Yvonne Tan’s Testimony about her 20-Year Journey with New Creation Church (end 1999 to Jan 2021) (Dated 22 Oct 2021)

(Don’t Miss My Speaking Prophetically to the Executive Members in the National Council of Churches of Singapore (NCCS), Pastors of Singapore & Joseph Prince at the end of this testimony under my closing comments.)

 (This testimony was also sent to Rev Dr Ngoei Foong Nghian, General Secretary, NCCS office, and for the attention of the Executive Committee Members.)

 

Rev George Ong’s Opening Comments:

 

It is indeed, heartening that Yvonne Tan, an Ex New Creation Church member, who had been with the church for 20 years, has agreed to let her testimony be featured on my website. I applaud her courage to publicly testify against Joseph Prince and his heresies.

 

May many more Ex New Creation Church members follow her bold example. So come forward, this is your privilege to be used by God for such a time as this. If you miss this chance, it would be to your regret.

 

I got to know Yvonne when she first wrote to me on 18 February 2021,

 

“Hi Rev George Ong, I have watched quite a few of your videos, read your articles and also some chapters of your writings on your website. I feel they are very insightful and have helped me understand better what Joseph Prince has been teaching wrongly. I have been attending New Creation Church for 20 years and grew increasingly uncomfortable with Joseph Prince’s teachings since last year. That’s when I started to want to find out more on his teachings and I chanced upon your website introduced by a friend. May the Lord continue to give you strength and courage to do what you are doing because it’s going to be so difficult to change the perspective of people listening to Joseph Prince.”

 

Recently in October 2021, Yvonne wrote to me again,

 

“Dear Rev George Ong, I just wanted to let you know that I have been using your website to reach out to my Ex New Creation Church friends to help them see the false teachings of Joseph Prince. It is a very difficult task but with your detailed articles and videos, they helped to explain many of the wrong teachings that cannot be so easily explained. The Lord bless you in what you are relentlessly doing now.”

 

“For me, personally, when I watched your video on Joseph Prince teachings on the narrow gate and broad way (Matt 7:13-14), I was convinced Joseph Prince is a false teacher, because even before I came to New Creation Church, I was in a traditional church, and I knew what this passage was teaching. But to hear again how Joseph Prince can twist this passage to teach about his wealth and health message, was simply the seal that convinced me he was not teaching error unknowingly, but he was teaching in a deliberate way to deceive as a clear-cut heretic.”

 

In wanting to find out the truth and more about Joseph Prince’s heresies, Yvonne shared with me she grew so hungry that she completed reading all 10 volumes, comprising 4,800 pages of notes on my website in 2-3 months.

 

One, who has been with New Creation Church for a long 20 years, ought to be intently listened to. Be blessed and be ministered deeply by her testimony as I was.

 

Yvonne Tan’s Testimony about Joseph Prince’s Heresies

 

I started attending New Creation Church (NCC) on a regular basis in 1999 when my sister invited me to join her for a service there. I was first saved when I was in my teens in a traditional church and when I attended NCC, I felt liberated by the teachings that I heard from Joseph Prince. He was a very charismatic speaker who could draw your attention easily and the sermon was usually light-hearted and entertaining. I like what I heard, and since then have continued to attend NCC as I felt this was the ‘right’ message preached instead of the usual legalistic and work-based messages I had been hearing.

 

In fact, I felt that Jesus’ words in John 10:10, “… I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” was what Joseph Prince was preaching – a life where God only wanted us to be blessed, to be healthy and wealthy.

 

For years, I felt I was so blessed by the preaching of Joseph Prince and I would buy every single book that he wrote and published as I felt that he was truly an anointed preacher from God and was the one preaching the ‘true grace’ message that God wanted us to hear.

 

I would also buy his CDs and would listen to them when I was driving or whenever I was free. I felt it was such a blessing to be sitting under his ministry and whatever he preaches every week, I did not doubt them and would take them as the ‘gospel truth’.

 

Joseph Prince often emphasizes that Faith comes by hearing and hearing of the Word. He would advise us not to listen to preachers who do not preach ‘true grace’ because we would easily go back to justify our salvation by our works, but we are to listen to his sermons. On hindsight, it was probably to boost the sales for his books and CDs. Therefore, many of the NCC members that I know usually owns many of his CDs and DVDs because we were often reminded to always listen to ‘sound doctrines’ which refer to his messages and we should constantly be hearing them in order to grow our faith.

