What is the purpose of the Methodist Missions Society? Why can’t Methodist churches independently send their own members as missionaries? Is there a need for a denominational missions agency when other missions agencies in Singapore faithfully send out missionaries?
As the Methodist Missions Society (MMS) turns 35 this year, we reflect on the relevance, value and impact of the first denominational missions agency in Singapore.
Continuing the Methodist legacy overseas
I became a member of the Methodist Church seven years ago after I married a Methodist who was serving as an MMS missionary in Timor-Leste. Having grown up in an Anglican church and having attended a Brethren church as a young adult, I had no idea of the rich history and culture of The Methodist Church in Singapore (MCS). Like everyone else in Singapore, I knew of the Methodist schools and at Primary Six, had even desired to go to Methodist Girls’ School (MGS) for my Secondary education. However, it was only after I married my husband who had studied at the Fairfield Methodist Schools for 10 years and lives out the school motto “Pure and Honest” daily, that I glimpsed the impact of mission schools on a young person’s development and choices in life.
Just as how the Methodist schools in Singapore were established immediately after the Church was founded in 1885, MMS continues this legacy overseas by establishing churches, schools, hostels and places of refuge in eight developing nations.
Just as how the Methodist schools in Singapore were established immediately after the Church was founded in 1885, MMS continues this legacy overseas by establishing churches, schools, hostels and places of refuge in eight developing nations.
Why MMS?
In the past 35 years, MMS has sent pastors and missionaries from the three Annual Conferences to meet the unique needs of eight vastly different mission fields through church-planting and community development. From raising indigenous pastors in Cambodia, Thailand and Nepal, to serving a hot meal to the homeless during the winter months in our newest mission field, Japan, MMS prayerfully and creatively finds ways to work with local partners and disciple the nations.
MMS as a denominational agency stands out from other missions agencies with the capacity to stay in a mission field for the long-haul. We know that it takes many years to plough a field before seeds can grow and fruits can be seen. With human and financial resources from the three Annual Conferences, MMS is able to develop pioneering fields and journey with these countries until the local conferences and ministries become mature. MMS can harness the strength of Methodist churches in Singapore to achieve long-term strategic and sustainable outcomes beyond the good work one individual church can do. Our Methodist schools and hostels in Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Timor-Leste are led and staffed by missionaries from different churches to collectively invest in and disciple the next generation. In the same way that the Methodist schools in Singapore have raised generations of godly men and women who shape our nation, our missionaries work together with indigenous believers as one body to make a difference in the community and society.
Advancing SPMS Phase 2 development
As we look back at our 35 years with thanksgiving, MMS will hold a fundraising banquet with the theme “Celebrate our Partnership in Missions” on 30 August 2026. Proceeds will benefit ministries in the field, particularly education. A key recipient will be St Paul Methodist School (SPMS) in Timor-Leste, which was established by MMS in 2016.
The presence of a Methodist school in ASEAN’s youngest and poorest neighbour is a testament to the need for preserving presence and prayer as a missions agency. As Rev Dr Lorna Khoo recounts in the Harvest Force 2026 Issue 1, although the Lord had placed Timor-Leste on the hearts and minds of Methodist intercessors and leaders as early as 2002, SPMS only started informally with 18 Grade 7 students in a missionary’s home in 2016.
Ten years later, SPMS is now a full 12-Grade school with 1,200 students with Phase 2 Development planned to be completed by January 2028. The expansion is needed to meet the growing demand for education that will allow MMS to continue the discipleship and holistic development of 2,100 young Timorese every year.
As Rev Dr Khoo reminds us, “we must not impose Singapore’s slower, ageing pace on a young nation full of children and youth. This is Timor-Leste’s window of opportunity. The leaders who will shape the nation in the next decade are being formed now. It is a time to advance, not retreat, to cast the net as wide as the Lord permits. In this season, SPMS resembles the early mission schools of Singapore. Free to move with God’s leading, it must grow and reach as many as possible. Seeds planted today may bear fruit decades later, yet the seed must first be sown.”
We do not despise the day of small beginnings as God’s best is yet to be. To God be all Glory!
Contact MMS at mms@methodist.org.sg to join us for our fundraising banquet and get information on St Paul Methodist School’s Phase 2 Development plans.
Dr Cheryl Chen worships at Aldersgate Methodist Church with her husband Rudy. They serve as Methodist Missions Society‘s Country Coordinators for Timor-Leste. / Photos courtesy of Methodist Missions Society
