Megachurches in Singapore

Currently, there are a total of 598 registered churches in Singapore.

Throughout the 1980s as the Charismatic Movement hit Singapore, a new wave of large charismatic churches were birthed. Victory Family Centre (fomerly Calvary Charismatic Centre), under Rev. Dr Rick Seaward, became the first real "megachurch" church, and in 1987 exceeded 6,000 in membership.

Then in 1996, Faith Community Baptist Church, under Apostle Lawrence Khong, grew to more than 6,000 members. FCBC continued to grow to some 10,000 members by 2001. [ cite web|title= EXPO, THE WAY TO GO |url=http://www.fcbc.org.sg/fcbc_mediacenter_039.asp |work=FCBC|accessmonthday=Jun 03 |accessyear=2008]

This was followed by City Harvest Church under Rev Dr Kong Hee, which became the first church to exceed 12,000 in 2002. City Harvest Church has been the largest church in Singapore since, with a membership exceeding 24,000 by 2008.cite web|title=Our Church|work=City Harvest Church|url=http://www.chc.org.sg/english/our_church/index.cfm
accessmonthday=Jun 03 |accessyear=2008]

In recent years, 2 other charismatic churches are experiencing phenomenal growth each. The first being New Creation Church under Rev Joseph Prince, which grew rapidly from 3,000 to 15,000 in 10 years. [ cite web|title= Our History|url=http://www.newcreation.org.sg/aboutus/history/history.htm|work=New Creation Church|accessmonthday=Jun 03 |accessyear=2008] Presently it has more than 20,000 members. The other is Lighthouse Evangelism under Rev Rony Tan, which has a current membership of 12,000.

Despite the fact that megachurhes have played a large role in winning over new youth converts by portraying Christianity as a trendy religion, they have met with some criticism from older Christians who believe that their practices are contrary to the true spirit of Christianity.

Here's a list of the Top 10 megachurches in Singapore in 2007.

Top 10 Independent Megachurches 2007

1. City Harvest Church (Senior Pastor: Rev. Dr Kong Hee)

Membership: 24,000

2. New Creation Church (Senior Pastor: Pastor. Joseph Prince)

Membership: 18,000

3. Lighthouse Evangelism (Singapore) (Senior Pastor: Rev. Rony Tan)

Membership: 12,000

4. Faith Community Baptist Church (Senior Pastor: Apostle Lawrence Khong)

Membership: 10,000

5. Victory Family Centre (Senior Overseer: Rev. Danny Han / Apostolic Overseer: Rev Dr. Rick Seaward)

Membership: 6,000

6. Trinity Christian Centre (Senior Pastor: Apostle Dominic Yeo)

Membership: 5,500

7. Church of Our Saviour, Singapore (Senior Pastor: Rev. Derek Hong)

Membership: 4,000

7. Church of Singapore (Founding Elder: Brother Goh Ewe Kheng)

Membership: 4,000

7. Grace Assembly of God (Senior Pastor: Rev. Dr David Lim)

Membership: 4,000

10. Covenant Evangelical Free Church (Senior Pastor: Rev. Edmund Chan)

Membership: 3,200

Other Prominent Churches in Singapore

There are many other prominent churches in Singapore, with membership ranging from 1,000-3,000 each. Below is a list of some of these churches.

Cornerstone Community Church (Senior Pastor: Rev Yang Tuck Yoong)

Riverlife Church (Senior Pastor: Rev Vincent Lun)

Bethesda Cathedral (Senior Pastor: Rev Tay Cheng Kee)

Living Sanctuary Brethren Church (Senior Pastor: Rev Lawrence Chua)

Church of Praise (Senior Pastor: Rev Pang Yan Leng/Rev Pang Yan Cher)

Elim Church Singapore (Senior Pastor: Rev Glen Lim)

Agape Baptist Church (Senior Pastor: Rev Guna Raman)

Hope Church Singapore (Senior Pastor: Rev Ben KC Lee)

Paya Lebar Methodist Church (Senior Pastor: Rev Peter Koh)

References

External links

* [http://www.chc.org.sg/english/main.cfm City Harvest Church]
* [http://www.newcreation.org.sg/ New Creation Church]
* [http://www.lighthouse.org.sg/ Lighthouse Evangelism (Singapore)]
* [http://www.fcbc.org.sg/index.asp Faith Community Baptist Church]
* [http://www.riverlife.org.sg/ Riverlife Church]
* [http://www.cscc.org.sg/ Cornerstone Community Church]