The Hougang Connection: How one church turned a housing estate into a community

It was 1995, and the season was meant to be defined by joy.

Living Sanctuary Brethren Church (LSBC) had just won a bid for a sprawling plot of land in Hougang, and were aiming to move there from their former shared location in Pasir Panjang Hill in two years.

However, as plans to build the new church building kicked off, reality set in: They were a congregation of only 160.

A question haunted Senior Pastor Lawrence Chua: “How on earth are we going to fill the church?” 

The construction of Living Sanctuary Brethren Church’s Hougang premise.

The answer came quickly: The church building was physically encircled by blocks and blocks of Housing Development Board (HDB) flats, meaning that there were hundreds they could reach out to and invite.

“Surely,” he later wrote in his book, Community Penetration 101, “the residents would be able to fill the church.” 

But to bring the Hougang residents through its doors, the church would first have to go to their doorsteps.

“Sorry, welcome”

This kicked off the church’s efforts to connect with the neighbourhood.

“Community penetration” became a term, coined by Ps Lawrence, to represent a church without walls: One that extended its pastoral care and fellowship beyond the church building and into its surrounding community.

The first extension of friendship was made through a door-knocking project in November 1997, a month after the church moved into its new premises.

Seeking to honour the residents’ time instead of disrupting it, the church got the conversations rolling with a simple “sorry”, apologising for the noise, dust and general inconvenience caused by the construction.

Church members knocked on the doors of five blocks that immediately surrounded the church. Some doors opened, others did not.

Along with the apology, they extended a gift – a bright red umbrella bearing the LSBC logo and name – and an invitation to visit the church during a special open house tour. It was their way of saying: “Welcome to our church.”

The first ever gift to the neighbourhood: A red LSBC umbrella.

The residents responded warmly, with many accepting the invitation to visit the church. The majority of them had never stepped into a church building before.


Tearing down divides

As Ps Lawrence and his church got to know their neighbours better, they recognised a stark demographic gap.

Traditionally, many Singaporean churches were perceived as the domain of the English-speaking, middle-to-upper class. The surrounding blocks, however, were home to mainly Chinese-speaking, lower-income families, as well as the elderly.

“Have we not neglected them for too long?” wrote Ps Lawrence in his book.

“And because of our neglect, they see a ‘wall’ separating them from the church. The heartlanders believe that the church is only for the ang moh pai (English-speaking people). It is for the rich. They are convinced that the church is not meant for people like them.”

A paradigm shift would be required to bring the Gospel to the heartlands.

Among other efforts, the church decided to bless residents with Tai Chong mooncakes during the Mid-Autumn Festival. This tore the cultural divide between the church and Chinese-speaking residents, and challenged the perception that Christianity is only for the English-speaking and affluent.

The Tai Chong mooncakes which LSBC gave out to its neighbours during the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Making the neighbourhood their own

Since the leadership agreed that God had put them in Hougang for a purpose, the church made a collective resolve to set its roots in the neighbourhood and build long-term relationships with those in it.

The commitment was so resolute among many church members that more than 50 families moved into Hougang!

Year by year, the church faithfully knocked on their neighbours’ doors every quarter, forging relationships with both the young and old through sincerity, gifts, invitations to church events, and prayers of blessing and healing.

LSBC members at the doorstep of a resident’s home. They don LSBC T-shirts bearing the recognisable “flame” logo whenever they go knocking on doors.

Some responded, others did not. But over time, LSBC saw its walkways and auditoriums gradually filled by the neighbours they had persisted in loving.

What began as a single outreach initiative evolved into a 29-year legacy of presence. “Community penetration” matured into “community pastoring” as the church’s relationship with the residents deepened.

Doreen, now in her 60s, was one of the many who received the church’s love.

“It was my son who experienced their friendship first, attending many of their outreach events as a child and youth. The church had also knocked on the door of my home for many years. Curious to know what the church was about, I decided to visit and got to encounter God for myself. I eventually accepted Christ after a few visits,” she said.

Hundreds of residents look forward to the church’s annual Mid-Autumn Carnival event.

Today, LSBC has become a household name in Hougang. Many residents in the surrounding blocks now look forward to its members’ quarterly visits.

To some, they are the “Mooncake Church”, a title earned through years of gifting boxes of mooncakes during Mid-Autumn Festivals. To others, they are the “Fire Church”, named after the distinctive flame emblem on members’ T-shirts.

Coffeeshop stall owners greet church staff with familiar warmth, and many residents and church members know each other on a first-name basis.

Could the two per cent be in the heartlands?

We are familiar with the 2020 population census in Singapore, which revealed the marginal growth of Christianity to 18.9 per cent from 18.3 per cent in 2010.

As churches nationwide share a united burden and desire to see the growth of Christianity to 20 per cent, it is worth considering if we have overlooked the very neighbourhoods right across the roads from our church buildings.

The majority of Singapore’s unreached live in HDB estates. If we want to see the two per cent shift, the Gospel must move into the heartlands. Will your church make a long-term commitment to your locality?

The Community Pastoring Seminar

The Community Pastoring Seminar, hosted by LSBC, is an intensive course designed for ministry leaders who desire to see their church family reach their neighbourhood together.

Attendees will learn the biblical foundations and processes of Community Pastoring from Senior Pastor Lawrence Chua and seasoned practitioners who have built friendships with residents over the years.

Gain practical insights on how your church can begin loving its surrounding community, while also hear real-life stories of transformation from the community’s residents themselves.

Date: July 18, 2026

Time: 9am to 5pm

Venue: Living Sanctuary Brethren Church, 2 Hougang Street 22, Singapore 538728

Fee: $50/pax; $40/pax for groups of 10 to 29, and $30/pax for groups of 30 and above

Register: Secure your slot at lsbc.org.sg/cps by June 6, 2026 

About Living Sanctuary Brethren Church

From its humble beginnings in 1965, LSBC has carried the DNA of “knocking on doors” and deep compassion for residents in the heartlands. A spiritual re-awakening in 1993 led the church to adopt its current name, and it settled in Hougang in 1997. Now home to over 1,800 worshippers, LSBC continues its legacy of reaching out to residents in the area and sharing the love of Christ through their presence and deeds.

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