13th August 2009
Dear Senior Pastors
Greetings in the Name of Our Lord, Jesus Christ!
For many years Christians in Singapore have been praying to God for opportunities to impact our nation with the Gospel. In 2004, the Christian Community in Singapore was favoured by making Celebrate Christmas In Singapore (CCIS), a platform to bring Churches together to put up a concerted Christmas event that could impact the nation and enhance community bonding with the message of Christmas. An event that reaches out to 3 million people!
For the last five Christmas seasons, the message of Christmas was unfolded along Orchard Road through carols, musical dramas and storyboards, celebrities sharing their testimonies and their personal experience and giving thanks for the blessings that they had received.
During a recent Senior Pastors’ Gathering at Victory Family Church on 30th July 2009, Rev Chia urged all present to be united and take ownership the event. Orchard Road being the “shoppers’ paradise” has the largest crowd comprising of both Singaporeans and foreigners during Christmas season thus giving CCIS the opportunity to share how Christmas is being celebrated by Christians from all over the world.
Last year, 2008 a team of 850 youths from Singapore Youth For Christ managed to share the Christmas message to the members of the public.
So, we look forward to your Church’s participation in this year’s Celebrate Christmas In Singapore.
We welcome your creative participations, so feel free to share with us your ideas and comments that can help to make this Celebration more meaningful and purposeful.
In view of time, we have outlined some areas where your church could participate:
- To put up a 30 minutes presentation at one of the assigned locations: Tangs, Tongs’ Building, Paragon and Wisma Atria, from 18th – 24th Dec 2009. (This is a great opportunity for a “full-dress” rehearsal of your Church Christmas program.)
- To provide manpower support for the various logistic needs (18th – 24th Dec 2009).
- To provide manpower support to assist in manning the road closure on 25th Dec 2009.
- To sponsor a float with a Christmas Message: Full sponsorship of S$35,000 for a float; or co-sponsor of S$12,000 for a float with 3 co-sponsors. (Churches are welcome to organize for these floats to tour their constituencies – arrangements based on first come first served basis, call CCIS Office for more detail)
- To take an advertisement in the event handbook, which has a distribution of 120,000.
- To make an outright financial contribution.
- To adopt a street banner at S$2,000 each.
We also welcome your church to consider sponsoring the Christmas village for CCIS 2010. Details are available on request. Interested churches will be invited to understudy this year’s Christmas Village sponsor.
Attached is the budget for CCIS 2009. Note that provision for manpower cost is minimal. Many items have not been factored in. The commercial cost to organize such an event will cost a minimum of $1.5 million.
We are grateful to the thousands of volunteers, designers, builders, who volunteered their services and keeping the cost low.
Thanking you in anticipation.
God Bless!
————————————- ————————————
Rev Oh Beng Khee Rev Timothy Chow
CHAIRMAN CO-CHAIR
BUDGET FOR CCIS 2009
| Operating Cost For The Event: | |
| Advertising and Promotions | 31,000 |
| Insurance | 11,000 |
| Licences | 16,000 |
| Medical | 2,000 |
| Security Service & Disposal Fee | 39,000 |
| Communication Equipment | 3,500 |
| Contractor – floats, stages, sound systems, dioramas | 650,000 |
| Drivers and Technicians | 3,500 |
| To Host Foreign Groups | 51,000 |
| Road Diversions SBS and SMRT | 9,500 |
| Publications | 24,000 |
| Admin and Misc | 21,000 |
| Total (1) | S$861,500 |
| Staff Salary | 25,000 |
| Total Budget for CCIS 2009 Event | S$886,500 |
| Budget for outstanding payments* | $100,000 |
| Overall Budget for CCIS 2009 | $986,500 |
Note to Budget:
- It reflects the amount paid at a discounted price for construction of floats, dioramas, supply of sound systems, stages etc.
- Budget does not take into consideration sponsorship of venues, voluntary services rendered by churches, commercial and event management.
- Outstanding Expenses*: CCIS currently has an accumulated outstanding of $415,000. Vendor: Q’s Advertising allows CCIS to pay over a period of 4 years.
