On Sunday, 17th May 2026, CERC gathered at No. 10 Jalan PJS 7/3a for the last time. On the following Sunday, the congregation will move to Luther Centre in Petaling Jaya. It is a temporary home. The permanent one, a building the church has already purchased elsewhere in Sunway, is still about three years away before it is ready for CERC to move in.
CERC’s gathering place @ Bandar Sunway
Over a decade, CERC has gathered in a three-storey shoplot in Bandar Sunway, not much to look at from the outside. But step inside, and it is a different story altogether. The halls are full, the people are warm, and the memories run deep. For many in the congregation, this is where they heard a sermon that changed their lives forever, or where they found a family in the truest sense, where close friendships were formed, and for some, the place where faith was tested but came out stronger.
For Jia Jun and his wife, Gene, one of those moments was their wedding.
“When I first stepped foot in CERC in 2014, one of the first things I noticed was a dynamic congregation that is hungry to understand God’s Word and what it means to their lives: lots of real-life, thought-provoking discussion throughout the gathering. I’ve since grown and committed as a member, having heard countless life-changing sermons from the pulpit of this humble little shoplot. I remember Pastor Robin light-heartedly ‘promoting’ the use of this place for wedding, with all the awesome decorations we’ve put in place over the years which reflect our character. So, my wife and I took it to heart and got married here, just a few weeks before the pandemic lockdown no less! It was not the grandest venue. But it was ours. I would not have had it any other way,” said Jia Jun.
Jia Jun and Gene Voon’s wedding at CERC @ Bandar Sunway in the year 2020
No. 10 has never been the kind of building that wins people over on first impressions. It is a shoplot, after all. It is not what one normally imagines a church to be. Sook Yan, remembers her first impression.
“When I first came to CERC in 2015, I remember thinking to myself that this place is quite shady. Mainly because I had to walk up a dimly lit staircase which I thought unusual for a church. I always imagined a church to look ‘homey,’ warm, and brightly decorated. What I saw instead was bare concrete floors, a noisy hall, and seats that were made out of plastic. The sermon went on and on and I remember becoming restless after 30 minutes. But what I saw was that people around me were different and they took God seriously. This made me curious and I stayed. Over the years, I found myself looking forward to coming every Sunday, meeting God’s people, and listening to Word preached. It was in this place that I found myself taking God and his mission seriously. For that I am very thankful”, said Sook Yan.
But the move was not a difficult decision. It was an inevitable one. Week by week, across a morning congregation at 9.45 AM and an evening congregation at 4.45 PM, more than 500 people have been finding their way to that three-storey shoplot on Sundays. On special occasions, that number climbs past 700. The shoplot for all it has given, can simply hold no more.
CERC’s hall is filled by members, regulars, and their friends
Next Sunday, 24 May, both the morning and evening congregations will gather as one at Luther Centre in Petaling Jaya. For the first time in a long while, the whole church will be in the same room for Sunday gathering. And for some, this is a reminder of what CERC once was, and a glimpse of what it is still becoming.
“I have been in CERC since day one. So, I remember when we were smaller, you knew everyone. You knew their names, their struggles, their children. You were involved in each other’s lives, and it took love to do that. Now we are 500-plus strong church, and if I am honest, it is almost impossible to know everyone. But it takes a lot more love and active commitment to do it. Next Sunday, when we are all in the same room together, that is what I will be praying for. That we do not lose love”, said Melissa Johnson, a founding member of CERC.
CERC in 2011
It will not be CERC’s last new address. CERC has already purchased a building in Sunway, having secured funding from within and without the congregation. What remains is the slower work: approvals from the local council, the fire department, the electrical authorities, renovations and more funds to achieve these requirements. About three years is expected.
“People think once you have the keys, the hard part is over. But the hard part, in many ways, is just beginning. There are layers of government requirements to work through, and each layer takes time. There are also many, many aspects of personalised design requirements according to the various church departments that we hope to optimise, so that we could run church better and more efficiently”, said Victor Lee, a mechanical and electrical engineer who is helping to oversee the new building project
PM congregation took a picture together on the last day of their Gathering in No. 10
When the gathering ended, the shoplot did not empty quickly. People stayed. They took photographs with friends they had sat beside for years, in a building they called home for over a decade. They stood in the stairwells and the hall and the spaces they knew by heart taking pictures, because some things you want to hold onto longer than memory allows.
Ryan Fong and his wife Wei Wei, members since 2014 and 2015 respectively, capturing one last moment at No. 10
PM attendees staying back after the gathering to take pictures
This is not a farewell to Bandar Sunway. The shoplot on Jalan PJS 7/3a held this church through more growth than anyone could have planned for. The congregation will return to the same neighbourhood, to a building it now owns, and carry on God’s mission. The address will be new. The church will not be.
