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Faith Methodist Church and Queenstown Chinese Methodist Church are Queenstown’s first Methodist churches. The two churches share one church building and were the result of the Queenstown Methodist Church Pioneer Work; Faith Methodist Church focusing on the English speaking community, and Queenstown Chinese Methodist Church focusing on the Chinese speaking community. The church building was officially dedicated on 26 June 1967 by Bishops Robert Lundy and Hobart Baumann Amstutz. Faith Methodist Church is named in memory of Faith Goh, whose parents Dr and Mrs Goh Kok Kee were gracious donors to the Church’s building fund.
Before the sanctuary was completed, worship services were conducted in the open field and later, in a temporary shed. The first open-air worship service was conducted on the Easter Sunday, 18 April 1965. Gerald Liew (b. 1929), a long-time worshipper at Faith Methodist Church shares his reflection:
“Everything was very primitive then and there were around 40 of us standing in the middle of a field. There was neither a public address system nor musical accompaniment. So, we sang the hymns from memory.”
The founding pastor of Faith Methodist Church, Rev Nga Tieng Chieng, added:
“The church trustees first purchased this plot of land in 1964 and it was surrounded by farms and swamps. I recalled losing one of my shoes to the swampland when I visited the site!”
In order to expand and reach out to the Chinese speaking community, Rev Fang Chao Hsi and Rev Wong Khiam Thau were appointed pioneer pastors of Queenstown Chinese Methodist Church. They served from 1966 to 1976 and 1965 to 1996, respectively.
“Our kindergarten was one of the earliest in the area and many parents were happy to send their children to us, We also made it a point to go out into the community – the shops and the hawker centre – to talk to the residents. Some were not used to living in a HDB estate, having previously lived in kampongs. We befriended many residents and the bonds we built have lasted for decades,”
– Rev Wong, recalling how the church provided opportunities for Queenstown’s residents, who had moved here from various parts of the island, to come together.
The church building underwent major renovations in 1976 and 1986 to cater to its growing congregation. In 2002, the old sanctuary was demolished to facilitate the construction of a new building that now houses a 1,000-seat sanctuary, 800-seat worship hall, kindergarten, library and columbarium.
