In 2025, a total of five Members-on-Trial (MOTs) were admitted. From chasing corporate success to being a first-generation Christian, read how each of them heard and discerned God’s call.
A vocation shaped by divine initiative
Pr Chen Yen-Chen
Paya Lebar Chinese Methodist Church/ Methodist Mission
Chinese Annual Conference
In 2016, I attended a retreat organised by a missions agency with a sincere desire to encounter God afresh. During the sessions, the spiritual passion that had once moved me as a young believer—the willingness to take up the cross and follow Christ—began to stir in me.
On the third afternoon of the retreat, the speaker presented three beautifully wrapped gifts and invited anyone from the five hundred participants to come forward and receive them. The room fell silent, marked by hesitation and suspicion regarding the unexpected offer. In that moment of collective pause, I distinctly sensed an inner prompting: “Stand up. Go now—this is for you.” Compelled by this conviction, I rose and stepped forward without hesitation.
After all three gifts had been claimed, the speaker remarked, “This is like the work of God—it does not wait. If one does not rise to join in God’s work, the Lord will raise others to do so. God’s mission is never delayed.”
His words crystallised the stirring already taking place within me. What might ordinarily have been a moment of restraint became instead a profound interior awakening. I recognised that this experience was not merely symbolic but vocational: an invitation to respond actively to God’s calling.
With renewed clarity, I committed myself to serve God wholeheartedly. Soon after, I laid aside my prior plans, overcame various obstacles and relocated with my family from Taiwan to Singapore to pursue theological training at Trinity Theological College in preparation for pastoral ministry.
Years later, this moment continues to inform my understanding of vocation. It remains a reminder that God’s call is both gracious and urgent, inviting participation in his ongoing work. I remain grateful for the privilege of being drawn into God’s mission and for the enduring significance of that formative experience.
Obedience matters more than outcomes
Ps Simon Lam
Paya Lebar Methodist Church
Trinity Annual Conference
God first called me when I was eighteen. I heard it clearly, yet I ran. I told myself it was the wrong season, that I was too young, that life would settle later. Instead, the years passed and I kept the calling at arm’s length. But God has a way of pursuing us. In his kindness, he guided my steps back to church and eventually to Christ Methodist Church, where the reminders grew louder. It was as if God was saying, “I have not forgotten what I spoke to you about.”
Everything shifted in January 2021. Rev Tay Li Ping gave an altar call for anyone carrying an old call to ministry. I knew it was for me. Stepping forward that day marked the real beginning of this journey. It was not smooth. I wrestled with doubts about my age, my season in life and my family. Yet God surrounded me with people who carried me through. Pastors, leaders, my Care Group and my family spoke steady encouragement and prayed me back to confidence.
As I walked through these years, my understanding of calling changed. I learnt that obedience matters more than outcomes. Whether or not my journey led to ordination, what God wanted most was my “yes”. Trusting him meant choosing obedience even when circumstances felt discouraging.
Bible school brought its own challenges. Returning to academic study after twenty years in the workforce was tough. Not having prior full-time ministry experience made me question my ability to contribute. Home pressures added emotional weight. Still, God kept reminding me that he was the one who called me. Whenever I felt weak, he held me up. His grace never ran dry.
Community played a huge role. Friends encouraged me at the exact moments I needed it, often without knowing the impact of their words. My family was my strongest support. My wife, Wendy, walked this road with courage, reminding me that obedience mattered more than comfort and that regret was a heavier burden than sacrifice. My son, too, understood and supported my call.
Now, stepping into full-time ministry, I feel both excitement and healthy nervousness. It is a new season, a new community and a new field to grow in. But after years of running and returning, I stand where God has been leading me all along, ready to serve, ready to trust and ready to be used for his glory.
God’s relentless pursuit
Ps Bryan Ho
Cairnhill Methodist Church
Trinity Annual Conference
A pastor would be the very last thing anyone would guess I would be growing up, even myself. Though raised in a Christian household and educated in Methodist institutions, it was not immediately evident that the gospel of Christ had truly transformed my soul. I was far less concerned about my soul and communion with God than I was with getting into the corporate world to make a name for myself. However, it seemed that regardless of my worldly passions, the Lord pursued me unceasingly.
In 2019 during the Young Methodist Leaders’ Conference, a groupmate of mine commented that I should be a pastor. What a ridiculous comment, I thought. But I grappled with it over the next two years, trying to discern if it was indeed a ridiculous comment or if God was calling me through my groupmate. As the years went by, I started to be convinced that it was indeed God speaking. Still, I was unsure, and in fact, opposed to the reality that God was calling me. Nevertheless, it was a reality I could not deny. In 2021, my Pastor-in-Charge, Rev Dr William Sam came up to me after Sunday service and said to me, “Bryan, God is calling you to be a pastor.” It could not be any clearer to my denying heart. I had been like Jonah to Nineveh—regardless of how much I ran and denied him, God pursued me and called.
