On weekends, they visited nearby HDB flats to knock on doors and invite people to the church. They also conducted Story Hour at the empty space below the flats. Soon the church grew. Just to show how poor we were, we sang a song each week to strengthen our faith so that we could raise $240 to demolish a wall. I remembered my first tithe - $2 per month! When we had the $240, it was a BIG miracle! In 1969, another wall was removed and Ps Lee rented a nearby flat to stay. 

In 2 years, EL had grown from 15 to about 70 people. That was fantastic! From 1969 to 1974, the church met in the small 900 sq. ft apartment – attendance had gone to more than 150– with many in the youth, School Club and Chinese service. In 1970, the first EL member, Ps Winnie Ong, entered Bible College in Malaysia. Others followed through the years. More than 15 full-time ministers have been raised through EL. Attendance was at a peak when the church met at Apollo Hotel in the 70’s – we had about 500 on Sunday’s English-Cantonese services. Although church attendance declined after being forced to move out of the hotel due to their renovation, EL’s ministries continued to expand especially in missions. Missions went to Thailand, Indonesia, China and even India. 

Today, our church has 3 congregations totalling about 500 including youth and children. We have mission partners in Philippines, Indonesia, China and Malaysia, supporting more than 10 local workers. Our annual budget is more than $800K. What you see today started with 15 young people working together with a 28 year old pastor, his wife and his 1-month-old baby boy! The story of EL demonstrates what Jesus said about the mustard seed – it may be small in the beginning but it will grow! 

What we see today is not all that God has intended for us to be! The same with the church, the same with your life. The principle of the mustard seed applies – BIG impact starts with SMALL beginnings. You may not have much now but you can have significant impact as God expands you. 

Today I want to invite you to make a significant impact in the Saturday service. We want His church to grow. We want to bring more people to Christ through this service. Today our average attendance is about 60 to 70. We want to double that number to 120. Are you with me? I’ve seen it in the early years when I was in the Youth Group. We doubled the Saturday Youth Service, known as Christ’s Ambassadors, from 40-50 to >90.