GCF Sectional Groups & Ministries

Take a look at our various Sectional Groups and Ministries:  

SECTIONAL GROUPS

1. Christian Medical and Dental Fellowship (CMDF)

2. Fellowship of Christian Care Professionals (FCCP)

3. Lawyers' Christian Fellowship (LCF)

4. Teachers' Christian Fellowship (TCF)

5. Engineering and Science Christian Fellowship (ESCF)

MINISTRIES

6. Christian Conciliation & Arbitration Ministry (CCAM)

7. Marketplace Christian Network (MCN)

8. Origins Interest Group (OIG)/
    Comparative Religions Interest Group (CRIG)

9. Indonesian Graduates' Christian Fellowship (IGCF)

10. UK Returnees (Chinese Overseas Christian Mission) - (COCM)

11. OCF Alumni Singapore

12. GCF Kairos

ASSOCIATE MINISTRIES

13. St Luke's Hospital

Christian Medical and Dental Fellowship

                      
                            (pictures from http://www.cmdf.org.sg))

Introduction
The Christian Medical and Dental Fellowship (CMDF) Singapore is a sectional group of the Graduates' Christian Fellowship (GCF). Started in 1966, it is an inter-denominational, evangelical fellowship of Christian doctors and dentists. It seeks to bring together Christian medical and dental professionals for fellowship and mutual encouragement, sharpening each other in our faith and walk, and optimising our professional gifts and resources for His glory.

Theme Verse
For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45)

Vision and Mission
We exist to serve the local fraternity of Christian medical and dental professionals to be all that God has designed and called us to be, generally as a unified evangelical Christian body; and specifically for each in our individual callings and roles. This is a ministry by Christian doctors and dental surgeons for Christian doctors and dental surgeons.

    
(pictures from http://www.cmdf.org.sg)

Aims
* To encourage members in the Christian faith
* To be a witness to Christ amongst our colleagues
* To support Christian students in the medical faculty
* To spread the gospel throughout the world and support missions

Ministry Focus
The focus and ministry of CMDF are in the following areas:

Missions
Working alongside mission agencies to send forth our doctors to the mission field for both long-term ministries and short-term mission trips. Serving as a channel of medical support for other missionaries. Locally, supporting St Luke's Hospital for the Elderly in finance and expertise.

Mercy Ministries
Sending forth our doctors for humanitarian missions, working alongside various relief organisations such as Crisis Relief Network, Ops Blessings and CREST.

Marketplace
Developing strategies that help integrate faith and practice, and equipping health professionals to reach their spheres of influence for Christ.

Medical and Dental Students
Nurturing medical and dental students for discipleship and witness on campus. Facilitating medical electives with mission hospitals and mission organisations.

Mentoring
Mutual encouragement and sharpening, both peer-to-peer and between seniors and juniors. One such forum has been the Meet the Housemen sessions, where senior Christian doctors reassure and encourage fresh graduates just before they embark on the Housemanship.

Medical Ethics
Acting as a national voice for Christian ethics in healthcare policy. Organising seminars to address issues that pose challenges to Christian witness in the profession, such as Psychiatry and the Occult, In-Vitro Fertilisation, and Cost of Medical Care.

              
(pictures from http://www.cmdf.org.sg))

Brief History
The roots of the CMDF can be found in the formation of the Varsity Christian Fellowship (VCF) in 1952 by a group of final-year medical students, in the then University of Malaya in Singapore. This began mainly as an evangelical response to the liberal theology prevalent at the time, which openly discounted the Bible to be the Word of God. The VCF eventually led to the formation of the GCF in 1955. It sought to bring into Christian fellowship graduates from the VCF as well as other campuses both locally and abroad.

As the number of doctors grew in the GCF, some members felt a need to have a grouping as a medical fellowship within the GCF. The reasoning was that there should be an identifiable group of Christian doctors to be a witness to colleagues, patients and the community. It sought to encourage members growth in the Faith, and the practice of the ideals of medicine, as exemplified by the Lord in His ministry to the sick. Christ came not be served but to serve; this was to be the ideal for the Christian doctor. At a meeting held in April 1966 at King Edward VII Hall, the Christian Medical Fellowship was formed. It became affiliated to the Graduates Christian Fellowship in June 1973. In 1980, a formal move made to include dental surgeons resulted in the Fellowship being renamed the Christian Medical and Dental Fellowship.

