Kong Hee
Knowing Kong Hee
Kong Hee is the senior pastor of City Harvest Church (CHC), which he co-founded with his wife Sun in 1989. CHC has an average weekly attendance of 23,868, with a collective membership of approximately 45,000, including all branch and affiliate churches. In 2012, CHC was one of the 10 global churches larger than America’s largest.1
As a second-generation Singaporean, Kong received Jesus as his Saviour when he was 11 years old. A month later, he was filled with the Holy Spirit, with the sign of speaking in tongues (Acts 2:4). He spent his growing-up years in a neighbourhood Anglican church and was actively involved in its Sunday school and youth ministry.
During his freshman year at the National University of Singapore, one day, he heard the still small voice of God, “Kong, do you love Me more than all that the world can offer you? Will you live fully for Me and serve Me for the rest of your life?” That afternoon, his “yes” to the Lord launched him into an incredible spiritual adventure, one that he has been on ever since. For the next few years, working alongside his Anglican vicar, Kong was involved in local church-planting work. At the same time, he was serving actively with the mission agency Christ for Asia, making frequent trips to the Philippines. In 1989, with just 20 youths, the CHC story began.
In 1994, Kong founded the School of Theology, which has since trained 8,284 individuals, empowering them, and releasing them in the power of the Spirit, into the mission fields of their schools, workplaces, and nations of the world.
Kong and Sun co-founded the “Church Without Walls” (CWW) initiatives in 1996 and City Harvest Community Services Association (CHCSA) in 1997. Both ministries focus on helping underprivileged children, youth-at-risk, single parents, unwed mothers, the elderly, the intellectually disabled, the terminally ill, and migrant workers. In 2023, CWW assisted 9,632 individuals in need, while CHCSA supported 1,962 members of the community.
Over the years, Kong has sought to stay focused and faithful to the strengths, distinctives, and revelations given by the Holy Spirit for his life and ministry. CHC has been a centre for revival and church growth, and its entire ethos can be described in one sentence: loving God wholeheartedly and loving people fervently (Matt 22:37-40). With Jesus Christ as the foundation of the church (1 Cor 3:10-11), Kong has carefully built CHC upon the spiritual disciplines of Scripture, prayer, fasting, relationship, discipleship, ministry, evangelism, and missions (2 Chr 7:14; Matt 28:19-20; 24:14; Luke 9:23; 1 Cor 13:4-7; Eph 3:16; 2 Tim 3:16; 1 Pet 4:10).
In a postmodern world where truth has become relative, Kong teaches and champions Pentecostal beliefs and practices. While CHC continues to be creative and relevant to contemporary culture by constant progress in areas of worship and evangelism, at the same time, it is deeply rooted in the Holy Scripture and in the historical doctrines of the faith. Inasmuch as Kong highlights the importance of the gifts of the Spirit, he also constantly teaches on the greater importance of cultivating the fruit of the Spirit, which is the character profile of Jesus (1 Cor 12:7-11; Gal 5:22-23). While he encourages believers to boldly believe God for healing, blessing, and protection, he also teaches that trials, hardships, and sufferings are inevitable for everyone who lives for Christ (Mark 16:17-18; John 16:33; 2 Tim 3:12). Because of these biblical truths, CHC has continued to grow as a congregation in spite of its many challenges and trying seasons.
An insight into Kong’s spiritual convictions:
- As a Protestant, he preaches a salvation that is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone (Eph 2:8; 1 Pet 2:24).
- As an Evangelical, he believes in the inspiration, infallibility, and inerrancy of Scripture, as well as the penal substitution of Jesus on the cross (1 Cor 2:2; 2 Pet 1:20-21).
- As a Pentecostal, he believes in the baptism in the Holy Spirit, with the outward sign of speaking in tongues (Acts 1:4-5, 8; 2:1-4).
- As a posttribulation premillennialist, he urges all to be fortified in their faith – to guard the gospel faithfully, preach it actively, and suffer for it bravely (Matt 24:9-31; 2 Tim 1).
- As an Arminian, he believes that God, in His love and goodness, limits His sovereignty to allow all to exercise genuine free will in responding to Him (John 3:16; 2 Cor 5:15).
- As a proponent of the cultural mandate, he encourages all to be creative and relevant in serving society, as authentic, Christlike citizens, for the glory of God.
- As a church builder, he believes in the power of the local church, and persuades his members to be united in a common doctrine, vision and mission (Acts 4:32; 1 Cor 3:9-11; Phil 2:2).
Kong believes that every Christian should be a soul-winner. He constantly encourages all to “find a need and meet it, find a hurt and heal it” (Prov 11:30; Matt 25:34-40). However, more than all we can ever do for God, our ultimate focus should be our spirituality and spiritual formation. God loves us and wants a relationship with us. As such, Christlikeness and intimacy with God must be our highest passion and goal in life (Matt 6:33; Rom 8:28-29; 1 Cor 13:12; 2 Cor 3:18; 2 Pet 3:18).
Kong is a spiritual son of the late Dr David Yonggi Cho, who pastored the world’s largest congregation. He earned his BSc in computer science and information systems from the National University of Singapore. He holds an MA in Theology from Vanguard University in the US and is currently working on his PhD under the supervision of Professor Frank Macchia. In 2008, he was conferred an honorary doctoral degree by Hansei University in South Korea.