Barker Road Methodist Church

Copyright 2006, 2007, 2008 Barker Road Methodist Church. All Rights Reserved

Early Beginnings (1955)

Dr Earl Stanley Jones, a Methodist evangelist from USA preached at ACS Chapel service and 200 boys made decisions. Eighty of them had no preferred church to worship and the idea of starting a church within the precincts of the school was birthed.

Question
What was BRMC known then and when and where was the first service held?

Answer
BRMC was first known as the Barker Road Chapel with the first service held on 20 May 1956. The venue was the dusty, dilapidated Band Room in the former Oldham Hall which was subsequently demolished in 1957.

Official Recognition (late 1950's)

Barker Road Methodist Church was officially recognized on 26 May 1957. The first transfers and baptisms took place in the ACS Auditorium by Rev Ron Butler-White and assisted by Rev Robert Foster (both one- time pastors of BRMC) and District Superintendent Rev Dr Ho Seng Ong.

Question
Who was the first pastor of BRMC and what was his association with ACS and the Boys' Brigade?

Answer
Mr Peter Lim, was responsible for BRMC from May to Aug 56. Mr Peter Lim joined the ranks of the ACS teaching staff in 1950, founded the 12th Company Boys Brigade (BB) on April 1954. He was member-on-trial from 1957-60 and with the exception of Jan - May 57 when Rev Ron Butler-White assumed pastorship, Mr Peter Lim was the pastor, assisted by Rev Robert Foster.

Therein lie the beginnings of the strong links of BRMC with the school and the BB which continues to this day.

First baptism at BRMC (1957)

Vision of a Church building (late 1950's)

Recorded in the 65th Session of the Malayan Annual Conference (7-13 Dec 1959) -

"The church continues to grow. Although the full membership of the church stands at 27, yet it has a Sunday School of 135 and a Boys' Brigade of 100 members. This church which has been holding its services of worship in the school is now looking for a more suitable place of worship. The congregation is trying to acquire a piece of land for its new church building."

Question
What was the cost of the first BRMC sanctuary and how was this financed?

Answer
As the support for the project was likely to be from students only, the cost of the first BRMC sanctuary was conceived to cost not more than $50,000. The Division of World Missions of the Methodist Church granted the piece of land at 48 Barker Road to BRMC.

Funds were raised through many projects, one of which was the Fun Fair held in Apr 63 with a total of 67 stalls. It raised a total of $15,000 which covered the major part of the Church Building debt.

Ground breaking, completion and dedication of sanctuary (1960's)

The ground breaking ceremony was held on the site of the sanctuary by Mrs Joyce Foster on 28 October 1962, after a Fellowship Lunch.

Question
When was the official opening of BRMC and dedication of the church sanctuary? Who officiated the ceremonies?

Answer
The official opening of BRMC Church Sanctuary was on 9 June 1963 by Bishop H Amstutz. The church dedication was conducted by Bishop Robert F Lundy on 31 October 1965. Bishop Lundy was the pastor of BRMC between January and August 1964. The dedication was also a celebration of the clearing of the entire Church Building debt.

The children of BRMC then

The Church Manse (mid-1960's)

The church Manse at 48 Barker Road housed the pastor and his family in 1966. The New York Office of the Board of Missions authorized BRMC's purchase of the Manse.

Question
How much did BRMC pay for the Manse?

Answer
The price agreed was S$30,000 payable over 10 years. It was also decided that the church would take over the paying of the pastor's stipend (missionary pastor contribution made to the Conference Benevolences).

The Manse served as the pastor's quarters and the venue for numerous activities such as church meetings, informal gatherings, prayer and praise meetings and even the Church Office at one time. It was demolished in 1989 to make room for the projected enlarged sanctuary.

BRMC's early ministries (mid-1960's)

Ministries such as the Methodist Youth Fellowship (MYF) began when BRMC came into existence. Bible classes were run by the BB. In 1957, a small Methodist Adult Fellowship was formed. The WSCS was set up in 1966 by Mrs Joyce Foster.

Question
When was the Kindergarten set up and how many students could it accommodate? What is the current enrolment now?

Answer
Barker Road Methodist Church Kindergarten (BRMCK) opened on 28 August 1967, It was officially registered by the Ministry of Education to take 30 pupils. BRMCK's enrollment reached 32 pupils in 1970.

The current enrollment is 400 pupils.

Educational Block (1970's)

The vision of the Educational Block was conceived in 1969 to cater the Sunday School, the Kindergarten and Youth Groups. The cost of the Block was estimated at S$45,000.

Question
When was the Educational Block completed and how many floors were there?

Answer
The Ground Breaking Service and Sacrificial Dinner for the Education Block was held on 17 May 1975. The then District Superintendent, Rev T C Nga, broke the ground. The first floor of the Block was completed in 1976.

