Singapore story

Situated just north of the equator on a continent which now boasts nearly 60% of the world’s population, Singapore’s four to five million inhabitants (who live on an island uncannily the same shape and size of the Isle of Wight) punch well above their weight in both the regional and global economies.

The current Singapore Church Directory (2001-02) lists nearly 370 churches, but what is striking is the breadth of ministry. Many provide special language ministries for Indonesian, Filipinos, Tamil (S. Indian), Cantonese and Hokkien (both Chinese), and others too, including more discreet ministries in the Muslim community. Some Sunday ministries begin as early as 7.30 am and continue with their multi-lingual services through to early evening.

The Directory also reflects a full ‘supermarket’ selection of Protestant denominations present in Singapore, ranging from an historic Anglican cathedral through to the more charismatic churches with membership of over 10,000. In an amazing way, each seems to have a role to play in Christian work in Singapore. To understand this, one needs to briefly reflect on the history since Sir Stamford Raffles first landed on the equatorial shores in 1819 to set up a trading station for the East India Company.

History

The earliest accounts of church work in Singapore go back to the early 19th century when firstly Catholics, and then Protestants (through the Portuguese and Dutch respectively) came across with the Chinese from the trading port of Malacca.

Most of the early Protestant work in Singapore was established through the London Missionary Society. Although never living in Singapore, Robert Morrison’s first translation of the Bible into the Chinese language was greatly used in reaching out to the Chinese peoples in Malacca. It was also in 1819 that the Rev. Samuel Milton arrived in Singapore to establish a school for Chinese and Malay boys. The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, together with the missionaries from Europe, built many of the important schools, clinics and businesses found in Singapore today. Interestingly, in these early days, few Christians stayed. Many of the Chinese and Europeans were there just for business and trade before moving on. Both the number of Chinese dialects and the general local illiteracy hindered the work of the gospel. Opium addiction was also widespread.

Missionary from China

By the beginning of the 20th century, Singapore had just 14 congregations serving the needs of 2,205 Protestant Christians. During the next 40 years, the number of congregations was to increase to 46. These were now spread throughout the island in both the central city area and in the surrounding villages (kampongs). They included Western expatriate churches, Indian and Chinese speaking immigrant churches, as well as a few Malay-speaking congregations. (Sng, 2003)

In 1935, an important visitor to Singapore was to have a major impact on the life and work of the Chinese church in particular. The wonderfully effective, fearless, but sometimes controversial John Sung paid his first visit of seven visits from Fujian Province in China. It has been said that by the time the 1935 mission had ended, he had so transformed the Chinese church in Singapore that it has never been the same since. His sermons were straight from the heart, fiery, and preached with a charismatic vigour. At times he was known to literally jump up and down from the stage and on many occasions wore a white, flowing Chinese gown. John Sung was probably China’s greatest evangelist. As he challenged people very directly with the sinfulness of sin in their lives, the Lord drew many thousands of Singaporeans under deep conviction through Sung’s ministry. He had a particular appeal among the poorer Chinese people. In fact, there are a number of churches in Singapore today which either began directly as a result of his ministry or certainly were revived during his visits to Singapore. Sadly, the Lord took John Sung at the age of 43, but he left behind a legacy of heart-felt testimonies with many Singaporeans, some of whom, before becoming Christians, had been caught up with gambling, opium addiction, etc.

Post-war growth

Following WWII, Singapore faced many serious challenges. The Communist insurgency lasted through the 1950s and well into the 1960s. Malaysia won its independency from Britain in 1957, and, after a period of serious political heart-searching, Singapore finally declared independence in 1965. Before and after independence there were riots on the streets and the political moves also caused critical regional tensions. Throughout this time, the church grew in numbers and, although tainted with the spreading of liberal theology worldwide, the Christians in Singapore held firmly to the legacy left by John Sung, maintaining an active conservative, Bible-based theology which would serve well to hinder these liberal influences, coming mainly from the West.

Changes

The 1970s and 1980s saw important changes to the churches in Singapore.

