Text from Lighhouse Magazine -
Offical Opening and Dedication of TCC Building
31st January 2009

Shalom!

Firstly, I want to attribute this accomplishment to my LORD Jesus Christ who by His Grace, Providence and Compassion helped us to fulfil the vision of Trinity Community Centre. All Glory and Praise to our Heavenly Father.

The prayers of the righteous availeth much. This building is a testament to that. I say this, because many of you know that I had only RM1.7 million in the coffers in March, 2007, when I set out to embark on a project I was told would cost me RM6 million.

In the wisdom of the world, this was foolishness. Unfortunately, I had a strong dose of this and very little common sense. If I were on television, I’d have to give a qualifier to those watching: “Don’t Try This At Home.”

I wish I could have given it to myself, because before long I was knee deep in rubble and contractors looking to me for their next pay cheque. As I scrambled to my Upper Room at home to check in with the Almighty on why He got me into this mess, I was reminded of His faithfulness in delivering the money we needed to buy our first church building in 1986 at No. 96, Jalan Maarof, Bangsar. That building cost us RM370,000. We rented it at first, then God led us to purchase the building. We managed to get a small bank loan and put up the rest, but we were still short of RM56,000 which I had to come up with within three months, failing which I had to forfeit the RM40,000 I had painstakingly raised.

My congregation consisted of only 30 people made up mostly of the blind, deaf and youth. Back then, I did not have the luxury of an upper room in the comfort of a lovely home. My “Upper Room” was a small mountain in Damansara which has today been flattened to accommodate luxury condominiums. It was literally a mountain climbing expedition as I had to crawl and propel myself up to the top, with the help of boulders and sturdy vines. I would stay from 7:00 pm right up to 7:00 am the next morning, praying and talking one-to-one with my Lord. I suppose that was my Mount Sinai. I experienced many wonders up there, including a vision of a burning bush that was not singed by fire. Fortunately, my faithful little flock that stayed behind did not build any calf to worship while I was away. They were faithfully praying and interceding for our church.

The Sunday before the deadline for payment, I came straight from the mountain into church. When the 9 am service started, my heart sank. Only half of my congregation was present because of the Chinese New Year holidays the following week. Some members of the congregation that knew of the payment deadline the next day, began to cry when collecting the offering. I said I would resign if the church’s RM40,000 was forfeited by the bank, not because I was angry with God, but because it was my responsibility.

I called out a man who had walked into Trinity Community Centre (TCC) for the first time, to count the offering. I instructed him not to empty the pouch, but to put his hand into it and slowly take out the money bit by bit. Soon, he was past the RM10,000 mark and everyone held their breath in shock. The money kept coming, and when it reached RM56,068, it stopped. We were partly in shock, partly bursting with joy. I wondered what the extra RM68 was for. When I went to settle the purchase price, the lawyer said to me, “Mr. Gordon, I’m afraid you have to pay some disbursements. It amounts to RM68.” The miracle of the money multiplying increased the faith of my congregation. I thank God they believed in, and prayed for the vision He had given me for our church, instead of ridiculing it like many others did. This vision for a bigger church came 10 years ago when God showed me His plans to move in an unprecedented way for the end time harvest.

It was several years more before He identified the building. In the meantime, I was searching around Bangsar and even looked to the house next door to us, but nothing worked out until this premises became available. During my search, God even gave me the names of two members of my congregation who would be instrumental in building our new church – brother Francis Hew and sister Rebecca Fong.

When I shared my vision with them, their reaction was not at all assuring. Francis worked in the Information Technology industry and Rebecca was attached to Keratapi Tanah Melayu. What would they know about construction? By the time we obtained this property to build our new church, Francis had joined us in full time ministry and today he is TCC’s Sound and Audio Director. Rebecca, who is helping in the deaf ministry, joined a construction company as Quantity Surveyor. They helped immensely in building this new church you are in today.

