PMC | History

Our History
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1930s
1932	On Pentecost Sunday, 15 May 1932, the first Peranakan worship service was held. Twelve people attended. Rev Chew Hock Hin was the appointed pastor.
1936	The church was constituted as Geylang Straits Chinese Methodist Church.
1937	Sunday School continued to grow. Epworth League (precursor of Methodist Youth Fellowship) and the Ladies' Aid Society of Christian Service) were also established.
1939	The church building was acquired by the Japanese military during the war. Members remained faithful, meeting and worshipping in the pastor's and members' homes.

1940s
1941	When the political situation in Singapore was more stabilised, Geylang Straits Chinese Methodist Church, and the other churches, returned to use the church building. A male vocal singing group was formed, which visited homes during the week to sing praises and share the Lord's message.
1946	The Straits Chinese District of the Methodist Church in Malaya (comprising Geylang Straits Chinese, Kampong Kapor, Paya Lebar and some Malacca Methodist Churches) was formed under Rev Chew Hock Hin as District Superintendent.

1950s
1951	Church membership reached 322. Outreach efforts developed rapidly and by end 1952, membership stood at 365.
1956	The first English congregation was launched and an adult choir formed.
1957	The church announced a five-year action plan, "From Insight to Action". After 25 years of ministry, the premises proved to be inadequate and a new location was urgently needed. After much prayer, a plot of land at Koon Seng Road was identified.

1960s
1962	Construction work for the new church building began in February. The land purchase and building of a new church was a daunting task. Nevertheless, the congregation perservered and by the grace of God, the financial sum was met and a new church building was completed as scheduled.
1964	Geylang Straits Chinese Methodist Church was renamed Pentecost Methodist Church on 18 July 1964.
1965	The 23rd Boys' Brigade Company was formed in May as a church-based company. Boys were recruited from schools nearby.

1970s
1971	Membership was 663. There were no paid office staff. Sunday worship bulletins and monthly newsletters were edited, printed and mailed by members who worked joyfully together.
1976	The "I Care" programme was launched. Members were mobilised and trained to meet the needs of other church members.
1977	Outreach programmes were initiated. The musical "SHARE" was presented. Our first Church Planning Conference was inaugurated. To accommodate increased attendance, two new wings were added to the main church building.

1980s
1981	An inaugural Mandarin worship service was held on 8 March. A church-wide small group ministry was also introduced. Members were formed into small groups, called "hope cells" for discussions, study, prayer and praise.
1982	On PMC's 50th Anniversary, membership stood at 708. It was time to expand physically again. With much prayer and financial support from members and friends, the property adjacent to the church was purchased in 1983. Sunday school classes, once held in makeshift classrooms, were then conducted in rooms in the new building. Activities of the Boys' Brigade also expanded.
1984	The church adopted the theme "Unity and Growth" Each member was to develop spiritually and work together for the expansion of God's Kingdom.
1985	The first of many family camps to come was held in Masai, Johor Bahru. Participants coming together for a spiritual retreat to learn, meditate, pray and worship.
1986	A second English Sunday worship service was started to meet the changing profile of the congregation. It was non-traditional in format to meet the needs of the young, including grandchildren of the Peranakan congregation.

