Pastor Heok Cheow was born on Penang Island, Malaysia (formerly known as Prince of Wales Island or affectionately called “the Pearl of the Orient” by the British traders of yesteryears). His father came to settle in Penang as a young boy from China. Pastor Lim is a fourth generation Christian, and many in the Lim Clan and relatives were actively involved in preaching the gospel and church planting. It is no wonder that at the age of 18, he received a call from God to also serve in ministry. He went through some brief training initially when 20 years old and finally became a pastor at 27. He is now in his 33rd year of actively serving God on the pastoral staff of FGA Centre, a city church in Penang reaching out to various language groups.

Pastor Heok Cheow has three adult children—two sons and a daughter and has been blessed with his first grandson. On August 16, 2014, his wife went home to be with the Lord. Her life and even in her death stirred him to write the book, “Simply Telling My Story, Not Simply Telling Stories.”

Currently, he is the Executive Pastor of FGA Centre in charge of training and Christian Education. He has also started a new church plant especially for the millennials. Other tasks are admin and finance, event coordinator of leadership conferences, church-wide events, and seminars. He holds a Master’s degree in Pastoral Studies from Malaysian Baptist Theological Seminary. Before his present position, he was a church planter, youth pastor, worship pastor and mission pastor in his 33 years of full-time service—all in the same church!