Home—Kum Yan Methodist Church’s 103rd anniversary

In Kum Yan Methodist Church’s (KY) rich heritage of 103 years, I have been here for the most recent three. While I may not have as much to share as those who have been part of much more of KY’s history, I do really enjoy hearing the amazing stories that the older ones, especially Pastor Lilian and Uncle KC (Wong Kok Choon, KY’s former LCEC chairman of KY), share about the church and their own experiences.

Some of their stories—illustrating KY’s DNA and heritage —that have stuck with me were of the elders and founding generation of the church. Those who served were so on fire for God and His people. One of Pastor Lilian’s stories that really stood out for me was about a church leader who was hospitalised. The first thing she said to those who visited her was neither about her condition nor about the pain she was experiencing. Instead, she asked about how the church was and how the people were doing.

Stories like these inspire me to consider my priorities and to constantly place God and His heart for people at the centre of His Kingdom’s work.

During the anniversary celebration, I discovered another part of KY’s rich heritage and an important part of its DNA. It ties very closely to how the church was started and how several ministries were birthed. During the sermon, I learned how KY’s founding father, Mr I. C. Lam, started the church because he sensed the needs of the people around him. As a teacher at Yeung Ching School, his heart was stirred and filled with compassion for the Cantonese migrants who did not know Christ. So he started a fellowship and reached out to them with the Gospel. As the congregation grew, they eventually needed a place to worship and so he began a Sunday worship service at the school. Other ministries like the one at Woodlands also started with the leaders answering the call to meet the need for a ministry to the community there. The Rev Philip Lim put it so beautifully, in the foreword of the commemorative book given out at the Anniversary Service: “From the very beginning, the church was established with outreach as its mission.”

With each season that followed, every generation of leaders faithfully came together to seek God’s direction, to discover the need for that time and the context to apply the responsibility, mission and vision that God has ordained for the church.

With a deeper understanding of KY’s spiritual heritage, and therefore mine, I am inspired to consider where and to whom God is calling us for outreach in our time. In a powerful sermon about the Macedonian Vision at KY’s 103rd Anniversary Service, the Rev Khoo Cheng Hoot helped us see parallels between Lydia, a recipient of the Gospel, and those around us in our time. Lydia was one who perhaps lived in abundance as a dealer in purple cloth. Like many of us in Singapore, I am learning that, despite our abundance, the one thing needful remains.

Installing the foundation stone of KY, that was found after it had gone missing during renovation works in 2005

KY’s 103rd anniversary service