{"id":2396,"date":"2021-08-28T12:01:54","date_gmt":"2021-08-28T12:01:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/native-church-imithemes-com.stackstaging.com\/parish\/?page_id=2396"},"modified":"2026-09-03T14:24:30","modified_gmt":"2026-09-03T14:24:30","slug":"history","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/newtonlifechurch.sg\/staging\/about\/history\/","title":{"rendered":"History"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Our Story<\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Our History<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Rooted in faith and guided by God’s grace, our history bears witness to our devotion to God\u2019s calling. This heritage inspires us to press forward, building a firm foundation of faith centred on spiritual growth as we journey together into the future God has prepared.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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1955-1970<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Founding & Establishing<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Newton Life Church began in 1955 as an offshoot of Tekka Life Church to address space needs, with land acquired at Newton Road. The first service was held in Teochew, later expanding to Mandarin and English. The English service, started in 1956, became an independent church in 1970<\/span>; it was not until 2004 that we began our own English service again.<\/span>\u00a0<\/b>Originally Presbyterian, the church became independent in 1965 and was renamed Newton Life Church in 1966. Governance began with the election of elders and deacons in 1956. Key early leaders included Rev David T. S. Yang, the first Moderator Pastor, and Rev Qiu Shao Hua, a pioneer in prison ministry who served as volunteer pastor until 1982. Their leadership <\/span>laid a firm foundation for the church\u2019s growth and mission.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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1971-2004<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Rooting & Building<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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From 1971 to 2004, Newton Life Church deepened its spiritual roots and expanded its ministries and infrastructure.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Pastoral Leadership<\/strong>
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The church established nine key ministries and six fellowships, focusing on discipleship, care, and spiritual maturity. <\/span>Regular visitations drew the congregation together, and the fifth Sunday of each month was set aside as Gospel Sunday for evangelistic outreach.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Ministry Growth<\/strong>
To expand the space available for ministry, the Main Sanctuary was rebuilt and completed in 1991, and the Annex Building was rebuilt and dedicated in 2004, providing<\/span> space for worship, education, and pastoral housing.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Infrastructure Development<\/strong>
The Main Sanctuary (completed in 1991) and the Annex Building (dedicated in 2004) were major milestones, providing space for worship, education, and pastoral housing.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Through God\u2019s grace and the faithful service of His servants, the church was firmly rooted<\/span> and built up for future growth. All glory to God!<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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2005-2010<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Life-Shaping<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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From 2005 to 2010, Newton Life Church entered its Life-Shaping period. In 2006,<\/span>\u00a0Rev Dr Abraham Lee was appointed senior pastor in 2006. Under his leadership, the church embraced Rick Warren\u2019s Purpose Driven model, launching the 40 Days of Purpose and introducing the 5M structure:<\/p>

    1. Membership<\/span><\/li>
    2. Magnification<\/span><\/li>
    3. Maturity<\/span><\/li>
    4. Ministry<\/span><\/li>
    5. Mission<\/span><\/li><\/ol><\/li><\/ul>

