Like City Harvest, New Creation has a few business ventures worth millions of dollars including Rock Productions and Marine Cove, a popular food and lifestyle cluster in East Coast Park.
Rock Productions raised eyebrows among some Singaporeans two years ago when it announced that it is partnering CapitaLand Malls to develop a $1 billion civic, cultural and entertainment complex in Buona Vista.
During its weekly service yesterday, Pastor Joseph Prince took pains to explain the church’s business ventures to its members and to assure them that “they were formed not to spin money for the megachurch, but were essentially driven by the need to house a growing congregation of 20,000.”
It was also revealed that Joseph Prince had stopped accepting his salary from the church last year and he now depends on royalties from his books and speeches for a living, stressing that nobody is “forced” to buy them.
“I don’t put a gun to your head,” he quipped.
New Creation’s unusual move appeared to be taken to pre-empt possible “collateral” PR damage from the City Harvest fallout which has sparked an active discussion among netizens, some of whom have less than kind words for its pastors like Kong Hee.
Joseph Prince made an indirect reference to City Harvest during his sermon:
“Be kind, especially if you are blogging. After all, New Creation preaches a ‘gospel of grace,” he was quoted as saying in the Straits Times.
Senior Pastor Kong Hee has not been seen in public since he was called up for questioning by the police last week. Investigations into the case are still on-going.
Churches in Singapore: City Harvest Church, New Creation Church, Cornerstone Community Church, Saint George's Church, Singapore
Religious Organisations Based in Singapore: City Harvest Church, New Creation Church, Thekchen Choling, Methodist Church in Singapore
