Lawrence Khong
Encyclopedia
Apostle Lawrence Khong is the Senior Pastor of Faith Community Baptist Church (FCBC) in Singapore
. Founded by Pastor Khong in 1986, FCBC is one of the megachurches in Singapore and has a congregation of about 9,000.
He was commissioned as an Apostle
by Dr Peter Wagner
of the International Coalition of Apostles in 2000. Pastor Khong is the founder and chairman of TOUCH Community Services, a non-profit welfare organization that has 18 centres in Singapore helping the under-privileged and the needy.
In recent years, Pastor Khong has followed his calling from God to enter the media and entertainment world by producing movies and performing magic shows such as “Magic of Love” and “Magic Box” as a platform for him to share Christ with unbelievers and to “reclaim the media for God’s kingdom”.
province in China, had another family in Hong Kong with four children, but remarried when he came to Singapore before World War II broke out.
As a young boy, Pastor Khong was naughty and rebellious and did not do well in primary school. However, he did very well in secondary school at St Joseph’s Institution and went on to National Junior College
, where he met his wife, Nina. But he turned rebellious in the army and became a chain smoker, lighting up three packs a day. He also stopped going to church. However, he cleaned up his act when he had a spiritual awakening at vacation time during his first year as a business administration undergraduate in the University of Singapore.
He had followed Nina to a church camp in Port Dickson, Malaysia, where a boy drowned on the second day. That shook him up and he “felt a calling” to become a pastor
.
, he worked as an intern pastor in his church. And three weeks after he and Nina tied the knot, they left for Texas in the United States so that he could study for a master’s degree in the Dallas Theological Seminary.
About five years later, he returned to serve in his church, then set up Faith Community Baptist Church. It has 9,000 members today and it was at one point the biggest church here, although other megachurches such as City Harvest Church
, New Creation Church and Lighthouse Evangelism (Singapore)
have since overtaken it.
He was commissioned as an Apostle by Dr Peter Wagner
of the International Coalition of Apostles in 2000.
FCBC was founded as a cell church. The vision of this church is primarily that of expansion, growth and numbers; people stand at the doors of the church with "number clickers" to count every person. It is also fully committed to the "paradigm shift" in thinking about the global church, whereby the entire philosophy of "church" changes. Khong begins every Cell Conference he leads by proclaiming: "There is a heaven and earth difference; an east and west difference between a church with cells and a cell group church". This statement has become a major landmark of Pastor Khong's teaching about the CellChurch.
In 2002 he led FCBC to transit into the G12 vision which focuses on helping every believer to become a father of multitudes. He is one of the International Twelve of Pastor Cesar Castellanos, Founder of the G12 movement, and is committed to bring the G12 vision to churches in Asia. It is a Charismatic church that moves, teaches and believes in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Following the pattern in G12 churches, FCBC is led by Apostle Lawrence Khong and his wife, Rev Nina Khong. Apostle Lawrence Khong is the head of the Men’s Network, whereas Rev Nina Khong heads the Women’s Network.
Pastor Lawrence has been recognized for his community work over the years. In 1998, he was conferred the public service medal in recognition of his contributions to the community.
In 2002, Pastor Lawrence conceptualised Project SMILE or Sharing Magic In Love Everywhere. For his achievements as a social entrepreneur through Project SMILE, Pastor Lawrence was selected as a finalist for the SIP-Schwab Social Entrepreneur of the Year 2007.
In 2007, TCS won the Outstanding Non-profit Organisation Award in the National Volunteerism & Philanthropy Awards, which recognises best practices in the management of volunteers and donors, including fundraising practices, in non-profit organisations.
He is the founder of Gateway Entertainment that was formerly TOUCH Media, the entertainment ministry of FCBC, which provides Christian-friendly stage and movie productions and magic shows. These productions softsell religion to a secular audience.
Pastor Khong has performed magic shows, with his daughter Priscilla, to more than 200,000 people in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Korea, Japan, China, Taiwan and the United States. He decided to stage his first magic show, “Magic of Love” to highlight the love between him and his daughter so that people could relate to it. He said that after working with delinquent youths in community programmes carried out by TCS, he discovered that many social ills originated from broken families.
