Pastoral Care & Spiritual Formation
Pastoral Care
In pastoral care we provide a ministry of caring and supportive presence to members in their time of need.
Pastoral care is available to members going through any of these situations:
- Hospitalisation
- Bereavement
- Undergoing prolonged therapy and treatment for illness.
- Facing terminal illness
- Death of a loved one
- Experiencing grief and loss
- Being homebound and no longer able to come to church
Pastoral care and support is extended through
- Hospital visits
- Wake visits and services
- Monthly communion being served to members who are homebound
- Regular conversations and prayer support over video calls, phone calls or online when ongoing supportive presence is needed.
Please call the church office at 6285 1234 or email pastoralcare@plmc.org if you need pastoral support.
Communion to Homebound Members
Teams visit the homebound members monthly visits to serve them communion and offer fellowship and prayer support.
Bereavement Support
Visits and prayer support for members who have lost a loved and help in coordinating church services on behalf of the family.
Visits to the sick and terminally ill
Visits are made to unwell members in hospital or at home and followed up where needed.
If you can drive and have a heart for those who cannot come to church because they are elderly or sick, you may want to join the teams that bring communion to the homebound once a month. You can email pastoralcare@plmc.org for more information.
SPIRITUAL FORMATION
The Christian life is a life of ongoing inner transformation by the Holy Spirit into the likeness of Christ, thus reflecting the glory of God. This process of transformation is known as spiritual formation.
The spiritual formation ministry offers opportunities to learn, experience and embrace spiritual practices that help us to be open and receptive to the transforming grace of the Holy Spirit in our inner being, and in the process one’s relationship with God is nurtured and deepened. Some of these spiritual practices include the practice of prayer, listening to God through Scriptures, silence, solitude, faith sharing, journaling and the practice of receiving spiritual direction.
These opportunities are offered periodically through:
- Spiritual formation courses
- Quiet Mornings and Quiet Days with the Lord
- Retreat in Daily Life
- Overnight Silent Retreats (for groups or the individual)
Monthly Spiritual Direction (the practice of meeting up with a trained companion to reflect on how God is active and present in your life for the purpose of deepening one’s relationship with God).
Retreats
- Quiet Days with the Lord (individually arranged or with a group),
- Tending the Soul Retreats
(stay-in silent retreats), - Retreat in Daily Life
(non-residential).
Spiritual direction
Regular one-on-one conversations offering you a confidential and safe space to pay attention and attend to your relationship with God in your ordinary life experiences and reflections in prayer.
Companions In Christ
A small group spiritual transforming experience in opening yourself to God’s presence and guidance
over 28 weeks.
Testimonies of CIC Participants (2023)
Testimony by Tan Ee Hong (CIC Facilitator)
After walking with the Lord for many years and serving Him faithfully, I still felt a lack in my intimacy with God and desire a deeper fulfilment in my soul. I would long for a closer bond with God or ask if I was in alignment with God’s destiny for my life in whatever season I was in.
Joining Companions-in-Christ (CIC) in 2022 brought a breakthrough in reviving my bond with God. CIC provided a structure to help me enter God’s Presence amidst a busy routine. It focuses on intentional practices of spiritual formation that allow for deeper meditation and contemplation followed by journalling. This deeper connection with God comes as a result of openness to God and having a posture of receptivity to yield and to receive His transforming grace. As I discover myself before God, I was liberated to embrace myself as God’s Beloved. It is a journey of surrendering to allow God to change my countenance, my attitude, my worries … towards maturity and Christlikeness. This growing awareness of God in my daily routine energises me.
I agreed to be a CIC facilitator in 2023, trusting that I would continue to be more God-aware and self-aware as I walk through CIC again. It turns my eyes to see God, my relationship with Him and with the people He puts into my path. Serving as a facilitator nurtured me towards listening to the Holy Spirit and to others, to hold my judgement and to receive each sharing with the love and grace of God. I thank God for the sharing of lives from each participant as we grow towards holiness and perfection in love. It is edifying to hear and witness the grace of God unfolding in the lives of fellow companions. I have been blessed!
I began to appreciate the gift of spiritual conversations which requires holy listening and discernment guided by the Holy Spirit. Conversations with God and with one another in the Spirit strengthen and unifies us as a body of Christ. I am humbled as I facilitate knowing that it is the Lord’s ministry of touching lives, not my strength. Constant reliance on the Spirit helps me to notice that God is ever-present in all situations and to affirm His grace at work.
CIC helps me to embrace God’s purpose for my life with contentment and freedom. There is clarity, strength, and fulfilment in ministry when my inner being is cared for. The strengthening of that inner soul by God energised me to serve in CIC and other ministries with purpose, freedom and love.
