47th Session of the Trinity Annual Conference
The 47th Session of the Trinity Annual Conference (TRAC) was held at Barker Road Methodist Church from 21 to 24 Nov 2022. This is the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic that the TRAC Session was held fully on-site, with only the Closing Service live-streamed as well.
I am not afraid that the people called Methodists should ever cease to exist either in Europe or America. But I am afraid lest they should exist as a dead sect, having the form of religion without the power. And this undoubtedly will be the case unless they hold fast both the doctrine, spirit, and discipline with which they first set out….
(Thoughts on Methodism, Works of John Wesley Vol. 13)
Tragically these prophetic words of John Wesley has come to pass in our generation where we have witnessed the decline of Methodism in the UK, the birthplace of Methodism, said Rev Stanley Chua, President of TRAC.
One of the most important factors for this decline is their neglect in holding fast to their Methodist doctrine, spirit and discipline, added Rev Chua in his President’s Address.
Reiterating his three-year theme, “Remember Who We Are: Rediscovering our Methodist Heritage of Spirit, Doctrine and Discipline,” which he first expounded on at last year’s 46th Session, Rev Chua warned that the same fate could happen to The Methodist Church in Singapore (MCS) if we rested on our laurels. “My greatest concern is that many in our Methodist churches are ignorant of our Methodist history and heritage,” he said.
Drawing practical ideas and solutions that he had received and discerned from participants in his book study earlier this year on the history of Methodism based on Arthur Skevington Wood’s The Burning Heart, Rev Chua highlighted the following proposals:
Chua
giving the
President’s
Address
Recovering our Methodist Spirit
“The greatest threat to Christianity is when we no longer care for lost souls. To exist for the next 100 years, MCS must continue to strive to have the zeal to reach out to lost people,” said Rev Chua.
Rev Chua exhorted all churches to continue to emphasise evangelism and witnessing through teaching its importance as well as pouring more resources and thinking of creative ways to do evangelism and outreach. He suggested three ways to address the challenges that MCS is facing:
- Empower lay people to become “Lay Pastors”
It was this vision of empowering ordinary, non-ordained people for God’s mission that was at the heart and spirit of the Wesleyan revival and success. Despite concerted efforts by the Board of Ministry (BOM) to organise an annual Vocational Conversation seminar and produce a video on pastoral ministry, as well as the commitment by all churches to have at least one sermon a year on pastoral ministry, it would still not be enough. Rev Chua shared that in 10 years’ time (assuming there are no new pastors joining TRAC and retired pastors are not seeking re-engagement) there would be a shortage of pastors, with only 44 pastors serving the 21 TRAC churches.To overcome this, Rev Chua urged the Conference to reconsider the spirit of empowering and appointing some of the lay people to become “Lay Pastors”, starting with our pool of lay ministry staff and lay leaders in the 21 TRAC churches.
He recognised that there may be concerns and challenges in proceeding on this route and proposed that the BOM take the lead in establishing a task force to seriously look into this proposal and to give a report by the next Annual Conference.
- Recover and apply the spirit of innovation and adaptation of the early Methodists
Rev Chua proposed the creation of the “Wesley Sandbox”, a safe space for our youths and young adults to explore, experiment and develop their own worship ministries, programmes and events. He recommended that local churches set up a task force to (a) appraise their own local church situation and (b) work out principles and guidelines for this project. - Recover the capital “S”
Rev Chua exhorted churches to be open to the work of the Holy Spirit by creating opportunities for people to encounter God through the Holy Spirit in our worship services and small group meetings. He highlighted that recovering the spirit of the early Methodists involved being open to the work of the Holy Spirit in the everyday lives of our congregation. That “experience” was the missing element that Wesley rediscovered in Christianity. “We cannot explain the explosive growth of the Wesleyan revival if we fail to understand the importance of the empowering presence of the Holy Spirit in the lives of individuals,” he said.
Recovering our Methodist Doctrine
With regard to recovering our Methodist doctrine, Rev Chua highlighted the Protestant Reformation which recovered the doctrine of justification/salvation by grace. In the Wesleyan revival, the doctrine of sanctification (living a life of holiness) was recovered. All the doctrines that John Wesley taught and emphasised are not new doctrines. They are the basic foundations of our Christian faith found in historic Christianity.
Rev Chua proposed the redesign of our membership course by modelling it after the Alpha course so that we can teach our Methodist doctrine, spirit and discipline to succeeding generations. The course should include a “Holy Spirit” weekend to facilitate our people to have their own “Aldersgate experience”.
Recovering our Methodist Discipline
Rev Chua highlighted John Wesley’s passion in creating discipleship systems that provided accountability. Many believed that the lasting success of Wesley’s growing movement was due to his emphasis on both evangelism and discipleship, in particular discipleship. As George Whitefield commented, Wesley not only sought to win converts, he was also passionate about making radical disciples of Christ by creating discipleship systems through a disciplined system called bands and classes.
