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| 1711: City
Harvest, Singapore |
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Mystery Worshipper:
Whoopedoo.
The church:
City
Harvest, Singapore.
Denomination:
Independent, with affiliate churches in Australia, Malaysia,
India, Indonesia and Taiwan, as well as elsewhere in Singapore.
The building:
They meet in Singapore Expo, a group of ten large multipurpose
halls in the eastern part of Singapore, one of the largest and
most completely equipped exposition centres in all of Asia.
They also have their own church building in Singapore's Jurong
West neighbourhood.
The church:
This is the church with the largest attendance in Singapore,
with reported figures of 28,000 per week on average. They conduct
dozens of ministries, outreaches and other activities, all listed
on their website. Of special note is their school of theology.
There are two English language services on Saturdays and two
on Sundays, as well as services in Chinese and Tamil. They also
put on special services for children.
The neighbourhood:
Singapore Expo is located close to Changi International Airport
and is easily reached by bus or train. Flavours East, a collection
of 16 restaurants featuring cuisines ranging from North Indian
to Thai to traditional Chinese, is located within. Besides City
Harvest, one other megachurch uses Singapore Expo.
The cast:
The worship leaders were Teo Poh Heng and Annabel Soh. The service
minister was executive pastor Derek Dunn. Tan Ye Peng, deputy
senior pastor, preached.
The date & time:
8 March 2009, 10.00am.
What was the name of the service?
English Worship Service.
How full was the building?
They met in Singapore Expo's Hall 1, which can hold about 10,000
and was about 85 percent full. The ushers were careful to make
sure that each open section was filled to capacity before opening
up new sections. The two unused sections were unlit and the
cameras carefully avoided capturing them.
Did anyone welcome you personally?
The ushers showed me to a seat where the news bulletin was laid
out on the chair. The pastor announced a three minute greeting
time (with a countdown clock projected on screen) during which
people in the congregation were to greet those seated next to
them. The person next to me introduced herself, exchanged phone
numbers with me, and promised to follow up to get someone to
invite me to a cell group. (Which they did promptly within 13
days.)
Was your pew comfortable?
It was a basic padded stackable auditorium chair of the type
found at indoor concerts.
How would you describe the pre-service
atmosphere?
The was a lot of buzz with everyone talking to one another or walking into the hall.
What were the exact opening words of the
service?
Unfortunately the acoustics where I was seated (right at the
side), coupled with the pastor's accent (American/Irish) and
the heavy pre-service buzz, made it unintelligible. The only
word I recognised was "Hallelujah."
What books did the congregation use during the
service?
There weren't any books. The service was captured by (as best
as I could see and count) at least six broadcast cameras (including
one on a crane) and projected onto eight large screens and four
wide screen video monitors for the congregation to view. Lyrics
were superimposed.
What musical instruments were played?
Two digital keyboards, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, bass
and percussion. There was a worship leader, eight backup singers,
and a choir of over 70 members.
Did anything distract you?
One of the guitar players wore a t-shirt with the word "Nirvana"
on it. I couldn't help but wonder whether that was appropriate
in a church.
Was the worship stiff-upper-lip, happy clappy, or
what?
Like a really slick professional concert. The songs were sung
with heartfelt emotion and energy.
Exactly how long was the sermon?
48 minutes.
On a scale of 1-10, how good was the preacher?
7 – The sermon was like a study of the origin and spelling
of various words in the Bible. From this Pastor Tan was able
to extrapolate a sermon message.
In a nutshell, what was the sermon
about?
The Hebrew words for both male and female consist of the letters
in the word for fire plus one additional letter. Those additional
letters form a part of the word for God. In short, a couple
must learn to come to agreement to have God come into their
midst.
Which part of the service was like being in
heaven?
The worship was the best part of the service. There was a very
good selection of music with lyrics that declared the glory
of God and his church.
And which part was like being in... er... the other place?
A video was shown asking for volunteers for an upcoming church
musical. The acting in the video was corny.
What happened when you hung around after the service looking lost?
No one really looked at me as everyone made their way out of
the hall.
How would you describe the after-service
coffee?
No coffee, just water from a dispenser and a stack of paper
cones available to help oneself to a drink.
How would you feel about
making this church your regular (where 10 = ecstatic, 0 = terminal)?
9 – The worship was especially uplifting and moving. I
felt joined with the whole congregation as they sang with sincerity,
genuineness and in unity.
Did the service make you
feel glad to be a Christian?
Yes.
What one thing will you remember about all this in seven days' time?
The Hebrew spelling lesson on the words for male, female, fire
and God. |
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| The Mystery Pilgrim |
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| One of our most seasoned reporters makes the Camino pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela in Spain. Read here. |
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| London churches |
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| Read reports from 70 London churches, visited by a small army of Mystery Worshippers on one single Sunday. Read here. |
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