There has been such a total turnaround in Jimmy Ong’s life; he is like a new man living a new life. What God has done for him spurs him to reach out to many others. Trinitarian magazine meets this Care & Connect champion who has invited more than 100 friends, and successfully brought 40 of them to church. WHAT SPURS YOU TO INVITE SO MANY PEOPLE? Because of what I have gone through, I feel that life is very fragile. Before I knew Christ, I was a lost sheep. I had a ‘heck-care’ attitude at home, at work and towards life. I took things for granted and couldn’t be bothered with anything, let alone my family and parents!

Yet after seven months and seven days, I lost him to brain cancer. He was 10 years old then. I felt like I had lost everything, and that it was all over for me. Indeed I was a wretched man, like a bird with broken wings. The turning point in my life came when I recalled Shaun’s last days in the hospital and the ordeal we were going through. I was utterly helpless and deeply pained by the sufferings he was going through, and asked him if he was afraid to die.

Shaun said, ‘No, Dad. When I asked “Why?”, he replied, ‘If I die, Dad, I will be seeing Jesus.’

Because of my son’s hunger for Christ even to his last breath, the strength and peace that he demonstrated and all the signifi cant signs that unfolded before me, I realised that there is indeed a God and He has a purpose for all that has happened in my life.

Indeed, I have never felt so at home and at ease until I stepped into Trinity. It is a feeling of being welcomed home into the family after a long and tiring journey out in the desert! My spiritual walk with God has flourished and grown so rapidly since I have been here.

I was introduced to carecell, and boy! I am in awe of my carecell, Farrer Harvesters from South, Trinity@Adam. Kindness, warmth, care, love, peace, joy, laughter, Bible knowledge… you name it, they have it! They were with me every single step from day one till today, helping me to grow in my relationship with God, helping me in all my needs, prepping me for my water baptism and my wedding. Indeed they are my extended family!

Right after the weekend of my baptism, I received a letter. It was a notice from the court that I had been discharged as a bankrupt on 16 November – the Friday before my baptism weekend. It was incredible. God is so good. Indeed, He has made everything new for me!

As I look back at my life, I realise that God has been pursuing me all these years. He was with me all this while. Though it has taken me a long time to realise how much my Father loved me, yet it is never too late to give my life to Him – to serve Him and do His work of bringing the lost to know of Him. Today, I am no longer like the lost sheep; I know where I am heading. I live my life to do God’s work, and trust God to handle the things that I am not able to. What I can do in return for His great love is to simply share His love and all that He has done in my life. It is very easy to speak and profess our love for God by going to church, attending carecells, serving and reading the Bible. But all these amount to nothing if I do not make my life count for Him. The life I have and live is not about me, but about what I can do to for Jesus.

Reaching out to people and sharing about Jesus is my intentional goal and purpose. Bringing and connecting a friend is a very simple and small task compared to what God has done for me. Talking to people, following up and encouraging them… it is all very simple. I leave all my own problems and diffi culties in life for God to handle. It’s an act of faith – trusting God that as we do His work, He will do what we cannot do in our lives!

HOW MANY PEOPLE DID YOU INVITE, AND HOW DID YOU DO IT? For the water baptism service where powerful life stories were shared, I invited 45 friends – and 21 actually came. For the ‘I Need a Miracle!’ Power Weekend last August, I invited 120 people, and 17 came. I have a regular contact list of friends which I have built up over time. I make it a point to keep in touch or follow up with them, through calls, SMS or emails. For these events, I called each of these people personally to invite them. The key challenge I face is how to approach people without them feeling uncomfortable; inviting them to an exciting and fun gathering. These people know me and I usually begin with sharing on what God has done for me.

YOUR COLLEAGUES PETER AND PRISCILLIA HAVE RECEIVED CHRIST. TELL US MORE ABOUT THAT.
I have been working together with Priscillia for the past six to seven years. Many people in the company have seen the changes in me since I came to know God. I knew that she goes to church on and off, and took the opportunity to invite her to the water baptism service. She was touched by the many testimonies that were shared and answered the altar call to accept Christ.