Rev Chua proposed recovering and practising “The General Rules of the Methodist Church” found in the Book of Discipline Para 71. This would ensure that all small groups are aligned to the original intention of the class meetings where members covenant to hold each other accountable for their discipleship. He also urged all churches to seriously consider making small group participation a requirement for church membership.
Other highlights
With TRAC President spelling out what was in his heart, pastors and lay delegates proceeded to discuss the proposals as well as issues their churches were facing. The District Superintendents, TRAC Boards and General Conference Councils also presented their yearly reports to Conference members.
The 47th Session also saw the re-election of Dr Cheah-Foo Fung Fong as TRAC Vice-President for another two years.
In his Bishop’s Update, Bishop Dr Gordon Wong updated delegates on the One MCS initiative. Rather than working on structural changes to bring the three Conferences together, he said the Presidents and General Conference have agreed to focus on working and fellowshipping across the three Conferences. Fellowship sessions between lay leaders of all three Conferences have taken place last year and will continue to do so.
Similar initiatives for pastors of the three Conferences have also been planned. These include the Joint MCS Pastors Retreat in April 2023, Combined Pastors Fellowship in May 2023 and Combined Lent Services in 2024.
TRAC membership crosses 30,000 for the first time
The Statistician’s Report revealed some good news. Total membership across the 21 TRAC churches grew by 2.7 per cent or 789 persons to 30,057 in 2022, crossing the 30,000 mark for the first time. But the report also highlighted the greying population in our churches. The number of members above 60 years of age has risen to 11,360 persons in 2022, representing 37.8 per cent of total TRAC membership.
The 47th Session ended with the Closing Service, during which Bishop Dr Gordon Wong presided over the ordination of the following:
Diaconal Ministers
- Ms Chua Chiew Poh
- Mr Vincent Lim
Deacons
- Ps Gilbert Lok
- Ps Clement Ong
Elders
- Rev Joey Chen
- Rev Alex Chew
- Rev Benjamin Lau
- Rev Allan Lee
The appointments of Pastors and District Superintendents were also read out and will take effect from 1 Jan 2023.
Saul – The Man who had it but lost it
In his sermon at the Closing Service, TRAC President Rev Stanley Chua preached on “Saul – The Man Who Had It but Lost It” (1 Samuel 15:17-23).
Drawing lessons from Saul’s life and ministry, Rev Chua reminded delegates and especially the ordinands to pay heed to how we handle power and success; our accountability to others, especially those whom God has placed over our lives; and most important of all, how well we handle our relationship with God, particularly in the area of obeying God’s Word.
Appointments in District One
w.e.f. 1 Jan 2023
District Superintendent: Rev. Dr Jonathan Seet
|
Barker Road MC |
Pastor-in-Charge | Rev. Wendy Watson |
| Pastor | Rev. Dr Daniel Koh | |
| Pastor | Rev. Lai Kai Ming | |
| Pastor | Rev. Benjamin Fong | |
| Assistant Pastor | Rev. Gilbert Lok |
| Bedok MC | Pastor-in-Charge | Rev. Dr Aaron Tay |
| Pastor | Rev. Timothy Yong |
|
Christ MC |
Pastor-in-Charge | Rev. Dr Edwin Wong |
| Pastor | Rev. Barnabas Chong | |
| Pastor | Rev. Daniel C Tan | |
| Pastor | Rev. Chan Siew Chye |
| Christalite M Chapel | Pastor-in-Charge | Rev. Shaun Chong |
| Assistant Pastor | Rev. Tay Li Ping |
| Kampong Kapor MC | Pastor-in-Charge | Rev. Tay Kay Leong |
| Pastor | Rev. Anthony Phua |
Appointments in District Two
w.e.f. 1 Jan 2023
District Superintendent: Rev. Reuben Ng
|
Ang Mo Kio MC |
Pastor-in-Charge | Rev. Anthony Lee |
