Though COVID-19 brought many of Trinity’s celebratory events to a halt, God had other ways to kickstart our 50th Anniversary.
Celebration of Marriage. A large-scale Easter presentation. Four worship experiences. Church camp in Bangkok. A celebratory lunch for 20,000 people. 2020 was supposed to be a time of grand celebrations for Trinity’s 50th Anniversary. But when COVID grew into a global pandemic, our plans were forced to shrink.
As COVID cases rose across Singapore, Celebration of Marriage was canceled, and Easter was converted into a fully-online experience.
When Circuit Breaker was announced in April, worship experiences were the next to go. With quarantine periods enforced and international travel grinding to a halt, church camp had to be postponed.
Since the celebratory lunch was happening in August, there was a chance that we could keep that. But with Phase 1 measures limiting gatherings to 50 people, we knew that this, too, had to go.
Though church had been stripped to the bare minimum, nothing was going to keep Trinity from commemorating this milestone year. This would be the season of going back to basics, launching our 50th Anniversary celebrations with 50 Hours of Prayer (August 26-28).
Trinity’s prayer culture
Trinity is no stranger to prayer. There are church prayer meeting every month and pre-service prayer every weekend. There are events such as the First Prayer Meeting every January and Morning Prayer in November. Our IGNYTERs (Trinity’s youth) even gather at Trinity@Paya Lebar for overnight prayer every June!
But this was the first time that the church would have 50 continuous hours of prayer. At first, it seemed daunting. Two straight days of prayer? Who has the stamina to engage for hours and hours at a time? Yet, 50 Hours of Prayer makes sense in this time and for this season.
Coming full circle
Fifty years ago, the Staffords led a prayer group in their District 11 bungalow home. Prayer birthed this church, and prayer grew a group of 10 into a congregation of 10,000.
When we look at our beginnings, there’s no better way to celebrate 50 years of God’s faithfulness than with prayer!
Coming together on-site and online
Broadcasting from Theaterette 2
Live streamed through Trinity Broadcast and Zoom, 50 Hours of Prayer had over 10,000 viewings in this extended time of praise, prayer, and prophetic declaration. And, for the first time in months, Trinitarians in Singapore could come back to church!
Gathering in Theatrette 1
From 11pm to 7am, the doors of Theatrette 1 welcomed more than 350 Trinitarians who sought to tarry in God’s house.
“We believe that there is power as God's children come together corporately to seek and to pray,” shared Lawrence and Bee Leng Eng, “Taking the step out of the comfort of home to make our way to church to pray, it means we are serious and mean business.”
IGNYTEr Natalie Yee shared the same conviction. “Coming [back] is a symbolic act to thank God for all He has done in the last 50 years for Trinity. It is about being intentional and making time through the night and day to seek Him. This is a celebration for Trinity, and I want to thank God for His faithfulness now and forevermore.”
Trinitarians coming back to serve the house!
Birthing a new thing
Arranged into two-hour segments, Trinity’s pastors were joined by seven guest speakers to deliver God’s rhema word to the church.
The first of our 50 Speakers. Clockwise from left: Dr George Wood, Dr Rick Ciamamitaro, Pastor Phillip Lyn, Rev Marie Miller, Pastor Simon Jarvis. Rev Tham Wan Yee, Rev David Mohan
As people tuned in (online) and turned up (on-site), 50 Hours of Prayer was a time of incubating in the Holy Spirit. Hearts were re-aligned. Minds were re-calibrated. Souls were refreshed in a divine exchange that would usher in a move of God in our world.
In the final two hours of 50 Hours of Prayer, Connect Groups across the Trinity network (Singapore, Bangkok, Jakarta, and Melbourne) tuned in to hear Pastor Dominic’s word on the hour of shift. The waiting season is over. God is now releasing a fresh anointing and taking us to the next prophetic destination!
50th Anniversary greetings from Trinity@Jakarta
As we cross into the threshold of our 51st year, we go forth in expectation of the new things God is going to birth in and through this church. May Trinity continue to be a place of new beginnings and new exploits for the Lord!
Reflect & Respond
How has 50 Hours of Prayer changed your perspective on making room for God?
What does being a Trinitarian mean to you? What part do you have to play as Trinity enters into the next 50 years and beyond?
What fuels your prayer – positive or negative confession? Discover how to live A Life Fueled by Declaration by clicking here.