City Harvest Church, one of the largest mega churches in Singapore that has over 30,000 followers may have trouble about the financial irregularities. For a foul play of the law over potential financial irregularities, now City Harvest Church is under investigation. The Office of the Commissioner of Charities (COC) had received the complaints of misuse of funds against the church. Here are mentioned details of City Harvest Church Controversy.
City Harvest Church’s Seventeen members, as well as its magnetic pastor, are being questioned for what is the largest charity investigation there, ever since the probe into financial fraud at Ren Ci Hospital and Medicare Centre in February 2008. Some financial transactions linking several individuals and companies related or connected to the City Harvest Church (CHC) are under investigation by the Office of the Commissioner of Charities (COC) and the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD). Investigation is made after the COC received complaints and informed the CAD. The CAD had assessed that it may require investigating some of the financial transactions.
City Harvest's indirect $310-million stake in Suntec Singapore had raised questions concerning its transparency and accountability to church goers. COC said yesterday, the inquiry was neither "related nor initiated due to the Suntec deal".
CAD officers visited the homes and offices of the 17 individuals and staff to lock financial records and computers. To ensure proper governance and administration of the charity, the COC has the power to suspend, remove or appoint additional charity trustees, depending on the inquiry's findings. The authorities said, however, there will be no impact, on the normal services and religious activities of the megachurch - these "need not be disrupted and can continue for its congregation."
The investigation can be anticipated to take more than a few months (in the Ren Ci case, the probe took nearly four months to complete), given the complexity of the linkages.
About City Harvest Church
City Harvest Church, founded by Kong Hee and was set up as a society on December 21, 1992. Under the Charities Act, it was registered on 16 October 1993. Charisma magazine described City Harvest Church as “one of the largest congregations in Asia."
During City Harvest's Christmas services in 2008, the church record highest attendance of 57,691. 47.3% of its members are under the age of 25 years. With a database name list of 32,731 and a monthly average of 28,134 attendees in its weekend services, it is the largest independent church in Singapore.
The mission statement of CHC is "to build a church with a strong spiritual atmosphere of faith and purity, where every member is released into ministry, disciple in the Great Commandment to obey the Great Commission and the Cultural Mandate." Along with its Mission Statement, City Harvest Church has also 17 statements of faith which form the basis of its teachings to the congregation and the foundation of its diverse ministries.
City Harvest Church Photos
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