For Peter, I saw a sense of emptiness in him and reached out to him. Peter saw how God had touched and changed my life. He accepted my invitation to come to church and gave his life to Jesus that weekend. God has done much for him as well. Our colleagues have commented that they can see the difference in him. God has also blessed him with a relationship.

I am very happy to see their lives changed! And God is still doing His work among my friends and colleagues. In fact, just this Easter, my colleague Kris Lee and her three daughters also received Christ. So the gift goes on!

Peter Tan
assistant sales manager and team leader

Share with us your impression when you came to Trinity. What led you to accept Jesus? I fi rst came in October 2007. Prior to that, I had never stepped into church before, not even at the gates. The company I keep is from a very different world; my friends are the very rowdy type. My first impression was that Christianity feels very diff erent from other religions I know. It is a very new thing for me, especially the part about talking to God and Him speaking to us.

How long have you been attending Trinity? More than 6 months now.

What made you decide to make Trinity your home church? Jimmy’s carecell members! Everyone is very friendly and encouraging, and I enjoy their company. They have been very caring and are always inviting me to join them.

What made you decide to join a carecell? How has the carecell been a blessing to you? I have only attended the formal carecell meeting once so far. I have not been able to join regularly because of my work schedule. But the carecell members are very warm, and I usually join them for lunch after service on Sunday, going to different places to makan (eat).

Since then, how has your life changed? I had a health problem for more than 10 years. The amazing thing is, since I came to church and gave my life to Jesus, the internal bleeding stopped! It came back again recently, but it is not that serious and I am praying to God for my complete healing. Besides improvement in my health, there is also a great sense of peace and calm that I have never had. My job is very hectic and fast-paced, but I no longer feel so stressed, like I did in the past. It feels so much easier to achieve my sales target nowadays – and I know this is all because God has helped me, bringing people to call and contact me. I used to be worried and stressed up about meeting the targets, but now I’m learning to enjoy the work I do. Also, it does not feel so routine. In fact, I have just been promoted to a team leader. I am very thankful to God for answering my prayers – in terms of health and work!

Praying every night is also a new experience; I have a new peace and can rest much better. I fi nd a greater sense of meaning in my life now. Also, there is a sense of belonging to the carecell.

Priscillia Yang
project administrator

What made you accept Jimmy’s invitation? I used to go to church for special events at the invitation of friends but I’ve never attended church regularly. I have never given my life to Jesus, though a friend did pray for me many years ago.

Jimmy is my colleague and we are good friends. I see a drastic transformation in him… He is like a different man altogether! The other reason why I accepted Jimmy’s invitation was because I was going through a rough patch and was feeling quite down. I didn’t feel like being alone so I decided to come to church.

Share with us your impression when you came to trinity. What led you to accept Jesus? The water baptism testimonies were very touching. I cried as I listened to the stories of the people and how God changed their lives for the better. I felt a great need for comfort and strength and decided to accept Jesus as my personal Lord. You could say it was also a case of being at the right place at the right time.

How long have you been attending Trinity? For more than 6 months now, since November 2007.

What made you decide to make Trinity your home church?
I was feeling very helpless and alone, and the only one who could help me was Jesus. At the same time, knowing Jimmy and his friends gave me a sense of belonging. Among the different churches that I have visited, I find the people here in Trinity very warm and caring. They make me feel really welcome, and there is genuine concern and love.

What made you decide to join a carecell? How has the carecell been a blessing to you? I have attended carecell 5-6 times. Having friends to rally round and support me helps me feel that I am not alone.

Since then, how has your life changed? I don’t feel alone anymore, since I now have a spiritual family to share my burdens and difficulties with. I also know that God is there to help me whatever my difficulties may be. There is a greater sense of peace in my life now!