Project Heartbeat

Written by Trisha Khoo

Those who were poor and marginalised by society had a special place in the ministry of Jesus. The gospels account for us how, as He walked on earth, Jesus was ever ready to minister to such people.

At Covenant Vision, we believe that God has strategically placed us here in the Jalan Besar area. When we held our very first social concerns project "Christmas @ Tyrwhitt" in 2008, our eyes were opened to the reality that there were poor and needy people right at our doorstep and that presented such a huge platform for minstry.

Fueled by our vision to be a living bridge to a lost and needy world, we launched Project Heartbeat on Good Friday, 2 April 2010 – an ongoing social concerns project to bring the love of Jesus to the less fortunate in our community. Once a month, we distribute food parcels containing rice, instant noodles, biscuits and milo to those living in one-room flats in the Jalan Besar area. In doing so, we hope to bring love and hope to these residents who are among the lowest income earners in Singapore. But more than that, our desire is to build a rapport with these people so we can go back to visit them and one day win them over to Christ through the demonstration of our love.

Since we launched the project, we have seen God affirming the work. People who do not even attend our church have been led to contribute to the project financially and even in kind. One person has offered to give 30 school bags containing S$100 worth of stationery and dictionaries to households with young children. But the biggest affirmation has been the hearts of the people. Truly, such desire to serve the poor and needy must come from God. During the launch and the second run of Project Heartbeat, we have seen so many willing to get their hands "dirty" in ministry.

We are also encouraged to see Project Heartbeat becoming very much a family ministry. Families with children as young as 3 years old have braved the scorching afternoon sun to deliver the parcels and to spread the love and joy.

We thank God for giving us this opportunity to reach out to our community and it is our prayer that our hearts will continue to beat in tandem with our Lord's as we go forth and minister for Him.

"I think it's very good to take part in a project like this, especially with the family, to befriend other people outside the church. I believe we should follow up with these people to really make an impact." Penny Leng

"I feel very honoured and it is a privilege to be able to do this for the church and for God". Jason Lim

"I feel really excited because it's my first experience doing such community work and I'm planning to do more of this for Jesus." Eunice Foo