New Creation Church (Singapore)
Encyclopedia
New Creation Church is a megachurch
in Singapore
. It was founded in 1984 and has a 22,000 strong local congregation at the Rock Auditorium in the Suntec City Mall today. Joseph Prince
is the Senior Pastor of the church. While it is charismatic
in practice, it is non-denominational and is not affiliated to any church overseas. It is a member of the National Council of Churches of Singapore.
During the period between 1984 and 1999, the church had to move through different worshipping venues such as a hall in Young Women's Christian Association and the ballrooms in local hotels to accommodate its growing congregation.
In 1999, the church moved to the Rock Auditorium in the Suntec City Mall where its church-goers currently attend services.
The church grew from 150 members in 1990 to more than 10,000 members in 2004.
Since 2009, Pastor Prince has not been on the church payroll, and currently serves as a volunteer pastor at the church.
s throughout the Asia
n region, and sends its pastors, leaders and volunteers to several Asian countries annually.
10% of the church's annual budget which was about US$4 million (as of Year 2007) was set aside for missionary work. Currently, the church is still committed to work towards missionaries. Besides, the church also made donations to local charities annually. Specifically, the church has given SGD581,500 to community groups and charities during the period between April 2007 to March 2008.
and satellite
networks. Besides, the church's television ministry establishes the media technology like the Internet and podcasts to allow viewers to watch the church's broadcast program online.
when The Star is completed. This purpose is to accommodate to its growing church congregation. The Star will be opened in 2nd half 2012. The Star is planned by Rock Productions, the business arm of the church, together with CapitaLand
.
The Star is envisioned as a "futuristic complex with restaurants, shops and a 5,000-seat theatre", and costs nearly SGD1 billion. The church has raised approximately half its SGD500 million share of the new building's cost.
As the anchor of The Star Performing Arts Centre, both the church and its business arm, Rock Productions, are awarded to manage the civic and cultural zone of The Star. The church owns the 5,000 seat theatre, multi-purpose hall, outdoor amphitheatre, special function rooms and other facilities to serve the church's congregation. The Star's retail and entertainment zone is not under the management of the church and Rock Productions as CapitaMalls Asia will manage this zone.
The church will rent space owned by its subsidiary, Rock Productions, in the complex for Sunday services.
Megachurch
A megachurch is a church having 2,000 or more in average weekend attendance. The Hartford Institute's database lists more than 1,300 such Protestant churches in the United States. According to that data, approximately 50 churches on the list have attendance ranging from 10,000 to 47,000...
in Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
. It was founded in 1984 and has a 22,000 strong local congregation at the Rock Auditorium in the Suntec City Mall today. Joseph Prince
Joseph Prince
Joseph Prince is the senior pastor of New Creation Church in Singapore, one of Asia's biggest churches. He was one of the young pioneers who founded the church in 1983.-Background:...
is the Senior Pastor of the church. While it is charismatic
Charismatic movement
The term charismatic movement is used in varying senses to describe 20th century developments in various Christian denominations. It describes an ongoing international, cross-denominational/non-denominational Christian movement in which individual, historically mainstream congregations adopt...
in practice, it is non-denominational and is not affiliated to any church overseas. It is a member of the National Council of Churches of Singapore.
History
The church was founded by a small group of young pioneer leaders including Joseph Prince, Henry Yeo, David Yeow and Jack Ho in 1983. It was later officially registered with the Registrar of Societies on October 1984. It began its Sunday service with an average attendance of 25 people. Gradually, it grew to about 150 members in 1990 when Pastor Prince was appointed as the senior pastor of the church.During the period between 1984 and 1999, the church had to move through different worshipping venues such as a hall in Young Women's Christian Association and the ballrooms in local hotels to accommodate its growing congregation.
In 1999, the church moved to the Rock Auditorium in the Suntec City Mall where its church-goers currently attend services.
The church grew from 150 members in 1990 to more than 10,000 members in 2004.
Since 2009, Pastor Prince has not been on the church payroll, and currently serves as a volunteer pastor at the church.
Outreach
The church is actively involved in missionMissionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
s throughout the Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
n region, and sends its pastors, leaders and volunteers to several Asian countries annually.
10% of the church's annual budget which was about US$4 million (as of Year 2007) was set aside for missionary work. Currently, the church is still committed to work towards missionaries. Besides, the church also made donations to local charities annually. Specifically, the church has given SGD581,500 to community groups and charities during the period between April 2007 to March 2008.
Broadcasting programmes
The church's English-language broadcast program called Destined to Reign, which takes place in the weekly church service, reaching out to more than 150 countries on cable televisionCable television
Cable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...
and satellite
Satellite
In the context of spaceflight, a satellite is an object which has been placed into orbit by human endeavour. Such objects are sometimes called artificial satellites to distinguish them from natural satellites such as the Moon....
networks. Besides, the church's television ministry establishes the media technology like the Internet and podcasts to allow viewers to watch the church's broadcast program online.
