Perhaps you share some of my initial reactions to the idea of a rally where Christians will gather in the national stadium… for evangelism.

• Can we really fill the stadium with friends?
• Mass things are so passe though.

These thoughts lasted a few minutes. A huge reason was because the person speaking to the few hundred of us pastors gathered for our annual prayer summit was the Bishop of the Anglican Church, a man I have high regard for. He is known for his shining pastoral heart and prayerfulness. So I knew this had nothing to do with grandeur.

Then I honestly struggled with the state of churches and Christianity in Singapore. We are far from being a celebratory and hope-filled people. I remember how as a young pastor I had to admonish my congregation about our obvious lack of joy, the way we came to church and left as if by rote, with low engagement and impact.

Not being a local church pastor who can rally the people, I also felt hamstrung about how to participate in this (leaders tend to think mobilisation, we can’t help it).

My next huge concern was how the next generation, many of whom are now schooled in a postmodern milieu would take to this. They prefer more intimate settings which feel more authentic to them. 

This in turn led to the issue of my age: For a few years now I have wondered about my role as an inter-generational person. In my 50s and not being a senior pastor, I don’t belong to the older ranks of leaders. But I am certainly not a young adult any more, no matter how much I feel like a millennial trapped in a time warp.

Clearly, I can be a bridge between the generations. I have grown up with the days of one guitar and praise songbooks, the overhead projector and cyclostyling stencil machines (you may need to Google this). I’ve donned a pager as a pastor (which my kids merrily drowned when they threw me in the pool once) and today I am on social media.

But my concerns began to be addressed.

First, there was an inter-generational session where we listened to four older brothers talk about their experience of the Billy Graham Crusade back in 1978 (I was 12 then!).

All of us present witnessed the warmth between the men — two of them biological brothers — who shared memories of those heady days of faith and hard work in getting a national evangelistic rally going in a mere 11 months.

Most of all, all four of them still blazed with a fiery zeal for the Gospel. To say we were educated, humbled and inspired is an understatement. You can read about this gathering here.

Who around you needs hope?

But as I prayed and met with more people, I felt a genuine sense of conviction and excitement growing.

We are not working towards an event. We are letting this vision of a people gathered in celebration catalyse us to ask hard questions such as “What is hope to you?” As the gravity of our holy calling to seek and to love, to pray and to care dawns, may our spiritual poverty lead us to seek training, to pray, to believe afresh and to unite deeper.

It is a beautiful journey that is propelling us towards our destiny, if we would see with eyes of humble faith. Really, what is hope to you?

Who around you needs hope, and how can this Celebration be a part of sharing Hope with them?

Rev Jenni Ho-Huan loves a good honest conversation, breathing fresh air and cats. She was raised and ordained in the Presbyterian Church. With her husband, they run ChurchLife Resources, which seeks to revitalise the local church. They have two adulting teens. She preaches, teaches and mentors the next generation. You can hear her on The Cathedral Podcast or connect with her on social media. This article was first published on her blog and has been republished with permission.

The Celebration of Hope runs from May 17 to 19, 2019 at the National Stadium. Tickets for some of the rallies are still available. Book them via the Celebration of Hope app or website before they’re all snapped up!