As SCGM celebrates 40 years of ministry, we are praying for a vision beyond 2020. “Vision beyond 2020” is our way of saying we are seeking a vision beyond the perfect vision of man, towards a glimpse of the vision of God, a supernatural vision. 

The year 2020 began with anxiety for me as a volcano erupted in the Philippines which disrupted our plans for a mission trip in February. By the time we gathered for the Chinese New Year reunion dinner, it was sad news all around as friends in China shared the news of the spread of the coronavirus from Wuhan city. All our plans for travels and projects were shelved as we watched the pandemic grow into a global crisis, from medical to economic and humanitarian crises. 

We clapped with the world for the essential workers and worked to do our little part to fundraise and reach out to the needy. We despaired with the grieving for the growing gloom as daily rises of new Covid-19 cases reached six digits, and lamented with those who experienced grief in family bereavement and suffered from personal health issues, We were forced to learn to work from home, study from home, engage online and develop new family and community dynamics digitally. We experienced a world of empty streets and caught a glimpse of flora and fauna flourishing. We caught a glimpse of a strange new world. 

We are living in a defining moment in history. With this shared experience, we can now affirm we are children of the 21^st century. We may be living in “a period of the consequences” as more crises will emerge which are truly global in impact, including the worsening economic and climate crises. How do we live in moments like these? How can we act to fulfil our God-given mission in new dynamic ways?

Perhaps this is the time for the church to arise to become God’s house of prayer. God’s children need to arise as God’s priests and recover our Reformation heritage as God’s priesthood of believers. God’s children play a missional role in praying and interceding for the nations, especially in challenging times in history and then act with divine wisdom and hope. “Prayer is the action before the action” (Symond Kock). 

In order to rise up to our destiny as God’s royal priesthood and holy nation (1 Peter2:9), we need to draw near to God. We are created for communion with God, for a doxological vocation evident in our essence as imago Dei. May God draw His children this year end and in the New Year so that we can allow His Divine Presence to divinise all our activities and passivities, as we point to and reveal God’s eternal presence in history. Christmas is a call for us to go tell it on the mountains and everywhere that in Christ, there is Hope in history.