Asian Beacon Through the Years

I became a Christian at the age of seven. At that young and impressionable age, i was ushered into the world of Sunday school and subsequently Youth Fellowship, evening church services in a beautiful small town Presbytarian church, the warm fellowship of new (and life long friends). There were the pastors that shaped my early faith, travelling evangelists that came to preach and heal (does anyone remember Roderick Tay?) and authors that wrote famous books.

One thing i remember from back then was an unassuming magazine that accompanied me all those years called Asian Beacon. When i was much younger, i used to think of it as Asian Bacon or Asian Be-A-Con (i was into wordplays very early on). My dad used to buy every issue when it came out, someone in church would be selling it. Come to think of it, i think the same person is still doing it 30 years on. Even just couple of years back, whenever my current church member asks me to buy a copy, i’d say ‘thats alright, my dad always buys a copy at home’ and i’d always get to read it whenever i go home to my small hometown.

I remember the different versions and iterations through the years – from the early monochromatic days to the glossy full colour international standard mag it is now. The was a time they ran a testimonial article contest (as much of a paradox that sounds like), for some years in the early 90’s there was a jokes page at the end of the mag (which i really enjoyed), an Agony Aunt page, a penpal page, etc.

Recently, since my dad passed on, i started buying my own copy. Getting to know some of the people behind the current team recently and a little about the trials and tribulations of being the only Christian magazine with a KDN licence has enabled me to see the mag as an invaluable ministry rather than just an inter-denominational newsletter.

And so here’s to that humble mag that has survived and thrived and reinvented itself through these years alongside my journey as a Christian. Here’s to many more. And it is truly my privilege to have one of my oil paintings on its cover.