 

In the later years, Joseph Prince launched his own Joseph Prince Ministries and there was a Joseph Prince app which we could download to buy all the preaching he did every week. He likes to jokingly say that he was a ‘good’ preacher whom we can listen to and I think I had spent thousands of dollars just buying many of his resources which were available. Just think, if I, as one person, had spent that much money, how much would a few thousand, out of the 34,000 people, who attend NCC spend, just to buy the same resources. This is just counting one church in NCC in Singapore. But if we were to include other churches in Singapore and the churches in the many other nations of the world, the sales of Joseph Prince’s resources is humongous! For Joseph Prince to tell the world that he is not paid by the church (what about honorarium, and if he is paid, how much per service?) becomes an irrelevant point as compared to the fat and juicy income that he reaps from such sales.

 

I took many things which he shared seriously because I felt he was a good shepherd that the Lord had put in my life. I followed closely what he taught. And as I reflect back now, Joseph Prince actually only has a few key messages which he kept drilling onto us. Many sermons he preached were often repeated or repackaged with a few new verses but essentially, he was just trying to bring across a few points that he has.

 

For example, we were often taught that we should always declare that “I am the righteousness of God in Christ”. I was like a parrot who kept repeating that phrase, feeling and thinking that I am always righteous in front of God because He only sees Jesus in my life.

 

We were reminded by Joseph Prince to keep declaring that even more when we are sinning because we must remember that God does not see our sins because we are covered with Jesus’s robe of righteousness. God is always pleased with us because He only sees the finished work Jesus has accomplished on the cross for us.

 

I have to admit that this teaching felt liberating and refreshing when I first heard it. It felt good to think that no matter what I do, it doesn’t really matter because anyway God doesn’t see the wrongs or sins I have committed but only Jesus’ finished work. In reality, it is actually such a dangerous teaching because it actually makes believers unconsciously take sins very lightly, which I did.

 

Along with the teaching of declaring I am the righteousness of God in Christ; Joseph Prince aligns his teachings with how the Holy Spirit comes only to convict us of righteousness and never to convict a believer his sins. He emphasizes that the Holy Spirit will never point out our faults and believers are living in defeat because they don’t understand that the Holy Spirit is only here to convict them of their righteousness in Christ!

 

But John 16:8, “And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgement,” says that the Holy Spirit inside us helps to bring us to the realization of our sinfulness and our guilt before God.

 

Imagine that the Holy Spirit whom God sends to every believer will never prompt or tell a believer when he is wrong or in sin but instead will only be telling the believer to remember how righteous he is because of Jesus. That he should continue to declare his righteousness in Christ even when he is committing the sin and the Holy Spirit who is God will never convict him of his sins? Even though it was such a strange and false teaching, I believed it and did exactly that even when I sinned. How deceived I was by such evil teachings of Joseph Prince!

 

Joseph Prince loves to use the example or testimony of how a man who was addicted to pornography would be declaring, “I am the righteousness of God in Christ” even as he watched porn and the Holy Spirit inside him would convict him of his righteousness which is in Christ!!! And slowly but surely, this man will lose his desire to watch porn and he is delivered from his addiction through this way. This teaching is so toxic and dangerous.

 

In fact, Joseph Prince teaches us that all our sins, past, present and future have all been forgiven and we do not have to confess our sins in order to get forgiveness. We were taught that if we confess our sins, we negate what Jesus has done for us on the cross.

 

He would try to explain to us that 1 John 1:9 does not apply to us believers but it was written to the Gnostics at that time. He would also defend himself saying that he is not against confession of sins but would remind us that we should not be confessing our sins to ask for forgiveness because there is no need to. How can such teachings be from God but yet I listened and did exactly what he teaches.

 

As I reflect back, it is really quite an irony why I would actually believe what he taught when it is very clear that the book of 1 John didn’t have chapters and verses then but was one whole letter written to the church at that time. Why would John be addressing the Gnostics at one point and suddenly address the believers the next in the same letter?

 

I was also taught that many of Jesus’ teachings in the gospels are not relevant and non-binding for us believers because these were words spoken before Jesus went to the cross. Joseph Prince would tell us that we are New Covenant believers and many of Jesus’ teachings while He was on earth were meant for the Jews at that time and not for us. Therefore, Joseph Prince hardly preached anything about Jesus’ teachings while He was in Ministry during His three years on earth, including Jesus’ core teachings on discipleship and the cost of it.

 

In my 20 years in NCC, I have also never heard him preach the beatitudes or even the all-important topic of the Great Commission which was essentially Jesus’ command for every church and believer in every generation. How can Joseph Prince claim to be Christ-centred when he dares to neglect the most important command of the Lord Jesus?

 

Even important doctrines like the doctrine of Sanctification and repentance have been twisted and changed by Joseph Prince. He always preaches that repentance is only a change of mind but it is so clear from the Scriptures that repentance is a change of heart and mind, turning away from our sins and turning to God.

