THE REV DR CHONG CHIN CHUNG, 61, was elected Bishop of The Methodist Church in Singapore (MCS) at the 11th Session of General Conference on 13 September 2016.
The Rev Dr Chong took office as Bishop of The Methodist Church in Singapore (MCS) at his Episcopal Consecration Service held 2 December 2016 at Queenstown Chinese Methodist Church and Faith Methodist Church. With his consecration, he takes on the role of spiritual leader for more than 42,000 Methodists – the largest Protestant mainline denomination in Singapore. It has 46 churches, 15 Methodist schools, and serves the community through its welfare arm, the Methodist Welfare Services.
In response to his election, he said: “I ask that you pray that the Lord will grant me favour and wisdom as I lead the MCS. My hope is that we, Methodists, will continue our great heritage and legacy that we have inherited from John Wesley, that we express our love for God through serving the community and by not forgetting the marginalised.”
Bishop Dr Chong has been a Methodist pastor for the past 32 years, and was elected as President of the Chinese Annual Conference (one of three language-based groupings under the MCS) in 2008, and re-elected to the same post in 2012. He was pastor of Kum Yan Methodist Church, and Pastor-in-Charge of Paya Lebar Chinese Methodist Church.
He was a graduate of Nanyang University in 1979, where he studied literature. He graduated from Trinity Theological College (TTC) with a Master of Divinity in 1981, and obtained a post-graduate Master of Theology degree from Duke Divinity School in 1995. In 2008, he received his Doctor of Theology degree from the South East Asia Graduate School of Theology. He has been a guest lecturer at TTC since 1996.
The Rev Dr Chong succeeds Bishop Dr Wee Boon Hup, whose term ended in December 2016. Bishop Dr Wee has retired after serving as Bishop for a term of four years. He has been accorded the title of Bishop Emeritus by the General Conference.
