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Queenstown Chinese MC, Faith MC to jointly develop new church

FAITH Methodist Church (FMC) and Queenstown Chinese Methodist Church (QCMC) will jointly redevelop the existing premises, located next to the Commonwealth MRT station, to cater to their expanding memberships.

The project is estimated to cost $12 million and the two churches will share the cost equally. Construction is expected to begin in the middle of the year and the new building is expected to be completed in 20 months.

The new building will have four storeys, an attic floor and a basement. Facilities will include a sanctuary which can accommodate up to 1,000 worshippers, a second worship hall which can take in as many as 800 worshippers, two chapels, a kindergarten, a library, Bible Study rooms, administration offices, a roof garden, a baptismal pool and a columbarium with 7,000 niches.

The existing church building, constructed in the mid-1960s, consists of a sanctuary and an education block with an annex block. The sanctuary was designed to accommodate 400 worshippers. It is inadequate to serve the needs of the present combined church membership of about 2,500 as well as the projected growth and the expanded ministries.

Over the last 35 years, the population of Queenstown has changed. The majority of the younger generations who grew up in Queenstown have moved out. According to the Development Guide Plan for Queenstown, released in 1994, 80,000 new residents are expected to move into the neighbourhood. The old estate will be rejuvenated with younger families.

The leaders of the two congregations met and established a common vision to reach out jointly to the communities, not only in Queenstown, but also in the neighbouring areas of Ghim Moh, Clementi and Jurong.

The services and programmes that the two churches will work on together are: A kindergarten, Senior Citizens Outreach, Counselling Service, Tuition Centre, and Youth and Social Outreach.

The church building is built on land leased from the Housing and Development Board with a tenure of 99 years. The remaining lease period is 62 years. The compound covers an area of 4,300 sq m and is located just next to the Commonwealth MRT Station. The church is therefore strategically located on a piece of prime land and has tremendous potential for growth.

A Steering Committee and four sub-committees — Building, Finance, Co-ordination and Relocation — are overseeing the redevelopment project. All the committees have equal representation from both the churches.

The project will be funded by donations from members and friends and various fund-raising programmes.

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