May His spiritual energy and divine grace flow to touch the lives of those around me. To God be the glory!
2 Cor 3:18
And we all, with unveiled faces reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into His image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
Testimony by Carolyn Lee
28 weeks of grace, the Lord has given to me.
I don’t know how but the Lord carried me, through the ups and downs, to find the space to meet my CIC fellow sojourners and the friendship bonds that have deepened through the weeks and months.
I thought I would not be able to accomplish this course especially at the beginning of the course, but the Lord is faithful and true. He knows the best time. And it is now.
As I embrace the journey, the Lord is the one who embraces me, healing me, especially as I feed on God’s Word, I am strengthened and affirmed.
I thank God for my facilitators, Lois, Ee Hong and Samuel, who are encouraging us through this journey, and my fellow sojourners, who share their lives with me so openly and deeply. I have learnt so much from them.
The Lord convinced me of the calling and refreshed me, from within.
This course has taught me, to sit at Jesus’ feet, and even in the busyness of life, He is the anchor of my soul and I stand secure in Him.
Testimony by Chng Siok Khim
I joined CIC as an act of obedience. Given my busy schedule, I did not want to join initially. However, God arranged for me to meet Soo Hoong, whom I hardly see, a few times in Dec 2022. It was divine appointments for her to invite my hubby Felix and I to join. When Felix said “just do it”, I also obeyed and committed to the 28-week programme.
The structured learning and exercise helped me to be disciplined in spending time with God. During those days when I missed my readings, I continued to learn from my fellow companions in our weekly meetings. Our Christian conversations encouraged and energised me … timely as I was facing work challenges then.
I learnt to dwell in God’s presence more. I was reminded of God’s presence with me and learnt to be still to hear Him.
Our faith with God is a journey. Having trusted and like-minded companions during our journey will help to encourage our faith. I am thankful for the authentic sharing by all the companions and facilitators in our group. God want to speak to us and we just need to be still to hear Him.
Testimony by Aileen Ong
Starting My Journey
I have always yearned to have a close relationship with the Lord – to hear His voice, to live out His plan for me, and to be transformed in His likeness. In my forty years of Christian walk, I have muttered many times key verses such as “It is not I who lived, but Christ who lived in me.” “The Lord is my Shepherd I shall not want.” Even though I have been loved, touched, and blessed by the Lord, somehow, these verses were internalised in my mind only. I also struggled to hear His voice and will for me.
When I attended the Retreat of the Day in 2017, I had a taste of truly hearing the Lord’s voice through Lectio Divino exercises. My spiritual appetite was whetted. I kept chasing my prayer mentor on how I can have the full main course and not just this appetizer.
To my “dismay,” the full main course was to attend the 28 weeks Companions- In-Christ with plentiful homework and sharing with minimal absenteeism. I finally decided to accept the challenge in 2023 and “jio” my husband along to be my support.
My Journey Transformation…
I liken my Christian journey as me being a caterpillar for the past 40 years. – chewing on God’s logos words, doing my quiet time, going to church, serving in church schools. Yet I am still the same caterpillar, albeit larger and juicer.
The 28-weeks CIC programme has been a most memorable season in my life, as it provides me a comprehensive structure on how to embark on my sanctification journey. Through this study, I unlearn, learn, and re-learn on how to pray, read God’s word, hear God’s voice, and grow in God’s community – strengthening my faith.
I have since invited the Holy Spirit truly and completely in my life and let go my inner man to put God first. Having always needed to be in control, I finally learnt how to rest and trust in the Lord and surrender all aspects in my life and not only those areas that I chose. As a “kan cheong” person, I started to enjoy just being still to listen and experience God’s grace and love. (to my surprise and delight!).
Some of the exercises during the CIC Study needed immersed soul and heart searching (at times with tears and fear) while others were so experientially enlightening – building deep bonds of trust and love amongst the companions (at times with laughter and glee). I never knew that there were so many enriching ways to read God’s word and pray as individual and as a group.
Week by week, God showed each companion on how He has blessed us as we journeyed together. Even though we were new to each other, God showed us on how we can bless and trust each other with our affirmation, encouragement, and love.
I also thanked and praised God for our three facilitators for their faith, tenacity, and wisdom to be with us week by week. I now also better appreciate on why this course needed to be 28 weeks long! Time is required to allow for God’s transformation of each of us individually and to grow as companions for each other.
In conclusion, this CIC course provided a comprehensive framework to enable God’s prevenient, justifying, and sanctifying grace to transform this caterpillar (Me!) to the pupa stage and finally to a butterfly! A butterfly with ears and eyes to listen and read God’s Rhema words and growing in faith whilst sitting still to enjoy the sweet nectar of God’s grace and flying for the Lord.
