Our Consecrated Place

Desire for autonomy -

“Delight yourself in the Lord; and He will give you the desires of your heart.” Psalm 37:4

By 1979, the 200-strong English congregation was ready to chart its own journey with the Lord. After much prayer, deliberation and unofficial consultations with the Board of Stewards of Geylang Chinese Methodist Church, the plan to be an autonomous church was presented by the Working Committee to the congregation for their approval. This desire to become autonomous was confirmed when more than 90% of the congregation voted for autonomy. Official discussions were then started with the mother church. On 1st January 1989, our dream for autonomy came to fruition when Charis Methodist Church was sanctioned and established as a church under the Chinese Annual Conference (CAC) of the Methodist Church of Singapore.

Move to Koon Seng Road -

“Praise the Lord! Praise God in His sanctuary…” Psalm 150:1

Becoming autonomous was merely the beginning of an exciting journey of faith for Charis – faith that the Lord will provide for our every need. A very well respected Chinese Annual Conference (CAC) pastor, Rev Dr David Wu became Charis’ first pastor.

We grew steadily in faith, numbers and ministry. Within five years (1994), Charis set up its first student care centre at Geylang Central, fulfilling its objective and vision of implementing social outreach programmes to reach out to the community at Geylang. Through these years, although we did not have a permanent place to call ‘home’, God provided various locations from which we operated our church office. We believed that God would one day provide us with a place we could call our own. We continued in our efforts to raise funds and put money aside for this church building.

In 1993, Pentecost Methodist Church put up its property at Koon Seng Road for sale. We could ill afford the going rate of the property but after much deliberation, an overwhelming 84% of members voted in favour of purchasing it. The property was eventually bought at $4.901 million. God’s provision could be seen in the whole fund-raising process. The deposit of $490,000 was raised within 2 weeks from donations and interest-free loans from members. Financing for the rest of the purchase price was arranged with a local bank. This was no mean feat as financial institutions were then reluctant to lend to a church. However, after a few rejections, God provided a financial institution which finally agreed after two church members stood as guarantors for the loan. His providence was also seen in an anonymous donation of $300,000 within the first 3 months of our fund-raising. This was followed by another two anonymous donations of $300,000 each. The full amount of $4.901 million was raised within four years.

Indeed, it was only through and by the grace of God that funds were provided generously and in a timely fashion by our own church members, other churches and well-wishers. This concluded Phase 1 of the Church Development Project.

Construction of House of Peniel and Renovation of Church -

“Unless the Lord builds the house, they labour in vain who build it…” Psalm 127:1

The church development project did not end with the purchase of the property at Koon Seng Road. Right from the start, we recognized the need to develop the dilapidated bungalow to support our church activities as well as fulfill our desire to further God’s work by expanding our outreach ministries. The church sanctuary was also in dire need of repair.

In 1999, Charis embarked on Phase II of the Church Development Project. The timing coincided with the slump in the building industry and Charis was able to capitalize on the lower cost of construction. The single storey bungalow was reconstructed into a 3-storey bungalow with a basement. Renovations to the church building included the installation of a hydraulic lift, a stained glass panel to the anterior facade and a footbridge at the back entrance to the church. These were completed in 2001.