The Student Care Centre (SCC) Ministry of our church was started in 1998 at two primary schools in Yishun Ring School Cluster. The following year the Lord opened another school in the same school cluster and in 2003, another centre in Bukit Batok. From its inception of less than 50 students, we have now 340 students under our care in our four centres this year- almost sevenfold increase over the past eight years! But Jesus said, "Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven" Matt 19:14

Our centres are unique in the sense that we operate within the school premises and that gives the parent(s) a greater sense of security and peace. Many of these students who join our centres are latchkey kids from dual income or single parent families. Quite a number of these families belong to the lower income group or are broken homes with divorced or going-to-divorce parents. Knowing the background of some of these students from the poor or broken families really move our hearts with compassion to want to help them even more, especially to tell them about the Lord Jesus Christ. For indeed without Christ, life is really miserable and hopeless as some of these children witness violence everyday in their families. Jesus said, "And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward" Matt 10:42.

In the past 8 years, our four centres are really gospel kelongs, the students just "swim" in batch after batch and this year, as in last year, we have students on the waiting list. Space constraint is one of the reasons why we could not take in as many students as they come by. Another major reason is the difficulty the SCC Ministry faces in getting like-minded and dedicated guardians to join the ministry, especially Lifers. Although the SCC Ministry belongs to Life B-P Church, only 6 out of our strength of 21 full time and 7 part time staffs are Lifers. Jesus said, "The harvest truly is plenteous but the labourers are few; Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest" Matt 9:37-38.

Besides supervising the children’s schoolwork/assessment our guardians at the centres also help to nurture the children’s development in terms of his/her physical, intellectual, moral, social, emotional and spiritual needs. A Moral class with lessons from Bible stories is one of the core programmes of the centres. And for the children’s spiritual needs, the children are encouraged to join the KIDS’ CLUB in Life Church every Saturday from 1.30 pm to 3:30 pm and the annual VBS during the June school holidays. Last Saturday (13/01/2007) there were about 80 students from the four SCCs who came down to the KIDS’ CLUB. The students are also exposed daily to the influence of our dedicated Christian guardians. As a result, many of these children have come to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and some are also attending church on Sunday. Jesus said, "I say unto you, likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance." Luke 15:7

The evangelistic potential of the SCC Ministry is tremendous and we invite you to be a part of this Great Commission Work. Besides praying for us, you can play a part by

a. contributing to the SCC Ministry Needy Students Fund which will be used to pay for the subsidy and fees for the needy students. Last year, the church Session contributed S$12,000.00 from the general fund to meet the needs of the poor students. We hope many Lifers who are blessed by the Lord will help us to boost up this fund as we expect the amount of subsidies to increase greatly due to the increase in the student enrolment this year.

b. volunteering yourself as tuition/Bible story teacher, helper during school holidays/special outings and etc

c. serving in the SCC Ministry as a full or part time staff as we are still short of two full time staff at the moment. The telephone number of all the four SCCs can be found in the Life B-P church Year Planner 2007.

The SCC Ministry Executive Committee also wishes to take this opportunity to express our sincere thanks to those Lifers and well wishers who have faithfully supported us in the past years. With God’s blessings and your unfailing support, the SCC Ministry of Life B-P Church today is able to minister to so many hundreds of students and their families living in the heartlands of Yishun and Bukit Batok. Thank the Lord also for Bro Quek Keng Kwang, Sis Hannah Yeo and all the brethren serving faithfully week after week in the KIDS’ CLUB providing the children the necessary spiritual food they very much needed. Jesus said, "I know thy works; behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it ….." Rev 3:8. by Dn Victor Loo
(vloo@lifebpc.com or 9046 1723) SCC Ministry Executive Committee

But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 19:14

With Matthew 19:14 as its theme verse, Kids’ Club formerly known as Berean Fellowship, first started as an off-shoot from the Before and After School Care Centres. A ministry of the Life Bible-Presbyterian Church, it operates on Saturday from 1:30 pm - 3:30 pm during the school term. The children regularly attending the Kids’ Club usually come from the Ahmad Ibrahim, Bukit View, Huamin and Jiemin Student Care Centres. Its mission is:

1. To evangelize to the children that they come to the kingdom of heaven.

2. To equip the children to wield the sword of the Spirit in their lives.

3. To enliven the children to serve their Lord and master, Jesus Christ.

Last year, the Kids’ Club enjoyed God’s manifold blessings. Below are just a few of the blessings:-

Children- Year 2006 saw an average of 55 children attending Kids’ Club compared to the previous year’s average attendance of 40. Without fail, the teachers at Kids’ Club would sow the gospel seed. For those who have received Christ as their personal Lord and Saviour, the Kids’ Club used the Mailbox Club resources to follow these children up. One other thanksgiving item is the safety of the children during the Kids’ Club sessions. Despite the greater number of children attending Kids’ Club, God has unfailingly kept the children safe during our outdoor and indoor activities. This work has also borne fruit in the area of reaching out to parents of the children attending Kids’ Club. Through this ministry a mother of one of our children has come to know the Lord as her Saviour. She has since started to attend Life B-P Church’s Chinese Worship Service. Other children have also indicated interest in attending church even on Sundays.

Co-labourers- Thank God for faithful labourers who come every Saturday afternoons to serve in this ministry. God has been working in our midst to encourage members to see the needs of this ministry. As a result He has blessed us with more faithful workers. We have been especially blessed by the sisters from the Ladies Fellowship who have come forward to help out at Kids’ Club once a month. Elderly ladies have also cheerfully availed themselves to help with the refreshments for the hungry children. Even the youths have come forward on occasions to help with the games for Kids’ Club. We have been very much blessed and encouraged by such display of willing service for the Lord.

God has really been gracious to us in this work for Him. This year 2007 Kids’ Club is anticipating an even bigger number of children coming in. We do need more brethren to co-labour with us to help out in counselling the children during our evangelistic sessions and to co-teach with us in the small group activity sessions. We pray that you would come and co-labour with us in His vineyard. We covet your prayers for this ministry. - Hannah Yeo (hyeo@lifebpc.com or 9295 4965)