Magazine publication
The church's Publication ministry which is run by church volunteers (reporters, photographers and designers) currently publishes its own magazine named Solid Rock.Ministries
- Royal Service This ministry works with the church, providing essential services to everyone who attends to church. It has several departments involving medical, security and safety, logistics, transport and ushers.
- Visual Arts This ministry focuses on the media technology and arts performance to develop artistic works and the drama productions for the church.
- Foreign Mission The foreign ministry is a part of the church's services and its purpose is to reach out to the foreign, non-English speaking community in Singapore. Languages offered include Indonesian and Korean.
- Outreach This is a ministry outreach which focuses on missionary in Singapore and overseas.
- Rock Kidz Rock Kidz is a ministry focusing on the preaching of Christianity to children aged 1 - 12. The ministry encompasses the various age divisions and a ministry dedicated to children aged 7-13 with Autism Spectrum Disorder.
- The Zone This ministry oversees the preaching of Christianity to youth aged 13-29. The Zone encompasses three sub-divisions, dealing with Secondary, Tertiary and Young Adult churchgoers. The Ministry is headed by Lim Chin-wah.
Affiliates
The official affiliates are specifically mentioned on the church's authorized correspondence with them. These affiliates are:- Rock Productions
- Rock Productions, which is a business arm of New Creation Church, was founded in 1998 at Suntec City Mall. It acts as a venue provider and New Creation Church's anchor tenant for both Rock Auditorium at Suntec City Mall and The Star Performing Arts Centre at One-North, in Buona VistaBuona VistaBuona Vista is a neighbourhood and subdivision of the city-state of Singapore, but is often referenced as a town. As a major subdivision, it is served by the Buona Vista MRT Station which links it up with the MRT system. It also has a bus terminal.-Geography:...
. The shares of Rock Productions are held in trust for the church by four of its registered shareholders. Rock Productions also manages business.
- Rock Gifts & Book Centre
- Rock Gifts & Book Centre, which is managed by Rock Productions, is a Christian bookshop store. It was set up at Suntec City Mall in 1998 for selling Christian books, music, sermon resources and gifts.
- Daystar Child Development Centre
- Daystar Child Development Centre (also known as Daystar) is listed as a Voluntary Welfare Organisation (VWO) under the church. It has two branches - which were established at Holland in 1994 and at Jurong West in 2004. This centre is run by management committees under the church.
- Omega Tours
- Omega Tours (also known as Omega Tours & Travel Pte Ltd), which was set up as a travel agency in 2004, is managed by Rock Productions. Through Omega Tours, New Creation Church organizes tours for its members to travel to Isarel and other Bible lands so that the members witness to the Grace of God and experience the love of Jesus through visiting these lands.
New worshipping place
The church will move to a new 5,000 seat auditorium as its future worshipping place in the new building named The Star Performing Arts Centre (also called The Star) in Buona VistaBuona Vista
Buona Vista is a neighbourhood and subdivision of the city-state of Singapore, but is often referenced as a town. As a major subdivision, it is served by the Buona Vista MRT Station which links it up with the MRT system. It also has a bus terminal.-Geography:...
when The Star is completed. This purpose is to accommodate to its growing church congregation. The Star will be opened in 2nd half 2012. The Star is planned by Rock Productions, the business arm of the church, together with CapitaLand
CapitaLand
CapitaLand Limited is the result of a merger in the year 2000 of then DBS Land and Pidemco Land. It is one of Asia's largest real estate companies. Headquartered and listed in Singapore, the company's core businesses are real estate development, hospitality and real estate financial services...
.
The Star is envisioned as a "futuristic complex with restaurants, shops and a 5,000-seat theatre", and costs nearly SGD1 billion. The church has raised approximately half its SGD500 million share of the new building's cost.
As the anchor of The Star Performing Arts Centre, both the church and its business arm, Rock Productions, are awarded to manage the civic and cultural zone of The Star. The church owns the 5,000 seat theatre, multi-purpose hall, outdoor amphitheatre, special function rooms and other facilities to serve the church's congregation. The Star's retail and entertainment zone is not under the management of the church and Rock Productions as CapitaMalls Asia will manage this zone.
The church will rent space owned by its subsidiary, Rock Productions, in the complex for Sunday services.
See also
- Christianity in SingaporeChristianity in SingaporeChristians in Singapore constitute approximately 17.5% of the population. In the 2000 Census, 4.8% of residents aged 15 years and older, identified as Catholic and 9.8% as 'Other Christians'.-History:...
- EvangelismEvangelismEvangelism refers to the practice of relaying information about a particular set of beliefs to others who do not hold those beliefs. The term is often used in reference to Christianity....
- PentecostalismPentecostalismPentecostalism is a diverse and complex movement within Christianity that places special emphasis on a direct personal experience of God through the baptism in the Holy Spirit, has an eschatological focus, and is an experiential religion. The term Pentecostal is derived from Pentecost, the Greek...
- Religion in SingaporeReligion in SingaporeSingapore is a secular multi-religious country due to its diverse ethnic mix of peoples originating from various countries. Most major religious denominations are present in Singapore....