church until God called me to step down because I was too used to it (and more)! He did a powerful work in my life through that season and I'm glad that it was ranked #9 most read article for all of Thir.st's 2019 publications.

You can read more about my story by clicking the screenshot.

But I also know that it is through serving in church that you truly integrate into the body of Christ. God works through the struggles, the friction and the victories that you will accomplish throughout your time in ministry and that's where you will see growth in your spiritual life. After all James says it quite clearly: 

James 2:17 "...Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead"
James 2:24 "You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only."

 
I knew that serving in church is the byproduct of my relationship with God. But, I felt that it wasn't time yet? Until and unless God tugs at my heart to return to the battlefield, I'd like to stay in-camp in the comfort of my bunk. LOL.

So, God then began His tugging. As I got introduced to many other friends in church, they will always ask "So, what ministry are you serving in?" and I'll be like "I'm serving in my LG as a guitarist" and they'll be like "Oh that's great! But that's not a ministry" and I'll be like "IKR. See how it goes (ʘ‿ʘ)"

This happened SUPER REGULARLY and I knew God was using these irritating conversations to poke me into action. But, my lazy ass still wouldn't do anything as yet. So, God decided to increase His nudging intensity.

I remember during one of the BSF (Bible Study Fellowship) sessions, 1 Peter 4 was referenced during the lecture/discussion. When I read verse 10, I felt a heavy conviction and a sense of guilt befall me.

1 Peter 4:10 (NIV) "Each of you should use whatever gift you have received

to serve others, as faithful stewards of God's grace in its various forms."

Right there and then my heart broke and I was filled with a mix of sadness & guilt as I realized that because I've not been using my gifts that I am endowed with, I'm being an UNfaithful steward.

With my BSF group mates in Bethesda Chapel \ (•◡•) /

That was a God-moment for me. It felt like the entire hall of about 400 BSF-ers in Bethesda Chapel went silent as these words of Scripture jumped out at me.

I knew there and then God is calling me back to the battlefield. But Lord, where? Where shall I serve in? Shall I join a ministry that is in need of people? Or should I join a ministry that maximizes my gifts & talents? That question was answered in the coming Sunday service.

In the following weeks after this God-filled BSF moment, God spoke through an unexpected segment in the service - the video announcements. LOL.

There was an open casting call for actors in the coming 2017 Christmas drama production! My LGL and LG mates sitting beside me straight away turned to me and poked me saying "Eh, you should go for this! Very suitable for you!" LOL.

I laughed when they nudged me. And then I remembered that it was through the Christmas 2016 (themed "The Great Unexpectation") drama production "Train to Bishan" that brought me back to the house of God. I recalled how mind-blown I was by that skit and I'm like "Yeah, maybe I want to be a part of this too!"

Putting this picture here again of the stage set-up for the "Train to Bishan" skit

But I was still apprehensive. I just officially joined Hope church in Tampines East 9 for like 2 months? I'm a newcomer here still and I don't think I'm ready for such a big role in church.

I also haven't acted in a drama skit for like nearly a decade? All the different excuses & reservations were bubbling in my mind but then I began adding things up:

1. God's been using irritating conversations like "So, what ministry are you in?" with well-meaning church mates to call me back to serve
2. God spoke to me during my BSF session via 1 Peter 4:10 very clearly
3. My LGL and LG mates are encouraging me to serve in this role

And I'm like, ok God, I don't need a 4th encounter. I'm doing it. So, off I went to sign up for auditions. At the back of my mind I was thinking "No harm ma, I might fail the audition anyway"

Surprisingly, the auditions were held in Burger King at Kitchener Complex - near church. It was a really chill setting. I sat down and had a really chill conversation with Timothy Ong the drama director and Adria Tham one of the drama team members.

After the pleasantries and long introduction, they asked me to read some lines from the script and that's it! No wonder it could be done at Burger King! I thought I'd have to act in front of the BK customers or something and make them lose their appetite for dinner. LOL.

BK audition done! They told me I'll be informed of their decision in a few weeks' time, after everyone has been auditioned.

I guess you know what happens next. If I didn't pass the audition, there'd be no blog post ain't it? HAHA. So yeah, I passed the audition and I got the role as a gangster named "Noel". Yeah, you read that right, gangster. L. O. L. (▀̿Ĺ̯▀̿ ̿)

Say hi to pai kia "Noel" (▀̿Ĺ̯▀̿ ̿)

As you can see from the photo above, I'm only involved in 1 scene - scene number 4, so no biggie. But hey, I'm finally servin' da Lord! LOL.