A milestone for the Fellowship was when it hosted the 5th International Congress of Christian Physicians (ICCP) in Singapore in November 1975. At about that time, CMDF became a member of the ICCP, now known as the International Christian Medical and Dental Association (ICMDA).

The challenge for CMDF members in nearly 40 years of our existence is different now from then. It is therefore necessary for our present leadership and members to seek afresh God's will for our generation, and in completing the task, to bring Him all the glory.

Website : http://www.cmdf.org.sg

back to top

Fellowship of Christian Care Professionals

Introduction
The Fellowship of Christian Care Professionals (FCCP) is a sectional group of the Graduates' Christian Fellowship (GCF). It comprises members who are mental health professionals (social workers, psychologists, psychotherapists, psychiatrists); professionals or lay appointed counsellors; and pastors and theologians with a special interest in the field of counselling.

Aims
*  To encourage each other to maintain spiritual vitality and Christian witness in our work
*  To be salt and light to our society
*  To be of help to Christian students and trainees preparing themselves to become members of the caring professions

Ministry Focus
FCCP achieves its aims through mutual support, informal networking, regular small group discussions and occasional large-scale meetings. An important aspect of these activities involves the integration of our professional experiences and Christian convictions in order to be salt and light to our society and to be of help to potential Christian care professionals.

Some recent activities organised included the following talks:
*  "Postmodernism and New Spiritualities-Impacting and Connecting with the Younger Generation" by Dr Gary Collins, a world renowned Christian author and speaker
*  "Sex - What Has Love Got to do with It?" by Associate Professor, Dr Calvin Fones, Consultant Psychiatrist and Chief of Physiological Medicine at the National University of Singapore.

Brief History
In 1991, a small group of Christian care professionals who felt it would be useful to network and share resources to tackle issues which they faced, started meeting together at the FES Graduate Centre (new name of City Centre). Two years later, at the GCF annual general meeting in June 1993, the FCCP was accepted as a sectional group.

back to top

Lawyers' Christian Fellowship

Introduction
The Lawyers' Christian Fellowship (LCF) is a sectional group of the Graduates' Christian Fellowship (GCF). The LCF was formed in November 1978 with the hope of enhancing Christian witness amongst members of the profession and bringing to bear the ethical teachings of Christ in the day-to-day operations of lawyers. Membership is open to all Christian lawyers who are qualified persons within the meaning of the Legal Profession Act and such other persons who have legal training or qualifications.

Aims
*  Fellowship: To encourage Christian lawyers to study the Word of God, have fellowship with one another, grow in their personal spiritual lives and relate the practice of their faith to the practice of their profession.
*  Witness: To proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ to fellowmen, especially those in the legal profession.
*  Service: To serve the Church and the community at large through the pool of Christians, legal expertise and other gifts of its members

Ministry Focus
Since its formation, LCF members have been active in various areas, one of which has been in GCF study groups, particularly those involved in examining impending legislation and making representations to Parliamentary Select Committees. One such example was GCF's representations on the Maintenance of Religious Harmony Bill. In 2003, on behalf of the GCF,  LCF provided inputs to the National Council of Churches of Singapore committee formed to discuss and give feedback to the government on the proposed religious code. Through the years, various seminars and public lectures, which deal with law, both Biblical and secular, and legal perspectives on various issues, have been organised.

The Annual Dedication Service is held in conjunction with the official opening of the legal year. Members of the Bar and Bench take the opportunity to come before the Lord and dedicate and consecrate themselves to serving Him in the profession.

LCF members meet once a month at a law firm to pray for one another as well as needs in the legal profession.

In recent years, the LCF has organised the following activities and programmes:

*  Social gatherings/dinners with Christian Pupils and newly called lawyers;
*  Christian Conciliation & Arbitration Ministry-LCF Christian Mediation Workshop;
*  A Career Guidance Seminar for the National University of Singapore Law undergraduates;
*  Combined Prayer Leaders Meetings (for prayer leaders of different law firms);
*  Special services with guest speakers;
*  Prayer and Praise Meeting for the profession

Brief History
The LCF had its beginnings in the second half of the 1960s when some fresh law graduates from Singapore and England shared a wish that there could be a Lawyers Christian Fellowship in which they could learn and share and through which they could witness to the profession. However, some senior Christian legal professionals thought it was a bit premature as there were too few Christian lawyers to form a fellowship.

