This year, Methodist Missions Society (MMS) celebrates our 35th Anniversary. As we celebrate a counting of the years, we reflect on the following three areas and how we can make our years count.
Leadership transition: Executive Director
Firstly, we must acknowledge the faithful labour of those who have gone before us, echoing their praise: “To God be the glory, great things he has done!”
We convey our thanks to Rev Derrick Lau who completed his secondment from Trinity Annual Conference (TRAC) to MMS in December 2025, serving as Executive Director since 2019. MMS now deploys 39 missionaries working in eight country fields in Cambodia, East Asia, Japan, Laos, Nepal, Thailand, Timor- Leste and Vietnam. Thailand and Nepal convened their first Mission Conferences in 2022 and 2025 respectively. Rev Lau has been appointed to serve in Living Hope Methodist Church in 2026. We will miss Rev Lau’s sharing from his life lessons on the joys of being a grandfather.
Col (Ret) Quek Koh Eng was appointed to succeed Rev Lau in December 2025. Col Quek will lead the MMS team and re-prioritise our strategic focus of partnerships in missions.
Since 2004, Col Quek has served in various MMS roles as Field, Regional, Area and Home Office Director. For over 20 years, he has fostered cordial working partnerships with multiple TRAC, CAC and ETAC churches. He has also worked to foster partnerships with multiple cross-denominational mission agencies and churches in Singapore and overseas, such as FOMOS, OM, CRU, OMF and SIM to name a few. Col Quek has also been instrumental in fostering strong stakeholder engagement as well as nationwide and regional interdenominational mission initiatives (e.g. Antioch21, LoveSingapore, LoveTimor and LoveJapan). One of MMS’ missions which Col Quek was involved in establishing was Timor-Leste (initially via the LoveTimor initiative). Col Quek and his wife Shelley actively serve at Charis Methodist Church.
Remaining faithful to strategy
Secondly, we need to remain faithful to strategy (as stated in The Book of Discipline ¶371.2) to work through appropriate partnership arrangements with overseas Methodist entities, non-Methodist mission entities or pioneer new missionary work.
We are convinced that God’s work, done God’s way, will not lack in the partnership of God’s presence. While we often quote “God’s work, done God’s way will not be lacking in God’s provisions“, we can be certain that we will not be lacking the whole of God’s presence, not only his provisions.
In the third quarter of 2026, Col Quek and the MMS team will also be inviting all LCEC Missions Chairpersons to a Methodist Missions Roundtable to establish dialogue focused on reviewing our existing missions footprint, deepening our missions partnerships and exploring further collaboration opportunities. MMS will also be calling our missionary partners home for a retreat and reconnecting with them.
Remaining faithful to our purpose
In a December 2024 interview with Salt&Light on what lies ahead for the Methodist Church, Bishop Emeritus Dr Gordon Wong said, “The Church needs to be able to show how we can relate and work well and effectively with people of all kinds of different views and … work together for the sake of society and the world on many important issues. If people can begin to see the Church as really aiming to do or to share as much love and kindness in a world where there is so much hate and division and to get our help from the divine power of God to do such good. I believe that’s the Great Commission. The word ‘commission’ or ‘calling’ doesn’t actually occur in Matthew 28:19 but Romans 8:28 uses the word ‘commission’ or ‘calling’ to those who are commissioned or called according to God’s purpose. What is that purpose? That in everything, God works with those who are called according to his purpose for good—essentially bring the Good News of God’s love for the oppressed, for the prisoner, for the poor and the hungry. That’s our Great Commission.”
As we celebrate our 35th anniversary, we want to make our years count, and we pray that the same partnership binding us as one Methodist family, together with our missionaries working in the field, is the same partnership with Jesus that commissions our strategic partnerships. Together, as we respond to the Great Commission to go and tell of what God has done for us, we pray that the same Holy Spirit that went with Moses, the Apostles and those that went before us, will guide us to serve with joy, partnering with local churches to promote mission opportunities as well as to ensure that missionaries are cared for. To God be the glory for the great things he has done!
To partner with MMS, visit https://www.mms.org.sg/ and bring the Good News of the gospel wherever you have been led to go.
Collin Tan is the Chairperson of the Board of Methodist Missions Society. He worships at Bedok Methodist Church. / Photos courtesy of Quek Koh Eng