 

In New Creation Church, there were never any teachings by Joseph Prince on Sanctification and how it refers to a believer’s growth in holiness. We are all works in progress until the day we reach heaven, so this growth will continue with the help of the Holy Spirit that changes our character from the inside out. But sadly, all these teachings were never mentioned by him.

 

Joseph Prince will always protect himself by saying, “Who says I’m against Sanctification?” But if he isn’t against Sanctification, why is he not preaching this doctrine to us? In my 20 years in NCC, I’ve never heard even one sermon on Sanctification.

 

As I read the Bible for myself and even as I study the Sermon on the Mount, it is clear that Jesus’s teachings are addressed to all believers. There are so many contradictions about Joseph Prince’s teachings that we can actually pick out just from the Sermon of the Mount.

 

Jesus taught us the beatitudes which was the true blessings that God wants us to experience (Matt 5:3-12). Jesus did not teach us that the true blessings of God are our health and our wealth. In fact, Jesus clearly tells us that in Matthew 6:19, “Do not lay up for yourself treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth not rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.”

 

Joseph Prince likes to teach his prosperity gospel with the use of Bible characters in the Old Testament like Abraham, Joseph and Solomon. He would remind us that they were prosperous and so blessed by God. He conveniently uses these characters to support his health and wealth messages.

 

He would also often boast about how he is preaching the true grace message of the Apostle Paul. But what is ironical is that Paul’s life and ministry contradict rather than support Joseph Prince’s Health and Wealth gospel.  

 

Don’t we all know how Paul, a New Covenant believer, died as a martyr and how all of Jesus’ disciples were also martyred except for John. Yet, Joseph Prince can bring himself to teach that we, as New Covenant believers, will never be martyred for the sake of Christ. What a stark contradiction!

 

Shouldn’t Paul who was the one that Joseph Prince always says is preaching the true grace message be blessed by God with riches and prosperity? Yet, Paul was not a wealthy man at all. In fact, he was rather poor. He had nothing when died. He owned only a cloak, some scrolls and parchments which he instructed his disciple Timothy to bring to him when he was in prison.

 

Surely the Apostle Paul had more faith than anyone of us. But yet he lived a hard life, going about making disciples for Christ. When you think about it, everything about the prosperity gospel just doesn’t gel about how God wants only believers blessed, healthy and wealthy.

 

God is concerned for us that we should not be pursuing worldly riches or material things but we should be pursuing God’s kingdom. 1 John 2:15 states, “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”

 

For the years that I sat under Joseph Prince’s ministry, my own covetousness grew unconsciously as he often tells us that God wants us to be prosperous (in terms of being wealthy) and we need to have the faith to believe. God can bless us abundantly what we ask for. A promotion, a new house or car if we have the faith to believe.

 

We are taught to ask boldly and to ask for big things because we serve a “big” God. Therefore, every year, we are told to write down 3 wishes that we want God to answer for the year. I never think that by doing so I have actually reduced the Jesus I worship to a “Jesus’ in a bottle.

 

It is only when the scales fell off from my eyes that I see that even though Jesus has told us that as we ask, we will receive, when we seek, we will find and when we knock the door will be opened. It is also clear that God answers our prayers when it is asked accordingly to His will. 1 John 5:14 writes, “Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.”

 

But because of the false teachings we believed from Joseph Prince, many times I find myself selfishly asking for blessings which was for me, myself and I in terms of wealth and health.

 

During the 20 years I spent in NCC, from being a Christian who was fervent to serve the Lord, I was contented and happy to become just another ‘Sunday’ Christian. As Joseph Prince’s teachings was always about resting in the Lord and God’s grace and not needing to do anything, I became ‘lazy’ and felt that I should not be work-conscious.

 

Therefore, it is no wonder that NCC appeals to many, because it is really so easy and effortless. There is no discipleship in NCC, no Bible courses or seminars to attend, no prayer meetings and even on actual days like Christmas and Good Fridays, there were no service available to attend. The church does not believe in these ‘works’ and any attempt to do any ‘works’ were considered to be legalistic and work-based.

 

The care groups in NCC were also very disappointing. It was always just another meeting where most will be parroting what Joseph Prince says. Many like to quote, “Oh Pastor Prince says this, or Pastor Prince says that.” It was always a meeting where we tried to expound on the sermons that was preached by him.

 

I had attended 4 different care groups during my days in NCC and it was the same throughout. I did not gain anything from the care group, not spiritually and I was not bearing any fruits. It always became a drag to go to care group after a while and I believed many NCC members felt the same because I have seen how people come and go in the care group constantly. Friends whom I made from care group echoed my sentiments and found no growth and purpose in attending those care group meetings. Thus, many usually slowly just dropped out from care group and was happy to just attend service on Sunday.

