Faith Community Baptist Church (), or FCBC, is an independent
charismatic megachurch
A megachurch is a church with an unusually large membership that also offers a variety of educational and social activities, usually Protestant or Evangelical. The Hartford Institute for Religion Research defines a megachurch as any Protestant C ...
in Singapore founded by
Pastor Lawrence Khong in 1986.
The church was one of three megachurches to make it to a list of Singapore's 10 largest charities, according to a report by
The Straits Times
''The Straits Times'' is an English-language daily broadsheet newspaper based in Singapore and currently owned by SPH Media Trust (previously Singapore Press Holdings). ''The Sunday Times'' is its Sunday edition. The newspaper was established ...
in 2019.
History
FCBC was founded in 1986 following the sacking of Pastor
Lawrence Khong
Lawrence Khong Kin Hoong (born 17 July 1952) is a Singaporean Christian religious leader and magician. He is the leader of Faith Community Baptist Church in Singapore and the chairman of LoveSingapore, a network of about 100 socially conser ...
from the mainline Grace Baptist Church over theological differences on practices such as
baptism in the Holy Spirit
In Christian theology, baptism with the Holy Spirit, also called baptism in the Holy Spirit or baptism in the Holy Ghost, has been interpreted by different Christian denominations and traditions in a variety of ways due to differences in the doctr ...
and
speaking in tongues
Speaking in tongues, also known as glossolalia, is a practice in which people utter words or speech-like sounds, often thought by believers to be languages unknown to the speaker. One definition used by linguists is the fluid vocalizing of sp ...
in the early days of the
charismatic movement
The charismatic movement in Christianity is a movement within established or mainstream Christian denominations to adopt beliefs and practices of Charismatic Christianity with an emphasis on baptism with the Holy Spirit, and the use of spirit ...
in Singapore.
It became a cell group church in 1988 and has since 2002 transitioned to become a
Government of 12 or "G12" church, a model first formulated by Colombian pastor
César Castellanos of the
International Charismatic Mission Church.
After years of conducting worship services in commercial venues, the church opened its first place of worship in 1993, with the launch of the 1,600-seat Touch Centre in Marine Parade. Four years later, it opened a second place of worship with the opening of Touch Community Theatre in Redhill.
In 2019, Daniel Khong, son of Lawrence Khong was installed as the senior pastor of the church. His wife, Serene Tang was named deputy senior pastor.
Lawrence Khong and his wife Nina Khong remain active within the church as "Apostolic Overseers".
Ministries
FCBC conducts multiple services at three locations: Touch Centre in Marine Parade, Gateway Theatre (formerly TOUCH Community Theatre) in Bukit Merah currently for its Chinese services and Nicoll meeting rooms 1–3 in
Suntec Singapore Convention and Exhibition Centre under a lease agreement.
FCBC has a community arm, TOUCH Community Services (TCS). TCS serves the local community in Singapore in a variety of ways, including providing various services and help to troubled youth, children, senior citizens, the visually challenged, mentally challenged, physically disabled, family services and in character development. TCS also has an international arm, TOUCH International (TI), that provides aid and relief to disaster spots and areas that need help around the world. TI also supports long-term involvement in global communities and is deeply involved in the rebuilding process in the
tsunami
A tsunami ( ; from ja, 津波, lit=harbour wave, ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other underwater explo ...
stricken areas and others. TCS is a non-profit, non-religious community organisation, which has served over 100,000 individuals since its establishment. In 2007, TCS won the Outstanding non-profit Organisation Award.
FCBC also has a media branch known as Gateway Entertainment that produces various movies and stage productions which teach moral values and Christianity. Its pioneering magic & theatre show, The Magic of Love (MOL), toured the United States. As of 2007, over 208,000 people worldwide had watched the show. Gateway's second show, titled "MAGICBOX", performed at The
Esplanade Theatre
An esplanade or promenade is a long, open, level area, usually next to a river or large body of water, where people may walk. The historical definition of ''esplanade'' was a large, open, level area outside fortress or city walls to provide cl ...
in July 2008. Gateway's latest production, "Vision", performed at the same venue in July 2011.
