History
The Methodist Church in Singapore started out as a missionary initiative by Rev James Thoburn of the South India Conference in India in 1885 . Rev William Fitzjames Oldham travelled to Singapore to plant the foundations of the mission. Notably, Oldham started the church's first English-language boys' school in 1886 (the Anglo-Chinese School, which is generally regarded today as one of the premier schools in Singapore). Two girls' schools (Methodist Girls' School and Fairfield Methodist Girls' School) were subsequently established in 1887 and 1888, respectively. The mission also developed a clinic and hostels for homeless children.
From this Singapore base, the mission then spread to the Malay Peninsula and Sarawak in the 1890s. The Methodist Mission in Singapore and Malaya expanded over time, eventually growing to the administrative status of a conference in the Methodist Church. Eventually, the church spread throughout Southeast Asia, leading to the establishment of the Southeast Asian Central Conference in 1950.
The Malaysian and Singapore components of the mission officially became autonomous of their Western parent bodies in 1968; thus, becoming an Asian church with a bishop elected from the local ministers. In 1976, the church was restructured into The Methodist Church in Singapore and The Methodist Church in Malaysia to reflect the secession of Singapore from the Federation of Malaysia.
Read more about this topic: Methodist Church In Singapore
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