City Harvest Church loses members, staff
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Following the uproar over City Harvest Church’s (CHC) plans to move to Suntec Singapore and the police investigation of several church leaders over the misuse of funds, problems continue to plague the megachurch.
A report by The Straits Times (ST) has found that church weekly attendance has fallen by more than half in over a year and several senior staff members have also resigned.
Internal records show between June and September last year, weekly average attendance was near 15,000. In December 2009, the church recorded a weekly average of 28,000 attendees, according to its annual report.
When queried, the church spokesperson said any changes to attendance would be posted on its website.
Since last year, three senior staff have also left the church. Two pastors, Mr Tan Chee Kiang and Mr Darren Tan left to start their own churches, citing personal reasons. Both had worked in CHC for over 10 years.
Two months ago, music director David Yem also resigned.
The church, however, will be continuing with its controversial $310 million move to Suntec Singapore. It is expected to begin its services at Suntec’s convention halls on March 19.
However, plans to build a 12,000 seater auditorium has also been temporarily shelved, according to sources. Two of the three convention halls will be set up to seat about 7,500 worshippers instead, with the third hall set aside for a children’s church.
The church has also scrapped plans for the convention centre’s sixth and seventh floors to be used exclusively by CHC. Now, the church can only hold its services there on the weekends.
The church spokesperson confirmed the move to Suntec but declined to give further details, including whether the church is still paying $310 million for the deal, reported the same paper.
Last July, the Urban Redevelopment Authority released guidelines restricting the use of commercial buildings for religious purposes. There is a 20 per cent limit on the total floor area used for religious purposes and a two-day limit on the number of days a week religious activity can be held in a commercial venue.
The regulations were released after news of CHC’s purchase of Suntec made local headlines.
Church leaders, including founder Pastor Kong Hee, are still under investigation by the police for alleged misuse of church funds. The inquiry is not related to the move to Suntec.
The church has so far tried to improve its internal processes by commissioning an external review of its financial controls and setting up an independent advisory board.
22-year-old Samuel Loh told ST he stopped attending CHC services last October because he felt the leaders were not forthcoming with its business dealings.
But 32-year-old member Amelia Lee said she would continue standing by her church. “Where it goes, I will follow,” she said.
-- Yahoo!
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May God bless City harvest church.
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More people are starting to realise god doesn't exist and that all the money they pay every month goes to the pastor and church staff. Haha!
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chruch is a lucrative business
everyone wants to open their own
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Originally posted by laurence82:
chruch is a lucrative business
everyone wants to open their own
I think only a few churches r super rich, some are poor. -
yah
only few businessman make it big
others are your neighbourhood retail shops and SMEs
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Originally posted by laurence82:
yah
only few businessman make it big
others are your neighbourhood retail shops and SMEs
Of course my neighbourhood medicine hall barely making a small profit every month. -
yeah, so any one wants to start church business should look to NCC and CHC as their model of success
maybe someone will come up with a book
Blue Ocean Strategy: Putting Your Money In God
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Originally posted by laurence82:
yeah, so any one wants to start church business should look to NCC and CHC as their model of success
maybe someone will come up with a book
Blue Ocean Strategy: Putting Your Money In God
Those churches are super blessed by God.Not all christians get "super blessed".
We must learn to be contend.
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ah, key ingredient to getting rich
all people are equal, but some are more equal than others
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my sister is one of the lost sheep. still attending city harvest every week. She had been brain washed.
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Originally posted by Itedino:
my sister is one of the lost sheep. still attending city harvest every week. She had been brain washed.
She's been saved from hellfire.I pray for household salvation for your family.
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Originally posted by Itedino:
my sister is one of the lost sheep. still attending city harvest every week. She had been brain washed.
a church business is like any other businessthey would sell their grandma's properties if they have half the chance
get real and smell the real world
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Christianity is universal truth.
Which humans are not sinners?
The wage of sin is death.
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thanks for agreeing with me that church business is one way to hell
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Originally posted by laurence82:
thanks for agreeing with me that church business is one way to hell
Rejecting Jesus is one way ticket to hell. -
I just think that in terms of trying to come to accountibility, that's where problems araise. How to justify some of the money spent when most of the time, the justification is based on approximation.
For example, maybe the church wants to build some houses for the poor, but which type (Semi-d or just trailer park kinds), which area(up class area or normal place), how much to spend on?
All these will require a high percentage of general consensus among members. The bigger the church grows, the harder for it to maintain proper procedures and more accurate information of which the project is being disseminated.
To centralise or to decentralise?
So much to think of, churchs have to walk a balanced line, but to start at where? Where will the line ends? Just how thick the line can be without wavering out of line?
I think more time is needed for every move that churchs made.
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Originally posted by Cute Dolphin:
Rejecting Jesus is one way ticket to hell.
Quoted for evidencePlease find Internal Security Dept at your doorstep soon
Thank you and have a nice day
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Originally posted by laurence82:
Quoted for evidencePlease find Internal Security Dept at your doorstep soon
Thank you and have a nice day
If so ISD will find Asromanista soon for scolding PAP regime. -
Originally posted by Cute Dolphin:
If so ISD will find Asromanista soon for scolding PAP regime.
He doesnt pray to Money God, like CHC membersWill he get arrested?
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Originally posted by Cute Dolphin:
Rejecting Jesus is one way ticket to hell.another mindless christian goon here telling people of other faiths they are going to hell. to hell with this statement yet again.
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They pray to money god, they are going to hell anyway by their standards
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Originally posted by Cute Dolphin:
Rejecting Jesus is one way ticket to hell.I find this not only offensive, but pathetic attempt to scare or recruit followers. this is the 21st century, not 1st or 12th century where people are primitive.
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show me proof that followers of other faiths are going to hell when they die.
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more money more luck
there is only one god
visa god
