Geylang Chinese Methodist Church (GCMC) was started in 1905 with four members and 14 seekers, and began its first church service in 1914 at its first purchased site at the junction of Aljunied and Geylang Road. There were members from four local conferences –Christ MC, Pentecost MC, Changi MC and Charis MC– and two schools, Geylang Methodist School (Primary)and (Secondary), in the past 111 years. Through God’s grace and the work of the Holy Spirit, GCMC now has 562 members in three worship services – Hokkien, Mandarin, and English.
With a vision to be a community of discipled servants who serve the people whom the Lord seeks sacrificially, we formed the School Ministry Committee in 2010 for our partnership with Geylang Methodist School (Secondary). We employ initiatives such as Group interactive sessions with students who join this programme voluntarily, and work with the school to provide assistance to those in need, be it financially or otherwise. Our team of six local ministry staff and two interns also provide ministry support to the two Christian Ministry staff there.
GCMC exists to make disciples that will present the Kingdom of God to the world through disciple-making, being living testimonies as individuals and as a body of Christ, and missional acts. GCMC’s outreach to the community includes our English Class for PRC youths and adults, which has blessed more than 500 students since 2010.
Through the faithful service of dedicated members, this ministry has borne much fruit, extending Christ’s love and care to every student in a familial environment. Every Christmas, the students organise a celebratory event where many pre-believers are invited and the gospel is shared in the midst of a variety of cultural performances to mark Christ’s birth.
Within the church, God has seen the cell group ministry grow from three groups when it started in 1998 to 32 groups today. This ministry spans all age groups above the age of 12, with 72 cell group leaders and 410 members in six zones according to age group.
One of the challenges we face is getting enough mentors to guide potential leaders who have shown godly character and a servant’s heart, who have been increasing in number over the last two years.
The second challenge is nurturing and equipping more cell group leaders and Bible teachers who must be well-grounded in God’s Word and possess the gift of teaching.
GCMC is my home church where I was nurtured at the Methodist Youth Fellowship, baptised, married, served as a local preacher and steward, and eventually as a full-time ministry staff before the calling of the Lord came. I served as a pastor before being appointed Pastor-in-Charge in 2013.
What I sense to be God’s heart for GCMC is for our worshippers to remember the church’s roots in Geylang and not to forget the lost in this infamous area. Also, GCMC’s existence is linked directly to its faithfulness in evangelising to the lost in the Geylang-Aljunied community. Lastly, GCMC must also commit to nurturing every Christian who worships at this church to become a faithful disciple of Christ.
Geylang Chinese Methodist Church (Chinese Annual Conference)
52 Aljunied Road, Singapore 389820
Sunday Services:
9 a.m. Mandarin Service at church sanctuary
9 a.m. English Service, Geylang Methodist School (Secondary), Living Stones Chapel
11 a.m. Hokkien Service at church sanctuary
Contact: gcmc-admin@gcmc.org.sg, www.facebook.com/geylang.cmc, or 6748-5413
Photos courtesy of Geylang Chinese Methodist Church
The Rev Paul Thian –is Pastor-in-Charge (PIC) of Geylang Chinese Methodist Church. We continue our series of profiling local churches from our three Annual Conferences of The Methodist Church in Singapore. As we come to have a better understanding of each other’s history and ministry, we may discover more opportunities to forge cross-church partnerships and collaborations.