When the new Presbytery was launched in October 2011, Pastor Tan Eng Boo was there, representing Grace BIble-Presbyterian Church (BPC), one of the observer churches. But it would take ten years before the church laid aside its observer status. On 10th October 2021, the congregation voted to join the Bible-Presbyterian Church in Singapore (BPCIS).

Elder Victor Goh shared that the leadership took up the issue in earnest two years ago. He gave three reasons. “The first was leadership succession. We felt we could tap into the resources of BPCIS. The second reason was church growth and development. We are a small community and need to plug into a larger fellowship. Thirdly, we wanted our younger people to interact with those from other churches in a more organised manner.”

But the path to BPCIS was not easy. At the Pastors’ Retreat in 2016, Pastor Tan, as guest speaker, had shared about the disunity that led to the breakup of the BP denomination some 30 years ago. Sadly, such “legacy issues” continue to haunt church members, especially the older ones. “There is a constant referencing to the past,” Pastor Tan said, “and the fear that joining BPCIS would take us back to the old ways.” Also, having been many years an independent church, some were not willing to give up their autonomy.

How did the leadership address these issues? “We tried to have open conversations,” Elder Goh explained, “and created platforms to engage members. I remember exactly a year ago, we had Pastor David Wong speak with our people in a dialogue session, and answer questions. We held two more internal dialogue sessions for people to surface concerns to the church leadership in a safe place.”

Meanwhile, the leadership had to come to a united stand. As Moderator of the Session, Elder Goh decided to press the agenda, making clear it was not a personal one but a course pursued for the future direction of the church. The two-year journey culminated at the recent congregational meeting where 86% of members voted to give a clear mandate for Grace BPC to be the ninth member church in BPCIS.

“We made it in time for the 10th anniversary.” Both Pastor and Elder shared that sentiment as they looked forward to the partnership between Grace and BPCIS. What are their hopes and aspirations for the future?

For Pastor Tan, “Going forward, our succession plan is one key area we want to see fulfilled in due time. Being part of BPCIS, we can all work together to help one another in this.” Elder Goh is glad for the timely election of a new slate of leaders for the church, “I am confident that the Lord will lead and guide our church, and we will see the church grow from strength to strength.”



He added, “At the vision level, I see us preserving the rich heritage of the BP denomination, not allowing the past to be a stumbling block. The BP denomination needs to transform itself to stay relevant and to engage the new generation. We want to pass on good values and legacy. Our unity will bring the BP Church to the next level.”

“At the church level, I see BPCIS as a platform for strengthening our churches through exchanges and networking. For example, if we have members wanting to go into full-time ministry, they can go for internships in different churches. That will enlarge their perspectives as they serve in churches of different sizes and challenges.”

While Elder Goh looked to the younger generation, Pastor Tan expressed his concern for pastors in their senior years who have completed their term of active service. “One other thing BPCIS could look into, is the matter of the welfare and continuing ministry of older BP pastors and elders.” Surely, these veteran servants of God deserve honour and care.

Now that Grace BPC has completed a milestone of their journey, and joined BPCIS, we press on together with our various works in progress. It looks like the coming years will be busy ones. “Occupy till I come,” our Master tells us. In time, may we each hear Him say, “Well done, good servant.” (Luke 19:13,17).