1990s
1990	Renovation work of the adjacent building, and also the church building, was completed in May. A nation-wide seminar "Visions, Dreams and Revelations - Does God Speak to Us Today?" was organised in April by the Christian Education Committee of PMC. The seminar attracted almost 600 people, including non-Christians. A prayer ministry was introduced where members met to pray for people with special needs.
1991	God blessed the church with more theologically trained persons. Two members returned from theological studies overseas, while one was appointed assistant pastor upon graduation from Trinity Theological College.
1992	Confronted with serious limitations of physical space, and with plans for developing the church premises thwarted by the authorities, the church came to a major crossroad-having to decide on selling the Koon Seng Road premises and selecting an alternative site. Events took a quick turn thereafter. The HDB had released a church site for tender at Pasir Ris. The church leadership saw Pasir Ris as a location worth exploring. Church members were informed accordingly and were asked to indicate their response. 88.3% of the congregation supported the move. The church then tendered for the site. The result of the tender was released on 22 October, and we became the official owner of the Pasir Ris site with the full sum of $2.3 million paid to HDB. The groundbreaking ceremony at the site was held on 1 November. Officiated by Bishop Ho Chee Sin, the short service was marked by the planting of a chiku tree. The church's first Christmas at Pasir Ris - "Christmas at the Park"- was celebrated in December at the open grounds of the site.
1993	Members gathered for the last worship service at Koon Seng Road on 4 March. The following week, worship service was held at John Wesley Centre, Mt Sophia. This would be the place of worship for the following one and a half years, while the new church was being built.
1994	The Consecration Service of the church in Pasir Ris was held on 23 October.
1995	PMC adopted the Sundanese people (an unreached group of 31 million) in West Java in March.
1996	PMC Kindergarten was launched to reach out and minister to the needs of young children and families in the new neighbourhood. Mandarin Sunday worship service was started on 1 September. The church's 44th Girls' Brigade Company, affliated to Springfield Secondary School, was formed.
1999	A "community penetration initiative" commenced with PMC adopting Pasir Ris Zone 3 for reaching out to serve the people there. "Harvest events" were conducted in connection with Easter, Christmas and other significant festivals.

