Baptists in Singapore

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The beginnings of the Baptists in Singapore go back to the beginning of the 20th century. Most of the Singaporean Baptists are connected via the Singapore Baptist Convention (SBC), an association of currently 39 member and two host congregations. A theological training center also belongs to the Free Church Association.

history

Around 1905 Baptist immigrants from Swatow ( China ) settled in Singapore and tried to recruit a clergyman for a church-building work. Your efforts have been in vain. For decades, people made do with celebrating church services on an ecumenical basis, without actually planting a church. Around the mid-1930s, Lim Kian Tong of China, a Baptist educator , visited the British Crown Colony . He encouraged the Singaporean Baptists to start building their own church. On December 5, 1937, the Overseas-Chinese (Swatow) Baptist Church (today: Thomson Road Baptist Church ) was constituted. Another congregation, the Cantonese Chinese Baptist Church (today: Kay Poh Road Baptist Church ) was founded in 1949. As its name suggests, it worked mainly among Cantonese-speaking Chinese.

At the beginning of the 1950s, the Baptist development work experienced a strong boom. China had closed itself to Christian missionary work and expelled the missionaries who were present. The Mission Committee of the Southern Baptist Convention then sent its missionaries to Malaysia and Singapore, among others . Among them were Lora Clement (1889–1991) and Dorcas Lau . Clement had previously worked with the Chinese in San Francisco , China, and Macau ; Lau had served as a missionary in China and Hong Kong . Just one year after their arrival, they founded the Malaysia Baptist Convention with the Malaysian and the two Singapore Baptist congregations . At the end of 1974, nine years after Singapore's political independence, the Baptists of the city-state, which had meanwhile grown to eleven congregations, left the Malaysian Congregation Association and constituted themselves as the Singapore Baptist Convention .

The convention does not include a number of independent Baptist churches that go back to a missionary work funded by the Baptist Bible Fellowship International by the married couple Bob and Beva Gladden. They started worshiping in 1968 and just two years later they founded the Singapore Bible Baptist Church with 34 members baptized in faith . Other independent Baptist mission societies, including the Conservative Baptist Foreign Mission Society (from 1983) and the Association of Baptists for World Evagelism (from 1992) tried to plant churches in Singapore. However, exact figures for congregations and members are not known.

organization

Singapore Baptist Convention logo

The Singapore Baptist Convention had 29 congregations at the time of its formation, 30 in 1995, and 39 in 2019. There are also two affiliated congregations, the Jesus' Disciples Baptist Community Church and the Matheteuo Christian Church .

Representatives of the convention communities usually meet quarterly. While three of these synods are more for information and exchange, the annual General Meeting is mainly about resolutions, decisions on budgetary issues and the election of the governing body. The latter consists of nine members and is headed by the Executive Director and his deputy.

The Singapore Baptist Convention belongs to the World Federation of Baptists and within the World Federation of the Asia-Pacific Baptist Federation (APBF).

Web links

literature

  • William H. Brackney: Historical Dictionary of the Baptists . Volume 25 in the Historical Dictionaries of Religions, Philosophies, and Movements series . The Scarecrow Press, Inc .: Lanham, Maryland, and London 1999. ISBN 0-8108-3652-1 . P. 382 (Article: Singapore )
  • Albert W. Wardin (Ed.): Baptists around the World. A Comprehensive Handbook . Broadman & HoHolman Publishers: Nashville / Tennessee (USA) 1995. ISBN 0-8054-1076-7 . P. 162f (Article: Singapore [1937] )
  • Hans W. Finzel: Partners Together . Wheaton 1993. pp. 178f

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The figures refer to 2019; see Baptist Convention.org: THE BAPTIST COMMUNITY. United in Christ, Together ; viewed on November 5, 2019
  2. ^ Albert W. Wardin (Ed.): Baptists around the World. A Comprehensive Handbook . Broadman & HoHolman Publishers: Nashville / Tennessee (USA) 1995. p. 162
  3. ^ William H. Brackney: Historical Dictionary of the Baptists . Volume 25 in the Historical Dictionaries of Religions, Philosophies, and Movements series . The Scarecrow Press, Inc .: Lanham, Maryland, and London 1999. p. 382
  4. ^ Baptist Convention.org: Chapter 5. Baptist History ; accessed on November 6, 2019
  5. ^ Baptist Convention.org: Chapter 5. Baptist History ; accessed on November 6, 2019
  6. ^ Albert W. Wardin (Ed.): Baptists around the World. A Comprehensive Handbook . Broadman & HoHolman Publishers: Nashville / Tennessee (USA) 1995. p. 162
  7. ↑ For Lora Clement see Art Toelston: Lora Clement dies with 102; was oldest ritired missionary . In: Baptist Press. News Service of the Southern Baptist Convention . Nashville, Tennessee (USA): November 11, 1991. p. 3f ( PDF-online )
  8. ↑ Baptistconvention.org: Our Beginnings ; accessed on November 6, 2019
  9. ^ Albert W. Wardin (Ed.): Baptists around the World. A Comprehensive Handbook . Broadman & HoHolman Publishers: Nashville / Tennessee (USA) 1995. p. 162
  10. ^ William H. Brackney: Historical Dictionary of the Baptists . Volume 25 in the Historical Dictionaries of Religions, Philosophies, and Movements series . The Scarecrow Press, Inc .: Lanham, Maryland, and London 1999. p. 382
  11. ^ Albert W. Wardin (Ed.): Baptists around the World. A Comprehensive Handbook . Broadman & HoHolman Publishers: Nashville / Tennessee (USA) 1995. p. 162
  12. ^ William H. Brackney: Historical Dictionary of the Baptists . Volume 25 in the Historical Dictionaries of Religions, Philosophies, and Movements series . The Scarecrow Press, Inc .: Lanham, Maryland, and London 1999. p. 382
  13. ↑ Baptistconvention.org.sg: Communities ; accessed on November 6, 2019
  14. ↑ Baptistconvention.org.sg: Communities ; accessed on November 6, 2019
  15. ↑ Baptistconvention.org.sg: Council ; accessed on November 6, 2019
  16. ↑ Baptistconvention.org.sg: Convention Staff ; accessed on November 6, 2019
  17. ↑ APBF.info: Internet presence of the Asia-Pacific Baptist Federation ; accessed on November 6, 2019