Introduction

Grace Methodist Church is a member of Sarawak Chinese Annual Conference (SCAC) under The General Conference of The Methodist Church in Malaysia.

Nestled in the serene residential neighborhood of Pujut 3, we are a Methodist church in Miri offering Sunday worship services in English.

Beginning of the English Congregation (1982)

It started as an English-speaking congregation in early 1982 when the first English worship service with less than ten people was held at the foyer on the 1st floor of Mei Ann MC. At that time Rev. Siew Chiew Ho, the pastor of Mei Ann MC, recognized the need for an English service as the congregation who could not understand Mandarin was growing.

Growth and Early Development (1982–1988)

From 1982 to 1999 the Sunday worship services and other ministries of the English-speaking congregation were mainly housed at Mei Ann MC and Hwai En MC. When the facility at Mei Ann MC was outgrown, the English-speaking congregation began planning for their future church building. A building fund commenced in 1987.

In 1988 Grace MC was constituted as a Local Conference with Rev. Dr. Peter Chio Sing Ching (now Rev. Datuk Dr. Peter Chio Sing Ching) as the pastor-in-charge. The church’s first Chairman was Mr. Lu Ten Tion.

Establishment at Pujut 3 (1999)

From 1982 to 1999 the Sunday worship services and other ministries of the English-speaking congregation were mainly housed at Mei Ann MC and Hwai En MC. When the facility at Mei Ann MC was outgrown, the English-speaking congregation began planning for their future church building. A building fund commenced in 1987.

In 1988 Grace MC was constituted as a Local Conference with Rev. Dr. Peter Chio Sing Ching (now Rev. Datuk Dr. Peter Chio Sing Ching) as the pastor-in-charge. The church’s first Chairman was Mr. Lu Ten Tion.

The church moved to its present home at Pujut 3 on July 25, 1999. The official dedication was conducted three months later on October 16 by Rev. Dr. Peter Chio Sing Ching (then the serving Bishop of the Methodist Church in Malaysia).

Pastoral Leadership

Several pastors served the church from 1988 to 2023; Rev. Dr. Peter Chio Sing Ching, Rev. Jonathan K. N. Wong, Rev. Liong Yuk Chong, Rev. Rebecca Ting, Rev. Hii Kong Ching, Chan Tak Sang and Cheng Lian Hiok, Rev. Lenita Tiong, Rev. Lee Wen Chieh, Rev. Diong Pick Chiong, Connie Yong, Rev. Lisa Ting, and Rev Jabez Tiong (Asst. Pastor), Rev. Lenita Tiong, Rev. Linberg Wong (Asst. Pastor), Rev. Charles Tiew, Rev. Ngu Lock Tee. The longest serving pastor was Rev. Law Hui Seng from 2002 to 2010.

Church Planting and Outreach

In 1994 a preaching centre was planted in Taman Tunku, a new and fast-growing suburb south of Miri. The Taman Tunku Preaching Centre was originally intended to be an English-speaking Sunday School but later Mandarin was used as it was the preferred language by the majority. In 1999 Grace MC and Mei Ann MC initiated the first worship service at the preaching centre which has now become Taman Tunku Methodist Church.

The church collaborated with Life MC in 2003 to start an English service for Curtin students in Senadin Preaching Centre. Under Rev. Lee Wen Chieh, the Senadin Methodist Campus Gospel Centre (SMCGC) was established as a spiritual home for the campus students attending both Chinese and English worship services. Under the support of Grace MC, the centre now has about 120 young, dynamic adults active in various ministries. Officially detaching from GMC in January 2015, SMCGC is renamed as Senadin Methodist Preaching Centre (SMPC).

Indigenous Ministry and Gereja Methodist Tudan

The church also embraces the indigenous community in the suburban north of Miri. In 2004 Grace MC reached out with serving hands in Tudan, Permyjaya and Pujut 7 and by Christmas in the same year, twenty-nine indigenous believers were baptized. It was this group who became the first batch members of the Miri District Bahasa Malaysia ministry in 2006 followed by the inception of the Tudan Methodist Preaching Centre in 2007. In 2010 the centre was constituted as a local church Gereja Methodist Tudan (GMT) with its own building. For the first time in the history of the Sarawak Chinese Annual Conference, a Bahasa Malaysia-speaking church was formed.

Grace Methodist Church Today

Through the years Grace MC is known for its outreach and missions ministries, and warm Christian love. Integral to its continuing faithfulness, the church embraces the 2017-2020 quadrennial theme “A Church After God’s Own Heart” set by The Methodist Church in Malaysia as its spiritual compass.