How God Led Me to GBC
David Chung, a new member, shares with us how God led him to GBC. David's testimony could be surprising because God used a documentary and Google to lead him to GBC. In our well-connected, media-rich world, God can also use these tools to call us back to Him! God is indeed working in 10,000 different ways and using every means possible to draw us back to Him. May his testimony be an encouragement to you, and also cause us to marvel and worship this wonderful and sovereign God!
David (third from left) joined GBC as a member during our Easter weekend services.
Hi everyone! I am David, a new member at GBC. I’m an active person who loves sports, spontaneous adventures, nature, and travelling, while also enjoying reading (sometimes), movies, and music. There are many things I would like to do, but my struggles with goal setting, being a master procrastinator, and oftentimes, slothfulness, tend to get the better of me. Nonetheless, the grace of God at work in me and the positive influences of those around me usually help me get back on track. As one who is passionate about social services and working with people, I work as an HR Executive in a Christian humanitarian organisation and I enjoy my job deeply.
I came to put my faith in Christ at 16 years old and as a growing Christian trying to learn the Word of God, I was confused by the teachings of my previous church about topics such as suffering, sickness, speaking in tongues, being slain, and more. Even though I could not find clarity on the teachings, I assumed the answers would eventually come to me and didn’t pursue it as an issue.
Sometime last year, by the grace of God, I was led to a film called "American Gospel". God used it to reveal to me what it meant to truly believe the Gospel—its depth, beauty, and centrality to all of Scripture. Before this, I did see the Gospel as amazing news that needed to be shared, but I never saw it with such weight or importance as it deserved. In all of Scripture, we see how everything either points to the Cross and Jesus' sacrifice for us, or stands on the foundation of that truth.
As Christians, we never graduate from the Gospel
Therefore, whether in studying, reading, hearing, or preaching the Word, we should see the Gospel at the center of the Scripture because, although Jesus isn't on every page of the Bible, He is the center of it. Preachers of the gospel help us not just to "do good", but rather, see that as "you are not good, therefore, put your trust in Christ, the only One who can save." I learnt that if all I needed was "to be good and do this and this", Christianity would be no different from other religions. The commandments of God must not be neglected, but we see that it is God's unfailing love that motivates us to obedience. As Christians, we never graduate from the Gospel, and as we are prone to forget we need to constantly hear of Jesus' finished work on the Cross for us, which convicts us of our sin and prompts us to cling to our Saviour. In short, we should keep the Gospel the main thing.
David invited his mum to our Christmas service last year.
With this new understanding of and love for the Gospel, I knew that I needed to find a church where the Gospel is the focus. Again, by the grace of God, I was somehow led to google "biblically sound churches Singapore" and upon seeing Grace Baptist Church (GBC) as the first result, I clicked. From watching their online services, it was clear to me that GBC was a church that kept what was essential as the main focus and did not try to distract its congregation or attract unbelievers with gimmicks or unnecessary performances. I saw GBC as a church for those who have a sincere desire to know and love God because of its faithfulness to the preaching of the Word and the Gospel, and sound theology.
Gaining confidence from watching a number of online services, I decided to attend the physical services and things were just as I experienced through the online services, but many times better. I fell in love with the rich and theologically-deep hymns that we sang and I came to experience the blessing of community with the strong emphasis that GBC placed on church membership and what it means to be a church. Although I joined GBC without knowing anyone in the church, I am so thankful for loving brothers and sisters who reach out to me and help me connect with this community. Indeed, no church is perfect, but I am sincerely thankful to God for GBC and for leading me to commit to this church. I continue to look forward to being more closely integrated with everyone and to grow in understanding of the Word of God, to love Him and preach the Gospel to all.