 

As I grew increasingly disappointed and disheartened with the care group, I was also getting very uncomfortable with Joseph Prince’s repetitive and constant teachings on the law. He was preaching so much on how the Ten Commandments do not apply to us anymore and why we cannot try to balance law and grace.

 

I believe it was the Holy Spirit inside me that prompted me to start to find out more about what Joseph Prince was preaching on the law being obsolete and how the law only condemns. It was at this time that a friend sent me an article written by Rev George Ong on his website.

 

To be frank, when I first read Rev George Ong’s article and saw that he has put up this whole website just targeting the false teachings of Joseph Prince, I felt that this person is so judgemental. Why is he, who is a shepherd, not preaching his own sermons but instead devoting all his time and effort to point out all the errors or wrong teachings of Joseph Prince.

 

But I want to thank God for Rev George Ong, his relentless efforts in studying what was wrong with Joseph Prince’s teachings and writing 10 volumes of books and making all those videos which point out all the teachings that were wrong in Joseph Prince.

 

I have finished reading all 10 volumes of his books comprising 4,800 pages and watched many of his videos on his website. It was truly helpful and my spiritual blindness to Joseph Prince’s heresies was finally removed.

 

We really need to have spiritual discernment to know what are sound doctrines and what are not. We need to read the Bible for ourselves and not let any preacher interpret it for us. Yes, they are teachers of the Word but we cannot be lazy and not read the Word for ourselves.

 

I believe the reason why I started having doubts of Joseph Prince’s teachings was also because a few of us who were in NCC then began to do some Bible studies together. We read the books in the Bible for ourselves. It was also then that we found many things that we read in the Scriptures did not align with what Joseph Prince was preaching.

 

One important aspect which stood out for me as I studied the Book of James with my friends was how James wrote in James 1:2. “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.” The Book of James talks about how believers ought to deal with suffering and trials.

 

In my 20 years with NCC, Joseph Prince never preached on sufferings and trials. We were made to believe that as New Covenant believers, we do not have to suffer or go through trials if we believe so and have enough faith.

 

Therefore, whenever we go through sufferings or trials, many of us do not know how to deal with them and feel disappointed with God when things do not go our way or when God does not answer our prayers.

 

Matthew 7:15 warns, “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.”

 

I never thought I would ever be sitting under a false teacher, such as Joseph Prince, and always think that Jesus’ warning sounds very remote for me. Surely, I would have the spiritual discernment to know who are the false prophets or pick out false teachings if I ever heard one.

 

Yet for 20 years, I thought I was hearing God’s Word preached by Joseph Prince, week after week. It was like I was so spiritually blinded and many friends I knew from NCC who came from all walks of life thought they were hearing God’s Word being revealed by Joseph Prince and never doubted him. I do believe there are certain dark spiritual forces and powers that Joseph Prince wields over his listeners, and this is what that keeps me and the rest spiritually blinded from seeing the truth.

 

Of course, Joseph Prince loves to boast about how big NCC has grown through the years, and if it is not God who is behind this growth, how could this have happened. I used to nod and agree when I heard this and felt reassured that I am definitely planted in the right church.

 

But 2 Peter 2:2 clearly writes, “And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed.” God knows what will happen and has already foretold to us why the followers of false teachers will be great in numbers. Therefore, one important lesson I have learnt is never to judge how right a church is with God simply by looking at its size.

 

Mark 13:22 writes, “For false christs and false prophets will rise and show signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.” Yes, it is clearly stated that false teachers can also do wonders and miracles and it is no wonder that every week in NCC, we hear testimonies of how believers are healed or delivered. 

 

It was a very painful journey for me to come to the full realisation that Joseph Prince is a heretic and a false teacher.

 

My family and I had trusted and respected him for 20 years and proudly declared to our family and friends that Joseph Prince was our Pastor and shepherd.

 

There were many emotions that I went through during this journey of discovery and to come to a point where I finally muster up the courage to say that Joseph Prince is a false teacher, a heretic, who has been leading me astray is very difficult.

 

I spent many nights reading the Bible and articles to find out the truth for answers to many of the teachings from Joseph Prince that I have held dearly in my heart and which were so ingrained in me.

 

If you are reading this testimony, may the grace of God be upon you to find out more for yourself and I pray that you will see the truth that God wants to reveal to you. Once, you see the truth, and if you happen to attend NCC, I ‘beg’ you to run from Joseph Prince the heretic, to avoid being doomed to your eternal destruction.