I was further encouraged by two visions God had given me:
In the first, God affirmed our destiny that, “The Glory of this latter temple shall be greater than the former and in this place He will grant us Peace” (Haggai 2:9).
In the second vision, He profoundly declared that “He will be a wall of fire around the church, and that He will be the Glory in our midst” (Zechariah 2:5). The Lord then gave His firm assurance that He would personally fulfil this promise. “For it is not by might or by power but My Spirit saith the Lord” (Zechariah 4:6b).

There was just one problem. In the same way I was short of the money needed to purchase the first church building at Jalan Maarof, I was also short again, and this time by RM4.3 million. I had been blessed to see great miracles in God’s providence for TCC, but being a man, my flesh trembled at the magnitude of the money I had to raise. But God’s promises, and the visions He had given, reassured me that I was doing the right thing. I felt compelled to proceed by faith because I just knew He would provide. We saw our fair share of miracles on this new venture too. The Petaling Jaya City Council donated RM10,000 towards our building fund. It is a miracle that a Government agency had donated to a church. Glory to God in the Highest!

Brother Narayanasamy, a structural engineer, undertook the project free of charge for which I am deeply grateful.

Another notable miracle – to put the icing on the cake so to speak – is when God sent us a non-Christian main contractor who volunteered to construct the entire building, also for free. He supplied the machinery, his development engineer and foreman, but we paid for the building materials and wages for the construction workers.  I can find no words to express my heartfelt gratitude and love for this gentleman. In God’s time, Mr. Lee Siew Wah, our main contractor, would be added to His family and be brought into His marvellous light. Surely, he will be rewarded by our Lord Jesus Christ. And of this, I have no doubt.

Before I end, allow me to thank Dato’ Wong Sai Hou who was instrumental in helping us obtain the approval of our building with the relevant authorities. My deep appreciation also to Rev Dr Tan Sri Prince Guneratnam, YB Teresa Kok, Rev Ong Sek Liang and Rev Michael Ho for graciously consenting to pen congratulatory messages in this magazine.

A special thank you too, to Crown of Glory Church in Singapore, pastored by Rev. David Elijah Ho, for their generous contribution to our building fund. My deep appreciation to “Open Heavens Ministry” of Singapore, headed by Brother Kam Pui, for the beautiful Menorah from Israel that will be a light to our beautiful country, Malaysia. And to my many friends in Australia, the US, and Malaysia who have supported us in one way or another, my heartfelt gratitude to you too.

Last but not the least, to my beloved leaders and congregation, “A Big Thank You” for all your prayers, support, sacrifice and financial pledges that helped turn my vision into reality. You have a special place in my heart. Time and time again, God has emphasised to me and TCC that nothing can take the place of fervent prayers. This is why I am saying that this building is a testament that the prayers of the righteous availeth much. It is what He is going to do in this building and through each member of TCC that excites me.

Oh, by the way, I forgot to tell you that the final cost of this building is RM12 million, paid for in full by our Lord Jesus Christ. You see, that was how He told me, “By the way, Collin, do you know the building you thought was RM6 million actually cost you RM12 million?” Yes. That was what the accounts showed.

I know now that He is truly a Merciful God. If He had told me this much earlier, it would have stretched my faith to breaking point. He had very discretely omitted to mention this to me until the whole amount was settled in full. It has been a tough journey of faith for me, my family and congregation, and though many times we had to wait till the eleventh hour for His providence, He never failed to deliver on time.

I could not have endured this arduous journey of faith without my family. Hence, I wish to express my deep love and gratitude to my wife, Marie Gordon, my children Marcia and Debbie, my son-in-law Andrew Anand, and my mom, Madam Marlene Herbert.

Serving our Lord Jesus Christ is an honour and an adventure. I invite all of you to join in on the next leg of this exciting journey with Trinity Community Centre.

When Jesus is the Captain of our ship, there is no storm that we can’t sail through. Thank you, LORD Jesus. I love You.

Reverend Collin Gordon
Senior Pastor
Trinity Community Centre