ABOUT US
The Founding of Melaka Gospel Chapel church in melaka, malacca church
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen. (Matthew 28:19-20 KJV)
melaka Gospel Chapel, church in melaka, melaka church, malacca church
The story of the founding of Melaka Gospel Chapel has to be told, particularly so when on 13 February 2016 we celebrate our 50th anniversary. This intention is that we will continue to set our hope in God and not to forget to walk by faith and conviction to uphold and act on the commandment of Jesus Christ in sharing the Gospel to those we come in contact with.
The Root of Melaka Gospel Chapel
In 1934 the Malacca Brethren assembly work was first
established when the late Mr & Mrs Tan Gim Ann held their first Breaking of Bread with a few other believers in their home. After WW2, in 1948 this group of brethren erected timber meeting place on the state land with Temporary Occupation Licence (TOL) provided by the British government. The gospel outreach building was named Malacca Gospel Hall (MGH). God gave the increase of believers through weekly Gospel meetings, Open Air gospel outreach and special gospel campaigns. Believers grew in the knowledge and love for Jesus Christ. There was an overall enthusiasm to reach out to their non-Christian parents and friends in homes, work places and schools.
Thank God for the spiritual nurture that we received from our first missionary Mr & Mrs Frank A.V. Regler from England. He established an effective Sunday School and youth ministry and also greatly encouraged older young teenagers and men in the assembly in pulpit ministry and outreach work, reaching the unreached. I remember as a piano accordionist travelling weekly with Mr & Mrs Regler to share the gospel to juvenile criminals in Henry Gurney School at Telok Mas and also at the Open-air Meeting on the padang (open ground) opposite the present Melaka Public Bank at Riverside Road. Short messages were given in both Chinese and in English, interspersed with the singing of hymns and choruses.
Since the 50’s the Malacca brethren assembly had always welcomed and prayed for the activities and fellowshipped with the Lord’s servants in organisations such as the Overseas Missionary Fellowship (OMF), Far East Broadcasting Corporation (FEBC) and Asia Evangelistic Fellowship (AEF—the first indigenous and interdenominational faith mission started by the late Dr G D James, a Singapore Brethren missionary), Scripture Union and Youth For Christ, Varsity Christian Fellowship (VCF) and Fellowship of Evangelical Students (FES). One of the highlights was chartering a bus with non-Christian friends to attend the first Billy Graham Crusade held in the Merdeka Stadium, Kuala Lumpur.
1957 the Reglers left Malacca on furlough after faithfully serving the assembly for a decade. In the absence of a full-time worker, short-term and itinerant Brethren missionaries from the British Isles, Australia, New Zealand, and Bible teachers and elders of inter-state Brethren assemblies came to minister to us.
1960s – Bethany
1970s – Gospel Chapel Malacca
1970s – Renovation
2012 – The church before the latest transformation
The Rise of a Second Brethren Assembly Work in Malacca
In 1965, the Oversight of Malacca Gospel Hall (MGH) had a change of perspective and strong conviction not to participate or associate any more with para-church organisations, inter-denominational and denominational churches. In response to that, a few of us, after much self-examination and agonising prayers, felt it was expedient to maintain order and unity in the assembly by not challenging the stand of the Oversight. So as not to relinquish our active involvement in secondary and tertiary student ministry and in partnership with inter-denominational organisations, a few of us heeded God’s calling to quietly withdraw ourselves from worshipping at Malacca Gospel Hall. In that year, standing before God, responsible and accountable only to Him, the families of the late Tan Gim Ann, Dr Michael and Molly Oh, Molly and Richard Teo Boon Siew and the late Mr & Mrs Koch, and Mary Chang left MGH. This initial exodus was later followed by Tan Beng Tee, Paul Tan, Daisy Tan, Teo Boon Cheng, and the late Thomas Leong.
In Bethany, Limbongan, the home of the late Mr & Mrs Tan Gim Ann, we gathered for weekly Breaking of Bread, Sunday School, prayer and youth meetings. Who would have expected that Bethany would be again the birth place of the second Brethren Assembly work in Malacca!
On 12 February 1966, a letter with several signatories was sent to the Brethren assemblies in Singapore and Malaysia to inform them that those who met at Bethany in Limbongan could no longer continue to worship in Malacca Gospel Hall. This was followed by an explanatory letter to the Elders of MGH to clarify for the establishment a new Brethren Assembly known as Malacca Gospel Chapel. At that time we had no idea what the sovereign Lord had in store for us.
In the 1970s the level of devotion and enthusiasm for evangelical witness and outreach saw numbers increasing. MGC was abundantly blessed with an influx of high school students. We witnessed lives changed for Christ. At that period of time there was also an exodus of the families of Dr Michael Oh, Richard Teo, Paul Tan and Teo Boon Cheng to Australia. However, God in His sovereignty filled the gaps of leadership with the late Tan Eng Heng, Betty Tan, Richard Chen & Yoke May, Victor & Patricia Wong, Josephine Wong, Gan Chui Peng, Stanley & Lucy Lim to support the remaining elder, the late Tan Beng Tee.
Over the last five decades, the MGC building has undergone several changes. As a congregation, the spirit, vision and mission of the pioneers has remained strong in their hearts. Praise God, under the present oversight, MGC faithfully continues to serve God earnestly and fervently to meet the needs of His people and the unsaved for His glory and praise.
“And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and
fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.”(Acts 2:42)
2016 – Melaka Gospel Chapel
2019 – Melaka Gospel Chapel
2025 – Melaka Gospel Chapel
2026 – Melaka Gospel Chapel
