| Methodist Church in Malaysia | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Classification | Protestant |
| Orientation | Methodist |
| Polity | Connexional |
| Leader | Rev. Jeyakumar |
| Associations | World Methodist Council,Christian Federation of Malaysia,Council of Churches of Malaysia,Christian Conference of Asia,World Council of Churches |
| Region | Malaysia |
| Origin | 1976 |
| Branched from | United Methodist Church |
| Congregations | 400, (634 preaching points) |
| Members | 114,065[1] |
| Ministers | 552 |
| Missionaries | 54 |
| Primary schools | 42 |
| Secondary schools | 32 |
| Tertiary institutions | 1 |
| Official website | www |
TheMethodist Church in Malaysia is a body within theMethodist tradition inMalaysia. With approximately 200,000 members in more than 1034 congregations (local and preaching points), it is the second largestProtestantdenomination in the country afterSidang Injil Borneo.[2] The currentbishop of the Methodist Church in Malaysia is the Rev. Dr. T. Jeyakumar.
The other body of Methodists in Malaysia is theFree Methodist Church in Malaysia,[3] founded in 2002.[4]
The church shares part of its heritage with theMethodist Church in Singapore as both the territories shared a similar political history.
The history of the Methodist Church in Malaysia began following a decision taken at the South India Conference held in Hyderabad in 1884, whenWilliam Oldham was appointed as a missionary to Singapore in 1885.
The Tamil work started with the coming of a Ceylon Tamil, Mr Underwood. In 1894 the Tamil work was started in Penang by the Pyketts, and in Kuala Lumpur by the Kensetts and was continued by Rev. S Abraham from Ceylon in 1899.
Methodism came to Sarawak in the year 1900 when a group of immigrants came from Fuzhou in mainland China. Missionaries came in 1903 in the persons of J.M Hoover and G.V Summers. Methodism grew rapidly in the town ofSibu and a solid foundation was laid.
The work among the indigenous people, the Ibans, began in 1937 with pioneers like Lucius D. Mamora and Paul H. Schmuker who took the Gospel to the longhouses. The work amongst theSengoi community in Pahang was started in 1930 with the help of missionaries from Sumatra, Indonesia.
The Methodist Church in Singapore and Malaysia became a self-governing body in 1968. After the separation of Singapore from Malaysia, the Methodist Church in Malaysia became autonomous in 1976.
The Methodist Church in Malaysia declares itself to be part of theholy catholic church and affirms the historicecumenical creeds, which are used frequently in itsliturgy andservices of worship.[5]
Additionally, the Methodist Church in Malaysia affirms theArticles of Religion of the Methodist Church as its doctrinal statement and adopts the General Rules of the Methodist Societies as a doctrinal standard.
The composition church reflects the racial composition of Malaysia. There are 400 churches and 634 preaching points with 552 pastors. The total membership of the Methodist church consists of 114,065 confirmed members, 63,396 preparatory members and 26,482 baptized, above 16 and not confirmed members. There are more than 80,624 weekly worshipers in all the churches.[2]
There are six conferences under General Conference of The Methodist Church in Malaysia. The annual conferences were traditionally organised along linguistic and ethnic lines but the present day constituent congregations of the various annual conferences tend to be multi-lingual and multi-ethnic:[6]
Education has been a vital aspect of the work of the Methodist Church in Malaysia from the very beginning. Today, a total of 83 schools and colleges throughout Malaysia are affiliated with the Church. Management and development of these institutions are coordinated by theMethodist Council of Education.[8]
These include 2 institutions of higher learning, the Methodist Pilley Institute inSibu,Sarawak and theMethodist College Kuala Lumpur inKuala Lumpur, 6 private schools, and the rest beinggovernment aided schools.[9]
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