The rest of my Q4 was packed with script rehearsals, acting rehearsals, lights plot, stage plot, stage rehearsals, full dress rehearsals and finally D-DAY. It was time-consuming, but rewarding. Rewarding because through all these rehearsals and time spent together, I got to know my fellow brothers & sisters in Christ much more intimately.

The stage layout for 1 out of 9 scenes

We don't just meet to do rehearsals. We usually meet for dinner before the rehearsals and we also meet to have sharing sessions where we play games, sing worship songs and really pray for the upcoming evangelistic production. It's like LG, but on a project basis.

It is through these meetings that I hear the many stories of faith behind these actors & actresses and am truly very moved by all of their heartfelt sharing. Through these stories my faith is strengthened because I know that God is doing His work evidently in not just my life, but in the lives of these good bros & sistas around me.

One of the meetings we had where we play games and really shared about how God led us to join this production

All these stories remind me that God is a person. He is intimately speaking to each and everyone one of us and changing our lives in very real ways. It's no longer just a concept or a figure of speech to say "God has changed my life" when you can match that statement to a face - to a person, a friend that you personally know. It's totally different. That's what makes testimonies so powerful.

Let me share with you 2 of the most powerful testimonies I heard. First up is Christine: mother of 4 kids (if I remember correctly LOL).

Real-life mom and also acting mom in the production

Most people would see her 3 kids, but few would've seen her 4th. Because he's bed-ridden. He was born with some sort of disease that left him in this state. So, he's been stuck to his bed ever since birth.

As any parent would, Christine was heartbroken and upset with God. She would cry and be angry with God for months following his birth. She prayed and asked God to heal her kid but her only answer was the deafening silence from above.

Over time, she slowly surrendered her burden to God and miraculously, He provided for her family and filled them with much peace. Maybe, after all, it is part of God's plan.

I saw the pain in her eyes and also felt the peaceful surrender in her soul. This is a faith that's so profound that only if you live through it, then can you fully own it.

Let me now introduce you to the protagonist of this drama - Kelvin. His stage name and real name are pronounced the same but spelt differently LOL. On stage, he is Calvin. HAHA. He only appears in the later scenes as he is playing the older version of Calvin.

Kelvin - the older version that appears in the latter part of the play

I was hitching a ride to church in his car and that's when we had a nice chat and I uncovered his story of faith. He had an affair. "Wait what? This is story of faith?" might be your first reaction. But yes, he had an affair, and then had a divorce. Then, he lived with his new lover.

If you're not getting where the "story of faith" is, stick with me. LOL. From there, God convicted him and he fell sick I think. Then he went back to his wife, apologized, made amends with his wife and they got re-married!

They're both now happily married, TWICE, and leading an LG together in Hope church! What an incredible story of repentance & forgiveness! Without the Holy Spirit's jibes and guidance, I think the story would've turned out differently.

There are many more powerful testimonies amongst the cast members but these 2 impacted me most. To know that I'm acting with spiritual giants of the faith makes this whole acting thing much less plastic - because I know they're not just my acting "colleagues", but they are living testimonies of God's power and work in our lives.

Of course, beyond the chit-chat and HTHTs there is also the serious hours of rehearsals that we all put in - establishing of our character's depth, getting into character, vocal & facial warm-ups, mini skits, etc.

One of our backstage rehearsal moments. From left: Me (Noel), Wei Yeat (Young Calvin) & Chin Teck (Wing)

From the photo above, you could tell that Chin Teck and I are dominating Wei Yeat. LOL, We're actually bad friends that influence him to club, smoke and do bad stuff basically. We're the BAD GUYS. LOL.

One of the many on-stage rehearsals. See the cigarettes in our hands? Yeah. Doing em' bad-guy stuff. HAHA

Talking about cigarettes, there's this funny story behind it where I nearly made an LG backslide HAHA. Here's the story in 4 Instagram chat screenshots from my LG mate Siqi:

The cigarette-bad-guy story

Not sure if you managed to read the above. If you're reading this post on mobile then probably you won't be able to see the words, so lemme narrate...

I was going to church for stage rehearsals I think and I was holding my prop - cigarette pack. It's a legit cigarette pack. The cigarettes? Of course they're not real LOL. They're stage-cigarettes.

Basically you can fill the stick with some fine powder and when you blow into it, the fine powder flies out and it really looks like smoke coming outta the cig. Pretty legit prop I must say. Here's a close-up of it:

Shot glasses and stage-cigarette props for da bad guys ̿'̿'\̵͇̿̿\з=( ͠° ͟ʖ ͡°)=ε/̵͇̿̿/'̿̿ ̿

Back to the story...I entered church with my pack of cigarettes, walked pass an LG who saw me with the cigs and were shook, thinking I'm some outsider heading to the staircase exit for a smoke. LOL.

