Seven churches welcome new assistant pastors from 1 August 2026, Conference regroups its four districts effective from January 2027
The Trinity Annual Conference (TRAC) held its 2026 Special Session on 18 July 2026 at Methodist Church of the Incarnation (MCI), where delegates received significant pieces of news: a fresh round of interim pastoral appointments taking effect 1 August 2026, and a reallocation of churches across TRAC’s four districts, to take effect 1 January 2027.
New assistant pastors appointed
Seven members-on-trial (MOT) were admitted, the largest cohort of MOTs in TRAC’s history. The following seven churches will receive these MOTs as assistant pastors with effect from 1 August 2026:
- Barker Road Methodist Church Ps Joshua Loke
- Bedok Methodist Church Ps Luke Yan
- Covenant Community Methodist Church Ps Linda Pang
- Kampong Kapor Methodist Church Ps Jabez Fong
- Paya Lebar Methodist Church Ps Caroline Quek-Chew
- Trinity Methodist Church Ps Edwin Seah
- Wesley Methodist Church Ps Daniel Koh
The appointments were read out by TRAC President, Rev Reuben Ng, during the closing segment of the Special Session.
Other new pastoral assignments include
- Rev Benjamin Fong, who has completed one year of study leave and will be posted to Ang Mo Kio Methodist Church;
- Rev Jacob Lim, who is posted to Methodist Church of the Incarnation as pastor;
- Rev Rufus Chan, currently pastoring at Covenant Community Methodist Church, who will be posted to Wesley Methodist Church; and
- Rev Ling Kin Yew, who will be Chaplain, Methodist Welfare Services.
Churches regrouped
The second major announcement came in the TRAC President’s sharing on district reallocation. From 1 January 2027, TRAC’s 21 churches will be regrouped within the existing four-district framework—the President was careful to stress that this is “not a restructuring of the district system, but a refinement of the allocation of churches”.
The guiding principle behind the exercise was ministry effectiveness, with geographical proximity as the main organising factor: churches located nearer one another are better placed to learn from and partner with each other. The President acknowledged that with 21 churches unevenly spread across Singapore, no single arrangement could achieve perfect geographical balance—some churches could reasonably sit in more than one district, while others are some distance from any district cluster. The final grouping, the President said, “represents the best overall balance” rather than a perfect solution.
The new groupings are as follows:
District 1 Barker Road Methodist Church, Cairnhill Methodist Church, Covenant Community Methodist Church, Fairfield Methodist Church, Wesley Methodist Church
District 2 Agape Methodist Church, Aldersgate Methodist Church, Faith Methodist Church, Holland Village Methodist Church, Living Waters Methodist Church, Methodist Church of Incarnation
District 3 Ang Mo Kio Methodist Church, Kampong Kapor Methodist Church, Paya Lebar Methodist Church, Toa Payoh Methodist Church, Trinity Methodist Church
District 4 Bedok Methodist Church, Christ Methodist Church, Christalite Methodist Chapel, Living Hope Methodist Church, Pentecost Methodist Church
Looking ahead, the President expressed hope that each district would develop regular prayer gatherings and joint ministry initiatives in discipleship and community outreach, noting that a district’s strength “will not be seen in how it is organised, but in how well its churches work together in God’s mission”. The allocation will be reviewed periodically as churches grow and ministry needs evolve.
For more updates on the TRAC Special Session, visit https://trac-mcs.org.sg/. Updates will be published soon.
Lianne Ong is the Editor of Methodist Message. / Photo courtesy of Oon Jin Gee
