“We are one people, one Singapore. Even as we seek God’s welfare, we must serve one another.”

Pastor Eugene Seow, Executive Director of TOUCH International, opened his segment at PraySingapore on October 7, 2018 with a reading of Jeremiah 29:7.

“We need to build strong families but not forget that we have a larger family: Singapore,” he told the attendees at the National Stadium.

“Beneath our first-world gleaming façade, there are complex layers of social concerns: Physical, mental, emotional. We’re not exactly in the pink of health. We are a nation at war with diabetes and depression.”

Elaborating, he noted that as one of the fastest aging societies in Asia, Singapore’s eldercare concerns will escalate. In the process, dementia could become “a national crisis” sooner or later.

“We must acknowledge, too, that sociologically, we are becoming more unequal and fragmented among class divides. Right at our doorstep, we do have the poor who live below the poverty line. It’s not often talked about in first-world Singapore, but they are there.”

Pastor Seow then called for Christians to pray that God will raise up sons and daughters who reflect the character of God by compassionately caring for the weak and vulnerable in Singapore.

“At the end of the day, the test of a nation is in the way we treat the less fortunate and the vulnerable,” he said.

He quoted one of Singapore’s founding fathers, S Rajaratnam, on his vision for Singapore: “A democracy of deeds, an active citizenry, engaged in the community, working together for the public good.”

Pastor Seow then invited Pastor Daniel Wee, Senior Pastor of Church of Our Saviour, and Joseph Chean, the national director of Youth With A Mission (YWAM) Singapore, to join him on stage to read related passages from Scripture (Ephesians 2:10, Matthew 5:16, Matthew 22:39, Matthew 25:35-40, Deuteronomy 15:7-8, 10-11).

The pastors recognised that good work cannot only start from the bottom up – it requires the leadership and direction of those in positions of influence.

With a few Members of Parliament seated among the attendees at PraySingapore, Chean took the opportunity to bless and give thanks for those working in the public service.

“Let’s thank the Lord for them for obeying God to step into the field to serve Him. These are the leaders who care deeply about the future of our nation. This is a powerful statement of our collective resolve to seek the welfare of the city,” he said.

He then prayed a prayer of thanksgiving over the Government for “its noble goal to promote the democracy of good works, for its righteous policy on social justice which seeks to empower the weak and vulnerable to live decent and dignified lives”.

“Help us, O God, to have eyes to see as the Church to look out for those who are unseen and laid aside, those who have been forgotten and fallen through the cracks.”

Said Chean: “Bless our future leaders with a compassionate heart, inspired wisdom, that collectively they will find better ways to help the weak and vulnerable to serve the needy and those who are marginalised.

“Inspire them to inspire fellow Singaporeans regardless of race, language or religion, to joyfully go the extra mile, serving together as active citizens, engaged in the community and working together for the public good.”

Chean also called for everyone to “go beyond growing our churches and into serving our nation”.

“Help us, O God, to have eyes to see as the Church to look out for those who are unseen and laid aside, those who have been forgotten and fallen through the cracks of our good welfare system.

“Awake the next generation, O God.”