Saving our Kindergartens

Editorial

Editorials

Saving Our Church Kindergartens

An Account of the BPCIS involvement in the Christian Preschool Alliance by Dr Oswald Goh.

The oldest BP church kindergarten, as old as the BP denomination itself, closed down—one of many Christian preschools which closed down in recent years. Elder Oswald Goh shares about an initiative to safeguard Christian preschool education so that future generation of children in Singapore can know God at their tender age.

BEGINNINGS

Prescience 

God had discomforted us fairly early, at our 7th Annual Presbytery Meeting. Moved by the Spirit, the standing committee arranged for a special talk on “The Future of Pre-School Education in Singapore, with Special Reference to Church Kindergartens” on 8 September 2018. 


Mrs. Patricia Koh alerted us to the fact that, since the entry of the government into the preschool care and education sector in 2012, Christian kindergartens had been closing down at an alarming rate. Either through complacency, indifference, or a loss of focus and attention, Christian kindergartens, which had been the bulwark of the preschool education space in Singapore in the past, were being left behind. 


Calamity 

Despite valiant attempts to persevere, the oldest kindergarten in the denomination - Zion Kindergarten - closed down on 1 October 2019.

EARLY ENDEAVOURS

Three Denominations 

Much like the 16th century Reformation, the Spirit had been working in various churches and denominations, convicting leaders of the need for concerted action. A nationwide Preschool Teachers’ Dedication Service on 31 August 2019 saw 600 teachers, principals, pastors and church leaders gather to renew their calling and commitment to the ministry of Christian preschool education.


Following from this, three denominational groups – the Presbyterian Preschool Task Force, the Lutheran Preschool Task Force, and members of the Methodist Preschool Education Taskforce – came together to begin the Christian Preschool Alliance (CPA) movement in November 2019. The BPCIS soon joined this movement in February 2020. 


A Purpose-Built Company 

Two critical tasks faced the movement – to rescue Christian preschools on the brink of closure; and to revive and rebuild the preschool ministry of our churches. A non-profit company limited by guarantee (CLG) was incorporated in May 2020 to address the first pressing exigency – the Kingdomgarten Preschool Services Ltd (KPS). BPCIS, as a member, received one seat (with an alternate) on the board of KPS. 

UP AND RUNNING
2020 – Immediate Actions 

From the outset, 14 preschools from six denominations joined KPS as subscribing members and KPS commenced the urgent work of rescuing four imminently at-risk church-based preschools. Later in 2020, KPS engaged a further nine other preschools in their change management process from kindergarten to full-day preschool. Other tasks that occupied KPS included: 

  • Curriculum Services – curating best-in-subject proprietary curricula; constructing a quality comprehensive integrated program; including an age-appropriate step-wise Christian education curriculum; supervising and supporting the adoption, execution, and management of the program. 
  • Leadership Circle & Learning Circle – for preschool principals and teachers, to support and encourage; including mentorship, networking, training, sharing of best practices, community building, etc. 
  • Chinese Language Integrated Learning Program – a localised, Bible-based, Christian Chinese Language curriculum, to introduce our preschoolers to Chinese as a 2nd language. 
  • Marketing and Communications – website redesign and content curation; social media marketing and outreach; common combined and coordinated events; crowd-sourcing and shared resourcing. 
  • A Bread Fund – to provide financial assistance for needy children and families in our preschools. 


Another crucial matter that concerned KPS was Funding – in particular, that relying on a subscription model was not sustainable. Fund-raising and acquiring ‘charity’ status were key considerations in 2020. 

2021 - FURTHER EFFORTS

In 2021, our 14 preschools grew to 27 preschools. With developing competencies in our core activities, we could begin to devote more attention to our second vital task of reviving and rebuilding the preschool ministry in our churches, through the agency of the Christian Preschool Alliance (CPA). Some initiatives we implemented this year are: 

  • Merging Circles – Leadership Circle and Learning Circle were merged to become a monthly Breakfast Series to help foster fellowship; partnership; and camaraderie across Christian preschool professionals and practitioners; and to help forge a common identity in the preschool sector in Singapore. 
  • Enhanced social media marketing and communication through year-round ministry-wide thematic content campaigns – eg. Back to School, Graduates of 2020, My Family Heirloom, Earth Day, National Day, Children’s Day etc. 
  • Ministry-wide Community Outreach Campaigns – Project Good Sam: a key nation-wide community service campaign – 26 preschools, 1,800 children, committed 40,000 hours, raising $34,000 in cash and kind for community projects; Kinder Movement SG – in collaboration with Singapore Kindness Movement, teaching kindness and good manners in preschoolers through music and movement. 
  • Ministry-wide uniting events – the Teachers’ Day Dedication Service 2021, our 3rd annual dedication service, on 28 Aug 2021, continued to reach out ministry-wide with over 400 in attendance; an Early Childhood Chinese Language Symposium, on 25 Sep 2021, drawing 220 Christian educators from Singapore, Malaysia, and Taiwan; a CPA Engagement – a meeting of leaders of Christian preschool groups in Singapore on 22 Oct 2021, saw 12 groups participating: Anglican Preschool Services, AOG Preschool Group, Brethren Preschool Group, BP Preschool Group, Hope Community Services, Lutheran Preschool Group, Methodist Preschool Services, New Life Community Services, Presbyterian Preschool Group, Touch Community Services, YMCA, and YWCA – and committing to come together for the sake of the preschool ministry in Singapore; a CPA Forum 2021, originally scheduled in Nov 2021 but postponed to Mar 2022 to build on this key landmark initiative. 


Funding continues to loom large on our minds, but we have been reminded that God supplies what we need (no less but no more), when we need it (no sooner and no later). And we should learn to trust Him. 

A CLEARER VISION

Sometimes we receive a clear & definite vision a priori, beforehand; sometimes, clarity comes through doing. After nearly two years of almost constant struggle and activity, we are beginning to see the light for our path ahead: 

  • Rescuing Christian Preschools will continue to remain our urgent and compelling calling; and we will devote all our energies to this task through the agency of the KPS,
  • Reviving and Rebuilding the Preschool Ministry will be a concomitant calling, no less pressing or precious; and the facility to achieve this task is the wider community of the CPA:

- Helping our civil authorities to see our concerns; our value; and our good work,

- Helping preschool professionals and practitioners to recognise their distinct calling and mission,

- Helping Christian parents to value a Christian upbringing, and

- Helping pastors and churches leaders recover this ministry that is gathered at their knees. 


To the glory of God, in Jesus’ name, by the power of the Spirit. 

Dr Oswald Goh, a family physician, worships at Zion Serangoon BP Church where he has served as an elder. He and his wife June are blessed with 3 children & 2 grandchildren. He is currently the BPCIS representative on Kingdomgarten Preschool Services Ltd.

Past Editorials

BPCIS: A Work in Progress, BPCIS turns 10! 

Read the Editorial on the 10th Anniversary of the BPCIS where we thank God for seeing us through the major milestones in our history. A graphic timeline helps show this in a visual format. 

Sharing Resources Beyond Our Shores

Read the Editorial on the BPCIS' gift of S$10,000 to OM for their work among refugees in West Asia. Earlier on, BPCIS also gave gifts for ministries in Myanmar and Nepal.
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