On 17 May 1985, the then Bishop Ho Chee Sin dedicated the second floor. The completed floor included three prayer closets: Mount Carmel, Mount Sinai and Mount Zion.

The third floor of the Education Block was completed in July 1989.

BRMC and Liberalism (early 1970's)

In the early 1970's, certain quarters of the church did not believe in the trustworthiness of the Bible. There were even doubts about the Virgin Birth and the Deity of Christ. The focus of some quarters of the church was only to do good and help the under-privileged. The preaching of the saving Gospel was not seen to be essential.

Question
How did the tide change?

Answer
God's hand was on the church despite these struggles. He caused His Holy Spirit to bring about a mighty wind of change after the mid-1970's. We saw the revival of Scriptural teaching and mighty manifestations of the Holy Spirit, both in miracles and conversions of the unsaved.

ACS Clock Tower Revival (1970's)

ACS Clock Tower, as it was then

ACS Clock Tower - a recognizable landmark and filled with memories for all ex-ACSians. The Clock Tower's historical association with the genesis of the charismatic movement in Singapore has been documented. The experience of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit was both a time of spiritual awakening as well as controversy. Sometimes, ACS boys would be seeking the Lord in the BRMC Sanctuary instead of going to pray in the ACS Clock Tower.

Question
Can you name some of those youths who later became Methodist pastors?

Answer
Some participants of the ACS Clock Tower Revival include: our former pastor, Rev Dr Norman Wong; our current pastor, Rev Malcolm Tan; and the pastor currently serving at Wesley Methodist Church, Rev Melvin Huang. Another one of our current pastors, the Rev Noel Goh, was in an earlier batch of students who emphasized the ministry of the Word. God used this batch of students to prepare the way for the Clock Tower Revival.

BRMC's Charismatic Renewal (1980's)

The Prayer and Praise meetings at BRMC started in 1977 by a core group of three LCEC leaders who had recently experienced the Holy Spirit.

The sole objective of these meetings was to spend the evenings in worship and prayer. The members met regularly on Friday nights, moving from home to home. One notable venue was the home of Mr & Mrs Tony Thng at Hillcrest Road.

The size of the meetings grew to 30-40 strong. Many who joined these meetings had earlier experienced the Holy Spirit at the Singapore Chapter of the Full Gospel Businessmen's Fellowship and at other revival centres, such as the one at Jedburgh Gardens in the East.

"Many lives have been touched and revived by the Holy Spirit with the healing of the mind, body and spirit. A sense of urgency for revival to spread the gospel is present in our church and those who returned from overseas have noted the difference."

Question
Can you name the LCEC member who was involved in the Prayer & Praise meeting and said this?

Answer
The LCEC member was Dr Tan Gee Paw. He was then the Chairman of the Membership & Evangelism Committee. He was involved in the Prayer & Praise meetings. The quotation was from the Local Conference Report for the year 1979.

Family Days and Church Camps (1980's to present)

The first Family event was held on 30 June 1984 with telematch games and food fair. The event was entitled "Family Affair". The idea and concept of the "Family Affair" drew inspiration from Mrs Wang Tso. She believed that it would be good for the church to come together as a family to have a time of fellowship, fun and playing innovative and creative games.

This event was followed by "Family Affair II" and "Family Affair III" in the later years. Church camps were also held annually with the Cameron Highlands, Fraser's and the Genting Highlands as choice venues.

Question
Where and when was the last Church camp held? What was the theme?

Answer
The last Church camp was held at Seremban from 8-11 June 2005 with the theme "Building the House of God".

The Church camps of earlier years include:

"Arise, Shine" in June 2002 at Nirwana Gardens
"To the Praise of His Grace and Glory" in June 2001 at Lanjut Golf & Beach Resort, Pahang
"Jesus, the 1 and only" in June 1999 at Desaru Perdana, Johor

BRMC Sanctuary in the 1980s

Church Development (1990's)

In 1988, a decision was taken to embark on three phases of development for adequate office and meeting space, enlarge the sanctuary for a growing congregation and renovate and upgrade the educational block. The budgeted cost of development was S$2.1 million.

Question
When was the last service in the old sanctuary and where did BRMC meet during the development?

Answer
The last Communion Service in the 27-year old sanctuary was on 7 May 1989. On 14 May 1989, the 8.30 am and 10.30 am morning worship services moved the ACS Auditorium and the 5.00 pm worship service moved to the new Conference Room.

New Sanctuary (1990's)

On 4 November 1990 at 9.00 am, there was a Combined Inaugural Holy Communion Service at the newly completed sanctuary. 1,200 worshippers attended this Service. The Rev Dr Ngoei Foong Nghian was the Pastor-in-charge then.

