Kong Hee
Encyclopedia
Kong Hee(born August 23, 1964) is the founder, honorary and volunteer senior pastor of City Harvest Church
in Singapore
. Kong is a Christian in the Charismatic Movement
, with a philosophy of ministry that emphasizes the Great Commandment, Great Commission
, and Cultural Mandate. City Harvest Church has an average of 23,256 attendees as of December 2010. It also has 47 affiliate "Harvest" churches. There are 29 affiliate churches and 6 Bible schools in Asia, namely Singapore, Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia and Taiwan. Another 18 affiliate churches in the East and West Malaysia are under the Malaysian Harvest Fellowship which Kong Hee has co-founded. Kong has also co-founded an education center, a performing arts school, a publishing house, a missions agency, a ministerial fellowship and a magazine. Kong is a "motivational speaker
" and is the director of a fashion apparel business, Skin Couture, which he runs with his wife. He calls himself a "businessman" on the church website.
Kong Hee’s wife, Sun Ho, is a pop music
singer. They have a son, Dayan Kong. They reside in Singapore
, and Toh Poh-Eng, a diamond trader. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science from the National University of Singapore
in 1988. In May 2008, Kong was conferred an Honorary Doctor of Business Administration from Hansei University
in Seoul, Korea.
From 1975 to 1988, Kong was a member of Marine Parade Christian Center, an Anglican church located in eastern Singapore. During his university years, he worked part-time for the Chapel of the Resurrection under the oversight of Anglican vicar, Reverend Dr. Canon James Wong. During that tenure, he helped Canon Wong set up a new congregation, Orchard Christian Centre. Upon graduation from the university, Kong worked a short stint in a local publishing house as a programmer.
In 1989, Kong was a staff evangelist with “Christ For Asia,” a missions organization in the Philippines led by Assemblies of God
minister, Reverend Randy Sing. At that same time, there was an opportunity for Kong to pioneer a new church in Singapore. With the support and encouragement of some senior pastors in the city, Kong decided to relocate back to Singapore and helped set up a new congregation with 20 youths. On May 7, 1989, City Harvest Church
was founded as a department (known as "Ekklesia Ministry") of Bethany Christian Centre (Assemblies of God).
Since 1997, Kong is the executive director of the Festival of Praise
, an annual event that brings together churches for united prayer and worship.
Kong is a board member of Dr. David Yonggi Cho
’s Church Growth International (South Korea) and Dr. Luis Bush
’s Transform World (Indonesia).
Kong Hee and his wife Ho Yeow Sun own two companies, International Harvest, which is a provider of "corporate training" services and "motivational" courses, and a fashion company called Skin Couture.
of the Singapore Police began investigating more than 18 individuals linked to the City Harvest Church, including church founder Pastor Kong Hee and his wife, Sun Ho, after receiving complaints alleging the misuse of church funds. The police was looking into financial transactions involving the possible falsification of accounts and criminal breach of trust amounting to millions of dollars which dated back a number of years. The authorities said that regular church activities and services for the congregation need not be disrupted during ongoing investigations, which is expected to take several months.
The publisher of "Renewal" has since made amendments to the soft copies to include accreditation. The publisher who is also a member of City Harvest Church, acknowledged that at the time of publication, both himself and Mr Kong were aware that certain portions of the content were not original.
City Harvest Church
City Harvest Church or CHC is a non-denominational megachurch in Singapore with an average of 23,256 attendees in the month of December 2010....
in Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
. Kong is a Christian in the Charismatic Movement
Charismatic movement
The term charismatic movement is used in varying senses to describe 20th century developments in various Christian denominations. It describes an ongoing international, cross-denominational/non-denominational Christian movement in which individual, historically mainstream congregations adopt...
, with a philosophy of ministry that emphasizes the Great Commandment, Great Commission
Great Commission
The Great Commission, in Christian tradition, is the instruction of the resurrected Jesus Christ to his disciples, that they spread his teachings to all the nations of the world. It has become a tenet in Christian theology emphasizing missionary work, evangelism, and baptism...
, and Cultural Mandate. City Harvest Church has an average of 23,256 attendees as of December 2010. It also has 47 affiliate "Harvest" churches. There are 29 affiliate churches and 6 Bible schools in Asia, namely Singapore, Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia and Taiwan. Another 18 affiliate churches in the East and West Malaysia are under the Malaysian Harvest Fellowship which Kong Hee has co-founded. Kong has also co-founded an education center, a performing arts school, a publishing house, a missions agency, a ministerial fellowship and a magazine. Kong is a "motivational speaker
Motivational speaker
A motivational speaker or inspirational speaker is a speaker who makes speeches intended to motivate or inspire an audience. In a business context, they are employed to communicate company strategy with clarity and help employees to see the future in a positive light and inspire workers to pull...
" and is the director of a fashion apparel business, Skin Couture, which he runs with his wife. He calls himself a "businessman" on the church website.
Kong Hee’s wife, Sun Ho, is a pop music
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
singer. They have a son, Dayan Kong. They reside in Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
Life
Kong is the fifth child of Kong Leng, a professional engineerProfessional Engineer
Regulation of the engineering profession is established by various jurisdictions of the world to protect the safety, well-being and other interests of the general public, and to define the licensure process through which an engineer becomes authorized to provide professional services to the...
, and Toh Poh-Eng, a diamond trader. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science from the National University of Singapore
National University of Singapore
The National University of Singapore is Singapore's oldest university. It is the largest university in the country in terms of student enrollment and curriculum offered....
in 1988. In May 2008, Kong was conferred an Honorary Doctor of Business Administration from Hansei University
Hansei University
Hansei University is a mid-sized University located in Gunpo City near Seoul, South Korea. It was established in 1953 as The Full Gospel Theological Seminary by the Assemblies of God...
in Seoul, Korea.
