Lord’s Day, Vol. 3 No. 43
Reformation/Ordination Service
Order of Worship
Call to Worship Rev Dr Jeffrey Khoo
Opening Hymn The Church’s One Foundation (260)
Invocation/Gloria Patri
Responsive Reading Titus 2:1-15
Hymn Take My Life and Let It Be (419)
Announcements
Offerings & Hymn Saviour Like a Shepherd Lead Us (532)
Doxology/Prayer
Scripture Text 2 Timothy 1:6-18
Sermon The Power and Prospect of the Ministry
(Rev Dr Prabhudas Koshy)
Ordination of Pr Lek Aik Wee
Questions to Candidate
Response from Congregation
Ordination & Prayer: Rev Dr S H Tow
The Charge: Rev Tan Kian Sing
Closing Hymn Go Labour On (466)
Benediction
Testimony of Lek Aik Wee
I was born on 22 May 1968. My father, Mr. Lek Yeow Hwa, gave me my name – Lek Aik Wee (陆一苇). At birth, I contracted jaundice and was in critical condition requiring blood transfusion twice. My name means “a reed”, a grass that grows easily, with the hope that I would survive the condition. God preserved me. I was cured.
My first contact with Christianity in my childhood years was through my neighbours who would have me over to their home. The daughters would tell me Bible stories. In my home, there were idols. My parents sent me to attend kindergarten at Faith Methodist Church in Tanglin Halt. I came to know that Mdm Mary Lim, an elderly lady who was a member of Calvary Pandan BP Church and had gone home with the Lord several years ago, taught me Christian songs in that kindergarten. I had my primary education at Pearl’s Hill School in Chin Swee Road and secondary education at Gan Eng Seng School in Anson Road. I do not recall having any Christian contact in school. In 1985, I attended Raffles Junior College at Mount Sinai Drive. I recall a friend praying for my salvation. I was a self-confessed agnostic after reading the books of Bertrand Russell in the school library. ‘Give me evidence and I will believe, if not, I will sit on the fence until I see proof that Christianity is real’. That was my mantra. I went to the army and served as a vehicle mechanic for 2½ years. During that time, I had no contact with the Christian faith.
After NS, I went to engineering school in NUS for my first year at university and was transferred to NTU in my second year to do electrical engineering specialising in Communications Engineering. It was in my second year in university that I met my wife, Selestier, my room-mate Eng Khoon in the hostel, and finally a lecturer who were all Christians. My lecturer shared with me from John chapter 1 that Jesus Christ is the living and true God. It was the first time that I was given the gospel and I believed. From that day, I met my lecturer on a weekly basis for discipleship training for the next 4 years even after he stopped lecturing in the university. I graduated from NTU in 1993.
Together with Selestier, we looked for a church in 1991 and finally settled down in Calvary Pandan BP Church. My wife and I served in the church choir from 1993-2002. I was baptised by Rev Dr Tow Siang Hwa on 31 December 1993. After graduation, I started working as a sales engineer in SGS-Thomson Microelectronics now known as STMicroelectronics on 14 June 1993. I attended weekly mid-week prayer meeting with Selestier and Adult Sunday School class on the Lord’s Day. On 21 December 1996, Selestier and I were married in church. Elder Koh Kim Hiang was our marriage counsellor and Rev Dr Quek Suan Yew conducted our marriage service. Rev Dr Tow Siang Hwa signed our marriage certificate. At that time, I had begun further studies in Masters of Science (Microelectronics) as my work in Foundry business required me to have a good grasp of wafer fabrication technology. I spent 1½ years at NUS pursuing the Masters on a part-time basis from 1997 to 1998.
In 1998, during the September to October period, at 30, my wife and I went on a Holy Land trip to Turkey, Jordan and Israel. On 30 September 1998 morning at breakfast in Mount Scopus Hotel in Jerusalem, an Indian Christian couple from our travel group gave my wife and me two verses from the Bible. The lady recovered from leukemia a year ago and they were headed to Australia for full-time theological studies after the trip. ‘These verses are for you from the Lord’, she said: Deuteronomy 28:8, “The LORD shall command the blessing upon thee in thy storehouses, and in all that thou settest thine hand unto; and he shall bless thee in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.”; Deuteronomy 28:13, “And the LORD shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if that thou hearken unto the commandments of the LORD thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do them:”.
I had a burden for the salvation of my parents. God led my family to put away the idols and my mother was saved at the Calvary Pandan Mandarin Sunset Service when Rev Tang shared the gospel with her. I am praying that God will be merciful to save my father.
In 1999, my wife and I enrolled for night classes at the Far Eastern Bible College (FEBC). That year, my daughter, Lois Lek Jan Yee, was born. My wife and I also began serving in the church visitation ministry from 1999 to 2011.
In 2001, at the night class for Eschatology, I received the call to serve the Lord. The late Rev Dr Timothy Tow challenged the class with the message of consecration that we are the privileged people with the message of salvation—“Only Jesus Saves”. The hymn “Last, Last Hour” written by Rev Dr Tow Siang Hwa to the tune of “O Master Let Me Walk with Thee” arrested my attention.
The sunset burns in western sky,
Upon the air a warning cry
The siren wails from tower to tower,
Dear, brethren, ’tis the last, last hour.
I felt as if I was transported to the very gates of heaven to receive this heavenly mandate. That year, I began to follow Rev Dr Tow Siang Hwa on mission trips to Borneo and later to Sri Lanka, Saipan and the Philippines. In November 2002, I began to serve as a deacon for the next 6 years in Calvary Pandan BP Church teaching in the Basic Bible Knowledge Class and periodically in the Adult Sunday School. My son, Lucas Lek Jan Jin was also born.