| Pastor | Rev. Lee Yam Kai | |
| Assistant Pastor | Rev. Emanuel Goh |
|
Living Hope MC |
Pastor-in-Charge | Rev. Joel Yang |
| Pastor | Rev. Gabriel Liew | |
| Pastor | Rev. Joshua Loo |
| Methodist Church of the Incarnation | Pastor-in-Charge | Rev. Edmund Koh |
| Pastor | Rev. Allan Lee |
|
Paya Lebar MC |
Pastor-in-Charge | Rev. Dr Kow Shih Ming |
| Pastor | Rev. Vincent Goh | |
| Pastor | Rev. Jacob Lim | |
| Pastor | Rev. Joey Chen |
|
Pentecost MC |
Pastor-in-Charge | Rev. Dr Jonathan Seet |
| Pastor | Rev. Collin See | |
| Assistant Pastor | Pastor Isaac Tan |
|
Trinity MC |
Pastor-in-Charge | Rev. Alvin Chan |
| Pastor | Rev. Sng Chong Hui | |
| Pastor | Rev. Byron Teo |
Appointments in District Three
w.e.f. 1 Jan 2023
District Superintendent: Rev. Alvin Chan
| Agape MC | Pastor-in-Charge | Rev. Dr Chiu Ming Li |
| Pastor | Rev. Jason Phua |
| Cairnhill MC | Pastor-in-Charge | Rev. Dr William Sam |
| Pastor | Rev. Ling Kin Yew |
|
Fairfield MC |
Pastor-in-Charge | Rev. Wendy Tay |
| Pastor | Rev. Ivan Tan | |
| Assistant Pastor | Ps. Reginald Chan |
|
Toa Payoh MC |
Pastor-in-Charge | Rev. Benjamin Lee |
| Pastor | Rev. Ming Feong Ching | |
| Pastor | Rev. Poh Zhi-Hui |
|
Wesley MC |
Pastor-in-Charge | Rev. Raymond Fong |
| Pastor | Rev. Lim Jen Huat | |
| Pastor | Rev. Lilian Ang | |
| Pastor | Rev. Chia Chin Nam | |
| Pastor | Rev. Gladwin Lee | |
| Pastor | Rev. Adrian Ng | |
| Pastor | Rev. David Ho Seng Hian | |
| Pastor | Rev. Benjamin Lau | |
| Assistant Pastor | Rev. Clement Ong |
Appointments in District Four
w.e.f. 1 Jan 2023
District Superintendent: Rev. Dr Edwin Wong
| Aldersgate MC | Pastor-in-Charge | Rev. Dr Lynette Sathiasingam |
| Assistant Pastor | Rev. Jeremy Yap |
| Covenant Community MC | Pastor-in-Charge | Rev. David Gwee |
| Pastor | Rev. Daniel Terence Yeo | |
| Pastor | Rev. David Ho Gim Pin |
|
Faith MC |
Pastor-in-Charge | Rev. Reuben Ng |
| Pastor | Rev. John Benedict Foo | |
| Pastor | Rev. Peter Koh | |
| Pastor | Rev. Eddie Ho | |
| Assistant Pastor | Rev. Chan Mei Ming |
| Holland Village MC | Pastor-in-Charge | Rev. Jeremy Ong |
| Pastor | Rev. Loretta Lim |
| Living Waters MC | Pastor-in-Charge | Rev. Khoo Kay Huat |
| Pastor | Rev. Alex Chew |
TRAC Special Appointments
w.e.f. 1 Jan 2023
| Director, Truthmin | Rev. Byron Teo |
| Assistant Directors, Youth Ministry | Rev. Benjamin Fong |
| Rev. Timothy Yong (Schools) | |
| Rev. Allan Lee (Trackers) | |
| Director of Young Adults Ministry | Rev. Adrian Ng |
| Director, Lay Equipping and Development Institute (LEAD) | Rev. Ming Feong Ching |
| Assistant Director, Lay Equipping and Development Institute (LEAD) | Rev. Ling Kin Yew |
| Director, Seniors’ Ministry | Rev. Joshua Loo |
| TRAC Crisis Relief Coordinator | Rev. Jason Phua |
| TRAC Chaplains to TRAC TTC Students | Rev. Dr Chiang Ming Shun |
| Rev. Dr Bernard Chao | |
| Rev. Wendy Tay |
| Lecturer, Trinity Theological College | Rev. Dr Chiang Ming Shun |
| Rev. Dr Bernard Chao |
| On Sabbatical Leave | Rev. Kenneth Huang |
| Study Leave | Rev. Ian Lee |
| Coordinator Peranakan/Indonesian Ministry | Rev. Christopher Chin |
Appointments Made Through the Bishop’s Office
| Director, Ministry in Schools | Rev. Dr Aaron Tay |
| Associate Directors Ministry in Schools | Rev. Dr William Sam |
| Rev. Poh Zhi Hui |
(Methodist Missions Society 2023)
| Executive Director | Rev. Derrick Lau |
| Missionary Pastor (East Asia) | Rev. Tan Cheok Kian |
| Missionary Pastor (Thailand) | Rev. Clarence Lee |
| Missionary Diaconal Minister (Thailand) | Rev. Vincent Lim |
| Missionary Pastor (Vietnam) | Rev. Leslie Lim |
| Missionary Pastor (Timor-Leste) | Rev. See Swee Fang |
| Missionary Diaconal Minister (Timor-Leste) | Rev. Teresa Wilborn |