Meet the Members-on-Trial who were admitted in 2024 to their respective Annual Conferences.
From a rural town in Minnesota to serving overseas, God has called me
Ps William Stacken
Member-on-Trial, Christalite Methodist Chapel (TRAC)
My Christian experience has been historical, communal and international. During my childhood years I attended a small liturgical church with my family in rural Minnesota in the USA. I grew in my faith through Sunday school classes and serving in the church service. This early exposure to liturgical worship familiarised me with the faith and taught me to appreciate the rhythm of the Church through the Christian calendar. I am grateful to have begun my faith in a place like that because it helped me see the historical aspects of Christian faith within a warm community.
In my teenage years I had a strong desire to experience more of the Christian faith and felt that attending a different church community may help facilitate that. This community helped me to experience Jesus Christ for myself and I professed my own personal faith at age 15. The church youth ministry provided friendships, many of which I have kept even until today! This season of life introduced me to the awesome reality of how our Christian faith is meant to be a communal experience.
From age 22 until today, I have lived outside of the USA. During this twenty-year period of international living, I served ten years as a support-raising missionary with Youth With A Mission (YWAM) in Netherlands and spent three-plus years studying for my Masters in Divinity (MDiv) at the East Asia School of Theology here in Singapore. Pursuing my MDiv in Singapore was a step of faith and provided valuable space to discern if Southeast Asia was more than just a place to visit for mission trips, but instead could become another place to call home.
While pursuing the MDiv, I was welcomed to do my internships with Living Hope Methodist Church (LHMC) in Tampines and served as a Pastoral Team Member (PTM) after graduating in 2018. I felt at home in the local context and in the Methodist Church and could sense that serving there was a blessing to others and myself. When we sense God’s good hand moving in a situation, it can help bring confirmation of his leading. Thus, making the choice to apply for MOT was easy!
I now serve as Associate Pastor at Christalite Methodist Chapel and as one of the Chaplains at Geylang Methodist School (Primary). My family and I have settled in wonderfully at Christalite. I’m thrilled to see how God’s leading and provision has been shown to us over the years. I pray that each of you would trust the good hand of our good God as he seeks to lead you!
A call I couldn’t ignore
Pr Tham Wen Chen
Member-on-Trial, Foochow Methodist Church (CAC)
My journey of faith began at the age of 17 when I came to know the Lord. However, it wasn’t until I joined the Chinese Christian Varsity Christian Fellowship during my second year at the National University of Singapore (NUS) that my faith deepened. Through the fellowship, I encountered a vibrant community of believers who spurred me on in my walk with Christ.
It was during a mission trip to China that the Lord unexpectedly stirred my heart. He opened my eyes to the immense need for the gospel and planted within me a desire to serve him in full-time ministry. Yet, despite the clarity of his prompting, I didn’t pursue it seriously. Life moved on, and so did I.
After graduating from NUS, I embarked on my career as a pharmacist, where I sought to glorify God daily. I was committed to living out my faith in the workplace and church, where I actively served in various capacities. I was content and fulfilled—at least for a season. However, our Heavenly Father often calls us beyond our comfort zones.
The quiet stirring for full-time ministry never left me. As I turned 40, the fulfilment I once felt in my work began to wane. It was a year marked by deep introspection. I wrestled with questions that gripped my heart: Was I truly living out God’s purpose for my life? Would I one day regret ignoring his call? Interestingly, during this time of soul-searching, my wife, Siew Hwee, also felt the Lord’s leading toward full-time ministry.
After much prayer and seeking his will, in June 2020, amid the uncertainties of the Covid-19 pandemic, we both resigned from our jobs. I began theological studies at Trinity Theological College (TTC), while Siew Hwee joined the Fellowship of Evangelical Students, a parachurch organisation serving students in tertiary institutions, as a full-time staff worker.
During my time at TTC, my sense of calling to serve as a pastor at the Chinese Annual Conference grew stronger. Through the guidance of TTC lecturers and the encouragement and support of leaders and members of Foochow Methodist Church, I’ve witnessed God’s hand leading me every step of the way.
As I continue this journey, I am humbled by his faithfulness and overwhelmed by his grace. Please pray for me that I will serve the Lord faithfully, with a heart that seeks to glorify him in all things.
A career change I did not expect
Pr Esther Yek
Member-on-Trial, Yishun Methodist Mission (CAC)
I was born in Malaysia and grew up there. My mother brought me to church when I was about four or five years old.
Before entering seminary, I worked at a Senior Activity Centre for 14 years. During those years, I learnt how to interact with people and minister to them.
In my early 40s, I thought a career change would be good and considered social work. However, another path came to me, which was to serve full-time in church. When I prayed about it, God immediately opened the door for me to serve full-time in church as a Lay Ministry Staff.
During the two and half years as a Lay Ministry Staff at Ang Mo Kio Chinese Methodist Church, my heart’s posture changed from reluctance to obedience to God’s calling to full-time ministry under the Chinese Annual Conference. It is God’s love and grace that led me to obey and respond to his call.
Graduating from seminary does not mean that I have learnt everything and am already perfected. Rather, I’ve just begun the journey of learning. As I set sail on this new phase of my journey, I look forward to it with both anticipation and trepidation.
May God give me a teachable heart to learn and follow him, help me to be a vessel fit for him and to fulfil what he has entrusted to me.