2000s
2002	A ten-year vision for the church was painted, committing PMC to raising faithful disciples who care for one another and reach the community for Jesus Christ. The whole church was mobilized. "Every Member A Disciple" became our church's slogan
2003	We adopted the Tampines Family Service Centre through our partnership with the Methodist Welfare Service. The Missions Committee set the goal to send four teams a year to the COSI Orphanage in Cambodia. We continued our partnership with the Sundanese people. The theological student we supported from Vietnam, Mr Jacob Vu, graduated from Trinity Theological College and returned home to serve. Our Mandarin Ministry grew in focus and number. The Chinese congregation increased to nearly 100 worshippers.
2004	As part of our mission work, we supported a theological student from Nepal in the person of Mr Ram Kumar and he returned to teach in Nepal Ebenezer Bible College upon completion of this studies. A Bible Festival Week held in May marked PMC's 72nd Anniversary Celebrations. Our membership crossed 1000 in May.
2005	We kicked off a church renovation and extension project to better address the diverse needs of a growing congregation and to be equipped for greater community involvement within Pasir Ris. Fund raising activities were planned and organized over the next two years. PMC commissioned Audrey Lim as missionary seconded to Mercy Teams International, a social outreach (mercy) arm of Operations Mobilization. We began the support of three former domestic helpers in Singapore who sensed the call of God and started theological studies in their home country. The Discipleship Roadmap was adopted.
2006	Our first all-men prayer group, Men@PMC, was formed. A world-wide prayer meeting (Global Day of Prayer) was held on Pentecost Sunday at the National Stadium and more than 150 members from PMC attended. The church renovation project was complete in May. The new facilities were dedicated at our 74th Anniversary service on 4 June by Bishop Dr Robert Solomon. A church camp (June 14-17) also marked our 74th anniversary celebrations. An increasing number of our leaders and members were trained to minister in inner healing through the Divine Encounter Weekend (DEW) School organized by TRAC. Our Youth Ministry was renamed YMPACT to reflect their desire to have an impact on the youths. The Youth Service started in January and their attendance reached more than 150 at the end of the year. There are now five services in church (Peranakan, Youth, English Traditional, English Contemporary and Mandarin). We began the first Pentecost Encounter which was an introduction to the work of the Holy Spirit in the life of disciples. We renewed our partnership with the Tampines Family Service Centre.
2007	The year was marked by our Diamond (75th) Anniversary Celebrations. We began with a Thanksgiving Concert dedicated to all our members and friends for their support at fund raising. Celebratory events, marking the 75th Anniversary started on Pentecost Sunday will end with a Christmas Concert. The theme for the year was "I PLUS One". It was to mark the beginning of personal evangelism in the life of our members. The church held our 75th Anniversary Service on May 27 with Rev Wee Boon Hup, President of TRAC, as preacher. A final fund-raising gala dinner event held on May 30 raised more than $200,000 for our church extension. We hosted the 32nd Session of the TRAC Annual Conference this year.
2008	We started to focus on "Being a redeeming and caring community", first to our own members and worshippers and second, to the world outside. Nepal was adopted as another country of focus for missions.
2009	A new ministry, the PMC Sports Community, under the umbrella of the Witness and Evangelism Committee, was launched in March. The sports included were Soccer, Running, Badminton and Netball. The Young Adults' Fellowship was started. Monthly meetings were held and a retreat was conducted in Malaysia. The YMPACT care team was launched to offer encouragement and support to youths who have been affected by matters such as bereavement or hospitalization. A church camp (attended by 326 participants) was held from 7-10 June in Hotel Grand Paragon, Johor Bahru. A fund-raising dinner was held on 29 Feb 2009, raising slightly more than $250,000 for the work of Prisons Fellowship Singapore. Work in Prisons continued to grow and we conducted Sunday services in 3 chapels every week, as well as Bible study in Kaki Bukit Centre every Saturday. We hosted the 2nd TRAC HOPE (Helping Our People) Fair in partnership with Bedok Methodist Church and Living Hope Methodist Church in August 1,500 people turned up at the fair. A mothers' ministry, Hannah Ministry, was started in August. Meetings were held once a month to help the Chinese Nationals and Mandarin-speaking in our community. We ran the Teach-to-Reach Programme in partnership with the Methodist Missions Society. As part of gearing up for the Year of Missions (2011-2012), we embarked on mission exploration in Asian countries - Hunan and Kunming (China), Malaysia and India. An Indonesian/ Peranakan Evangelistic meeting was held on 26 September.
2010	The "Caleb Fellowship" was set up by the Mandarin ministry to reach out to the elderly. At the first gathering on 3 August, 40 people turned up. An Indonesian/ Peranakan Fellowship was held every first Saturday of the month to encourage Indonesian domestic workers who were unable to attend Sunday Worship services. A Prayer hotline was created to allow our youths to sms their prayer requests. This was well-received. Preparation for PMC Year of Missions (YOM) 2011 started with a series of sermons on missions in the entire month of August. Members were challenged to be involved in the short mission trips during the next 20 months, culminating in the 80th Anniversary celebrations of PMC. By December 2011, 14 trips were made. We celebrated the 125th Anniversary of the Methodist Church in Singapore participating in one of the programmes, "Community Outreach Project" aimed at blessing the chronically poor in Singapore, giving and volunteering as befrienders to bring blessing to the recipients.
