In 1953, shortly after China closed its doors to contacts with the international mission movement, missionaries were sent to northern Malaysia by the United Lutheran Church in America, one of the ELCA's predecessor churches, to begin Lutheran mission work among the ethnic Chinese community in Malaysia. At that time present-day Malaysia and Singapore were linked in one political unit. Gradually the pioneer mission efforts moved toward the south, first to metropolitan Kuala Lumpur, and soon after that to Singapore.These mission efforts led to the formation of the Lutheran Church in Malaysia and Singapore (LCMS) in 1963, with two districts within Malaysia and one district encompassing the island of Singapore. By 1978, all established congregations attained financial self-support, and together assumed support for the administrative budget of the LCMS central office. The current leader, Bishop Gideon Chang, has provided energetic and visionary leadership since 1993.
The church headquarters are in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The pastors for the LCMS (both men and women) are trained at the Trinity Theological College and at Singapore Bible College, both interdenominational seminaries in Singapore.
Two LCMS pastors and a young member (center)
The LCMS now has about 7,000 members with approximately 34 congregations. At the seminary, students have special instruction in systematic theology to prepare them specifically for the Lutheran ministry. Ecumenical relations are with the National Council of Churches in Singapore and Malaysia.
The LCMS has a vital and growing mission outreach program, as the church has set a priority on evangelism with ethnic Chinese in Malaysia and Singapore. Ministry has been established in Penang in the northwest and Jahore Baru, Malaysia's southern-most city, which adjoins Singapore. New ministries are being developed in other
Bishop Gideon Chang with Sengoi (Malaysian aboriginals) Christian women
cities as well. The LCMS has also sent a Singaporean pastor to serve as a missionary with the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Thailand.
One project which the ELCA helps to support is an outreach by the LCMS to the Sengoi people of Malaysia, who live primarily in the highlands area of central Malaysia. These aboriginal people, some 50,000 in number scattered over a wide interior area, live very much in the style of life followed for centuries, although in recent years some government educational and health services have been provided. Consultation has been planned between the LCMS and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Papua New Guinea to enhance the effectiveness of this outreach project.
For some years, by mutual agreement, the congregations and districts of Malaysia have been working to organize a separate church for Malaysia alone, and their counterparts in Singapore have also been committed to setting up a separate Lutheran church to serve and witness within Singapore. This reflects the fact that Malaysia and Singapore have been separate countries politically since 1965, and their activities have also been independent of each other. The LCMS divided into the Lutheran Church in Malaysia and Singapore (in Malaysia -- current legal name is maintained for the time being) and the Lutheran Church of Singapore on January 1, 1998.
A Companion Synod relationship exists between the Lutheran Church in Malaysia and Singapore and the ELCA Southeastern Synod
This page is produced and maintained by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Division for Global Mission (DGM). These pages are for information only are not intended to be an official representation of the countries or the churches.
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©2003 Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