 

Finally, in the light of my painful discovery about the heretical teachings of Joseph Prince, I begin to wonder why is the spiritual leadership in Singapore so silent about publicly warning the sheep about it?

 

Is the fact that Joseph Prince is a heretic not obvious to them? Were what I’ve highlighted in my testimony about the many false teachings of Joseph Prince not enough to convince them? And what I’ve highlighted are not even exhaustive, and the many more of Joseph Prince’s false teachings can be found in Rev George Ong’s website. Are they aware of Rev George Ong’s website and have they even bothered to read a portion of his resources in the first place?

 

This is important because as I have shared, reading all 10 volumes in the 4,800 pages of his notes and viewing many of his videos on his website had played a big and crucial part in the removal of my spiritual blindness and in totally convincing me that Joseph Prince is a heretic.

 

Do the rest in NCC, and others in the many churches in Singapore who are influenced by Joseph Prince’s teachings, need to take 20 years, like me, to finally discover that Joseph Prince is a wolf in sheepskin? I sincerely hope not. I have not even taken into account the emotional trauma and pain that I went through to finally discover what I had sincerely believed to be true for all these 20 years, had all turned out to be false. All my 20 years may not have been wasted if the spiritual leadership in Singapore would have made this clear about the heretical teachings of Joseph Prince at the outset.  

 

But what if I didn’t make this discovery that Joseph Prince is a wolf in sheepskin. I would be damned as to embrace the teachings of a false prophet such as Joseph Prince, is to end up in the same dark destiny as he would.

 

It’s time for the spiritual leadership of Singapore to cease its silence. It’s time for them to take responsibility to warn every sheep in Singapore and the other nations about the heretic, Joseph Prince, as their eternal destiny hangs in the balance.

 

Yvonne Tan

Attending Trinity Christian Centre, Singapore

 

Rev George Ong’s Closing Comments:

 

Praise the Lord for Yvonne’s powerful testimony which spoke to the depths of our being. I believe God will use this testimony to lead many out of the bondage of Joseph Prince’s heresies.

 

More than that, there is a clear ring of truth which thunders throughout her testimony that no one can deny – that Joseph Prince is a false teacher and a heretic!

 

Let me speak prophetically to the Executive Committee Members of the National Council of Churches of Singapore (NCCS), especially to Bishop Gordon Wong,

 

“You had better not even entertain the idea that Joseph Prince isn’t a heretic. To even think of it is to engage in falsehood. You know in your heart of hearts that he is one. So, do the right and honourable thing as the spiritual gatekeepers of Singapore. Once and for all, declare the truth to all Christians in Singapore and the world that Joseph Prince is a heretic (if he chooses to remain unrepentant.) Do not waver anymore. You have sat on this for too long. Not to do it is not only to neglect your basic responsibility as Christ’s shepherds of warning the sheep about wolves but also to forfeit your moral standing as the spiritual leaders of Singapore.”

 

Let me speak prophetically to all Pastors of Singapore,

 

“You are supposed to be shepherds guarding your sheep from Joseph Prince, the wolf in sheepskin. So do not be beholden to the Establishment if she ever chooses to engage in the ungodly act of protecting the heretic, Joseph Prince, for their own self-preservation. Do not let the security of your position or job impair your perspective, but let your God-given conscience and the authority of God’s word be your guide.”  

 

Let me speak prophetically to Joseph Prince,

 

“The time has come for you to repent. This is your last opportunity to avoid being eternally doomed. You have led the multitudes to their destruction. Do not continue on this wayward path anymore. Do not let pride, which is your number one problem, stand in the way of true repentance. If you truly repent from all your heresies, God can still use you. I, for one, will covenant to pray for you that God will grant you true success. That you will preach the true gospel, and sheep, instead of goats, will fill your church. Yes, everything in your life and ministry will crash. But fear not, after a period of restoration by the Body of Christ, the Lord will rebuild your ministry and you can truly shine for our Lord Jesus. Come back home, Joseph, I plead with you, (now with tears flowing down my eyes uncontrollably, and I’m even weeping for you now as I write, God be my witness) come back to God. I pray that you will not spurn this last chance that God has given you. The Lord loves you enough to warn you the last time. This is the last time as after this, your heart will be so hardened as the heart of Pharaoh that you will never return to God. I’m angry with you for leading the multitudes of souls to their destruction but I love you enough to warn you that you need to repent. Don’t be afraid, your days are not over if you would humbly repent. And when you truly repent, I will partner with you, I will support you all the way, not to compete with you, but by praying for you, that you will be used mightily to win the multitudes of souls to the Lord Jesus Christ.”

 

Rev George Ong