In the bustling heart of the Tiong Bahru community, a provision shop that started before World War II and spans three generations thrives. The entire old-timer community knows — the family behind that beloved provision shop, the one that has been serving multiple generations of customers, carries a deeper purpose. They are more than a provision shop business; they are stewards of faith. When Wesley TIDINGS team visited the shop to take pictures of Rodney Goh and his wife Audree, we saw numerous regular customers dropping in not to shop, but to chit-chat with him. Discover how Rodney weaves love, grace and God’s ministry into his provision shop business.
Hi Rodney, please share with us about your family and the business you run.
I am 69 years old and I have been married to Audree Tan, an ex-nurse and current full-time Church ministry worker, for the past 41 years. I’ve been worshipping in the traditional evening service for more than four decades and have served in its choir for the past 42 years. I currently run a provision shop business, Pin Pin Piau Kay Co, at Seng Poh Lane in Tiong Bahru.
What does Pin Pin Piau Kay mean?
‘Pin’ means peace (平) and ‘Piau Kay’ means fair price (标价).
How did you become a Christian?
I attended my first evangelistic meeting at the Dr Grady Wilson Crusade held at the now-demolished National Theatre in 1969. I sang in the choir, and Dr Wilson wrote Matthew 6:33 in my Bible. Later, at the Mandarin Orchard Hotel during a Full Gospel Businessmen Fellowship International (FGBMFI) meeting, I heard Reinhard Bonnke evangelise for the first time at a night rally. He prayed for me, and I was born again that very night. He also wrote Matthew 6:33 in my Bible. Therefore, I hold this verse very close to my heart because His Kingdom is alive in me. My prayer for everyone is that we must be born again to enter the Kingdom of God, as mentioned in John 3:3.
How did you end up running a provision shop business, and a very successful one too?
My grandfather started the provision shop in 1938 when the Tiong Bahru flats were completed. These flats are called pre-war flats because they were built before the Second World War. After my father took over the business in 1949, he ran the business till 1981. I have been running the business ever since for over four decades. God is good. He has always sent customers to our shop, even with all the big supermarkets coming up around us. Over the years, many of my customers, their children and even grandchildren, have become my friends and we have built a close bond. These friendships are priceless and one of my best rewards for running this humble shop.
What were some of the challenges you faced running Pin Pin Piau Kay?
During my father’s time, every year during the seventh or Chinese Hungry Ghost Month, we used to get a lot of orders from organisers of the seventh-month celebration to supply provisions like canned foods, rice, sugar, incense and joss paper. It was a very busy and lucrative month for us with all the dinners and trimmings for the auction goods. When I took over the business in 1981, I would receive dinner invitations to join the Hungry Ghost Month festivities. However, I decided to tell them we are Christians and would not be able to attend their dinner invites. From then on, the orders ceased to come my way. But God continued to be faithful, and we started receiving orders from shipping companies to supply provisions for the crew on board instead. And that kept us in business.
How do you demonstrate your Christian beliefs in your workplace?
For a start, I play Christian worship music in the provision shop, so we are well-known as a Christian provision shop to our customers and in the area. I believe the Christian music ministers to everyone, including pre-believers. I have non-Christians who come into my shop and tell me they feel so peaceful just listening to the worship music. As my family has been in the area for so long, it would not be an exaggeration to say that the entire Tiong Bahru market community knows we are a Christian family business. They would always refer to us as the shop that jiak hong ka (Hokkien for Christians). I do not think we need to stand in a corner on a sandbox to start evangelising. We just need to pray and commit God’s business, and He will do the rest. God promises us in Matthew 11:28-30 “ My yoke is easy and my burden is light.” There are too many miracles to mention about what God has done for me, my family and my business over the years. I know my God is real in my life.
Do you share your Christian beliefs with your customers or vendors?
Yes, as there are always opportunities because of how open I am about my Christian beliefs. For example, some people who have lost their jobs and needed prayer. My wife and I pray for them. We have also prayed for those who are seeking and brought them to church. All these are not our doing but the work of the Holy Spirit, who sends these people to us. All we do is lead them to Christ, pray for their salvation and God will supply all their needs.
How important is prayer to you in your Christian life?
Prayer is the most important part of our Christian life for my wife and me. We build it into our family’s routine. Previously, while sending our children to school daily, my two boys and daughter would pray in the car with us because they had no way to run. They pray until it became a habit. Every day before we open the shop, we pray and commit the shop to God. Throughout my life, God has shown me how faithful He is, no matter what my circumstances are. But I need to talk to Him and listen to Him. When we wanted a place to call home, we prayed, and God showed us the house. When we agreed to the price, we paid in full without borrowing a single cent. When we need to buy a van for business or a car for personal use, it was all paid for in full.