Continuing with My Journey
I am still God’s work in progress and at times may slip but I can now truly say with all my mind, soul and heart that “It is not I who live, but Christ who lives in me” “The Lord is my good shepherd, I shall not want”.
I am also grateful to my fellow companions as we continue to uphold each other in this journey.
I can testify that this full main course is a 5-star quality and highly recommend it to other brothers and sisters who like me, have been praying to grow to the next level of closeness with our Father.
Testimony by Felix Leo
I likened my CIC experience to running a race – a marathon race. CIC course lasted 28 weeks and it was one of the longest courses that I had attended. Previously, the longest course that I attended was Pastor Robert Lewis’ Men Fraternity course “The Quest for Authentic Manhood” which totaled 24 sessions. While the MF course involved a commitment of 24 weeks, there weren’t any preparations or daily exercises to do. It just involved turning up for the video session, followed by sharing among a group of men and then trying to apply what was learned in the coming week.
CIC was different. It involved daily exercises and then coming together to share. To benefit from the course, it involved sharing and learning from one another. As such, keeping up with the daily exercises would be most ideal. The course clearly demanded discipline and commitment. Like any long-distance race, the goal is to complete the race and finish strong. To do so, I had to stay disciplined and committed to keep to the pace of the program. I confessed that I had my own struggles to keep up with the daily exercises and would often do catch-ups of previous days’ material to keep to the schedule. As such, I would say that I had missed out on what God wanted to download to me for the days I missed.
Heb 12:1,2a is the verses that I identified with my CIC experience. “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfector of faith.”
One of the values of the CIC experience was the strong community bonding through my fellow Companions. This “great cloud of witnesses” was invaluable in providing encouragement and prayers and they also allowed an avenue for me to be accountable to. They also journeyed with me in the same race and we shared and learnt from one another from the daily exercises. Some aspects of the learning required group participation and it was more meaningful when everyone contributed and we got to learn more about each companion. Some companions were creative and used their artistic talents to affirm and bless each other with what God had downloaded to them. It was very encouraging that God used them to affirm me as some of them might not have known me well or only got to know me during the CIC sessions.
There were many challenges along the way and things that hindered and entangled my commitment to attend the course faithfully are common i.e work commitments, family commitments, personal issues, and distractions. I just had to trust God to help me clear up these hindrances, free up my schedule and open the way for me to attend most of my sessions.
As in all long-distance races, we must run with perseverance. There is a need to exercise perseverance to complete the course material. It was okay to be slow and enjoy the journey rather than try to rush through and just to finish the course material quickly. If I lacked patience, I would have missed out on some lessons that God had intended for me.
The title of the course was Companions in Christ and as such, the focus should always be on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith! Jesus should be the motivation for me to embark on this spiritual formation course to grow more spiritually. The material in CIC was sometimes a bit deep and needed time to understand, but the course was not boring and different methods were used to make the learning during the sessions interesting. Sometimes, it involved some vulnerability on the part of the individual companion to share his/her faith journey (like a personal testimony).
My CIC experience showed me that I am still a work-in-progress Christian and there are many things I still can learn to become more effective for God and to be used by God for His glory and Kingdom. Finishing CIC does not mean the end of another course. Instead, it starts the next level of developing a deeper relationship with God. Thank You, Lord!
Testimony by Lee Kin Seng
THANKSGIVING
By the grace of God, I am grateful to God and fellow CIC2023 in the past 28 weeks helping me to complete the course. When I first started, I had many apprehensions. I started with 3Cs meaning Curiosity, Concerns and Commitment. In the end, I completed the course with 3Es meaning Encouragement, Enlightenment, Energized.
CIC EXPERIENCE
When I look at the CIC journey, it often presents to me the image of Jesus and His sheep as in Psalm23.1-5. We will enter His gate with thanksgiving and accord His name praise. In quietness, the sheep will gently gather and centre our focus on the lighted candle with gratitude and peace. From the busy schedule of Monday work, each CIC will be called to meet in the evening and rest in the presence of Jesus’ prevenient grace. Then, the spiritual formation journey begins, and the Lord pours out His justifying grace upon each fellow CIC, guiding us through our word, prayer and sharing. Week after week, the Holy Spirit gently, steadfastly works its way to light up our path, and be lamp to our feet.
COME TO THE CANDLE
In essence, my spiritual experience can be manifested through the following poem composed in this CIC journey:
Come to the candle, come to the light.
Come to His grace, come to His peace.
Chorus:
Baa baa, come come
Come with His sheep, come with His CIC.
Come and journey with me.
Come to His Word, come to His Heart.
Come to His Works, come to His Spirit
CIC TEACHINGS
The CIC journey is hence an encouraging, reflective, enjoyable experience. I enjoyed all parts of the CIC journey as each part brings forth a renewed spiritual call for each CIC to act in obedience, in hunger, in solitary, in reliance, in examen. It is hence not just an experience, but also an enlightenment.