And they said I had bad-guy vibes (▀̿Ĺ̯▀̿ ̿) Like seriously? I do? LOL. Oh well, since a total stranger said I do, I guess I do then LOL ̿̿ ̿̿ ̿̿ ̿'̿'\̵͇̿̿\з= ( ▀ ͜͞ʖ▀) =ε/̵͇̿̿/’̿’̿ ̿ ̿̿ ̿̿ ̿̿

That was just another stage rehearsal in the sea of countless no. of rehearsals. Well, that's what happens when you have a cast size of 11 people. I heard from the drama lao jiaos that this is the largest no. of actors they've casted in a single production. Wew. ヽ༼ຈل͜ຈ༽ﾉ

Yet another stage rehearsal - things are starting to take shape

I realized that at this juncture, if you didn't come for the Christmas drama, you'd have no idea what the story is about. 做么你没来咧？Better come for this year's one ah! HMU! LOL.

Anyway, this Christmas 2017 production is called "My Crappy Christmas" and it revolves around the protagonist, Calvin...Or Kelvin as you've been introduced. Why is Christmas "crappy"? Because every memory of Christmas for Calvin, is a sad one.

"My Crappy Christmas" e-flyer invite

This production starts with the old Calvin telling the audience via a first-person video recording that he is doing this video monologue to remember his past and this may well be his last video he'll ever take. He then goes on to flashback to the first scene - his secondary school days.

The scenes portray his interactions with his mum, LAN-gaming with his friends and getting his first taste of rejection by his friends because he is a LAN-gaming noob. LOL. The sound effects, lighting, backstage dynamic graphics really makes you feel for Calvin.

It then goes on to the phase of Calvin's life - his NS (National Service) days in the army. THAT'S MY SCENE. LOL. This is where he mixes with bad company - his ah-beng, gangster-ish, bad-guy army friends Noel & Wing.

From left: Wei Yeat (Calvin), Chin Teck (Wing) and myself (Noel)

We brought him clubbing, smoking and it escalated to introducing him to drugs. It was a dark phase of life for Calvin. But, he outgrew it and went on to study in university and then landed in a well-paying job in a finance & investments company - just like any average Singaporean boy would.

The production then introduces another set of casts as Calvin enters into the workforce. Here, it portrays the perils of working life - bitchy colleagues, office-romance (sort of), demanding bosses and clients, work screw-ups and it ended up with him not being able to enjoy his Christmas holidays because he had to rush finish a report which had a critical error in it.

Group photo with the cast on stage during one of the rehearsals

As with each scene's ending, his monologue video will play on screen. While the stage set-up is being changed in the darkness, the bright screen shows Calvin telling us about his next Christmas experience - one with his lover.

I think the scenes here are the most emotional because it shows the sweetness of his courtship with his girlfriend, and then it transitions to the many fights, disagreements and it climaxed when they were unable to conceive.

I think this is one of the last few full-dress rehearsals

The next scene then portrayed the mundanity of marriage-life where it revealed a little bit of his ailing health condition. Halfway through that Christmas dinner with his wife, he had a heart attack. But he brushed it off and the scene ended sweetly with them inviting each other to dance.

Here the story wraps up. The video monologue of him talking to the camera lights up the entire auditorium again...and then he tells us that he has a late stage 3 cancer. He didn't tell his wife. And he's not sure if he'll make it till Christmas this year. So, he recorded this video just in case ಥ_ಥ

Now the audience knows that this whole story is the flashback of a dying man recalling his crappy Christmases in the past and how he might not be alive till Christmas this year.

I love how the scenes portray the average Singaporean life's journey - school, NS, university, work, marriage and then death. It makes you laugh and wince because it's so real, so accurate, so YOU.

This production poses a very important question - what's life about? Is that all there is to life? As I sit here dying of cancer, looking back at my crappy, meaningless, insignificant life...my soul aches for more. It hopes, it wishes, IT KNOWS that there is something more than this.

The scene ends with all the cast members progressively entering the scene while singing the different lines of "All I want for Christmas is LOVE". Yes, we edited the lyrics of the song. Sorry Mariah Carey. LOL.

The classic curtain call pose of most productions, where all the cast members line-up before the final bow

That's it. That was the production. We're done! Wew. But we had to do 3 acts. LOL. So the photo above is just 1 of the 3 times we did that pose. LOL

As with every Christian drama production, after the play is the sermon. So in walks senior pastor Jeffery Chong and asks the audience for another huge round of applause for the drama team before he begins his evangelistic discourse.

