In The Beginning
In 1952, a group of students believed they had to present and maintain a truly evangelical witness to their fellow students amidst an alarming trend of liberalism towards the Christian faith and the Bible. They became the first members of the Varsity Christian Fellowship, standing for scriptural truth and personal faith in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour.
They gave themselves to the study of God’s Word, to the defence and the sharing of the gospel, to the development of Christian thinking, to missions, and to prayer. They established a community of believers on campus which reflected the love Jesus commanded in John 13:34-35: “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (NIV). This is the heritage our founding members established for us.
Through the years, this community of believers, or this family, has maintained the core essentials that have characterized a growing, evangelising and missions-oriented fellowship of Christian students. They have withstood different circumstances, especially crises and difficulties, amidst changes taking place on campus, in Singapore and around the world. As members of this family, they have given full accountability and taken total responsibility for VCF and the achievement of its aims.
Why Membership?
Today, VCF members still give themselves to God’s Word, the gospel, Christian thinking, missions and prayer. VCF still upholds her core essentials, continually challenging our members to be a growing, evangelising, and missions-oriented fellowship that will impact both campus and society.
We are a family that serves its members through its activities and programmes. We commit ourselves, as members of the family, to the many lives on campus. While we welcome non-members to our meetings, we see it as welcoming friends and neighbours into the family with the hope of inviting them into our fellowship of believers and into a partnership in ministry.
It is the responsibility of members to support the ministry through prayer, service, finance and presence. These cannot be taken lightly. Who, but its own family members, can a family rely on, especially in crises? Just as God commanded Moses to take a census of His people, especially of fighting-fit men (Numbers 1:1-2), the call to membership in VCF is a call to stand up and be counted as fighting-fit members! Members who take full responsibility for their community and their society, just as watchmen were responsible on their watch (Ezekiel 33:1-9).
This is the gravity of our identity as members of VCF.
What Does Membership Mean?
Membership in VCF means:
1. To believe that, in addition to maintaining an individual testimony for Christ, it is scriptural to establish a corporate witness among non-believers on campus
2. To agree with the beliefs, aims and work philosophy of the VCF, and to identify positively with the ministry through membership
3. To desire to support and see the continued growth of the ministry and its members through prayer, participation and finance
4. To serve God and edify each other through service in VCF
5. To support by being present, praying and in choosing leaders at the AGM (Annuual General Meeting)
Declaration of Membership
As members of VCF, each declares:
1. Faith in Jesus Christ as Saviour, Lord and God
2. Acceptance of the Bible as Word of God
3. Willingness to witness for Jesus Christ in the university
4. Willingness to abide by the VCF Constitution
How To Be A Member
Membership Drive will be conducted later in the year when everyone is more or less settled, and presumably have thought through whether they want to continue in this ministry.
Members will go through with non-members about the history, vision, structure, doctrinal basis, and distinctives of VCF with the aid of Students Reaching Students (SRS) booklet. An informal interview by a council member will follow, to ensure that the new member subscribes to the same beliefs as VCF.
At the end, the membership application form will be submitted to the Honorary Secretary. Lo and behold, a new member has joined the ministry!