12 Years with This Church, CERC ft. Jeremy and Melissa Johnson

Time has gone by really quickly. It’s weird, because when you look in the calendar, it’s like, “wow, it really has been 12 years!” That’s really long, but it doesn’t feel like that because the past 12 years have gone by so naturally due to how integrated the church has been in our lives. Our membership batch put all of our energy, life and love into building up CERC. Every day has been about meeting people to talk about the gospel, preparing for Sunday gatherings, and other ministries. CERC was our lives.

CERC was founded because we were rarely taught how to read the Bible the right way. Everyone including us, were reading and quoting the Bible in batches or extracts out of contexts. People were only taught about morals and how to lead a good life, but not about who God is and how we humans must live under God – it was always just “live a good life, and God bless you”. Once Robin taught us how we must submit to the Bible’s agenda and read the Bible in context as one story flowing from the start to the end, Jeremy and I “woke up”, and we knew there was no way we could go back to practising Christianity the way we did before. We had to make some sacrifices, including straining some relationships with friends and family – it was very scary at that time – but we could not compromise. And so, the next 12 years were history.

By God’s grace and provision, CERC has grown from just 12 people with very minimal funds into what we are today, and we are really grateful for that. Do not take for granted the strong theological teachings that CERC is now blessed with – because churching in Malaysia wasn’t always like that, and there is a lot more we must do.

Life is going to be difficult, and ministry doesn’t get easier; temptations are sure to come and sin will definitely whisper compromises into our ears. Against that backdrop, it is our hope that the church will keep persevering and focus on Jesus, because God is the only one we should fear and glorify.

In life (and especially in choosing who to marry!), hang on to like-minded people who fear the Lord and seek to glorify Him, so that they can encourage you, remind you of who you are, and even rebuke and push you when necessary, speaking truth in love to make sure you won’t fall out of the race we have been called to run.

Personally, Jeremy and I have been very encouraged by the level of commitment shown by Robin and Joy. Even after 12 years, their energy and zeal for God, and compassion for God’s people (which we have personally experienced and benefited from) have not lessened one bit. Their faithfulness and commitment to God’s work is still such an encouragement and a big reminder of how every Christian should live their lives for the glory of our Almighty God.

It’s going to be tough, but don’t compromise.