Pastor Khong shared his experiences of “Magic of Love” in his book Give me the Multitudes! Obeying God's Call into the Media World, TOUCH Ministries International: Singapore but has received some criticism by fellow Christians for his use of magic and involvement in "marketplace ministries"
He is also a national polo player who won a silver medal with the Singapore team at the 2007 South-east Asia Games.
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...
. Founded by Pastor Khong in 1986, FCBC is one of the megachurches in Singapore and has a congregation of about 9,000.
He was commissioned as an Apostle
Apostle (Christian)
The term apostle is derived from Classical Greek ἀπόστολος , meaning one who is sent away, from στέλλω + από . The literal meaning in English is therefore an "emissary", from the Latin mitto + ex...
by Dr Peter Wagner
C. Peter Wagner
Charles Peter Wagner Christian missionary, writer, teacher, and church growth specialist, notable for his controversial spiritual warfare practices and beliefs...
of the International Coalition of Apostles in 2000. Pastor Khong is the founder and chairman of TOUCH Community Services, a non-profit welfare organization that has 18 centres in Singapore helping the under-privileged and the needy.
In recent years, Pastor Khong has followed his calling from God to enter the media and entertainment world by producing movies and performing magic shows such as “Magic of Love” and “Magic Box” as a platform for him to share Christ with unbelievers and to “reclaim the media for God’s kingdom”.
Early life
Pastor Khong is the son of a successful businessman and a housewife. His father, a general commodities wholesaler who came from GuangdongGuangdong
Guangdong is a province on the South China Sea coast of the People's Republic of China. The province was previously often written with the alternative English name Kwangtung Province...
province in China, had another family in Hong Kong with four children, but remarried when he came to Singapore before World War II broke out.
As a young boy, Pastor Khong was naughty and rebellious and did not do well in primary school. However, he did very well in secondary school at St Joseph’s Institution and went on to National Junior College
National Junior College
National Junior College is the first junior college established by the Ministry Of Education, located in Bukit Timah, Singapore. It is considered as one of the top five junior colleges in Singapore. NJC offers a two-year course for pre-university students leading up to the GCE 'A' Levels...
, where he met his wife, Nina. But he turned rebellious in the army and became a chain smoker, lighting up three packs a day. He also stopped going to church. However, he cleaned up his act when he had a spiritual awakening at vacation time during his first year as a business administration undergraduate in the University of Singapore.
He had followed Nina to a church camp in Port Dickson, Malaysia, where a boy drowned on the second day. That shook him up and he “felt a calling” to become a pastor
Pastor
The word pastor usually refers to an ordained leader of a Christian congregation. When used as an ecclesiastical styling or title, this role may be abbreviated to "Pr." or often "Ps"....
.
Faith Community Baptist Church
While in university, he joined the Varsity Christian Fellowship (VCF) and eventually preached on the pulpit while still an undergraduate. After graduating with a B.A Business Administration from the National University of SingaporeNational University of Singapore
The National University of Singapore is Singapore's oldest university. It is the largest university in the country in terms of student enrollment and curriculum offered....
, he worked as an intern pastor in his church. And three weeks after he and Nina tied the knot, they left for Texas in the United States so that he could study for a master’s degree in the Dallas Theological Seminary.
About five years later, he returned to serve in his church, then set up Faith Community Baptist Church. It has 9,000 members today and it was at one point the biggest church here, although other megachurches such as City Harvest Church
City Harvest Church
City Harvest Church or CHC is a non-denominational megachurch in Singapore with an average of 23,256 attendees in the month of December 2010....
, New Creation Church and Lighthouse Evangelism (Singapore)
Lighthouse Evangelism (Singapore)
Lighthouse Evangelism is a megachurch in Singapore. It is a non-denominational Church, which means it is often identified as being an Evangelical-Protestant church and its doctrines resemble Charismatic and Pentecostal teachings....
have since overtaken it.
He was commissioned as an Apostle by Dr Peter Wagner
C. Peter Wagner
Charles Peter Wagner Christian missionary, writer, teacher, and church growth specialist, notable for his controversial spiritual warfare practices and beliefs...
of the International Coalition of Apostles in 2000.