Do you have time to serve in Church? Which ministries do you serve in the Church?
Running a business requires our full attention almost 24/7. When I took over the business from my father, we made a covenant to close the shop earlier at 6.30 pm daily, forgoing some revenue, so we could attend the weekly Methodist Adult Fellowship (MAF) and spend family time with the children at night. Our friends also know that we are always available at night, so they include us in their fellowship gatherings.
On Sundays, we work half a day even though we could make more sales, go to choir practice and then sing in the 5 pm traditional service. All I can say is our God is a good God, and he always plans for us. We only need to be obedient and to remain faithful in our Christian Walk.
I’ve been in Wesley for 45 years, serving in choir for 45 years too, and as a choir president for more than 10 years. I am also a communion steward and worship leader for more than 20 years in Wesley. My wife, Audree, an ex-pediatric senior nurse, now works full time at Wesley too.
How has God shown you His faithfulness in running your business?
In my business, by the grace of God, I earned the trust of all my suppliers. We just need to pick up the phone, and suppliers will send us their goods because they always give us favourable credit terms, and we always pay on time. I believe in paying on time as we need to have integrity as Christian business owners. But it is also because God’s hand is in everything, and He is always watching over us and our business. When we were busy running the shop, God would send teachers who knew us to help watch over our children when they were in school. These are the guardian angels of our children. God’s hand is over my family, business and me 24/7.
Even for Audree and me, God exceeded our expectations. When we finally decided to sell the shop a few years ago, we were so sad because we were used to serving all the familiar faces, and suddenly, we had to leave them. Nothing can replace the kind of bond we have with our customers, some of whom have become our close friends. The buyer of the shop wanted to use it for a food and beverage business. They appealed for one and a half years to get approval from the authorities. During all this time, we had time to grieve, and the new owner of the shop allowed me to continue running my business rent-free, with all the utilities, service and conservancy fees paid by them! Their generosity was astounding, beyond what we could ever imagine! In my years of experience, I’ve never heard of a new owner allowing the seller to continue to stay rent-free for nearly two years. But it happened to us. This kind of generosity is virtually unheard of in a practical and commercial society like Singapore! And God’s provision of an exceptionally generous landlord did not stop there.
What happened after you sold the shop and continued running the business rent-free?
When I finally handed over the shop, I wanted to continue to run my home delivery business. There was a vacant shop available on the next block, and whenever I walked past it, I would lay hands, pray and claim the shop to continue the business. When it was available we put in a bid and blessed it and within two months we were successful in our bid for the shop. So now, I am back to running my little mini mart, meeting my old customers and friends at the shop and playing Christian music to minister to whoever comes into my shop. My regular customers have begun coming back to patronise my new shop. Many of my customers-turned-friends are also in their late 80s, living alone or abandoned by families, and they would drop in to chit-chat with me regularly. I am thankful I have this space where they can come in to have a listening ear. I give all glory to God that I can continue to work, serve others and be useful in His perfect timing.
Thank you, Rodney, for sharing so openly with us. What an amazing testimony of God’s providence.
Thank you for this opportunity to share, and together let’s continue to worship God in spirit and truth till His Kingdom reigns over us forever in eternity.
Photos by Gaius Ho
Video by Wesley Media Team
Read also: ‘God is everywhere, including a commercial F&B business’: An Interview with Koh Choon Chye, a Café Entrepreneur ; ‘I’ve spent my entire career helping the rich get richer. It is a nice change to be able to help the ones who have less get richer’: An Interview with Lam Poh Min, Former Hedge Fund Manager
For more articles on Rodney Goh’s provision shop business, please go to:
Saying goodbye to an 84-year-old provision shop in Tiong Bahru | The Straits Times
Beloved 85-Year-Old Tiong Bahru Provision Shop Pin Pin Piau Kay Making A Comeback – 8days
Everyday Christianity: Faith@Work is an interview series with Wesleyans from diverse age groups and walks of life. In this series, published in conjunction with our church’s theme for 2024 – Directions 2024: Discipleship in the Workplace , we hope to discover more about the perspectives of Wesleyans in different vocations on how they live out their faith every day, specifically in their workplaces, homes, or communities where they serve. More than just stories of success in victory, we also want to hear their stories of perseverance that point to the reality that our Father is a living God who is ever present in the mountain peaks and valley lows of our everyday lives. For more on Workplace Conversations, please listen to our podcasts by Rev Raymond Fong at Wesley Podcast • A podcast on Spotify for Podcasters .
