“I believe that children are our future. Teach them well and let them lead the way. Show them all the beauty they possess inside …”
More than 40 years have passed since Whitney Houston’s 1985 hit song, The Greatest Love of All, but a few things still resonate today: children are our future. And every child needs to experience the greatest love of all—not the self-love that Houston sings about in the chorus, but in knowing Jesus’ love poured out on the cross for them.
To “teach them well” is the mission of every Methodist school: to share the gospel with pupils and disciple them through their formative years to love God and neighbour. Every lesson taught, prayer offered and word of encouragement planted in a child’s life matters now and for eternity.
St Paul Methodist School (SPMS) seeks to fulfil this God-given mandate in Timor-Leste.
Timor-Leste, Asia’s youngest nation
I remember my first trip to Timor-Leste in 2011, just nine years after it gained independence following two decades of war. As an educator, what struck me most was the large number of children and youth sitting and walking around aimlessly in the villages. Houston sang about showing children “all the beauty they possess inside”. Yet many young people lacked access to the education and support needed to discover their potential.
On subsequent trips, I volunteered as an English teacher in a public high school in Liquica, about an hour from the capital, Dili. There I saw teachers untrained and stretched thin—some even absent from class because they were in the corridors selling snacks to supplement their salary. Classrooms had blackboards but no chalk, and up to 80 pupils crammed into a class, sharing desks and chairs.
By 2017, when I first visited what would become SPMS, it was a small school of about 50 students operating out of a missionary’s house. I was moved by the missionary teachers’ commitment and how eager the students were to learn—English alongside Tetum and Portuguese in order to provide more opportunities for work—and how faith was made tangible through daily devotions and the teachers’ example.
Providing quality education
Today, after 11 years of operations, SPMS has a permanent home and serves more than 1,100 students and provides employment for 100 staff. We are not only focused on educating our students but upskilling our staff with people development workshops and in-house teacher training.
SPMS has even sent five of its graduates to a teachers training college in Indonesia so that they will come back as fully qualified and trained teachers to teach and impact the next generation.
Bishop Philip Lim reminded the school community on her 11th Founder’s Day Celebration on 7 July 2026, that salt may seem unassuming, but has a powerful effect. It preserves, gives flavour and quietly transforms what it touches. In the same way, each child, grounded in faith and formed through education, can become a source of blessing and influence far beyond the classroom.
We give thanks that this work is recognised by the local government, community leaders and parents. Singapore’s Ambassador to Timor-Leste, Her Excellency Teo Lay Cheng, affirmed SPMS’s role in the nation’s development, noting it flies Singapore’s flag of quality education.
God has given the school a strategic role to be a blessing to Timor-Leste through education and community development.
We give thanks that this work is recognised by the local government, community leaders and parents. Singapore’s Ambassador to Timor-Leste, Her Excellency Teo Lay Cheng, affirmed SPMS’s role in the nation’s development, noting it flies Singapore’s flag of quality education.
Phase 2 development of SPMS
In the past 24 years since independence, the Timorese government has put in tremendous work to build their education system and provide opportunities for young people. Yet, many needs remain. Statistics show that only 40% of current school-going children will ever attend high school. The nation has a young population, with half aged 19 and under. With more than 10,000 children born each year, the demand for quality education remains high. SPMS meets only a fraction of this demand.
Apart from the Methodist school heritage and traditions, SPMS is similar to her sister schools in Singapore in one other aspect: conducting an annual balloting exercise for new Grade 1 and 7 students! Last year, the school had 70 students on the waiting list.
With Phase 2 Development, SPMS can cater to up to 150 students in Grade 1 and provide 2,100 children across Grades 1 to 12 with a holistic education grounded in Christian values. This is how we “let them lead the way”: by giving them classrooms where they can learn, teachers who can guide them, and a Christ-centred community where their gifts can grow. By God’s grace, SPMS seeks to contribute skilled workers, compassionate teachers and righteous leaders to build Timor-Leste together.
Everybody’s searching for a hero
Houston is honest in the second verse of her song: “Everybody’s searching for a hero …” That longing is familiar in every generation. Children need more than buildings, books and lessons; they need hope, belonging and Someone worthy to look up to.
Children need more than buildings, books and lessons; they need hope, belonging and Someone worthy to look up to.
This Children’s Day, will you partner with the Methodist Missions Society to build young Timorese lives through SPMS? Your gift is more than support for classrooms and facilities; it is an investment in children who can be taught well, discover the beauty God has placed within them, and one day lead the way in their nation.
Pray. Give. Go. For more information on SPMS, contact us at mms@methodist.org.sg.
Dr Cheryl Chen worships at Aldersgate Methodist Church with her husband Rudy. They serve as Methodist Missions Society‘s Country Coordinators for Timor-Leste. / Photos courtesy of Methodist Missions Society