From 1975 to 1988, Kong was a member of Marine Parade Christian Center, an Anglican church located in eastern Singapore. During his university years, he worked part-time for the Chapel of the Resurrection under the oversight of Anglican vicar, Reverend Dr. Canon James Wong. During that tenure, he helped Canon Wong set up a new congregation, Orchard Christian Centre. Upon graduation from the university, Kong worked a short stint in a local publishing house as a programmer.
In 1989, Kong was a staff evangelist with “Christ For Asia,” a missions organization in the Philippines led by Assemblies of God
Assemblies of God
The Assemblies of God , officially the World Assemblies of God Fellowship, is a group of over 140 autonomous but loosely-associated national groupings of churches which together form the world's largest Pentecostal denomination...
minister, Reverend Randy Sing. At that same time, there was an opportunity for Kong to pioneer a new church in Singapore. With the support and encouragement of some senior pastors in the city, Kong decided to relocate back to Singapore and helped set up a new congregation with 20 youths. On May 7, 1989, City Harvest Church
City Harvest Church
City Harvest Church or CHC is a non-denominational megachurch in Singapore with an average of 23,256 attendees in the month of December 2010....
was founded as a department (known as "Ekklesia Ministry") of Bethany Christian Centre (Assemblies of God).
Since 1997, Kong is the executive director of the Festival of Praise
Festival of praise
Festival of Praise is a Christian Praise and Worship concert started in 1986, attended by various churches in Singapore. It is held annually at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.-Committee:*Founder/President: Rev. Dr. Canon James Wong...
, an annual event that brings together churches for united prayer and worship.
Kong is a board member of Dr. David Yonggi Cho
David Yonggi Cho
David Yonggi Cho is a Korean Christian minister. He is Senior Pastor and founder of the Yoido Full Gospel Church , the world's largest congregation with a membership of 1,000,000...
’s Church Growth International (South Korea) and Dr. Luis Bush
Luis Bush
Luis Bush is an American Christian strategist-activist and international facilitator of Transform World Connections based in Singapore.-Early life:...
’s Transform World (Indonesia).
Kong Hee and his wife Ho Yeow Sun own two companies, International Harvest, which is a provider of "corporate training" services and "motivational" courses, and a fashion company called Skin Couture.
Media
Kong's weekly 30-minute television program “Harvest Time” is broadcast on 8 Cable Television Networks and satellites.Fund probe
On 31 May 2010, the Office of the Commissioner of Charities and the Commercial Affairs DepartmentCommercial Affairs Department
The Commercial Affairs Department is a staff department of the Singapore Police Force and is previously known as the Commercial Crime Department....
of the Singapore Police began investigating more than 18 individuals linked to the City Harvest Church, including church founder Pastor Kong Hee and his wife, Sun Ho, after receiving complaints alleging the misuse of church funds. The police was looking into financial transactions involving the possible falsification of accounts and criminal breach of trust amounting to millions of dollars which dated back a number of years. The authorities said that regular church activities and services for the congregation need not be disrupted during ongoing investigations, which is expected to take several months.
Plagiarism
In March 2010, a blogger identified plagiarism on Kong Hee's 'Daily Devotionals' as they were similar to writings to another publication, "The Leadership Bible" which was published 10 years ago. The copied text were published as physical copies into two books, "Renewing Your Spiritual Energy in 90 Days" without accreditation to the original authors. Apart from "The Leadership Bible", the blogger also alleged other works that have been plagiarized, include content by well-known Christian authors Derek Prince, Neil Anderson, Professor Sid Buzzell and Dr Kenneth Boa. Prof Buzzell, a dean of the school of theology at Colorado Christian University, had warned that continued plagiarism may force them to seek legal advice.Original release
Kong Hee's daily devotionals were originally compiled from his personal reading notes and printed as supplementary reading for his members, free of charge. Some years later, due to popular demand overseas, a local publisher compiled and released foreign language translations of the devotional for sale.Aftermath
Kong Hee posted a note on his website and explained that the devotion was "originally meant only for internal circulation among the members of my church. As such, there was an oversight in not quoting the sources of some portions that borrow from the writings of other Christian authors." There was also an apology for the oversight.The publisher of "Renewal" has since made amendments to the soft copies to include accreditation. The publisher who is also a member of City Harvest Church, acknowledged that at the time of publication, both himself and Mr Kong were aware that certain portions of the content were not original.
Educational qualifications
- Raffles Institution (1977–1980)
- Raffles Junior College (1981–1982)
- National University of Singapore, Bachelor of Science (Computer & Information Sciences) (1985–1988)
- Hansei University, Honorary Doctorate in Business Administration (2008)
Founded
- City Harvest Church (1989)
- School Of Theology (formerly known as City Harvest Bible Training Center) (1994)
- Harvest Times (quarterly magazine) (1999)
Positions held
- President, City Harvest Church (Singapore): 1992–Present
- Executive Director, Festival of Praise (Singapore): 1997-2001, 2005–Present
- President, Word of Life (Singapore): 1997–Present
- Board of References, Transform World (Indonesia): 2005–Present
- Committee Member, National Council of Churches (Singapore): 1999-2004
- Board of Advisors, Full Gospel Business Men's Fellowship InternationalFull Gospel Business Men's Fellowship InternationalThe Full Gospel Business Men's Fellowship International is a fellowship of lay businessmen. Its main purpose is to arouse interest in the gospel. Theologically, the organisation has its roots in Pentecostalism. It is currently active in 160 countries around the world...
(Singapore): 1996-2000