Reverend Khong was appointed as the Singapore Coordinator of VISION 2001 in 1994, which was renamed as the LOVESingapore Movement in 1995, a Unity movement among the churches in Singapore.
There are over 150 churches in this movement united in prayer for Singapore. Other major churches involved include
Victory Family Centre and
Covenant Evangelical Free Church.
Controversies
Views on homosexuality
In January 2013, church founder Lawrence Khong issued a statement to ex-Prime Minister
Goh Chok Tong
Goh Chok Tong (; born 20 May 1941) is a Singaporean former politician who served as Prime Minister of Singapore between 1990 and 2004, and Secretary-General of the People's Action Party between 1992 and 2004. He was the Parliament of Singapore, ...
against repealing Singapore's laws that criminalises gay sex. He described the potential repeal of
Section 377A of the Penal Code
Section 377A is a Singaporean law that criminalises sex between consenting adult males. It was introduced under British colonial rule in 1938 when added to the Penal Code by the colonial government. It remained part of the Singapore body of la ...
as "a looming threat to this basic (nation) building block by homosexual activists." and regards the "homosexual act" as "the greatest blasphemy against the name of God".
In 2014, LoveSingapore,a network of 100 local churches that Khong, chairs, created a guide to support
Section 377A of the Penal Code
Section 377A is a Singaporean law that criminalises sex between consenting adult males. It was introduced under British colonial rule in 1938 when added to the Penal Code by the colonial government. It remained part of the Singapore body of la ...
, criminalising sex between men. He also wrote an open letter to the
Health Promotion Board
The Health Promotion Board (HPB) is a statutory board under the Ministry of Health of the Government of Singapore. It was established in 2001 to act as the main driver for national health promotion and disease prevention programmes.
School ...
, criticising that their webpage on sexual health "condones same-sex relationships and promotes homosexual practice as something normal". He has also actively protested against the annual Singapore gay pride event
Pink Dot SG
Pink Dot SG, known exonymously as Pink Dot, is an event that has occurred annually since 2009 in support of the LGBT community in Singapore. Attendees of Pink Dot events gather to form a "pink dot" to show support for inclusiveness, diversity ...
, and has supported the counter-campaign and encouraged his followers to speak out against the normalisation of homosexual relationships in Singapore.
Support for Creationism
In 2016, Lawrence Khong delivered a series of sermons at Faith Community Baptist Church, describing
Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended fr ...
's
Theory of Evolution
Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation t ...
as "a real deception from the Devil". The church's support for
creationism
Creationism is the religious belief that nature, and aspects such as the universe, Earth, life, and humans, originated with supernatural acts of divine creation. Gunn 2004, p. 9, "The ''Concise Oxford Dictionary'' says that creationism is 't ...
in its pulpit and on its social media channels prompted a discussion on the spread of the idea by certain groups of Christian evangelicals in secular Singapore. The
Ministry of Education
An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...
has since clarified that creationism is not taught in local schools.
Unfair dismissal of employee
In August 2013, FCBC was fined by the
Ministry of Manpower and made to compensate a former staff whose employment was terminated 7 months into her pregnancy, depriving her of wages and maternity benefits. The married woman had been dismissed after she was discovered to be pregnant with the child of another former male staff. Employment Act in Singapore protects an expectant mother from the fourth month of pregnancy and requires employers to pay maternity benefits if she is dismissed without sufficient cause during this period. Reverend Khong disagreed with the ministry's judgement, but the ministry said that "employment legislation has to be kept secular because of Singapore's multi-cultural and multi-religious society."
In October 2013, the church announced plans to file papers requesting a judicial review of the original judgement, believing the ministry had acted unconstitutionally in the way it interfered in the church's affairs. The ministry expressed disappointment, saying that "We live in a secular society where laws have been put in place to protect individuals while not depriving religious organisations and individuals of the space to carry out their practices."
References
External links
Faith Community Baptist ChurchTOUCH Community ServicesThe Magic Of LoveMagic of Lawrence & Priscilla
{{Megachurches
Religious organisations based in Singapore
Evangelical megachurches in Singapore
Christian organizations established in 1986
1986 establishments in Singapore