Firstly, there was a growth in the establishment of para-church activities. Today this remains strong in Singapore, where home-grown organisations such as the Singapore Every Home Crusade seeks to reach every home with the gospel truth. The worldwide Bible Studies Fellowship (BSF) and Alpha courses, for both business and church, are also well established and there are many more such organisations in Singapore.

Secondly, there was the rise of a more charismatic form of teaching and worship appealing to the many young people in the churches.

Thirdly, with population growth and limited land availability, it became clear that the future growth of churches lay not so much in new traditional church buildings but rather in smaller house groups. These latter two developments were also influenced by visits in the 1970s from pastors like the Rev. Yong-gi Cho from Korea, who spoke of the phenomenal growth of the Korean church, especially through cell-group ministry.

There were also some significant rallies held in the city, such as the visit by Billy Graham in 1978 when some 65,000 people filled the outdoor stadium each evening. Many came to the Lord through these events. Today, the Lord continues to use such rallies in the National Stadium where thousands at a time meet and seek to reach the Singaporean people. The Chinese peoples certainly enjoy crowds!

Challenges in the church

Despite this history of blessing, there are challenges. With the influence of the charismatic renewal in the 1970s and 1980s, today there is a strong tendency for existential teaching at the expense of the deeper doctrines of grace and a deeper heart-understanding of Bible truth. As a consequence, among quite a number of Christians there is a lack of awareness of the dangers of Arminian teaching. For disciplined Singaporeans who have seen much success through personal hard work and determination, there is consequently an inclination to understand God’s will and purpose in life as being determined through personal choice. Such an understanding is readily fed by deceptive and seriously flawed self-help Christianity, so prevalent today in other parts of the world.

This headstrong understanding, in some instances, has resulted in very sad church divisions and even the use of the secular law courts to solve church issues. The issue of ‘face’ continues to challenge in the light of needing to learn sanctification through grace alone.

Immigration

The Singapore Government invites workers from many of the surrounding countries to undertake basic work in the construction and infrastructure developments. Most come from poor backgrounds on the Indian sub-continent, Indonesia and China itself. Some churches see this as a great opportunity to reach out. The better educated and professional mainland Chinese also come. Unlike the migrant workers, they are encouraged to fully integrate into society and stay. Such can find it very difficult to integrate into a sophisticated society like Singapore. This applies no less to the Chinese churches. The mainland Chinese in Singapore often feel more comfortable in the ‘neutral venues’ of the few ‘Western’ international churches.

Another major challenge is the fact that less than 0.2% of Malays are Christians, compared with approximately 15% Chinese and 12% Indian (Sng, 2003)

Mission

Singapore is amazingly well located for reaching out to needy countries in the region. The Singaporean Christians are very generous and churches remain warmly supportive. It is very encouraging to visit churches, which, in some instances, support up to 15-20 members on the mission field.

The Indo-China countries to the north, which were off-limits for so long during the Vietnam war, and the terrible ‘killing fields’ in Cambodia are only two hours’ flying time away. The poverty and practical needs of people in Cambodia and Laos, for example, have touched the hearts of many Singaporean Christians. Also there are now direct flights to many Chinese cities. These provide excellent opportunities for short-term work. Not forgetting Indonesia to the south, as the world’s most populous Muslim country, the mission opportunities in this region are overwhelming. In 1980, the Singapore Centre for Evangelism and Mission was established specifically to provide a link between churches and the local mission organisations. Singapore also remains an excellent centre of learning for Christian ministry and mission. The Singapore Bible College and Trinity Theological College, for example, train many future pastors from Asia-Pacific countries while centres like the Haggai Institute and others, provide specific training for serving overseas.

The future

The Government continues to apply social controls to maintain racial harmony and religious tolerance in the community. This curtails unofficial public speaking, but the freedom to worship in a safe environment in the middle of an Islamic region remains a gem to cherish and protect. The controls also have some useful benefits such as the banning of Watchtower Press literature!

The peoples of Singapore, and more generally in Asia, as an important part of their culture, remain willing to discuss the spiritual dimension of life, sadly a far cry from attitudes in our own country. Churches continue to show a real concern to reach the unreached.

Christ's work on a small, vibrant island