FOR RELEASE AFTER 2 DECEMBER 2016, FRIDAY, 10 P.M.

New Methodist Bishop takes office

Singapore, 2 December 2016 Bishop Dr Chong Chin Chung, 61, took office as the new
Bishop of The Methodist Church in Singapore (MCS) at his Episcopal Consecration
Service, held 2 December 2016 at Queenstown Chinese Methodist Church and Faith
Methodist Church.
Doing so, he steps into the role of spiritual leader for more than 42,000
Methodists the largest Protestant mainline denomination in Singapore. It has 46
churches, 15 Methodist schools, 13 Methodist kindergartens and 5 childcare centres, and
serves the community through its welfare arm, the Methodist Welfare Services.
In response to his consecration, he said: I thank God for His many blessings on
the Methodist Church. I am prompted to be strong and courageous, just as God told
Joshua in the Bible: Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you
wherever you go. I am grateful for the many Methodist members who have been
interceding for me, supporting me through prayer. I echo Methodisms founder, John
Wesley, who said that The best of all is, God is with us!
An estimated 1,000 attendees were at the Consecration Service to witness the
dedication of their new Bishop by several Methodist guest Bishops from Malaysia,
Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Australia, and Taiwan. Bishop Dr Chongs immediate predecessor,
Bishop Emeritus Dr Wee Boon Hup, led the Service and the consecration. He has
retired at the completion of his four-year term from 2012-2016.
The new Bishops wife and two of his three adult children, who are locally-based,
were present in support. Attendees at the Service included 120 Methodist pastors, and
240 choral and orchestral performers.
Bishop Dr Chong was elected from a list of 43 eligible ministers at the Churchs
th
11 Session of General Conference at Ang Mo Kio Methodist Church on 13 September
2016. The election was conducted by secret ballot, and 42 votes were cast, with the Rev
Dr Chong receiving the required two-thirds majority on the 8th ballot.
He has been a Methodist pastor for the past 32 years, and was elected as
President of the Chinese Annual Conference or CAC (one of three language-based
groupings under the MCS) in 2008, and re-elected to the same post in 2012. During his
term as CAC President, he saw to the formation of the Conferences Board of Family
Life, in response to climbing divorce rates, and the complex challenges of work-life
balance and parenting in a demanding environment. He was pastor of Kum Yan
Methodist Church, and Pastor-in-Charge of Paya Lebar Chinese Methodist Church.
Said Mr Lau Shu Keung, long-time member of Paya Lebar Chinese Methodist
Church (PLCMC): My wife and I have been in PLCMC for about 50 years. In that time,
the Rev Dr Chong was our Pastor-in-Charge for a total of 14 years over two periods. I
spent four years working very closely with him as the churchs Lay Leader, and found
him a very good and dedicated pastor. He has always placed the church and its members
as a priority in his life, and we could see his love for and understanding of the church
members, as we grew to know and love him too. He is really a faithful servant of God

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and I pray that God will continue to guide him and grant him wisdom in his new role as
Bishop.
The Rev Dr Chong was a graduate of Nanyang University in 1979, where he
studied literature. He graduated from Trinity Theological College (TTC) with a Master of
Divinity in 1981, and obtained a post-graduate Master of Theology degree from Duke
Divinity School in 1995. In 2008, he received his Doctor of Theology degree from the
South East Asia Graduate School of Theology. He has been a guest lecturer at TTC since
1996.
Online release: www.methodist.org.sg/new-methodist-bishop-takes-office
Contact
The Methodist Church in Singapore
Press Officer
Tel: 6478-4765
Email: communications@methodist.org.sg
www.methodist.org.sg
70 Barker Road, Singapore 309936
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