Tribes and Clans, Clusters and Cells

Monday, 4th June 2007

Today marks the 2nd day of the Ohana Camp.

The 820 camp participants were divided into 12 tribes (named after the tribes of Israel), and each tribe was further divided into clans. These groupings into tribes and clans were done along the lines of clusters and cells, and as a result, we already knew the majority of the people in our tribe/clan. For example, the cell members of our 3L cluster were all in the tribe of Benjamin.

As I reflected upon this, I realise the great foresight that the LORD had blessed the Rev Wee Boon Hup with. By setting up the "cell church" structure, the logistics of organising major events that involves hundreds of people (such as the Project Uplift, Christmas at the Stadium, Church Camps, etc) becomes much easier to handle because of the existing cell/cluster structure.

In previous church camps, there was a need for icebreakers and group warm-up activities etc. on the first day, for people to get to know one another. Only after that was done, could the campers progress on to group activities such as games. In this camp, we could focus straight away on group activities such as telematch, cheers, etc because by and large, we already knew one another in our clans and tribes.

I also thank the Lord for our current PIC, Rev Peter Koh. After all, Rev Wee stayed on one extra year, wearing concurrently the hats of both TRAC President and PIC of our church, to ensure that the successor he chose would be one who shared the same vision, and indeed the one that God had raised to continued to carry the torch faithfully.

When I think of the succession plan, I am reminded of how Moses passed the torch to Joshua, and how the latter brought the Israelites successfully into the Promised Land.

As our 75th Anniversary approaches, let's continue to uphold our 3 pastors in prayer as they lead us into the next phase of our church's journey.

Anyway, this evening, 13 of us from the 3L cluster leadership ventured out of the hotel to go to the famous Fatty Crab Restaurant nearby for seafood by the lake. Thank you, dear cluster leaders for treating us to a sumptous seafood dinner! Here's a picture of us taken while patiently waiting for the food to arrive.