Meet Echo Chong – Trustee Blog
I became a trustee at Everyday Church in November 2018. I did not set out to step into the trustee role initially. I simply wanted to put my skills to good use at a time when church finance was very challenging, and the leadership had to make some very difficult decisions.
With a background in financial services and experience in working for charities and large corporates, I thought I could contribute to God’s Kingdom by serving the local church in a practical way.
I started joining the Finance Working Group and participated in their regular meetings to get to understand the day-to-day issues, helped to provide solutions alongside others, and assist the leadership in their decision-making on finance matters. I then went on to become a trustee but continued to contribute to the Finance Working Group on a regular basis. I also serve in Everyday Kids and the Prayer Team at our Wimbledon Venue.
I am married to Kai, and we have three children aged 8, 8, and 11. I started going to church at the end of 1997 and became a born-again Christian in April 1998. I accepted Christ as my Saviour following an encounter with God. That changed my life forever and my life has never been the same again.
With a background in financial services and experience in working for charities and large corporates, I thought I could contribute to God’s Kingdom by serving the local church in a practical way.
I started joining the Finance Working Group and participated in their regular meetings to get to understand the day-to-day issues, helped to provide solutions alongside others, and assist the leadership in their decision-making on finance matters. I then went on to become a trustee but continued to contribute to the Finance Working Group on a regular basis. I also serve in Everyday Kids and the Prayer Team at our Wimbledon Venue.
I am married to Kai, and we have three children aged 8, 8, and 11. I started going to church at the end of 1997 and became a born-again Christian in April 1998. I accepted Christ as my Saviour following an encounter with God. That changed my life forever and my life has never been the same again.
That changed my life forever and my life has never been the same again.
The Bible says it is the love of God that brings us to repentance. That is what I have truly experienced. Christianity is never a religion, but a lifestyle to me. I love hearing God’s words and am fascinated by God’s healing and his signs and wonders.
In my early days of Christian life, I read lots and lots of books on prayer, prophecies and healing, as many as I could get hold of (well, I had time as a student then). I then figured out the secret of all these great men and women of God is all about the Holy Spirit and God’s love. The work of the Holy Spirit is to demonstrate the love of God and His power.
If there is only one verse from the Bible that I can take with me, it will be John 3:16 – “For God so love the world, that he gave his only begotten son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have an everlasting life”. Jesus died for you and me so that we can be the sons and daughters of God (the “born again” and his heirs).
At the start of 2023, the words in Hebrews 11:30-12:2 jumped out at me like never before. It starts recounting the great heroes of faith and well-known historical events. As it goes on talking about the sufferings and persecutions of many who believed, my attention was drawn to 11:39-40, “And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us”.
In my early days of Christian life, I read lots and lots of books on prayer, prophecies and healing, as many as I could get hold of (well, I had time as a student then). I then figured out the secret of all these great men and women of God is all about the Holy Spirit and God’s love. The work of the Holy Spirit is to demonstrate the love of God and His power.
If there is only one verse from the Bible that I can take with me, it will be John 3:16 – “For God so love the world, that he gave his only begotten son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have an everlasting life”. Jesus died for you and me so that we can be the sons and daughters of God (the “born again” and his heirs).
At the start of 2023, the words in Hebrews 11:30-12:2 jumped out at me like never before. It starts recounting the great heroes of faith and well-known historical events. As it goes on talking about the sufferings and persecutions of many who believed, my attention was drawn to 11:39-40, “And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us”.
We all have a part to play in this race and in God’s Kingdom, no matter where we are in life.
It goes on in 12:1, “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.” It occurred to me that we are all part of this big race – run by our ancestors, those men and women of faith. Their race will be made perfect by us (think relay). We all have a part to play in this race and in God’s Kingdom, no matter where we are in life. It really humbles me that “they should not be made perfect apart from us”.
With the current stagnation of the economic environment and the challenges of cost of living, we all have many challenges to face ourselves. May I encourage us not to lose heart, trust God with all our heart, all our mind and all our soul, let us lay aside every weight and the sin, let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.
I pray our God will provide you and your family abundantly in this season. You are part of our church family, and we really appreciate your generous support financially and in other ways.
Echo
With the current stagnation of the economic environment and the challenges of cost of living, we all have many challenges to face ourselves. May I encourage us not to lose heart, trust God with all our heart, all our mind and all our soul, let us lay aside every weight and the sin, let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.
I pray our God will provide you and your family abundantly in this season. You are part of our church family, and we really appreciate your generous support financially and in other ways.
Echo