Methodist Church elects new bishop

SINGAPORE – The Methodist Church in Singapore (MCS) has elected a new bishop.

Reverend Philip Lim, 58, was elected the church’s new head at its 13th General Conference Session from Sept 2 to 6.

The General Conference is the highest body in MCS, responsible for legislation for the whole Methodist denomination within Singapore.

Rev Lim will take over from Rev Gordon Wong –

who took office in 2020

and will retire after a four-year stint – and will be consecrated on Dec 6.

According to The Methodist Church’s website, it is the largest Protestant denomination in Singapore, with more than 45,000 members.

The bishop is tasked with overseeing MCS’ 46 churches, providing counsel to 15 Methodist schools, and offering support for MCS’ social welfare arm Methodist Welfare Services, which runs 20 community-based care centres and programmes.

Currently the pastor-in-charge of Kum Yan Methodist Church, Rev Lim, a married father of one, is also the chairman of the Board of Ministry at the Chinese Annual Conference.

It is a network of 17 Methodist churches in Singapore which reaches out to the Chinese community, including those who speak Mandarin, English and dialects including Hokkien, Cantonese, Foochow, Hakka, Teo­chew and Hinghwa.

His previous roles included a stint as Methodist Missions Society’s executive director from 2012 to 2018. The society was established in 1991 as the missions agency of MCS.