CONCLUSIONS
To conclude, I thank God for bringing us together. I thank CIC2023 “SHIFU” for their abundant love and grace, commitment and patience in guiding us week after week. And fellow CIC, of course, working hard and in concert with the work of the Holy Spirit, speaking to and interceding for one another.
Confitemino Domino {Give thanks to the Lord}
Quoniam Bonus {For He is Good}
Testimony by Ng Geok Har (CIC Facilitator)
I decided to continue my CIC journey after 2022 because I know that I may not have the discipline to continue with the practices on a regular basis once the 28 sessions ended. Although the experience and lessons learnt were very precious, I know that it is just the tip of the iceberg in spiritual formation. I desire to continue this journey and learn together with those who had gone before me.
I started 2023 as a facilitator with much fear and trepidation. I am not a techie person and have to learn how to share songs, Powerpoint slides, do breakout rooms in Zoom. There were many anxious moments my laptop suddenly went silent, the youtube song’s sound didn’t come on, the breakout room option “disappeared”. But I prayed and learnt as I went along and my fellow companions were always very gracious and patient with me when such hiccups occurred.
There were also nervous moments when a companion asked a question and I did not have an answer. But my fellow facilitators were always there to help me answer them.
Reading the articles and doing the weekly exercises again this year gave me fresh insights which I had not noticed before. God’s manna is fresh daily. Through sharing of insights, I was often amazed at how the Holy Spirit used the same Scripture passage in the exercises to speak to each companion in ways that minister to their individual situation.
Through facilitating, I learned the principles and practices in a deeper way through the various activities.
It has been an enriching and enjoyable year. I am amazed by how faithful and gracious our God is. I am so grateful to the Lord for leading me to this CIC journey this year.
Testimony by Ng Joo Hwa
It was my desire to grow deeper in God’s word that led me to sign up for CIC.
The 28 weeks of sessions taught me:
1. About commitment – being seriously committed with whole heart and mind to attend and participate in class weekly;
2. Setting aside time to do the daily exercises;
3. Inclusion of community (group).
The 5-part series started with ground rules/code of conduct which enabled the community to be a safe place for open sharing, to honor and respect other’s views, and to maintain confidentiality.
The first session left a deep impression; I learned to respectfully listen (heart listening in silence). Grace is indeed pure unmerited gift from God who meets us where we are, even before we make the decision to follow Him – “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works so that no one can boast.” Ephesians 2:8,9
I learned to meditate on God’s word using various methods which were powerful. Hallelujah!
As for me, I struggled in keeping discipline to set aside time to attend the weekly meetings and daily follow-up readings – it was a learning journey.
One of the spiritual practices helps me to slow down, reflect, ponder, and think. Though it was a struggle initially, looking back, I saw the growth in my faith journey. I pray that I will continue to uphold the discipline and revisit the book weekly as there are many more precious insights for me to discover.
Thank you, Jesus!
Testimony by Chua Hwee Mei
I have been praying to God to lead me into a Ministry to serve but I have also been hesitant due to a sense of inadequacy. A nervous enquiry to serve during one Laity Sunday took an unexpected turn and I was led to join the CIC instead.
The CIC is a well organised 28-week program with rich and thoroughly thought out content and resources for anyone seeking to grow deep in their walk with Christ. I learnt to discover God’s presence in my life even before I knew him – his prevenient grace, courting me, in His love for me. I was reminded of whom I belong to which gives me the inner strength for grace in daily living. To think that I was on a quest for God, to know him more, he was actually on a quest for me, to make me and mold me into his longing for me – that is His will for us.
Will I feel the trepidation to serve now? Maybe not so much now, as I have recently started to serve in the FLM and I believe the opportunity to serve Him came because of His grace and divine appointment and the movement of the Holy Spirit in my life through this CIC journey.
Testimony by Chan Choon Seng
1. PAUSE
“Busy in the Kingdom but no time for the King.”? Not only have I heard this saying before, I even quoted it when I was teaching topics like “Intimacy with God”. I must confess that I failed to walk the talk. I neglected spending personal time with the King even as I attended to His Kingdom business.
God pressed the PAUSE button for me in December 2022. I stumbled upon a journal entry written 3 years back, in which I wrote “to have an intentional and disciplined routine/practice to draw closer to God”. This was not a coincidence, my wife and Soo Hoong (Director for Spiritual Formation) had been encouraging me to join CIC. Hence, I acted on this timely reminder and signed up for CIC 2023, albeit with some trepidation. The thought of spending an intensive 28 consecutive weeks of committed daily reading and exercises, plus one weekly meeting, was quite daunting to say the least!