2011	We partnered with the Methodist Welfare Services in the MCS 125th Community Project - Chronic Poor Project. Volunteers reached out to 39 beneficiaries in the project. The Year of Missions 2011 launched in August 2010, saw members participating in 55 mission trips ministering in various ways in churches in Asia. We celebrated God's faithfulness for the successful completion of a PMC - PARI "AAP" Program (Adopt a People Program). We continued with our support of the work of PARI reaching out to the Sundanese of West Java by supporting another church planting team and other projects.
2012	We celebrated our 80th anniversary, with the theme "Shine Forth" and affirmed God's grace, goodness, greatness and glory. Two fund raising events - The block buster movie "The Avengers" and the anniversary dinner event raised funds to support 5 charitable causes namely Agape Fund, MCS 125 Chronically Poor Scheme, Tampines Family Service Centre, Post COSI Intergration Programme and Alpha Youth and Family Centre in Nonthaburi, Thailand. The Year of Missions ended on 27 May 2012 (our 80th Anniversary) with 80 trips to 10 neighbouring countries. A total of 478 members participated.
2013	Our new PIC, Rev Lai Kai Ming, led us in "Rediscovering Pentecost", our Name and our Mission. PMC's Mission statement was modified in April to read: "Pentecost Methodist Church is committed to raising faithful disciples, caring for one another, and reaching our neighbours and our world for Jesus Christ." A "Welcome Corner" was started at the back of the sanctuary to host newcomers and visitors after each English service. The People of Power (POP) Camp 2013 was conducted in Malacca from 19-22 June with close to 400 people in attendance. Pastor Benny Ho was the speaker. About 50 people gather every last Wednesday of the month for Upper Room Appointment (U.R.A) that was started by Pastor Vincent Goh a year ago. The purpose is to meet God in worship, waiting, and to pray for revival in and through PMC. A monthly Healing Service was formed in August, endeavouring to serve both the church and the neighbourhood. The first of three yearly Christmas Carnival was organised in December for our Pasir Ris neighbours to have a day of family fun and bonding. The whole church was mobilised for the event.
2014	Our vision statement was now confirmed as: We are a People of Power: A House of Prayer, an Authentic Community, and Joyful Witnesses to the Kingdom of God here on earth. Celebrating PMC's 83rd anniversary, the "Love Pasir Ris" campaign on 8 June was a significant move in the direction of greater neighbourhood influence. More than 300 members went out to the streets to bless people with random acts of kindness. A Live-It-Out (LIO) Guide was prepared each week for small groups and individuals, to encourage application of the weekly sermon. PMC Kindergarten continues to be one of our key neighbourhood outreach platforms, with an average enrolment of 200 students. The People of Power (POP) Camp 2 "Authentic Community" was held in Malacca from 25-28 June, with close to 300 members attending the camp. Joseph Chean, YWAM's national director, was the speaker. PMC sent a record of three members to Bible school this year - two to TTC, and one to SBC. PMC's lease expires in 8 years (i.e. 31 Oct 2022); meanwhile, as a responsible leadership the LCEC appointed a taskfoce, led by Mr Ho Wee Seng, to look into the renewal of the lease as well as major areas of maintenance required for the physical church building. The sequel of the Christmas Carnival (now called "Love My Neighbour"), which started in 2013, was organised. Our MP Zainal Sapari graced the event.
2015	On 3 April, PMC hosted 400 guests to lunch and dinner during our Good Friday Banquet, following Jesus' instructions to invite those who are marginalized by society (Luke 14:12-14). About 500 PMC members were involved in this initiative serving as ushers, chauffeurs, waiters, table hosts, performing artistes, logistics helps and so on. God's glory was revealed mightily on that day as PMC learnt what it meant to associate with, touch and love people whom Christ died for. A Pentecost Evangelistic Conference (PEC) was organized on 11 July. About 300 members participated in this half-day event conducted by Dr Andrew Goh and his team from River Life Church. MyPMC App was launched. PMC co-organized the first ever Singapore Gathering at the Indoor Stadium from 14-16 September. The final installment of the Christmas Carnival was held on 5 December. About 350 members participated in this full day event as ushers, game stall helpers, befrienders and stage performers. Our MP Zainal Sapari and grassroots leaders graced the event.
2016	The church embarked on a two-year daily Bible reading programme (2016-2017) using the People of Power (POP) Journals. The "4Rs" to read God's word was introduced - Read, Reflect, Relate and Rest. Daily 4Rs were posted by our pastors on the MyPMC App to encourage members in their readings. Fund-raising for our 30-year lease renewal began under the project name "Building for our Next Generation". The target sum was $5 million. The People of Power (POP) Camp 3 "Joy Unspeakable" was held once again in Malacca from 15-18 June. Close to 350 members attended the camp led by Pastor Daniel Ho from DUMC. PMC Kindergarten received the SPARK accreditation.

Our History