When Calvary Missionary Society was inaugurated in 2002, I served as secretary in which I was involved in the support of mission stations in Miri, Sibu, Northern Thailand (Bethel Development Centre) and Pontianak. I recalled going to Batam to request the help of Rev Harposan Siregar for the registration of Calvary Hanura Permai BP Church with the Indonesian government.
I also served as Assistant Camp Master and twice as Camp Master from 2004 to 2006 to help organise church camps. In 2003, I graduated with a Certificate of Religious Knowledge from FEBC. I began to preach in fellowship groups in Calvary Pandan BP Church and other BP Churches on invitation.
In July 2004, at 35, I tendered my resignation as Corporate Key Account Sales Manager with an annual sales budget of US$250M to go into full-time theological studies in preparation to serve the Lord full-time. I had worked for 11½ years. I had no peace in my heart till I surrendered to the Lord and resigned and was enrolled for full-time studies in July 2004 for Masters of Divinity (MDiv). My wife attended night classes with me. It was a challenging time because our children were very young and we brought them along with us to classes. In 2005, my wife graduated with Certificate of Religious Knowledge (FEBC).
I graduated in May 2007 with MDiv and was appointed by the Board of Elders (BOE) in Calvary Pandan BP Church to serve as a preacher in pastoral duties in particular taking care of the Golden Years Fellowship with Bible Study at the home of the late Mrs Evelyn Ong on fortnightly basis till she went home to be with the Lord in May 2015. I began a weekly Bible Study on Wednesday in 2007 in the home of Mr Tan Kwi Hwa. I taught the Basic Bible Knowledge Class, wrote in the Elders’ page on rotation, preached as and when called upon and during Prayer Meeting, edited the Teens RPG when it was launched in 2006 and wrote in Adults RPG for two quarters in 2009 and 2010. I preached in Calvary Pandan Morning Service on 18 July 2010 and other BP Churches on invitation.
From Calvary Pandan BP Church, with the concurrence of Rev Dr Tow Siang Hwa, the Lord led me to serve as preacher in New Life BP Church in Woodlands from January 2012 to October 2013 as a continuation of the preaching ministry. I preached in the Sunday morning service and Ju Eng Home afternoon service on a regular basis with specific duty as preacher in charge of English Congregation. I continued to serve in the Golden Years Fellowship of Calvary Pandan BP Church in Bible Study at Mrs Evelyn Ong’s home on a fortnightly basis, a monthly outing and led the Wednesday Bible Study group at the rented premises of The Salvation Army in Upper Bukit Timah Road near the Dairy Farm Estate since January 2012.
In October 2013 with the concurrence of Rev Dr Tow Siang Hwa, and the support of members of the Wednesday Bible Study group, I began a gospel outreach at the rented Worship Centre of The Salvation Army in the Dairy Farm area which was later registered as Blessed Hope Bible-Presbyterian Church. The registration approval from the Singapore government came on 28 January 2014 after 4 months of prayer. Our congregation took a declared position on the doctrine of Verbal Plenary Preservation (VPP) of Holy Scriptures in our constitution together with FEBC and other likeminded BPCs.
On 24 December 2013, Pastoral Advisor, Rev Dr Tow Siang Hwa spoke to me concerning the matter of my ordination into the holy ministry and proposed that the process should begin under the guidance of Rev Dr Jeffrey Khoo, Pastor, True-Life BP Church and Principal, Far Eastern Bible College. This began the process of ordination for the continuing work at Blessed Hope BP Church.
Dr Jeffrey Khoo’s advice was to hold a congregational meeting so that the members can vote on the call for me to be the pastor of Blessed Hope BP Church. On 9 November 2014, members of Blessed Hope BP Church made an unanimous vote to call Preacher Lek Aik Wee to undertake the pastoral office in Blessed Hope BP Church witnessed by Rev Dr Tow Siang Hwa and Elder Dr Paul Tsao.
I wrote to Rev Dr Tow Siang Hwa on 13 November 2014 to accept the call by the members of Blessed Hope BP Church as the pastor of Blessed Hope BP Church and requested for formal ordination. Rev Dr Tow Siang Hwa, then, wrote to Rev Dr Jeffrey Khoo with the request for formal ordination on 16 November 2014.
Rev Dr Jeffrey Khoo responded on 16 November 2014 that I was to proceed to prepare myself for examination. As part of the examination, I would have to submit papers responding to certain questions relating to my call and convictions, doctrines and practices. I was given the questionnaire to answer.
On 23 January 2015, I submitted the answers to the ordination questions. On 2 February, Rev Dr Jeffrey Khoo informed me that the Ordination Council comprising Rev Dr SH Tow, Rev Dr Das Koshy and Rev Tan Kian Sing and himself, has been formed and they would evaluate my written answers to the ordination questions and schedule an oral examination in due time.
On 16 February 2015, Rev Dr Jeffrey Khoo informed me that the oral examination was scheduled on 1 April 2015 and I was instructed to prayerfully prepare for it. On 1 April 2015, I came before the Ordination Council for the oral examination. After the two-hour examination, I was told that I passed the examination and a date would be given for my ordination.
On the 29 May 2015, the Ordination Council informed me that my ordination would be held on Reformation Sunday 25 October 2015 at Blessed Hope BP Church.
Thank God for leading me through the ordination process. I learn the precious lesson of faith and patience. May the Lord’s Name be praised! Amen.