By the grace of God, the 28 weeks is now finally over!
2. LISTEN
God is good. The first week’s individual reading and daily exercises were so encouraging. The inspiration and revelation from the Holy Spirit gave me the impetus to press on and even looked forward to another week.
CIC provided the environment and discipline that enabled me to be still and listen to God, as well as listening to the sharing of fellow pilgrims on this CIC journey at the weekly meetings.
3. MEDITATE
I recalled this saying by some preachers: “It’s not how many times you have read the Bible but how much has the Word of God gone through you.”
CIC reminded us that “we must do more than learn about the Word of God. We want, rather, to know the God of the Word. In meditation, we seek to enter into God’s presence, to listen to God’s voice, and to respond in faithful and loving action.” The logos became rhema when the Holy Spirit, who indwells us, reveals the truth and makes relevant the written word, specific to each individual’s need and situation. CIC helps me progress from the contextual interpretation of the written word towards contemplative understanding of God and His Word; from informational to formational; from revelation to relevance; from instruction to inspiration; from knowing God’s omnipresence to hosting God’s presence.
4. CONTEMPLATE / COMPANION / COMMUNITY / CONVERSE / CONCLUSION
Over the last 28 weeks, we were plug-in to the Person of the Holy Spirit – experiencing His Presence, Purpose and Power. The various practices of spiritual formation provided the opportunities for deeper meditation and contemplation.
This CIC journey also helped me experience and recognize the need and benefits for companions in our spiritual pilgrimage. We should never walk alone, that’s not God’s plan. As Companions-in-Christ, we affirm each other and build each other up. We exercise holy listening and help each other discern God’s will.
I would like to borrow the lyrics of a familiar song “Find us Faithful” to encapsulate this CIC journey:
We’re pilgrims on the journey
Of the narrow road,
And those who’ve gone before us Line the way.
Cheering on the faithful, Encouraging the weary,
Their lives a stirring testament To god’s sustaining grace.
Surrounded by so great
A cloud of witnesses,
Let us run the race
Not only for the prize,
But as those who’ve gone before us. Let us leave to those behind us,
The heritage of faithfulness Passed on thru godly lives.
Chorus: O may all who come behind us Find us faithful,
May the fire of our devotion Light their way.
May the footprints that we leave, Lead them to believe,
And the lives we live
Inspire them to obey.
O may all who come behind us Find us faithful.
After all our hopes and dreams Have come and gone,
And our children sift thru all we’ve left behind,
May the clues that they discover,
And the mem’ries they uncover,
Become the light that leads them,
To the road we each must find.
Testimony by Samuel- Roi Supramaniam
Very similar to many, I was introduced to CIC through someone’s testimony upon their completion of the 28-week course. The initial idea of committing that time on a weekly basis was daunting at first but I am very glad for this CIC journey.
The teaching and reiterating of spiritual disciplines and formation were brilliantly facilitated. This allowed for very open and honest dialogue both in a group setting and in personal reflection. The daily exercises, albeit tough to maintain consistency, were good practices in reflection and once the habit was formed, the exercises became a lot easier to complete on a day-to-day basis.
Other than the companionship that I’ve gained from a group of people that I otherwise would not have had the opportunity to befriend and journey with, my biggest takeaway from these 28 weeks would be the practical exercises and reflection that have bolstered my spiritual life. And the benefits of these go far beyond just my own personal life but to those whom I also spiritually journey with.
Sign up for CIC!
Testimony by Wendell Harms
Through companions in Christ, I’ve learned so much about the covenant community, and it’s challenged my previously held paradigm that spiritual formation happens primarily through a one-on-one exchange between me and God. I used to think that private, individual encounters with God were what was essential for personal spiritual growth, but I now see that having a supportive, covenant community around me is crucial for my spiritual development.
Early on in the course, it became clear that we needed to open up about ourselves to get the most out of it. Through group exercises and discussions, I realized that we were not just fellow participants but also each other’s cheerleaders and confidants in this journey, which although was a shared one, was at the same time very much a unique, personal experience for each companion. I believe therein lies the beauty of CIC.
CIC has brought a fresh perspective to my understanding of the means of grace like the Word, prayer, and works. The various methods with which we delved into these topics have provided new insights into my spiritual identity, my leanings, and my calling. The exercises in the course have given me a platform for deep self-reflection and self-discovery. While doing them, I’ve felt immense thankfulness for God’s grace, joy, love, and affirmation. At the same time, I’ve been positively challenged to take even further steps in my spiritual journey.
I’m deeply grateful to our facilitators and my companions in Christ for joining me in this blessed journey, for giving of themselves in a way that exemplifies what a covenant community is. At the same time, it’s my prayer that my spiritual formation journey continues as I seek, and lean on, God to direct my path ahead, so that I may serve and glorify Him even more.