      A leadership team <\/span>was sent to Saddleback Church in the United States for training, and on their return,<\/span> church-wide discipleship courses (101\u2013401) were established. <\/span>In 2005, the church celebrated its Golden Jubilee, marking 50 years with 50 baptisms and 700 in attendance.<\/span> In 2007, the \u201cReach One More for Jesus\u201d evangelistic campaign encouraged every believer to lead one to Christ.<\/span> Rev Dr Abraham Lee resigned in 2010 and returned to the United States. The bold initiatives and lessons of this season laid an important foundation for the church\u2019s future direction.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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      2011-2019<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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      Return to the Path of Righteousness <\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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      In 2011, <\/span>with no senior pastor in place, Rev Choo Yee Kee was appointed Coordinating Pastor to guide the church\u2019s direction.<\/span> The theme \u201cBe Right\u201d (Romans 5:1) emphasised spiritual growth through a sermon series on Romans and Sunday School teaching. The church also celebrated its 56th anniversary and hosted Christmas outreach programmes.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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      In 2012, the church adopted a new vision: \u201cTo glorify God by making disciples of Christ.\u201d A five-year plan was launched to focus on <\/span>missions,<\/span> equipping, and sending. Leadership training began, including a Counselling Seminar and Bible Conference, alongside an increase in the Mission Fund and <\/span>the election of new elders and deacons.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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      2013 emphasised disciple-making with <\/span>evangelism and missions courses such as<\/span> \u201cThe Walk\u201d and \u201cKairos.\u201d <\/span>The church held a retreat in Kuching, East Malaysia.<\/span>\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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      2014 adopted the theme <\/span>\u201cA Man After God\u2019s Heart\u201d<\/span> and trained leaders for deeper discipleship. Major renovations began in preparation for the 60th anniversary while in 2015, the church embarked on a \u201cChrist-Centred Journey,\u201d continuing its discipleship and outreach efforts.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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      2016 and 2017 built on this with the themes \u201cChrist-Centred Gospel-Driven Journey\u201d and <\/span>\u201cChrist-Centred, Discipleship-Driven Journey.\u201d During these years Rev Joshua Ting came alongside the church as pastoral mentor, and the church held a retreat, sent leaders overseas to learn, restructured its leadership, and appointed three new pastors.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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      2018 focused on \u201cLiving Discipleship \u2013 In Christ, By the Spirit, For the Gospel.\u201d Pastor Vincent Lim was ordained, and the church celebrated its 63rd anniversary and Christmas with vibrant worship while 2019\u2019s emphasis was <\/span>\u201c<\/span>Blessed by Christ – Go bless for Christ.<\/span>\u201d New elders and deacons were elected to continue leading the church forward, and<\/span> the year concluded with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, bringing significant changes to church life.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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      2020
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      The Discipleship Period<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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      From 2020 onwards, Newton Life Church entered its fifth spiritual milestone: the Discipleship Period. Under the <\/span>continued mentorship of Rev Joshua Ting, we clarified<\/span> our church\u2019s core values: Faith, Life and Mission.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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      In 2020, our theme was \u201cListen to the God of Love, Listen to Others with Love\u201d (Mark 12:29\u201331), which guided us through the onset of the global COVID-19 pandemic. Despite severe disruptions, <\/span>God realigned our thinking and led us to adapt and grow.<\/span> Online platforms became vital as Sunday Services, small groups, <\/span>classes and meetings<\/span> moved online. On 29 March 2020, we held our first online service, transforming homes into places of worship. In 2021, we renewed our vision:<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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      Building generations of a Christ-like family, faith is realised through life that is empowered by mission.<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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      Ministry resumed physically in 2022 with the theme \u201cExperiencing God\u2019s Presence\u201d, followed in 2023 by \u201cServing God with a Servant\u2019s Heart\u201d. In 2024, we embraced \u201cShaping the Next Generation\u201d. <\/span>In 2025, our theme was \u201cRekindle the Fire\u201d, and in 2026, \u201c A Compassionate Heart. Caring like Jesus\u201d.<\/span> Through these years, God faithfully shaped our church into a disciple-making family church, rooted in Faith, expressed in Life, and committed to Mission.<\/span><\/p>

      Ordination of Pastors<\/strong> \u2014 On 26 July 2025, Rev Simon Ong was ordained, serving as Associate Lead Pastor of the Chinese worship ministry. On 26 October 2025, Rev Vincent Lim was installed as Senior Pastor of Newton Life Church, continuing to shepherd God’s people together with the pastoral team.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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      Our Story Our History Rooted in faith and guided by God’s grace, our history bears witness to our devotion to God\u2019s calling. This heritage inspires […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":2394,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2396","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newtonlifechurch.sg\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2396","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newtonlifechurch.sg\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newtonlifechurch.sg\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newtonlifechurch.sg\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newtonlifechurch.sg\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2396"}],"version-history":[{"count":94,"href":"https:\/\/newtonlifechurch.sg\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2396\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4724,"href":"https:\/\/newtonlifechurch.sg\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2396\/revisions\/4724"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newtonlifechurch.sg\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2394"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newtonlifechurch.sg\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2396"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}