To know Toa Payoh Tamil Methodist Church (TPTMC) is to know love, joy, and hospitality. One might say that we are well-known amongst the Emmanuel Tamil Annual Conference (ETAC) churches for our homely and welcoming character. With our modest and close-knit congregation, TPTMC has come to be a small but persistently bright light in the heart of Toa Payoh.
The church was constituted as a product of an active evangelistic ministry started by several members of Tamil Methodist Church at Short Street in 1979. Mr and Mrs E. Rajaiah conducted Bible studies and started the Sunday School ministry for children in the Toa Payoh area. The Rev R. Prabhu Das then began regular services in a room at Toa Payoh Methodist Church (TPMC) premises. TPTMC is thankful that TPMC has honoured this partnership faithfully through the years.
With a congregation size of 30, we aim to be salt and light to the community around us as we seek to bring more people into our fold. By God’s grace, we have been seeing a steady increase in Sunday service attendance, consisting mainly of pre-believers. We are praying ceaselessly for more to join us permanently.
Our biggest challenge being membership, we conduct weekly evangelistic home visits throughout the year, culminating in an annual Evangelistic Christmas Party in December.
We spend many weeks in preparation, hand-delivering invitation cards to Indian people in the surrounding neighbourhoods, and putting together a programme that sows the seeds of the Gospel in the hearts of attendees.
The Lord has truly empowered our leaders to put in 110 per cent of their effort into the various church ministries, and grooming the youth to take on future leadership roles. A small congregation means an even smaller leadership team, resulting in members ‘wearing multiple hats’ and striving hard to ensure the smooth running of our church.
Truth be told, serving in church can be rather challenging. The lack of manpower alone is enough to cause worry and struggles when it comes to weekly operations and monthly programmes. The load is lightened, however, by the warm and benevolent nature of our congregation, as well as the knowledge that God is ultimately in control of the building of His kingdom. Our pastor and leadership team are always quick to remind one another that serving is a privilege bestowed upon us by the grace and mercy of our Heavenly Father.
The Lord’s hand is at work in our church. While celebrating our 35th anniversary last year, we looked back and reflected on how much we had grown over the past five years. We press on with the conviction that God has placed us where we are for a clear purpose: to be a beacon of Christ’s light and love.
As we step up our engagement efforts, we hope to put on the likeness of Christ and spread God’s love, as we embody our theme for this quadrennium and become ‘Agents of Transformation’ in our community.
Rasanya Gnasegaran –
is a member of Toa Payoh Tamil Methodist Church.
Toa Payoh Tamil Methodist Church
(Emmanuel Tamil Annual Conference)
480 Lorong 2 Toa Payoh, #03-03 Worship Hall 3, Singapore 319641
Sunday Service:
5.00 p.m. Tamil
Contact us:
Website: www.tptmc.org
Email: tptmc.sg@gmail.com
Photos courtesy of Toa Payoh Tamil Methodist Church