Testimony by Kimberly Kiong
In 2022, I had just entered a new season of my life – a beginning that left me rather disorientated and then, hungry for structured guidance on spiritual formation. Through a conversation with a fellow cell member who had completed CIC, I was recommended the programme. By God’s grace, the door to CIC this year was opened for me. 28 weeks on, I can attest that it has been a transformative journey – in drawing me into greater intimacy with God, opening me up more to the dynamic work of the Holy Spirit and renewing my perspectives of the covenant communities He has blessed me with.
Through the insights on Christian spirituality, prayer, gifts, scriptural reading, servanthood, community and daily exercises, I found CIC to be a holistic, experiential journey of what it means to love the Lord my God with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength. The richness of the resources illuminating different ways we can connect with God, His word and His people helped my senses gradually grow more sensitive to His graces each day and be attuned to the gentle whisper of His spirit. I felt my time spent communing with the Lord revitalised. Indeed, our hearts are restless until they find rest in the Lord.
I have also been greatly blessed by the diverse, warm and accepting group of individuals I found myself in fellowship with which encouraged me to embrace His divine appointments. To be honest, before CIC, I had often been doubtful of my place in church but ever since being in this group, I have been captivated by the beauty of the body of Christ with the uniqueness of our lived experiences. It is like looking upon a gemstone consisting of many different facets – each of us, a facet cut differently, reflecting a different glimpse of His glory. With our ages spanning across a wide range as well, the stories and reflections shared made me marvel at the reality of His faithfulness that continues to all generations. It is this element of time that has also trained the singular thread of my gaze to consider the bigger tapestry being woven and to live with an eternal perspective.
All in all, it has been an encouraging and healing experience and I look forward to further maturity as I carry with me the spiritual disciplines taught, the conversations and the care that has been shared. None of this would have been possible without Him first gathering us and being in each of our interactions, all praise and glory unto Him!
Through this journey, the words from Hebrews 12:1-2 resonate deeper – “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”
Testimony by Brenda Yik
I wanted to join CIC as I wanted to be able to walk with God and to gain the tools to do so. I saw this as important for me to be able to step further into my faith, to have a relationship with God and to learn how to have God be an abiding presence in my life. Through CIC I was able to grow in my relationship with God. Through practical methods of reflecting on scripture, learning and applying different means of prayer, I found that God’s presence in my life was more pronounced. I learnt to rely on God more and to feel and enjoy God’s presence in my life. The process of CIC had drawn me closer to God and allowed me to discern God’s presence in my life more clearly, and I felt that my objectives for joining CIC had been achieved.
Testimony by TSL (CIC Facilitator)
When I first attended CIC in 2020, my companions were to me like lamp posts to shine lights of God’s truth and revelation on my journey, mirrors to reflect the conditions of my heart to me, and road signs to point and guide me to God’s way. In His grace and mercy, God placed my companions at the right place, the right time to speak to me.
This time round, after God has started the process of disorientation and re-orientation, and as a facilitator, God opened my eyes even wider, and corrected my perspectives even more! God showed me through my wonderful God-loving and God-fearing companions that there are as many unique ways as there are unique children to knowing God. We all journey differently, at different paces, different paths, different …, but we have the same GPS. I asked God, why do some fly and others walk? And God said, because some may get air-sick and others enjoy smelling the roses, and I know them all. No way is above the others.
So I have learnt to appreciate our differences and perspectives, which is fundamentally so important and key to help my struggles against pride, jealousy, envy, discontentment, and being judgemental. My dear companions have helped to shortened the long journey God’s truths need to travel from my head to my heart. And I am so grateful to each and every one of you.
Testimony by Veronica Foo (CIC Facilitator)
This is my 2nd year going through CIC but this time round as a facilitator. I decided to go ahead as a facilitator by faith even though I am a working mother of three children, and I am also a cell group leader. Honestly, I did not know how I was going to manage my time with my various commitments, yet I have been truly amazed how my walk with God has been enriched and empowered through heightened awareness of God’s presence in my everyday life. When I compare my last year’s journal and this year’s journal, God has spoken to me so differently this time round and every week has been an exciting journey of growth and intimacy in the Lord. What’s more, I experienced personal healing in this arduous journey of managing my tight schedule. I literally needed to be in daily total reliance in the Holy Spirit. I experienced the reality of God’s abundant grace in my daily life as I surrendered all to God to allow Him to order my everyday life.
