Free Methodist Church in Malaysia

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Free Methodist Church in Malaysia
Classification Protestant
Orientation Methodist Holiness
Polity Connexional
LeaderRev. Henry Ng
Associations Free Methodist World Missions
Region Malaysia
Origin2002
Branched from Free Methodist Church of North America
Congregations6
Members240 [1]
Ministers 6 (incl. ministerial candidates)

The Free Methodist Church in Malaysia is a body within the Methodist Holiness tradition in Malaysia, and a mission district of the Free Methodist Church of North America. It is Evangelical in nature and has its roots in the Wesleyan-Arminian tradition. The Free Methodist Church in Malaysia is led by the Rev. Henry Ng. [1]

Methodism Group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity

Methodism, also known as the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity which derive their practice and belief from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother Charles Wesley were also significant early leaders in the movement. It originated as a revival movement within the 18th-century Church of England and became a separate denomination after Wesley's death. The movement spread throughout the British Empire, the United States, and beyond because of vigorous missionary work, today claiming approximately 80 million adherents worldwide.

Holiness movement set of beliefs and practices which emerged from 19th-century Methodism

The Holiness movement involves a set of beliefs and practices which emerged chiefly within 19th-century Methodism, and to a lesser extent other traditions such as Quakerism and Anabaptism. The movement is Wesleyan-Arminian in theology, and is defined by its emphasis on the doctrine of a second work of grace leading to Christian perfection. As of 2015 A number of Evangelical Christian denominations, parachurch organizations, and movements emphasize those beliefs as central doctrine. Holiness-movement churches had an estimated 12 million adherents.

Malaysia Federal constitutional monarchy in Southeast Asia

Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of 13 states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two similarly sized regions, Peninsular Malaysia and East Malaysia. Peninsular Malaysia shares a land and maritime border with Thailand and maritime borders with Singapore, Vietnam, and Indonesia. East Malaysia shares land and maritime borders with Brunei and Indonesia and a maritime border with the Philippines and Vietnam. Kuala Lumpur is the national capital and largest city while Putrajaya is the seat of the federal government. With a population of over 30 million, Malaysia is the world's 44th most populous country. The southernmost point of continental Eurasia, Tanjung Piai, is in Malaysia. In the tropics, Malaysia is one of 17 megadiverse countries, with large numbers of endemic species.

Contents

The other body of Methodists in Malaysia is the Methodist Church in Malaysia which had been established since 1885.

The Methodist Church in Malaysia is a body within the Methodist tradition in Malaysia. With approximately 200,000 members in more than 1034 congregations, it is the largest Protestant denomination in the country. The current bishop of the Methodist Church in Malaysia is the Rev Dr Ong Hwai Teik.

History

The Free Methodist Church was first organised in Pekin, New York, in 1860 by former members of the Methodist Episcopal Church who had been expelled for too earnestly advocating what they saw as the doctrines and practices of authentic Wesleyanism. The church was initially led by the Rev B. T. Roberts, a graduate of Wesleyan University. The primary points of dissent was on the issue of slavery, the theology of Sanctification and pew rental, a practice whereby the best seats in a church was auctioned to the highest bidder as a means to raise funds, that was prevalent in the Methodist Episcopal Church then. [2]

Pekin, New York is a hamlet in the towns of Cambria and Lewiston in Niagara County, New York, United States. It was a stop in the Underground Railroad.

Methodist Episcopal Church religious organization in the United States

The Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC) was the oldest and largest Methodist denomination in the United States from its founding in 1784 until 1939. It was also the first religious denomination in the US to organize itself on a national basis. In 1939, the MEC reunited with two breakaway Methodist denominations to form the Methodist Church. In 1968, the Methodist Church merged with the Evangelical United Brethren Church to form the United Methodist Church.

B. T. Roberts American bishop

Benjamin Titus Roberts (1823–1893) was an American Methodist bishop. He first trained as an attorney, then entered the ministry in the Genesee Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church of New York State. His ministerial studies were done at Wesleyan University in Connecticut. He married Ellen Lois Stowe, had seven children, and pastored several churches in New York state.