In 1978, the scene has changed and there were more lawyers had joined GCF. At that time too, the legal profession had began to experience adverse publicity for various reasons, so the idea of forming the fellowship was revived. The LCF was officially formed and affiliated as a sectional group to GCF on 1 November 1978 although it was inaugurated only on 3 February 1979 at the Shangri-la Hotel.

back to top

Teachers' Christian Fellowship

Introduction
The Teachers' Christian Fellowship is a sectional group of the Graduates' Christian Fellowship (GCF). It was started in 2 November 1968 by a group of teachers who felt the importance of a continuing witness to Christ after graduation.

Aims
*  To encourage Christian teachers in their witness in schools, colleges and other institutions;
*  To enable them to relate their faith to education and
*  To build fellowship among them
*  To encourage Christians to formulate a Biblical perspective towards educational issues

Ministry Focus
Occasional workshops, seminars and social gatherings are organised to address the needs of the teaching profession and to stimulate educational issues. Examples of such issues discussed have been pastoral care, and Christian concepts of discipline, administration and education

Publication
TCF's main communication is through its newsletter which is distributed free to anyone on its mailing list. TCF has produced a monograph "Called to be a Teacher" and a Bible study guide "The Beginning Teacher " for new graduates.

Annual Dedication Service
The Annual Dedication Service is to welcome Christian teachers who are new to the fellowship, as well as to challenge and consecrate each one in the teaching profession for Gods glorious service.The first Dedication Service was held on 8 January 1983 at the St Andrew's Cathedral.

TCF and NIECF
TCF maintains strong links with the National Institute of Education Christian Fellowship (NIECF). NIECF is part of the Nanyang Technological University's Christian Fellowship under the Fellowship of Evangelical Students (FES). The first joint Dedication Service was held in 1995. Instead of holding it in January, the joint service is held in May beginning in 2002, to make it more relevant for graduates posted to schools in July.

Brief History
As early as the mid-1950s, Christian students of the then Teachers College met to have weekly fellowship. This practice continued into the 1960s and was known as the Teachers College Christian Fellowship. During 1961-62, the GCF focussed its attention on two areas : Christian witness and literature work. A group of graduate teachers from the GCF formed the Teachers Committee, and together with the Teachers College Christian Fellowship, helped to start the Teachers Conference. The first Teachers Conference was held in December 1962 at Tanah Merah, Singapore.

Six years later, the graduate teachers within GCF gathered sufficient manpower to structure themselves into the Teachers' Christian Fellowship (TCF). TCF was inaugurated on 2 November 1968 and was affiliated as a sectional group to GCF in 1969. It then restructured and came under the Fellowship of Evangelical Students in 1971. TCF rejoined GCF in 1981.

Website : http://www.gcf.org.sg/tcf/index.html

back to top

INTEREST GROUPS & MINISTRIES

OCF Alumni Singapore

Christian Conciliation & Arbitration Ministry

The Christian Conciliation and Arbitration Ministry is a ministry of the Graduates' Christian Fellowship (GCF). It was set up to help in the negotiation and settlement of legal disputes among Christian parties such as individuals, churches and para-church organisations. In the past, GCF members have helped to successfully resolve several legal disputes among Christian parties.

back to top

Marketplace Christian Network

Introduction
The Marketplace Christian Network (MCN) in Singapore is a ministry of the Graduates’ Christian Fellowship (GCF). Internationally, the MCN is a group of Christians worldwide, joined together as a non-profit organisation. It is an inter-denominational, evangelical ministry.

Aims/Vision
To encourage all Christians to see themselves as full-time ministers of God and to adopt the marketplace as their mission field

Ministry Focus
What we mean by:

1. Full-time Minister of God
*  We see our vocation as an integral part of our faith in Christ; it is not just a job
*  We are called as Christians to be ambassadors and full-time missionaries of God in His work of reconciliation
*  We are to serve as priests in our home and community of Christians to administer God’s grace and love

2. The Marketplace
*  People we come into contact with from day to day
*  People we spend time with. They include our family, colleagues, friends, neighbours and community

3. The Mission field
* Where non-Christians are

Our Mission
Networking individuals, marketplace groups, Christian organisations and churches so as to fulfill their call as full-time ministers and the Great Commission

The church
Local churches and para-church organisations, immersed in the world through intentional ministry. We see the world as the Christian community scattered in ministry.