I benefited so much by active listening to the sharing of the group every week. God has also opened my spiritual eyes and with the greater awareness of His presence to see how He was at work in every CIC session where I learnt that it was not about me but Him. God has also enabled me to see and feel the importance and beauty of a community rooted in Christ. CIC is a very good spiritual discipline that I would encourage everyone to sign up for. I am proud to say that my key highlight in 2023 has been CIC again! I am so blessed by all my companions in Christ in this 2023 spiritual formation journey. All Glory and Praise be to God!
Testimony by Ong Swee Pheck
The CIC course has helped crystallize for me the fact that God’s grace and love is ever evident in my life, especially in my growing up years.
It also heightened my awareness of the Holy Spirit’s presence and working in my daily life. I find one of the spiritual exercises especially helpful in which I learnt to have a structured and regular review of my faithfulness and awareness of God’s presence. To live each day intentionally conscious of the presence of God and His working so that I can embrace the reality of His overwhelming loving grace.
Indeed , the programme has allowed me to take stock of where I am in my faith journey and equipped me with principles and practical ways to take my relationship with God to a deeper level, towards spiritual maturity .
In conclusion, I borrow the lyrics from Chris Tomlin’s song ‘O Lord You are Beautiful’.
“O Lord You’re beautiful
Your face is all I seek
For when Your eyes are on this child
Your grace abounds to me “
I pray that I will continue to behold this desire and truth to the end of my days.
Testimony by Joanne Ho
I signed up for CIC as the desire to grow in spiritual maturity was something on my heart for a while.
We started this programme – 10 of us in the group, at the end of January this year. This is the most enriching programme I’ve ever signed up for. And the longest – 28 weeks! Now that we are at the tail end of it, I feel like I can do it all over again. That this journey never ends.
CIC opened my eyes to the prevenient grace of God in my life and how He has been leading me from ‘The Land you know’ ….. to ‘The Land the Lord will show you’!
To me, this journey is about beholding the presence of God and just leaning in on him, sensing, abiding and responding to Him. This transformational journey is a whole lifetime, made up of years, months, days. Allowing God’s transforming grace to work in and through us is important. Should I doubt or fear, which is my human tendency, Isaiah 43:1-7 is a good reminder, that I do not have to fear, for God is always with me.
These things stood out for me through the CIC experience:
First, I love one of the spiritual practices. I feel myself slowing down, this practice is not harried, it allows me to be still, and when we are flooded with God’s love and grace, something inside us shifts.
Secondly through support of our community of 10, I became acutely aware that Our God is a God of design, that nothing is accidental.
I found these questions very useful in examining my heart:
• What is the character of the heart when it is stubborn? What has been the consequence?
• What is the character of the heart when it is listening? What difference will a listening heart make in your life?
As I’m writing this testimony, these 2 questions are sitting in my heart as I mull, process and pray over it over a certain situation in my life.
As I conclude my testimony, my final thoughts are that spiritual formation is a lifetime’s work.
Bring in the presence of God in all things, doing the Martha’s things in a Mary way, with Mary’s heart. In all things acknowledge him, for we are spiritual beings powered by him.
Testimony by Kaeyan Wong
The experience I encountered on my CIC journey is strangely unexpected, but nonetheless, very precious, an experience which I shall always treasure in my heart.
Each part of the journey through CIC offered so much meaning and deeper depth of understanding in my Christian walk as the weekly sessions progressed.
What was especially enduring to me were all the heartfelt sharing from each of my companions, which provided deep insights that resonated well with me. Each week’s session was a learning experience, (the formal & the informal), which brought us closer together. God’s presence is manifested at each session, teaching us, comforting us and guiding us.
Moving forward together as companions in Christ, our discernment at each session became more aligned, realising the meaning of “becoming a functioning part of the body of Christ through being called into a community of faithful believers”.
CIC has been transformational for myself. I thank God for His loving presence and guidance, I have learnt and gained deeper spiritual insights from the numerous reflections, and more importantly, growing together with my companions in our faith journey. Also, grateful appreciation to our 3 dedicated facilitators who guided the group with much love and care! Feeling so very blessed!
Testimony by Kelly Tay
Thinking back, this journey of 28 weeks with my fellow companions in Christ has been a very fulfilling and fruitful one. I was reminded that in CIC, we only speak about ourself.
To be in a safe space gives me the opportunity to talk about my weaknesses, past hurts, mistakes, successes and God’s grace and mercy on my life. This liberated me and set my heart right for the rest of the journey. I am free.
CIC gave me new insights on feeding on the word. We probe, ponder and explore so that the words of Scripture became the word of God in my life. It deepens my understanding of knowing God through various forms of prayer. My fellow companions assured me of my spiritual gifts which strengthened me further so that I can bear the fruits of the vine. It also taught me to be authentic and how to be a contemplative listener.
Indeed, this small group experience in spiritual formation allowed me to be broken and surrender myself fully to the will of God.