In 2002, the Free Methodist Church in Malaysia was dedicated and officiated in Ipoh, Perak as a mission of the Free Methodist World Missions. In 2008, the Free Methodist Church in Malaysia was recognised as a mission district of the Free Methodist World Missions and now has 6 organised churches with the main church in Ipoh having English, Chinese and Malay speaking congregations. [1]

Ipoh City and State Capital in Perak, Malaysia

Ipoh is the capital city of the Malaysian state of Perak. Located by the Kinta River, it is nearly 180 km (110 mi) north of Kuala Lumpur and 123 km (76 mi) southeast of George Town in neighbouring Penang. As of 2010, Ipoh contained a population of 657,892, making it the third largest city in Malaysia by population.

Perak State of Malaysia

Perak, also known by its honorific Darul Ridzuan or "Abode of Grace", is one of the thirteen states of Malaysia, and the fourth-largest one. It borders Kedah at the north; Thailand's Yala and Narathiwat provinces to the northeast; Penang to the northwest; Kelantan and Pahang to the east; Selangor to the south, and the Straits of Malacca to the west.

English language West Germanic language

English is a West Germanic language that was first spoken in early medieval England and eventually became a global lingua franca. It is named after the Angles, one of the Germanic tribes that migrated to the area of Great Britain that later took their name, as England. Both names derive from Anglia, a peninsula in the Baltic Sea. The language is closely related to Frisian and Low Saxon, and its vocabulary has been significantly influenced by other Germanic languages, particularly Norse, and to a greater extent by Latin and French.

Beliefs and practices

The Free Methodist Church shares the same doctrinal standards of evangelical Arminian Protestant Christianity and subscribes to the Methodist Articles of Religion, with emphasis on the teaching of entire sanctification as taught by John Wesley and are more overtly Arminian. [2]

Evangelicalism, evangelical Christianity, or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, trans-denominational movement within Protestant Christianity which maintains the belief that the essence of the Gospel consists of the doctrine of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus's atonement. Evangelicals believe in the centrality of the conversion or "born again" experience in receiving salvation, in the authority of the Bible as God's revelation to humanity, and in spreading the Christian message. The movement has long had a presence in the Anglosphere before spreading further afield in the 19th, 20th and early 21st centuries.

Arminianism Based on theological ideas of the Dutch Reformed theologian Jacobus Arminius and his historic supporters

Arminianism is a branch of Protestantism based on the theological ideas of the Dutch Reformed theologian Jacobus Arminius (1560–1609) and his historic supporters known as Remonstrants. His teachings held to the five solae of the Reformation, but they were distinct from particular teachings of Martin Luther, Huldrych Zwingli, John Calvin, and other Protestant Reformers. Jacobus Arminius was a student of Theodore Beza at the Theological University of Geneva. Arminianism is known to some as a soteriological diversification of Calvinism; to others, Arminianism is a reclamation of early Church theological consensus.

Protestantism Division within Christianity, originating with the 16th century Reformation, a movement against what its followers perceived to be errors in the Roman Catholic Church

Protestantism is the second largest form of Christianity with collectively between 800 million and more than 900 million adherents worldwide or nearly 40% of all Christians. It originated with the 16th century Reformation, a movement against what its followers perceived to be errors in the Roman Catholic Church. Protestants reject the Roman Catholic doctrine of papal supremacy and sacraments, but disagree among themselves regarding the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. They emphasize the priesthood of all believers, justification by faith alone rather than also by good works, and the highest authority of the Bible alone in faith and morals. The "five solae" summarise basic theological differences in opposition to the Roman Catholic Church.

Generally, Free Methodists tend to be considered more conservative than the mainline Methodists.

Organisation

Governance

The Free Methodist Church's highest governing body is the Free Methodist World Conference. [3] The Free Methodist Church in Malaysia is organised as a mission district of the Free Methodist World Missions and has yet to attain full autonomy as an Annual Conference or General Conference. As such it is ecclesiastically accountable to the Free Methodist World Missions as well as the Pacific Coast Japanese Conference of the Free Methodist Church of North America. [1]

Missions

The Free Methodist Church in Malaysia currently sponsors children through International Child Care Ministries and has established mission work amongst the indigenous people of East Malaysia. [1]

See also

Related Research Articles

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References

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