3 & 4 Jan 2026 (Pastoral Page) DREAM BIG, START SMALL

by Elder Tan Chin Tiong

1) Dream Big

Richard Branson, the founder of the Virgin Group, once said, “If your dreams don’t scare you, they are too small.”

Mark Buchanan, our speaker for this year’s church camp and the author of ‘Your Church is Too Safe’, penned these words:

“When did we start making it our priority to be safe instead of dangerous, nice instead of holy, cautious instead of bold, self-absorbed instead of counting everything loss in order to be found in Christ?”

As our church looks toward its 68th anniversary this year, it is easy to look back with a sense of relief, even as we see many churches worldwide closing their doors. As I reflect on our journey, a challenging question keeps resurfacing in my heart: Will our history become a cushion that makes us soft?

The most dangerous place for a believer or a church to be is "comfortable." We are physically aging; that is a fact we cannot change. However, the wasting away of our spiritual muscles as we settle into a cozy environment is a choice. If we don’t stretch them, we lose them. One way to stretch spiritual muscles is to dream for God.

When we talk about "Dreaming Big," we are not talking about human ambition or ego. We are talking about allowing the Holy Spirit to breathe fire into our dreams and align them with His Kingdom. One of our most significant dreams right now is our new building extension.

A New Building Extension

For the past two years, together with Mt. Carmel, we’ve been dreaming and praying about an extension to our existing building. This dream feels daunting because, for the first time, the expansion is driven primarily by a desire to reach out and serve the community rather than to gain more space for us.

We want to transform our church into a safe, welcoming space that radiates the love of Christ in practical ways. It will be an oasis teeming with life-giving water to meet the spiritual thirst of those searching for meaning in life. It will truly embody our desire to be a “Church Without Walls.” A design scheme and budgetary costing are almost ready, and we will be sharing this exciting dream with you shortly.

A New Partnership

A building is just stone and mortar if it isn’t fuelled by a dream that keeps us up at night; a dream anchored in the Great Commission. Your active involvement in this Mission is vital.

Dreaming big requires people like you to step out in faith. It took one man, the Apostle Paul, and one city, Antioch, to dream big and move from their comfort zone into a "dangerous" zone for God. It was there they realized that the "dangerous" zone became a “Miraculous” zone where God did the impossible. We hope this will be true for us too as we take our partnership with you to the next level.

We are looking at strengthening our partnerships with Mt. Carmel. We are exploring a new partnership with possibly external faith-based community service providers for a coordinated outreach that can make deeper penetration and influence on the community.

As the Clementi Woods Kindergarten closes its doors by the end of 2026, we are envisioning a One New Outreach Initiative to serve the community in this new season. This will require collaboration with different stakeholders, reaching beyond children to families and Senior care. Please pray for courage and wisdom for our leaders as they discern how to forge these new partnerships for the sake of the gospel.

A New Personal Transformation

On a personal level, I hope this year will bring about a radical transformation.

2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, behold, the new has come.” In a way, God put His own "dream" into action to redeem mankind by sending His Son, Jesus Christ, to die for us.

As followers of Christ, we leave our former lives behind for a spiritual rebirth. From this point on, we must daily let go of the past failures and regrets that drag us down. We must surrender our physical, mental, financial, and spiritual aspirations to Christ. We need the mind of Christ to give us fresh perspectives. May this newness of life permeate every area of your life and slowly but surely bring about this radical change in your life this year. It will require hard work, starting with taking small steps towards this goal.

2) Start Small

Small, consistent, and intentional steps are what transform dreams into reality. Don’t despise small beginnings. The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Small daily steps add up to big results. Start where you are, use what you have, and do what you can.

We must act now. Sometimes “later” becomes “never.” A year from now, you will wish you had started today. Don't wait; the time will never be "just right."

Last year, I travelled to Cambodia with a vision to build simple and affordable homes for the poorest of the poor in Prey Veng Province. The need was paralyzing but together with friends from The Bible Church, we pressed on and completed two houses. We had the opportunity to share God’s word and pray with the families as we handed the houses to the grateful owners. Two may seem like a drop in the bucket now, but it was a start. Maybe, with more of you coming on board, the dream can grow bigger and faster.

As a church, we have been faithful in several small initiatives. These works may be small-scale now, but we pray they are part of a grander vision to bless the West Coast community in more significant and tangible ways. As one local pastor put it: “If there were an election on who best represents and serves the community, I want the people around us to unreservedly vote for our church because they see how we genuinely love them on a daily basis.”

The Ultimate Fuel

Finally, the ultimate fuel for a "Big Dream" to become reality is:

• A shift from our limited resources to God’s unlimited nature.

• A shift from relying on our ability to trusting His empowerment.

• A shift from our human imagination to what God can outdo.

When you apply Ephesians 3:20-21 to your aspirations for yourself and the church for 2026, you aren't just making a resolution; you are aligning yourself with someone with Divine Capacity:

"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen."

Have a blessed New Year filled with God’s presence, peace, power and provision!