Through the journey of discerning God’s call, every door and opportunity was also opened by God for me to obey his calling—such as convicting both my then-girlfriend (now wife) and my family of my pastoral call. It was not easy for them: to be a pastor’s wife and to support their son to lay aside corporate ambitions for a life in Christian ministry. Nevertheless, the God who called provided everything necessary for my obedience.
I believe that God had not only called me to pastor, but in pastoring others, he pastors me. Today, I see abundant grace in his calling. The Holy Spirit working in me to grow my affections towards him and his people. Truly, his power was evermore clear in my weakness!
From first-generation Christian to pastor
Ps Anthony Peh
Faith Methodist Church
Trinity Annual Conference
As a first-generation Christian in my family, it is amazing that the Lord has brought me to this point in my life, where I am pastoring at Faith Methodist Church.
At the age of seven, my aunt introduced me to the Sunday school at Sengkang Methodist Church. Two years later, another aunt led me to Living Hope Methodist Church, the community I would eventually call home.
Though my parents remain non-believers to this day, I’ve had a front row seat watching God gently soften their hearts. My youth involved the struggle of balancing a growing commitment to church with my family life, particularly my deep desire to be baptised. A beautiful milestone arrived in 2017 when I was in polytechnic. After years of heartfelt conversations, my parents not only agreed to my baptism but also attended the baptism service. That moment was a powerful testament to God’s quiet work. Today they remain open-minded towards my own family’s commitment to building a Christian household, and even towards my desire to fulfil the call to full-time ministry.
My call to pastoral ministry first came at age 14 during a conference. God then continued to direct me in this call over the following years. As I stepped into leadership— guiding cell groups, discussion groups and committees—I received great encouragement from my fellow church members and leaders, affirming me that my outgoing and approachable personality brought joy and comfort as I journeyed with them.
My time in seminary at Trinity Theological College, combined with continued serving in church leadership, has only deepened this conviction. Journeying with people through their joys and pains has solidified my belief that God has called me to pastoral ministry.
Even as I walk in this call today, my heart remains called to pastor the flock towards Christlikeness, encouraging them to live out God’s call in every aspect of their lives, both in and out of the church. And I can only thank God that he has equipped and empowered me all these years, through conversion, to conviction and commitment.
A life redirected
Ps Timothy Chew
Christ Methodist Church
Trinity Annual Conference
Entering this new season, I do so with humility, gratitude and a quiet excitement, trusting the Holy Spirit to lead every step. It is a sacred privilege to enter the work of the Lord in pastoral ministry, to journey with his people, and to help bridge the Church and the world with the grace of Christ.
Pastoral ministry was not something I had envisioned for myself. It emerged gradually, through prayer, community affirmation and the wise guidance of pastors who journeyed alongside me.
A defining moment occurred in January 2021 during a service at Christ Methodist Church when Rev Tay Li Ping invited those sensing a call to full-time ministry to respond. I felt a nudge from God. Later that year, during a prayer retreat led by Rev Barnabas Chong, the Scriptures, particularly 1 Timothy 3, spoke deeply to me.
I remember telling God, “Lord, I can’t. I don’t have what it takes.” I felt unworthy, ill- equipped and unsure. Yet in the stillness, I sensed his gentle reply: “Start from where you are. Get right with me. Live right.” Over the weeks that followed, I realised that God’s call comes not to the perfect, but to the willing.
My transition into church ministry in April 2022, followed by full-time studies at Trinity Theological College, further affirmed this call. The seeds, however, were planted during Covid-19 when I served families in Marine Parade and Chai Chee, as well as migrant workers at Desker Road. Concurrently, I found myself diving deeper into Scripture through the DISCIPLE course and theological studies. Serving and studying became transformative; they opened my eyes to God’s heart for people and deepened my desire to understand his calling.
Mentors such as Rev Dr Edwin Wong offered wisdom and spiritual discernment. Their guidance, together with affirmation from church leaders and community, gave clarity and peace as I took each step of obedience.
My family has been central throughout this journey. Leaving a banking career brought understandable concerns, yet through prayer and honest conversations, God granted us a shared confidence in his provision. My wife, Janice, has been a pillar of support, and our daughter, Caitlyn, has grown in faith as we learnt to trust God together. Their support remains one of the clearest confirmations of God’s leading.
As I begin ministry, I hold this hope: that others, too, may listen for God’s quiet prompting. If he stirs your heart towards pastoral ministry, may you find the courage to say yes to his call.