THEY have regularly turned up at a children's playground in Lorong Lew Lian in the evenings, slinging guitars and bearing candy.

The youths then hand out the treats to the children who are playing there, some as young as six and who are unaccompanied.

And once they have the children's attention, whether it is with the sweets or their songs, the chats begin - about religion.

The youths are from Paya Lebar Methodist Church on Boundary Road.

Some parents expressed unhappiness at the youths speaking to their children, while other parents said they were not worried.

Said Mr Terry Tan, 42: "The children are just too young to understand what is happening. Only when they are above 18, then they can approach them and talk to them about something as sensitive as religion."

Mr Tan, a designer, has two kids, aged five and eight.

Another parent, Ms Kelly Loh, 33, a housewife, said: "They have to ask permission from parents before approaching young children."

When The New Paper visited the playground, which is located between Block 1 and 2 in Lorong Lew Lian off Upper Serangoon Road last Thursday, the youths were seen approaching the children around 6pm.

With a big smile, they greeted the children and talked to them about Good Friday.

Most of the kids who were at the playground were not accompanied by their parents.

The youngsters also handed out little trinkets and used them to talk to the kids about religion.

At first there were only two or three children at the playground. But by 6.30pm, the number grew to about 20. Some of the children stayed and listened to them talk, while others ran off and returned to the youths after some time.

The youngsters laughed and joked with them and handed out colouring books with religious motifs.

Parents can decide

Another parent, Mr Nara, said his son goes to a Christian school and the teachers inform him of their activities so the parents can decide what they should participate in.

But he said the youths from this religious group are different.

He said: "They go up to the kids without our permission and talk to them about their religion.

Now, I will keep a closer eye on what is happening and not let my son go alone to the playground."

Not all the parents were uncomfortable with the youngsters' presence in the playground, though.

Engineer Yaw Thu Ya, 40, said: "I am a Buddhist and I think it is good for my son to learn a bit about other religions. He will know more."

Another parent, Mrs Lim, 34, who was with her 10-year-old daughter at the park, said: "They play with the kids and make them happy.

"I have no issues with it. My daughter really likes their company. They are very friendly and are good with the children."

One of the youths, Mr Nigel Goh, 22, said: "We are not forcing anything down the kids' throats."

Mr Goh, an intern at the church, added: "If parents are at the park, we ask them if it is okay to talk to them. If the kids are with the maids, we ask the maids if it is okay for us to talk to the kids."

His colleague, Ms Tessa Choo, 21, said: "We are just building relationships with the kids and not forcing them with anything."

The New Paper approached the church but a spokesman said he has no comment on the matter. The National Council of Churches of Singapore (NCCS) spokesman, Mr Lim K Tham, said in an e-mail response: "We don't have the details of this incident, but if the incident happened as reported, it is not the normal practice of churches.

"The NCCS has prepared general guidelines on evangelism that while the sharing of one's faith is encouraged by the churches, it must be done with sensitivity and respect."

He added: "There should be no coercion, and in the case of a child, evangelism should not be done without the parent's knowledge and permission."

"We are just building relationships with the kids and not forcing them with anything."

This article was first published in The New Paper.