Heart To Heart with Pr Dr Benita Lim A JOURNEY OF FAITH, FORMATION, AND CALLING

My story with GPC begins with my maternal grandparents who came to Singapore from Quanzhou, Fujian in the mid 1900s. They settled at the foot of Bukit Timah hill as hawkers and began attending the oldest Chinese Protestant church in Singapore just up the road. My mother was the first to be born here among her siblings, and many of them also attended Pei Hwa Primary School, myself included.

My father’s family moved to Singapore from Moro, a small Indonesian island, and he became the first Christian in his family and joined GPC’s Chinese congregation where he met my mother in the choir. My father served as an elder before he too became a pastor.

There, my two siblings and I were baptised and accompanied our parents for choir mission trips and presentations, before moving over to the English congregation’s Sunday School. In my teens, I joined the Youth Fellowship, and began serving actively as a youth leader, Thai missions, and music ministry up till adulthood.

As a mischievous young person who struggled in our local education system, few would have thought that I would serve God in a full-time ministry capacity, much less pursue further theological studies. Neither did I. Yet seeds were sown through wonderful mentors such as Pr Evan (once Sunday School teacher to the likes of myself, Pr Qiheng, Dn Nicholas, and Wenyao etc.! Ask her what it was like ;)), and Michelle, our homegrown missionary to Thailand.

Through life’s experiences, I was drawn to the Lord’s heart for the marginalised, disenfranchised, and abused—especially among young people. On the other hand, I also grew passionate about exploring matters of worship and liturgy.

With GPC’s generous support and blessings, I began foundational theological education at Singapore Bible College (SBC) and went on to serve as a preacher in a smaller Chinese-speaking Presbyterian congregation, where I gained deep experiences ministering cradle to grave. Other doors began opening then came the opportunity to do a PhD on worship and liturgy at Fuller Theological Seminary in Los Angeles while pastoring at the English ministry of an Indonesian Chinese Asian American church through the pandemic. All these led to SBC inviting me to join the faculty upon completion of my PhD in 2025.

Once again, I am deeply grateful for the continuous support from the GPC leadership and family throughout the years. I have come full circle as I transfer my preacher-ship to GPC, and will mainly serve the wider body of Christ as faculty in SBC. Still, I look forward to reconnecting with and building His missional community. I pray that my life and service will be a blessing to many, as I have been well-blessed by even more of you.

In Service to His Missional Community,

Benita