Heart of God Church

Heart of God Church or HoGC is a non-denominational independent church in Singapore. It was founded by Pastor Tan Seow How and his wife Pastor Cecilia Chan in 1999.

History
The church started when Pastor Tan Seow How and Pastor Cecilia Chan, along with three other people held the first cell group meeting in 1996 under the name Exousia Ministry. Soon, the group grew to 25 members and held services at a small house in Countryside Road. (Singapore)

In March 1998, the church moved to Henderson Industrial Park for its first combined service. The church was officially registered as "Heart of God Church" in August 1999.

Soon after, the small auditorium at Henderson Industrial Park could not hold the growing congregation; thus, in 2004, the church moved from Henderson Industrial Park to FTMS House at Dhoby Ghaut. It opened its first service in FTMS House with a record attendance of 422. Even as the church's ministries such as Operations and Creative Ministries and other ministries were birthed, the church continued to grow until FTMS House was no longer able to have space for its growing congregation.

In 11 August 2007, the church moved to its current location in Paya Lebar to accommodate its growing congregation.

The church is registered with the National Council of Churches of Singapore (NCCS) and is an independent church with an independent board of directors, leadership and finances.

Vision
The vision of the church is to "Raise up a generation of people who will give God the best years of their lives and God will use this generation to impact all levels of society and all walks of life."

Core Values
The church has 6 Core Values - Faith, Family, Church, Youth, Education and Entrepreneurship. Apart from Faith being the central and most important Core Value, the members are taught that the other Core Values are of equal importance.

Family
Although the church has a large youth congregation, it maintains that it is a family church at its core. The belief is that the church should be a place for bridging generations and restoring relationships so that as a family is blessed it can become a blessing to other families.

Family-Friendly Services
The church has family services on Saturday at 4PM and Sunday at 1PM, which runs concurrently with the Children's Church Program. The youth services are held on Saturday at 1PM and Sunday at 4PM in order for the youths to have lunch or dinner with their families.

Youth
One of the Core Values of Heart of God Church is youth.

The youth ministry began when Pastor Cecilia noticed a group of 9 children who were too old for the Children's Church but too young for the adult service. A Teen Cell was created with a focus on meeting the needs and issues of the 12-14 year olds then training and empowering them to lead others.

Because of its positive work with youth, particularly in the area of Academic Excellence, the church was featured on The Straits Times on 27 November 2010. In the article, Pastor Seow How is quoted saying "Any organization serving young people is unlikely to be rich... For very practical reasons, I do not see many youth churches arising in Singapore. It is like raising a family of 10 kids... (But) If I can teach, grow and mature a thousand young people into responsible, godly, loving citizens, in 20 years there will be 1,000 great families, 1,000 good fathers and mothers, and 1,000 responsible citizens."

Youth-Run Ministries
The church entrusts a lot responsibility to the youths and encourages young people to excel in creative pursuits. Ministries requiring technical proficiency as well as the expensive equipment are handled by teenagers, after going through a training program to help them to learn the necessary skills. The church provides the environment and the equipment for young people to explore what they are good at - music, multimedia, lighting, dance, fashion and art.

Education
Education is another Core Value of Heart of God Church.

This is emphasized this through messages such as "Christianity is the renewal of the mind not the removal of the mind" and "Education is the fastest way out of poverty" as well as through the church's Academic Excellence program that encourages youths to serve God and do well in school at the same time.

Academic Excellence
Every year, students taking their GCE 'O' Levels and GCE 'A' Levels are motivated with the promise of generous prizes such as iPads, iPhones, iPods, vouchers and cash should they achieve to meet the required grade.

Since the start of the program in 2005, Heart of God Church has given out over $30,000 worth of cash / vouchers. iPhones, iPads and iPad Minis have also been awarded to the Top Students and Most Improved Students. Some parents, seeing the effectiveness of this program, have offered to sponsor these prizes.

The church also requires students taking their major exams to complete at least 20 hours of academic work each week before they are allowed to attend any church program, including weekly services.

Ministry and Leadership Pre-requisites
As part of the Academic Excellence program, youths in secondary school who wish to serve in ministry have to meet an L1R5 of 25 and below. Leaders in Heart of God Church, who are expected to lead by example, have to obtain an L1R5 of 20 and below.