Feedback for the drama was good of course. Heard stories of people tearing as they watched this production. Which is great! But I hope that beyond the tears, there will be a turning of hearts towards God.

Group photo of the drama crew after 1 of the 3 acts. Or is this taken right after we're done with our last act? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

In spite of the good feedback, I felt that this drama production didn't blow my mind like the "Train to Bishan" Christmas production in 2016.

Why? Mainly because the script wasn't centred around a real-life story like Yolanda. If the story took a turn and we suddenly told you that this story is the true story of a member in our church, then dayum I'd be mindblown again I guess.

Because the audience enters the church and sits down, expecting just another fictional portrayal of the Christmas message. But when fiction becomes reality, BAM, that's where it blows your mind. This element was missing this time which is why I felt it wasn't as good.

But oh well, newcomers who walked in the doors of church without any expectation in mind would still be mindblown somewhat I believe. The lights, sounds, stage effects, acting, lines and most importantly, the Holy Spirit should've dealt a nice blow to their heart of hearts.

"MY CRAPPY CHRISTMAS" drama crew \ (•◡•) /

Also really thankful that many of my friends came to support my acting (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ Especially my pre-believing friends (づ｡◕‿◕｡)づ I believe that the Holy Spirit has sown a seed of salvation in your hearts that will in time bear fruit (◕‿◕)

 

Thanks for your support Mag, Ryan & friend! And of course love ya too Siqi + Yan Xiang (♥‿♥)

Thanks for coming Abigail + Sherman! Get married soon! LOL

Yay thanks girls for coming to support me! From left (excluding Siqi LOL): Mabelline, Joy Xuanni, Chae Yun & Chae Huah!

Photo no. 2, more formal now cos both our LGLs joined the pic HAHA. Thanks Joe & Yiqin for your Godly leadership!

To wrap up this entire Christmas 2017 beautifully and noisily, we had a final Christmas gathering with the entire drama production crew at Eugene's place ヾ(⌐■_■)ノ♪

We played charades and all sorts of other acting & guessing games and the noise level was just INSANE. Here's one of the funniest clips (to me) of that night.

Alvin was so excited that he shouted "DES-POTATO" instead of "DESPACITO" LOLOLOL. I still ROFL every time I watch this vid HAHA.

Clockwise from Chin Teck's (photographer's) left: Henry, Timothy, Sherilyn, Adria, Dorling, Eugene (thanks for opening your place!), Sherry, Popo, Kelvin, Christine, Alvin, Wei Song, Wei Yeat, Karmen!

Handwritten notes for each other!

We ended the night sweetly by playing this write-each-other-a-note activity. Everyone's given a piece of paper and we're to write our name on it - that means that the piece of paper belongs to us. After that, we're to pass the paper to the next person & they'll write a note to you. You pass the paper round until everyone has written something for everyone! Sho shweet right? LOL. I still have this paper somewhere in my stash of cards hehe (ᵔᴥᵔ)

What a way to end the year! Really got to make many new friends through this drama production and I pray that we'll all continue to make a dramatic (pun totally intended) impact on the pre-believing friends & family members around us (ง'̀-'́)ง

Thank You Jesus for 2017! Thank You for pursuing and leading me to where I am today. Thank You Lord for this opportunity to serve on stage again.

My instagram shout-out aka open-jio LEL

Come to think of it, it was really unlikely that I got any role in this production because I was only a few months' old member in Hope church. In fact, during one of the rehearsals, when I was having a chat with a few cast members and we're talking about how we got to Hope church - they were shocked when they learned that I am only a frequent member for a few months.

One of them even said "Whoa, you just joined the church and you're already taking on such a visible role on stage? Got cleared by your leaders already not?" LOLOL. It's true. It's a legit concern that'd I'd have brought up too. But yeah, my leaders gave me a good word and approved my performance debut. Haha.

Yup, that's how I first served in a "ministry". I use inverted commas because I didn't officially join the drama ministry - I'm just a cast member. The ministry members are the ones who drafted the script, do the casting calls, schedule the rehearsals, whip us actors into shape and ensure everything happens according to plan.

Feature photo of Christmas 2017 on Hope Singapore's website...AND MY EYES ARE CLOSED (一_一)

In fact now, the drama ministry has been disbanded because the church's focus is now on video productions - not so much of live acting anymore.

Talking about video productions, never knew that I'd be involved as the lead actor for Christmas 2019. Will write more about that when I've got the time to do more reflection. Hehe. For now, lemme end this post with the video of the entire drama production below.

I only appear from 10:40 to 16:03. Only about 5mins of acting but we had about 10 weeks of rehearsals! This Chinese adage never ringed this true to me until now "台上十分钟，台下十年功"