<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR>Church explains remuneration matters
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->WE REFER to Mr Bruce Chan's Forum Online letter last Thursday, "Business and religion: Where do you draw the line?" We thank him for his letter and take this opportunity to answer some of the questions he raised.
Mr Chan asked about the stakes and shareholders of our business entities. All our business entities are fully owned by the church. Appointed shareholders hold shares of these entities with proper trust deeds confirming that these shares are held in trust for and on behalf of New Creation Church.
Not a cent is paid to the directors and shareholders whether as salaries, bonuses and dividends, or through any other means. Due to the legal setup, any future payment of dividends by any of these entities will be payable only to the church.
Information relating to Rock Productions, including our rationale for building an Integrated Civic, Cultural and Retail Hub, can be found on our website (www.newcreation.org.sg).
The "membership cards" that Mr Chan referred to are, in fact, partnership cards issued by Joseph Prince Ministries, Inc (JPM). JPM is a United States-registered non-profit charity classified under Section 501(c)(3) of the US Internal Revenue Code. All donations received through JPM are channelled into broadcasting the gospel of Jesus Christ to both secular and religious television networks, such as ABC Family, USA Network, CNBC Europe and Trinity Broadcast Network. These partnership cards are given to recognise television viewers who desire to partner with the vision of JPM to see the gospel preached all around the world.
New Creation Church has never promoted or distributed these partnership cards to our congregation through any of our services, nor do we intend to do so in the future. We believe that 99 per cent of our members have never heard of this partnership card before the publication of Mr Chan's letter.
On the point of accountability and governance of money matters, we reiterate that New Creation Church is not a public charity and does not solicit public donations. Our congregation give of their tithes and offerings as an act of worship and thanksgiving to our God.
Having attended our services, I am sure Mr Chan will attest to the fact that there is absolutely no compulsion to give whether in tithes or offerings, and any giving is done out of a willing heart.
We cannot agree with Mr Chan's idea that a church open to the public should then be held accountable to every person who voluntarily gives an offering, whether large or small. Every giver is appreciated and it is taken in good faith that he believes in the elected leadership and will trust them to make good decisions for the particular church he has chosen to attend, whether as a member or a visitor.
A remuneration committee, made up of elected independent members of our church council, decides on the remuneration of our staff, including our senior pastor. These independent members are not employed or paid by the church or any of its business entities. Our voting members elect these council members into office during our annual general meetings and these council members are entrusted with the responsibility of formulating management, operational and remuneration policies.
This brings us to the issue of transparency and governance. Mr Chan may not be aware of the reports of a review initiated by the Commissioner of Charities in October 2007. Two large auditing firms were tasked to look into the corporate governance, internal controls and regulatory compliance of the seven highest-income religious organisations in Singapore. Ernst & Young was appointed to review New Creation Church's practices, including the relationships between the church and its business entities.
Being a registered society in Singapore, we have our Constitution to abide by and we are accountable to not just our members, but also to the authorities and the laws that govern our nation. Last September, we were proud to have been given a clean bill of health as announced by the Commissioner of Charities through the media.
As to whether there should be a relook at policies for religious organisations, we trust that our authorities will introduce new legislation where they see fit.
Once again, we thank Mr Chan for this opportunity to answer his queries and would like to encourage him to contact the church office directly should he require further clarification.
Matthew Kang
Honorary Secretary and Lead Independent Council Member
New Creation Church <!-- end of for each --><!-- Current Ratings : start --><!-- Current Ratings : end --><!-- vbbintegration : start -->
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->WE REFER to Mr Bruce Chan's Forum Online letter last Thursday, "Business and religion: Where do you draw the line?" We thank him for his letter and take this opportunity to answer some of the questions he raised.
Mr Chan asked about the stakes and shareholders of our business entities. All our business entities are fully owned by the church. Appointed shareholders hold shares of these entities with proper trust deeds confirming that these shares are held in trust for and on behalf of New Creation Church.
Not a cent is paid to the directors and shareholders whether as salaries, bonuses and dividends, or through any other means. Due to the legal setup, any future payment of dividends by any of these entities will be payable only to the church.
Information relating to Rock Productions, including our rationale for building an Integrated Civic, Cultural and Retail Hub, can be found on our website (www.newcreation.org.sg).
The "membership cards" that Mr Chan referred to are, in fact, partnership cards issued by Joseph Prince Ministries, Inc (JPM). JPM is a United States-registered non-profit charity classified under Section 501(c)(3) of the US Internal Revenue Code. All donations received through JPM are channelled into broadcasting the gospel of Jesus Christ to both secular and religious television networks, such as ABC Family, USA Network, CNBC Europe and Trinity Broadcast Network. These partnership cards are given to recognise television viewers who desire to partner with the vision of JPM to see the gospel preached all around the world.
New Creation Church has never promoted or distributed these partnership cards to our congregation through any of our services, nor do we intend to do so in the future. We believe that 99 per cent of our members have never heard of this partnership card before the publication of Mr Chan's letter.
On the point of accountability and governance of money matters, we reiterate that New Creation Church is not a public charity and does not solicit public donations. Our congregation give of their tithes and offerings as an act of worship and thanksgiving to our God.
Having attended our services, I am sure Mr Chan will attest to the fact that there is absolutely no compulsion to give whether in tithes or offerings, and any giving is done out of a willing heart.
We cannot agree with Mr Chan's idea that a church open to the public should then be held accountable to every person who voluntarily gives an offering, whether large or small. Every giver is appreciated and it is taken in good faith that he believes in the elected leadership and will trust them to make good decisions for the particular church he has chosen to attend, whether as a member or a visitor.
A remuneration committee, made up of elected independent members of our church council, decides on the remuneration of our staff, including our senior pastor. These independent members are not employed or paid by the church or any of its business entities. Our voting members elect these council members into office during our annual general meetings and these council members are entrusted with the responsibility of formulating management, operational and remuneration policies.
This brings us to the issue of transparency and governance. Mr Chan may not be aware of the reports of a review initiated by the Commissioner of Charities in October 2007. Two large auditing firms were tasked to look into the corporate governance, internal controls and regulatory compliance of the seven highest-income religious organisations in Singapore. Ernst & Young was appointed to review New Creation Church's practices, including the relationships between the church and its business entities.
Being a registered society in Singapore, we have our Constitution to abide by and we are accountable to not just our members, but also to the authorities and the laws that govern our nation. Last September, we were proud to have been given a clean bill of health as announced by the Commissioner of Charities through the media.
As to whether there should be a relook at policies for religious organisations, we trust that our authorities will introduce new legislation where they see fit.
Once again, we thank Mr Chan for this opportunity to answer his queries and would like to encourage him to contact the church office directly should he require further clarification.
Matthew Kang
Honorary Secretary and Lead Independent Council Member
New Creation Church <!-- end of for each --><!-- Current Ratings : start --><!-- Current Ratings : end --><!-- vbbintegration : start -->
