The enduring legacy of Dr Wally Tow

How a long-term Kingdom view made a difference in so many ways.

by Gary Bates

Previously published in a CMI newsletter, July 2019

Dear friends,

Let me start by saying that US readers, in particular, might not even be reading this newsletter if not for the incredible generosity of one man and his wife. Their names are Dr and Mrs Wally Tow. Dr Tow was a world-renowned obstetrician and gynecologist (read our interview with him here). He and brother Timothy founded the Bible-Presbyterian Church of Singapore which eventually grew to over 50 churches. After his brother’s death in 2009, Dr Tow remained as senior pastor at the founding Calvary Pandan church until ill health caused him to pass the baton. My wife and I, and the team here, were very saddened to hear of his passing in March this year (2019).

Dr Tow’s father was also a medical doctor. His family lived under the Japanese occupation of Malaysia and Singapore during WW2 and survived the infamous Sook Ching massacre in Singapore of 20,000–50,000 Chinese.

Singapore is a small island nation at the tip of the Malaysian peninsula. Its geographical area is about the size of a large American metropolis. But post WW2 Singapore grew from a swampy 3^rd world country to be a modern, powerful financial hub with one of the highest living standards in the world.

Just before my wife, two of my children, and I were about to move to the US in 2009, (two other children remained in Australia), I preached in Dr Tow’s church in the same week that his brother Timothy passed away. We were privileged to attend a private family dinner to commemorate Timothy’s legacy. During this grieving, private family time, we were amazed that Dr Tow graciously took the time to honor us as guests, and he spoke highly of CMI’s work and its importance to the church at large. He also brought up our impending move to the US and about the importance of family (having just lost his beloved brother), and the fact that our own family was going to be split across two continents. He presented me with a beautiful leather-bound red-letter Bible, which is a cherished possession to this day.

Shortly after, Dr Tow contacted CMI’s Australian office and said that he would like to help the fledgling US operation and boost our operations by donating some funds. I mentioned that at some time we would need our own building and that maybe he could deposit some funds into an interest-bearing account so that it could be used to kick start a fundraising appeal sometime in the future. This was just after the 2008 financial crash and prices were very depressed, and so he asked for an indication of commercial property prices in the Atlanta area where we settled. We scouted a vacant building and emailed him the prospectus. Then to our absolute shock and amazement, and without any prompting, he wire-transferred the total amount of the purchase price (c.$560,000 USD).

Lives were changed—notably mine!

Normally, we don’t like to focus on individuals within the ministry as we always prefer the focus to be on the message of biblical creation and its Gospel relevance, but I’m sure you can imagine how my family was personally impacted by such a gesture. And what a great blessing for our fledgling US office! I would be arriving in the US with a building already paid for. No more rent or mortgage payments, and instead, all income could be used for ministry outreach, recruiting qualified staff and scientists, and producing the plethora of life-changing resources and even award-winning documentaries. And this is just in 10 short years. Moreover, in 2009 we conducted just 45 speaking events in the US, but for the last 4 years the US team has consistently done c.330 all over America and overseas.

I regard Mr and Mrs Tow as dear friends whose legacy has not only impacted the tens of thousands of lives reached in the US (unknowingly to them), but also us personally as we took the Tow’s incredible gesture as a confirmation that moving to the US (even with the difficulty of leaving some children behind), was where the Lord wanted us to be.

I recently shared Dr Tow’s story and his legacy to CMI to our US staff during devotions. Of course, most have never met him, probably like you. But I wanted to highlight that we should never forget that the work we do, as a faith-funded ministry is only possible due to God’s unmerited favor and the generosity of supporters. This was the first and only time we had ever received such a large donation, as practically all of our support comes from families and individuals who faithfully support us monthly, and most of it just a few dollars at a time. Many wrongly think that a small amount will not make a difference, but like small drops in rainfall they add up to provide a flood of support. At our office devotions we regularly pray for you—our supporters—who make our work possible. Willemien K. wrote: