The Methodist Church in Singapore (MCS) is the church that

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

s in

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

belong to. The Church has 46

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chris ...

es island-wide with around 42,000 members, and is the largest mainline

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

denomination in

. Its current

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

and head of the Church is Rev Dr Gordon Wong, who was elected at the 12th Session of the General Conference on 7 September 2020. The Church also has 15 schools, 13 kindergartens and five childcare centres under its umbrella.

History

The Methodist Church in

started out as a

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...

initiative by Rev James Thoburn of the South India Conference in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

in 1885 . Rev

William Fitzjames Oldham William Fitzjames Oldham (15 December 1854 – 27 March 1937) was a British-American bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church and missionary Bishop for South Asia. He distinguished himself as a missionary, an author and a church official. He wa ...

travelled to

to plant the foundations of the mission. Oldham started the church's first

English-language English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the is ...

boy A boy is a young male human. The term is commonly used for a child or an adolescent. When a male human reaches adulthood, he is described as a man. Definition, etymology, and use According to the ''Merriam-Webster Dictionary'', a boy is "a ...

s' school in 1886, the

Anglo-Chinese School Anglo-Chinese School (ACS) is a family of Methodist schools in Singapore and Indonesia. It was founded in 1886 by Bishop William Fitzjames Oldham as an extension of the Methodist Church. Anglo-Chinese School is usually abbreviated as "ACS", wit ...

. Two girls' schools (

Methodist Girls' School Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's br ...

and Fairfield Methodist Girls' School) were subsequently established in 1887 and 1888, respectively. The mission also developed a

clinic A clinic (or outpatient clinic or ambulatory care clinic) is a health facility that is primarily focused on the care of outpatients. Clinics can be privately operated or publicly managed and funded. They typically cover the primary care needs ...

and

hostels A hostel is a form of low-cost, short-term shared sociable lodging where guests can rent a bed, usually a bunk bed in a dormitory, with shared use of a lounge and sometimes a kitchen. Rooms can be mixed or single-sex and have private or shared ba ...

for homeless children. WesleyMethodistChurch-sepiapostcard

From this

base, the mission then spread to the

Malay Peninsula The Malay Peninsula (Malay: ''Semenanjung Tanah Melayu'') is a peninsula in Mainland Southeast Asia. The landmass runs approximately north–south, and at its terminus, it is the southernmost point of the Asian continental mainland. The area ...

and

Sarawak Sarawak (; ) is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia. The largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak is located in northwest Borneo Island, and is bordered by the M ...

in the 1890s. The Methodist Mission in Singapore and

Malaya Malaya refers to a number of historical and current political entities related to what is currently Peninsular Malaysia in Southeast Asia: Political entities * British Malaya (1826–1957), a loose collection of the British colony of the Straits ...

expanded over time, eventually growing to the administrative status of a

conference A conference is a meeting of two or more experts to discuss and exchange opinions or new information about a particular topic. Conferences can be used as a form of group decision-making, although discussion, not always decisions, are the main p ...

in the Methodist Church. Eventually, the church spread throughout

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...

, leading to the establishment of the Southeast Asian Central Conference in 1950. The

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

n and

components of the mission officially became autonomous of their Western parent bodies in 1968; thus, becoming an

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

n church with a

elected from the local ministers. In 1976, the church was restructured into The Methodist Church in

and The

Methodist Church in Malaysia The Methodist Church in Malaysia is a body within the Methodist tradition in Malaysia. With approximately 200,000 members in more than 1034 congregations (local and preaching points), it is the second largest Protestant denomination in the cou ...

to reflect the secession of

from

Organisation

The Methodist Church in Singapore, which consists of 46 local congregations, is organised in conferences: general conference, annual conferences, district and local conferences. Christ Methodist Church01

The General Conference, which meets every four years, is the highest decision-making body of the MCS, led by the elected

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

and an equal number of elected representatives (both clergy and laity) from each of the three Annual Conferences. For day-to-day matters between sessions of the General Conference, the powers of the General Conference are to be found in the General Conference Executive Council (GCEC). The General Conference is the only body that speaks officially for the church. No person, no paper, no organisation has the authority to speak officially for The Methodist Church, this right having been reserved exclusively to the General Conference under the Constitution. Telok Ayer Chinese Methodist Church05

The Women's Society of Christian Service (WSCS) was set up to help Methodist women grow in the knowledge and experience of God as revealed in

Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

, challenge them to respond to God's redemptive fellowship, to make

Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, names and titles), was ...

known throughout the world and to develop a personal responsibility for the whole task of the Church. Its ministries include Spiritual Life, Social Concerns, Christian Education and Missions. Th
Methodist Missions Society
(MMS) was established in 1991 as the missions agency of The Methodist Church in

. MMS seeks to establish indigenous churches supported by mission endeavours in communities across the region where there is no Methodist presence. The current focus is on the Asian region, particularly

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

and

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

, owing to their proximity to

and the multiple opportunities to reach the large numbers of unreached people groups in these countries for religious conversion. Th
Methodist Welfare Services
(MWS) is the outreach and social-concerns arm of The Methodist Church in

. It provides care, support and practical help to

Singaporeans Singaporeans, or the Singaporean people, refers to Singaporean nationality law, citizens or people who identify with the sovereign island city-state of Singapore. Singapore is a multiracialism, multi-ethnic, multiculturalism, multi-cultural an ...

facing life's crises and long-term hardship regardless of their race, religion or language. Under the current umbrella of MWS or associated with it, there are 13 service hubs including three Family Service Centres, three Children & Youth Centres, the Christalite Methodist Home for the destitute and the Bethany Methodist Nursing Home. The Methodist Church in

is a member of th
National Council of Churches of Singapore
Kampong Kapor Methodist

List of bishops

This is a list of Bishops of the Methodist Church in

, in order of their election to the episcopacy, both living and dead.

Elected by General Conference, U.S.A. to superintend Methodist work in Southern and Southeast Asia

* James M Thoburn (1888 - 1904) * Frank W Warne ssisting James M Thoburn(1900 - 1904) * William F Oldham (1904 - 1912) * John E Robinson (1912 - 1914) * William P Eveland (1914 - 1916) * o Resident Bishop - Episcopal duties covered by Bishops John E Robinson and JW Robinson(1916 - 1920) * George H Bickley (1920 - 1924) * Titus Lowe (1924 - 1928) * Edwin F Lee (1928 - 1948) * o Resident Bishop - Episcopal duties covered by Bishops Ralph Cushman and Arthur J Moore(1948 - 1950)

Elected by Southeastern Asia Central Conference

* Raymond L Archer (1950 - 1956) * Hobart B Amstutz (1956 - 1964) * Robert F Lundy (1964 - 1968)

Elected by The Methodist Church in Malaysia and Singapore

* Yap Kim Hao (1968 - 1973) * Theodore R Doraisamy (1973 - 1976)

Elected by The Methodist Church in Singapore

* Kao Jih Chung (1976 - 1984) * Ho Chee Sin (1984 - 1996) * Wong Kiam Thau (1996 - 2000) * Robert M Solomon (2000 - 2012) * Wee Boon Hup (2012 - 2016) * Chong Chin Chung (2016 - 2020) * Gordon Wong Cheong Weng (2020-)

Annual conferences

The Methodist Church in

is organised into three branches called "Annual Conferences" as each of them meets once a year. These are th
Chinese Annual Conference
comprising churches with largely

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...

-speaking congregations, Emmanuel Tamil Annual Conference for churches with largely

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...

-speaking congregations an
Trinity Annual Conference
for churches with largely

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

-speaking congregations. However, many churches now conduct services in languages other than the language appropriate to the annual conference that they belong to. The three Annual Conferences are headed by the

. Each of the three Annual Conferences is headed by a President.

List of Methodist churches in Singapore

Chinese Annual Conference
/h2>

Bukit Panjang Methodist Church
Changi Methodist Church
Charis Methodist Church

Foochow Methodist Church

Geylang Chinese Methodist Church

Grace Methodist Church

Hakka Methodist Church

HingHwa Methodist Church

Holy Covenant Methodist Church

Kum Yan Methodist Church
Kum Yan Methodist Church (Woodlands) Paya Lebar Chinese Methodist Church Paya Lebar Methodist Mission
Queenstown Chinese Methodist Church

Sengkang Methodist Church
Telok Ayer Chinese Methodist Church
Toa Payoh Chinese Methodist Church

Yishun Methodist Mission

Emmanuel Tamil Annual Conference
/h2>
Ang Mo Kio Tamil Methodist Church Jurong Tamil Methodist Church Pasir Panjang Tamil Methodist Church Seletar Tamil Methodist Church Bedok Preaching Point Sembawang Tamil Methodist Church Singapore Telugu Methodist Church Tamil Methodist Church Toa Payoh Tamil Methodist Church

Trinity Annual Conference
/h2>

Agape Methodist Church

Aldersgate Methodist Church

Ang Mo Kio Methodist Church

Barker Road Methodist Church Barker Road Methodist Church (BRMC) is a Methodist church in Singapore located at 48 Barker Road along Dunearn Road, and is colocated with Anglo-Chinese School (Barker Road) and Anglo-Chinese School (Primary). History BRMC was originally known ...
Bukit Batok Preaching Point
Bedok Methodist Church

Cairnhill Methodist Church

Christ Methodist Church

Christalite Methodist Chapel

Covenant Community Methodist Church

Fairfield Methodist Church
*
Fairfield Preaching Point

Faith Methodist Church

Holland Village Methodist Church
**
Kampong Kapor Methodist Church Kampong Kapor Methodist Church (Abbreviation: KKMC) is located on Kampong Kapor Road in Singapore's Little India district. The church is approximately 300 metres from Jalan Besar MRT station. Founded in 1894, KKMC is one of the first Peranakan c ...

Living Hope Methodist Church

Living Waters Methodist Church

The Methodist Church of the Incarnation

Paya Lebar Methodist Church

Pentecost Methodist Church

Toa Payoh Methodist Church

Trinity Methodist Church

Wesley Methodist Church

Schools
There are 16 schools managed by the Methodist Church, which is represented by the Methodist Schools Foundation. Six of the schools are part of the
Anglo-Chinese School Anglo-Chinese School (ACS) is a family of Methodist schools in Singapore and Indonesia. It was founded in 1886 by Bishop William Fitzjames Oldham as an extension of the Methodist Church. Anglo-Chinese School is usually abbreviated as "ACS", wit ...
family which includes a
junior college A junior college (sometimes referred to colloquially as a juco, JuCo or JC) is a post-secondary educational institution offering vocational training designed to prepare students for either skilled trades and technical occupations and workers in su ...
. The other schools are: *
Methodist Girls' School Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's br ...
* Paya Lebar Methodist Girls' School (Primary) *
Paya Lebar Methodist Girls' School (Secondary) Paya Lebar Methodist Girls' School (PLMGS) is a school only for female, consisting of two sections – the Primary School and Secondary School, located in Hougang, Singapore. Running on a single-session, the school caters to students from Primary ...
*
Fairfield Methodist School (Primary) Fairfield Methodist School (Primary) and Fairfield Methodist School (Secondary) are two schools located on Dover Road. Founded in 1888 as the Anglo-Chinese Girls School, they are among the oldest primary and secondary schools in Singapore. Th ...
*
Fairfield Methodist School (Secondary) Fairfield Methodist School (Primary) and Fairfield Methodist School (Secondary) are two schools located on Dover, Singapore#Roads in Dover, Dover Road. Founded in 1888 as the Anglo-Chinese Girls School, they are among the oldest primary and sec ...
* Geylang Methodist School (Primary) * Geylang Methodist School (Secondary) Schools under the ACS family: *
Anglo-Chinese School (Primary) This is a list of primary schools in Singapore. Children typically start their primary education in the year they turn seven. Primary education lasts six years, and is compulsory for all Singapore citizens. Primary schools in Singapore are clas ...
*
Anglo-Chinese School (Junior) This is a list of primary schools in Singapore. Children typically start their primary education in the year they turn seven. Primary education lasts six years, and is compulsory for all Singapore citizens. Primary schools in Singapore are clas ...
*
Anglo-Chinese School (Barker Road) Anglo-Chinese School (Barker Road) is a government-aided boys' secondary school located at Barker Road in Newton, Singapore. It is a member of the Anglo-Chinese family of schools in Singapore. It offers the Singapore-Cambridge GCE Ordinary Level ...
*
Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) (ACS(I)) is an independent Methodist secondary school in Dover, Singapore. Founded in 1886 by Reverend William Fitzjames Oldham, it was recognised as an International Baccalaureate World School in 2005, and ha ...
* Anglo-Chinese School (International) *
Anglo-Chinese Junior College Anglo-Chinese Junior College (ACJC) is a Junior college (Singapore), junior college in Singapore that offers a two-year pre-university programme leading to the Singapore-Cambridge GCE Advanced Level examination. Established in 1977, Anglo-Chin ...
*
ACS Jakarta ACS Jakarta is a Methodist school in Jakarta, Indonesia. In 2006 it joined the Anglo-Chinese School Anglo-Chinese School (ACS) is a family of Methodist schools in Singapore and Indonesia. It was founded in 1886 by Bishop William Fitzjames O ...
, Jakarta,
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
Other Methodist Schools:
St. Francis Methodist School

Methodist School of Music

See also
*
Methodism Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's br ...
*
Christianity in Singapore Christians in Singapore constitute 18.9% of the country's population. In 2020, about 37.1% of the country's Christians identified as Catholic and 62.9% as 'Other Christians' (chiefly Protestants). Christianity was introduced to Singapore by Ang ...
*
Religion in Singapore Religion in Singapore is characterised by a wide variety of religious beliefs and practices due to its diverse ethnic mix of peoples originating from various countries. This means that Singapore is commonly termed as a " melting pot" of variou ...

Notes

Further reading
. . * *

External links

Official website of the Methodist Church in Singapore
{{DEFAULTSORT:Methodist Church In Singapore Methodism in Singapore Religious organisations based in Singapore Christian organizations established in 1968 Methodist denominations established in the 20th century