Methodist Missions Society (MMS) was set up in 1991 as the missions agency of The Methodist Church in Singapore. Its strategy is to establish indigenous churches supported by mission endeavours in communities in our region where there is no Methodist presence. MMS is committed to deepening and expanding its reach and impact in seven countries, namely Cambodia, East Asia, Laos, Nepal, Thailand, Timor-Leste and Vietnam. More recently, MMS initiated the Diaspora Mission in Chiangmai, Thailand, and is also in conversation with local churches to collaborate in Japan.
Phases of church planting
Praise God for our church planting over the last 34 years. Becoming a Mission Conference or Provisional Annual Conference are stages in which the local churches grow from strength to strength and eventually form an Annual Conference. As part of our church planting work, we endeavour to help churches in the field establish an Annual Conference. We are pleased that The Methodist Church in Cambodia will become a full-fledged Annual Conference in 2027, and The Methodist Church in Thailand will be a Provisional Annual Conference in 2027, while The Methodist Church in Nepal transitioned into a Mission Conference in late 2024.
We rejoice and give thanks to God for positive development and growth in these church planting initiatives. We shall continue to focus on capacity building of the national pastors and lay leaders and provide resources to encourage and equip them to fulfil the mission of Christ in their historical and cultural context. Our church planting models are based on a disciple- making movement that would birth disciple-making churches.
Methodist schools and hostel facilities in the mission fields
For schools, the educational priority is the building of capacities for the leaders and students. We rejoice for opportunities to sow the seeds of the gospel in the Methodist School of Cambodia, Vineyard Methodist School in Chiangmai, Thailand, Little Candles Methodist School in Phrao, Thailand, Singapore Mission School in Vientiane, Laos and St Paul Methodist School in Mentinaro, Timor-Leste. We are also preparing to launch the second Methodist School of Cambodia in the next two years.
When we were in Nepal in October 2024, the national pastors shared with me the need for student hostels for boys in urban centres as a next phase of community outreach. This would support church growth as men usually bring women to the churches when they get married. Additionally, this would complement Sophia’s Home, a girls’ home for the underprivileged we had started more than two decades ago.
In Vietnam, besides providing pastoral leadership at the International Christian Fellowship, we shall continue to deepen our engagement with the Girls and Boys facilities. The Fuzhou Ministry concentrates on community development and social care services. Other community projects include hostels and income generating projects.
Partnerships with local churches
Stakeholder engagement continues to be a priority for MMS. Our partnerships with 39 MCS churches resulted in 28 Memorandums of Understanding signed in 2024 alone.
These partnerships have enabled us to approach unreached communities and enhance our mission work in our region. We are deeply indebted to the leaders from Chinese Annual Conference, Emmanuel Tamil Annual Conference, Trinity Annual Conference as well as the General Conference Women’s Society of Christian Service, for their support and partnership. As the harvest is plentiful, we believe that MMS is positioned to serve and support the mission aspirations of our local churches.
Direction for the new quadrennium
In the new quadrennium, together with the new members of the MMS Executive Committee and Sub-Committees, we will strive to:
- Seek the mind of Christ in discerning the missiological pathway ahead
We are grateful for the mobilisation of over 2,000 intercessors; this strengthens our resolve to focus on our Father’s Business. Prayer is an indispensable spiritual weapon that serves to wrestle with forces that seek to thwart the mission of Christ! - Share the convictions that Christ has laid upon our hearts for his mission
We firmly believe that the Spirit of God plays a key role in convicting individuals and local churches to rise to the challenge to reach the nations. We would like to actively listen and support these aspirations from the ground. We pray for clarity of the call of God. - Strengthen our stakeholder engagements
We pray that the body of Christ, including the 46 local Methodist churches under MCS (and some non- Methodist churches), might collaborate in intercession as well as manpower and financial resources, to reach the nations for Christ in our region!
“Look among the nations, and see; wonder and be astounded.
For I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if told.”
~ Habakkuk 1:5
Rev Derrick Lau is the Executive Director of Methodist Missions Society. / Photos courtesy of Methodist Missions Society