The daily exercises affirmed me that our God is all knowing, all powerful, reigns supreme and is always with me.
To God be the glory.
Testimony by Sally Seow
I signed up for the CiC course with excitement but became apprehensive about being able to complete the 28-week sessions. But God is faithful, Hallelujah!
Here I am, thankful to Abba Father for His goodness, and to my CiC folks as well as our facilitators for their encouragement.
CiC helped me to have a deeper understanding that I am on a journey with fellow believers growing toward Christlikeness.
The daily exercises deepened my understanding of God’s Word and how God is actively involved in every situation of my life.
The conducive environment, centred on God’s presence with us, made sharing insights natural and soul-lifting.
The weekly meetings with fellow CiC enabled me to recognise that God is at work in our individual lives and draws us together into deeper fellowship with Him and with one another.
This course helped me hone my ability to listen actively and I am amazed at how connected we can be as the Spirit guides. God speaks to me (to us) through fellow CiC.
As we abide in Christ, He empowers us to bear fruit, for Christ for God’s glory.
Ephesians 4:12 (NLT)
“This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ.”
My/Our journey does not end at the completion of the course, but CiC folks sojourn on.
Praise be to GOD the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit! Amen!
Testimony by Alan Tso
Toward the end of last year, I was prompted by the Holy Spirit to sign up and I see that it is God’s good purpose for me to be in CIC during this season of my life. Through CIC, I learn to be drawn closer to God through various spiritual resources and disciplines. The spiritual practices bring healing to my body, soul, and spirit. It is life-transforming.
The journey of faith with companions in Christ brings clarity and purpose. I am aware that without faith, it is impossible to please God. And yet, I am compelled by the love of Christ, so well demonstrated on the cross, to please God and embark on the faith journey. Faith is another way of seeing, as faith is the assurance of things hope for and the conviction of things not seen.
Beyond my personal faith, I find that some of the spiritual exercises clarify the way ahead for me as I journey in God’s kingdom, a kingdom of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. I find that the personal and group spiritual disciplines and practices are indispensable on this journey of faith. The companions in Christ help to steady my steps into the unseen with conviction and hope, as I learn to walk by faith and not by sight.
As a small group facilitator, I find CIC an excellent resource to equip myself and empower those under my charge and my care with the presence and power of the Holy Spirit for the faith journey ahead. So, I am richly blessed as I learn to make use of what we have learnt in my daily quiet time and the moments of my days in order to complete the good works that God has prepared beforehand for me to walk in them, so that I can in some ways usher in the Kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven to give God all the praise and the glory.
Testimony by Amy Cheong
I have always been a very private, introverted person (although others may beg to differ), and this has extended to my spiritual life. So when Companions In Christ (CIC) was first offered in PLMC and the first batch of testimonies came out, I was intrigued because many of them were written by participants whom I personally knew to be shy and introverted like me.
At the end of 2022, when the registration for the 2023 CIC was announced, I found myself inextricably and inexplicably drawn towards it. I was apprehensive at first, dreading the group sharing of insights and questions, but as the weeks went by and the Holy Spirit did His transformative work in my heart and mind, I found myself relaxing and even looking forward to sharing my experiences and downloads. I noticed that the initially reticent group of participants had also transformed in tandem with me and I learnt as much from my companions as I did from our enlightened and capable facilitators.
I took comfort in familiar topics and exercises which I had been taught in Spiritual Formation classes, but what made the biggest difference was the companionship of fellow believers on the CIC journey. The laughter and tears shed while sharing our personal encounters with the Living God and our individual journeys were precious indeed. The encouragement and affirmation, empathy and solidarity expressed to one another during the CIC sessions and privately gave me strength and perseverance to carry on when the going got tough. We learnt to hear and see God in everything, and, amazingly, even in each other, the latter being something that could never happen in private devotion. I realised that while we revelled in our similarities and shared experiences, we were equally blessed by the differences and diversity the Lord has blessed each one of us with. The metaphors of “many parts but one body”, “many threads but one tapestry” proved true in my CIC group, and I appreciate each one of my companions for what they brought to the table that enriched my experience and faith journey.
While the 28 weeks of the CIC run appeared daunting at the beginning, once we passed the halfway mark, and we became familiar with each other and our sharing became deeper, the remaining weeks flew by. So I would say to all commitment-phobes out there, if you believe in daily devotions and group sharing anyway, then CIC offers a structured way to do this.
As a final note, I find the term “Closing Retreat” which ended this run of the CIC to be somewhat of a misnomer as the journey continues for me (and dare I say, for my fellow CIC mates), personally but not privately, now that I have tasted for myself the joy of being a Companion In Christ!
We praise God for your interest in our various programmes offered by Spiritual Formation.
We appreciate that you refer to regular updates.