FCBC was founded as a cell church. The vision of this church is primarily that of expansion, growth and numbers; people stand at the doors of the church with "number clickers" to count every person. It is also fully committed to the "paradigm shift" in thinking about the global church, whereby the entire philosophy of "church" changes. Khong begins every Cell Conference he leads by proclaiming: "There is a heaven and earth difference; an east and west difference between a church with cells and a cell group church". This statement has become a major landmark of Pastor Khong's teaching about the CellChurch.
In 2002 he led FCBC to transit into the G12 vision which focuses on helping every believer to become a father of multitudes. He is one of the International Twelve of Pastor Cesar Castellanos, Founder of the G12 movement, and is committed to bring the G12 vision to churches in Asia. It is a Charismatic church that moves, teaches and believes in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Following the pattern in G12 churches, FCBC is led by Apostle Lawrence Khong and his wife, Rev Nina Khong. Apostle Lawrence Khong is the head of the Men’s Network, whereas Rev Nina Khong heads the Women’s Network.
TOUCH Community Services
Pastor Khong founded TOUCH Community Services (TCS), a community arm of FCBC. TCS serves the local community in Singapore and is a non-profit, non-religious community organization, which has served over 100,000 individuals since its establishmentPastor Lawrence has been recognized for his community work over the years. In 1998, he was conferred the public service medal in recognition of his contributions to the community.
In 2002, Pastor Lawrence conceptualised Project SMILE or Sharing Magic In Love Everywhere. For his achievements as a social entrepreneur through Project SMILE, Pastor Lawrence was selected as a finalist for the SIP-Schwab Social Entrepreneur of the Year 2007.
In 2007, TCS won the Outstanding Non-profit Organisation Award in the National Volunteerism & Philanthropy Awards, which recognises best practices in the management of volunteers and donors, including fundraising practices, in non-profit organisations.
Media & Entertainment
In recent years, Pastor Khong has followed his calling from God to enter the media and entertainment world by producing movies and performing magic shows such as “Magic of Love” and “Magic Box” as a platform for him to share Christ with unbelievers and to “reclaim the media for God’s kingdom”.He is the founder of Gateway Entertainment that was formerly TOUCH Media, the entertainment ministry of FCBC, which provides Christian-friendly stage and movie productions and magic shows. These productions softsell religion to a secular audience.
Pastor Khong has performed magic shows, with his daughter Priscilla, to more than 200,000 people in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Korea, Japan, China, Taiwan and the United States. He decided to stage his first magic show, “Magic of Love” to highlight the love between him and his daughter so that people could relate to it. He said that after working with delinquent youths in community programmes carried out by TCS, he discovered that many social ills originated from broken families.
Pastor Khong shared his experiences of “Magic of Love” in his book Give me the Multitudes! Obeying God's Call into the Media World, TOUCH Ministries International: Singapore but has received some criticism by fellow Christians for his use of magic and involvement in "marketplace ministries"
Personal life
Pastor Khong has a younger sister and a younger brother; Phyllis and Kin Mun. He and his wife, Rev (Dr) Nina Khong, have four children – Priscilla, Michelle, Anthony and Daniel, and a grandson, Isaac.He is also a national polo player who won a silver medal with the Singapore team at the 2007 South-east Asia Games.
Related links
- New Creation Church
- Pastor Joseph Prince
- City Harvest ChurchCity Harvest ChurchCity Harvest Church or CHC is a non-denominational megachurch in Singapore with an average of 23,256 attendees in the month of December 2010....
- Pastor Kong HeeKong HeeKong Hee is the founder, honorary and volunteer senior pastor of City Harvest Church in Singapore. Kong is a Christian in the Charismatic Movement, with a philosophy of ministry that emphasizes the Great Commandment, Great Commission, and Cultural Mandate. City Harvest Church has an average of...
- Lighthouse Evangelism (Singapore)Lighthouse Evangelism (Singapore)Lighthouse Evangelism is a megachurch in Singapore. It is a non-denominational Church, which means it is often identified as being an Evangelical-Protestant church and its doctrines resemble Charismatic and Pentecostal teachings....
- Pastor Rony Tan