The Gospel of Jesus Christ will be proclaimed in thousands of homes in Singapore this weekend as churches there launch My Hope, an evangelistic effort facilitated by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA).

More than 20,000 homes representing over 250 churches in Singapore will be involved in the Christian outreach.

Local Christians, called “Matthews” after the disciple who invited friends to his home to meet Jesus, will be inviting neighbours, friends and relatives to their homes to watch one of a number of moving and culturally appropriate programmes on DVD.

After viewing the video, the “Matthews” will share their personal testimonies and give their guests the opportunity to accept or rededicate their lives to Jesus Christ.

The TV programmes, which feature sermons from Billy and Franklin Graham, will be shown in five different languages within Singapore - Tamil, Chinese, Bahasa, Tagalog and English.

“Reaching the people of Singapore – a modern, wealthy nation – with the Gospel presents many of the same challenges as evangelism in the United States,” said Bill Conard, vice president of international ministries at BGEA.

“But we have already seen how God is moving across Singapore so that churches work simultaneously to proclaim His truth boldly.”

One of the English programmes features the story of Neville Tan, a desperate and hopeless young Singaporean prisoner who decided one night to take his own life. In his dark cell, God’s light penetrated Tan’s heart with Scripture, giving him a freedom he had never known. After being released from prison, Tan went to Bible college and became a missionary.

“God had really picked me up and washed me and made me a new person,” said Tan. “And it’s all because He loves me.”

My Hope Singapore comes on the heels of a massive My Hope effort facilitated by BGEA in Brazil, which involved more than 50,000 churches and more than 850,000 Matthew homes.

Christian leaders from countries in Southeast Asia and the Pacific are observing My Hope Singapore and considering partnerships with BGEA to implement the programme in their countries.