Question
What were some of the other highlights at the dedication and opening of the new sanctuary?

Answer
The new sanctuary and the office floor (3rd level) were dedicated on 19 May 1991. Bishop Ho Chee Sin officiated the dedication. Besides the unveiling of the Plague, there was a Renewal of Covenant/Dedication cum 35th anniversary service.

Preaching Points (1990's)

On 10 October 1993, a church-planting project, the Preaching Point at MGS Blackmore Drive, was set up jointly with Wesley Methodist Church.

Question
When did this Preaching Point become a Local Conference? Were there other Preaching Points?

Answer
The Preaching Point at MGS was constituted as the 16th Local Conference on 11 September 1994. It was named Covenant Community Methodist Church.

The other Preaching Point that followed was at ACS (Independent). This was constituted on 20 April 2003 as the 18th Local Conference and it was named Living Waters Methodist Church.

BRMC's next Preaching Point will be at Bukit Batok.

BRMC Church Services

The Church services at Barker Road have grown through the years. At one time, there was a combined Communion service at 9.00 am for the 8.30 am and 10.30 am congregations.

Question
What is the background of the other services at BRMC?

Answer
The 5.00 pm service began in August 1983. It catered to worshippers who could not make it for the morning services and. It also eased the over-crowding during the monthly Holy Communion services at 8.30 am and 10.15 am. Unlike the morning services, the evening service included a prayer ministry, testimonies and a ministry of praise and a speaker different from the morning services.

The Shineforth service was a response to Rev Norman Wong's challenge to members to start a second service at 10.30 am Sundays. This was not just to ease the space constraints in the Sanctuary but to create a distinctive service apart from the service in the Sanctuary.

The Mandarin service was the fruit of a Saturday Fellowship which began in April 2002. The first Mandarin service was on 13 October 2002.

In March 2005, the Filipino Fellowship was constituted as a service, 21 years after the Fellowship started.

ACS Re-development (2000)

The ACS (Barker Road) re-development meant a closure of BRMC Sanctuary for worship services from December 1999 to June 2002. This was the second pilgrimage for BRMC.

Question
Where did BRMC hold her services during this time? When did BRMC return to the hill?

Answer
The invitation by ACS to share premises at the former Swiss Cottage Secondary School site at 60 Dunearn Road provided the continuity of BRMC's worship services and ministries during ACS (Barker Road)'s re-development. The Closing Service at 48 Barker Road was on 2 January 2000.

BRMC at 60 Dunearn Road

BRMC's Worship services moved next door to Singapore Chinese Girls' School on 7 July 2002 when ACS held its Fun Fair and clean-up at the former Swiss Cottage Secondary School site.

On 21 December 2002, BRMC church leaders and members met in the late afternoon at 60 Dunearn Road to pray and prayer-walked back to 48 Barker Road. The first service at the re-furbished Sanctuary was on 22 December 2002.

Outreach Events/Seminars/Conferences at BRMC

On 7 July 1985, BRMC held an Evangelistic Rally by Josh McDowell at 9,00 am on the topic "Because He lives, I can". There were 1,300 attendees. The altar call brought in 37 first-time decisions and 29 re-dedications.

Question
What were some other significant events where BRMC played host?

Answer
4-8 August 2002: "Freedom in Christ" Seminars
These were co-organised with Campus Crusade Mass Media and Neil Anderson

16-19 June 2004: International Prayer Conference

1,000 foreign and local delegates attended this Conference. The Opening service was at ACS (Barker Road) Auditorium. The Conference included 20 workshops and public meetings in the evenings. Over 280 children signed up for the 16 workshops under the "Children's Track". The 2003 Conference was postponed because of SARS.

23 September 2005: 24-hour Spiritual Renewal
We sought to sustain a spirit of renewal in BRMC that strengthens the 4 houses (Prayer, Bread, Compassion and Salvation). Rev Wee Boon Hup (TRAC President) spoke at the Opening session.

Pastors and Members

Through the 50 years of BRMC's history, many pastors have been appointed to BRMC.

Question
How many pastors are there in the Pastor's Roll Call including current pastors? Who is the oldest member in BRMC by Membership Roll and age?

Answer
There are 28 pastors in all. Some of the earlier pastors served for no more than a year. The longest serving pastor is our current Pastor-in-charge, Rev Malcolm Tan. He has served almost 8 years from August 1998.

By Membership Roll, our oldest member is Professor Leslie Saw Swee Hock. He joined on 26 May 1957 at the official recognition of BRMC. He was received into membership by Rev Ron Butler White. Uncle George Yap was the oldest member by age. He was born on 1 January 1910. As at 2006, he is aged 96 years.