Marketplace groups/ministry
* Returning to the church, the Christian community gathers for worship, equips itself and is a group from which resources can be tapped.

In practice, this means:
* Helping Christians to realise their call in the marketplace, equipping them to actualise that call and to provide continued support to fulfill that call
* Providing groups involved in marketplace or workplace ministry with resources, training, seminars and forums to be equipped, to be encouraged and to encourage others. These are missionary teams planted in their respective mission fields
* Encouraging churches to have a focus and providing resources for marketplace ministry within and outside their congregations. MCN comes alongside church staff to support them on marketplace issues
*Collaborating with Christian organisations to provide the training and resources needed in order to help Christians, groups and churches in achieving our vision

Brief History
MCN was started in 2001 in Singapore. Subsequently, MCN joined GCF as a ministry in 2002 because of the common vision we share for the marketplace. It is a ministry run by volunteers who also serve as ministers in their respective occupations. In 2003, we started our alternate monthly public meetings. These meetings are used as a platform to build a fellowship of marketplace practitioners through worship, talks and discussion forums on issues encountered at the workplace. MCN is also building a resource team as well as a team of marketplace ministry consultants. These consultants will assist groups and churches to integrate marketplace ministry into their overall ministry, based on their calling and gifts.

How can MCN  help You and Your Church?
Sign up as a Ministry Partner

As a Ministry Partner, you will receive regular updates on our alternate monthly meetings, seminars, forums via email. You can also access our website for regular updates of articles, recommended books, web-site reviews, and other resources related to marketplace issues. You will have to commit yourself to be a full-time minister of God and adopt your marketplace as your mission field.

*  Join our fellowship and meetings
*   Serve your church as a champion for the marketplace
*  Get your church to contact us for speaking engagements, workshops, consultations and resources

Website: http://www.marketplacechristian.net/

back to top

Origins Interest Group

Introduction
The Origins Interest Group (OIG) is an interest group of the Graduates' Christian Fellowship (GCF).

We are living in an age of technology and rapid scientific advancement where scientism and scientific naturalism are the prevailing paradigms. Biological macro- evolution of species and cosmological evolution of the universe based on the Big Bang theory are accepted as scientific facts which cannot be questioned. Thus, the media (from the newspapers to television ), science centres and academia regularly disseminate the so-called "facts" of evolution.

In the book entitled "The Meaning of Evolution", Simpson states "There is neither need nor excuse for postulation of non-material intervention in the origin of life, the rise of man or any other part of the long history of the material cosmo".

Professor Richard Dawkins of Oxford University has stronger views when he states that anyone who does not accept evolution as a fact is either stupid, ignorant or insane or perhaps wicked! It is interesting or disconcerting to note that in spite of the fact that an increasing number of non-Christian scientists (albeit relatively small) have recently started to question the validity of Darwinian and other forms of evolution, there is still a fair number of evangelical scientists, especially in the United States, Britain and Australia, who believe that evolution is a fact and that God has chosen to use this process.

Aims
*  To create an interest in and awareness of evolution and the origin of life among members of GCF and the general Christian body
*  To have its own group of highly qualified Christian scientists and engineers who, apart from their secular vocation, would be willing to utilise their scientific knowledge in this area so that we need not rely solely on the  efforts of our mainly Western brethren.

Ministry Focus
To achieve these aims, the OIG organises talks and seminars, and publicises its lectures and resource materials through publications (both print and electronic).

To date , the OIG has organised several dinners and meetings with speakers who have doctorates in fields such as astrophysics and paleontology. These include:
*  "Does the human soul exist?" by Professor K. O. Lee, Head of the Department of Endocrinology, National University of Singapore
*  "Man: Fossilized or Created?" by Dr Kurt Wise, Associate Professor of Science and Director of Origins Research at Bryan College based at Tennessee, USA

back to top