November 14, 2018, 07:16 PM 
A banner outside a church near Orchard Road has caught the attention of some netizens at local forum Hardwarezone.
In a picture uploaded by Hardwarezone user wwenze, a banner put up by the Orchard Road Presbyterian Church reads:
"Build up assets in heaven where their value will never be zero."
Accompanying the tagline is a Bible verse below from Matthew 6:20, which says:
"But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal."
The banner has a graphic illustration of some flats printed on it.
Recently, the 99-year lease of HDB flats was a hot topic among Singaporeans.
Hardwarezone users react
One user marvelled at the novelty of the banner.
Screenshot via Hardwarezone
Another took a dig at church-goers.
Screenshot via Hardwarezone
Banner-loving church
Orchard Road Presbyterian Church is located at Orchard Road next to the YMCA building.
It is near the Singapore Management University (SMU) and Dhoby Ghaut MRT station.
The banner is set up at a prominent spot right next to the fence where pedestrians and drivers going past the place can spot it easily.
Image via Google Streetview
This was not the first time the church has put up such banners.
Here are more of them.
Past banners
Image via Salt&Light
It also paid attention to the lingo of the social media generation.
Image via Reddit
Pop culture was also not spared the gospel treatment.
Image via Salt&Light
Image via Salt&Light
Image via Salt&Light
And even political events such as the Trump-Kim Summit was used as banner material.
Image via Salt&Light
Banners meant to be provocative
A member of the church, Lim Ee Tuo, told Christian website Salt&Light that the church first started a "banner ministry" 15 years ago to take advantage of the strategic location of the church.
He said the banners are meant to do two things:
- Proclaim the "Word of God"
- Provoke thought in the people who come across them
He added that the banners were meaningless if they do not capture people's attention:
“Society today is overloaded with information.
So, putting more information out there is not going to get a message across, unless there is the element of something provocative.”
"Pro-government, but issues-focused"
Nevertheless, Lim said the church aims to be "responsible", clarifying that the church is not anti-establishment.
He said:
"I might say that we are pro-government, but issues-focused".
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Top image via Hardwarezone
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