Singapore

Field Investigation

History and Location

• Located in Southeastern Asia between Malaysia and Indonesia

• Founded as a British trading Colony in 1819

• Gained Independence from the Malaysian Federation on August 9th, 1965

• Population of approx. 4, 492, 150• Ethnicities

– Chinese 76.8%– Malay 13.9%– India 7.9%– Other 1.4%

Religious History

• Both Buddhism and Hinduism were introduced in the 4th century by Indian traders

• Along with Indonesia and Malaya, Arabs brought Islam in the 8th and 9th century– Because the Muslims intermarried and

integrated with the people, Islam spread quickly

– It was to this Muslim religious environment that the first Christian missionaries came

Christian History

• Christianity first came in the 16th century– This occurred through Portuguese and

Dutch trade associations in Malaya– The first Christian influence in

Singapore was peripheral, taking a side seat to trade

– Religious conflict between the Catholic Portuguese and Protestant Dutch further frustrated Christian evangelistic efforts

British Church History

• Direct missionary efforts occurred with the British in the 19th century •This was done through the

London Missionary Society

What Went Wrong

• Most early “churches were neither indigenous nor independent”

• Church initiatives were largely clergy driven

• The languages barrier impeded outreach

• The church has historically ignored the middle-tier of the cosmic continuum

The People1. Religious Disposition1. Buddhist 42.5%2. Muslim 14.9%3. Taoist 8.5%4. Hindu 4%5. Catholic 4.8%6. Non-Catholic 9.8%7. Other 9.8%

2. Language 1. Mandarin 35%2. English 23%3. Malay 14.1%4. Hokkien 11.4%5. Cantonese 5.7%6. Teochew 4.9%7. Tamil 3.2%

Churches of Christ

• Less than 15% of the total population is Christian– In a city of nearly 5 million, there are less than 15 churches

of Christ– There is still much work to do

Learning from the Past• In the past, missionaries gave little

attention to integration– Singeporeans are a proud people with an

impressive socio-cultural tradition– Missionaries must give much attention to

acculturation and integration– Language studies will play an important role in

this effort– More missionaries must be sent with the prayers of the saints

Why Should We Go?

• We serve a God of the Nations (Amos 1-2)

• We serve a God whose concern is for the nations (Gen. 12:1-3)

• We’ve been called out of this concern for the nations (Matt. 28:18-20)

• We’ve received this call, We must go!

Bibliography

• Hinton, Keith William. “An Analytical Study of Church Growth Factors in Singapore with a View to Strategizing.” ThM. diss., Fuller Theological Seminary, 1984.

• Phoon, W. O. “Malaysia-Singapore.” In The Church in Asia, ed. Donald E. Hoke, 411-33. Chicago: Moody Press, 1975