Tamil Methodist Church

Founded in 1887, the Tamil Methodist Church (TMC) is the oldest Tamil church in Singapore. It serves as the mother church for seven congregations under the Emmanuel Tamil Annual Conference, sending missionaries to the Indian subcontinent, America, and Africa.

In 1885, Rev. William F Oldham, along with Rev. Thoburn and his wife, was sent by the South India Annual Conference to lay the foundation of the Methodist mission in Singapore. In addition to his broader mission, Oldham, born in Bangalore and fluent in Tamil, began holding meetings with a small group of Indians on Saturdays and led regular services for Tamil prisoners on Sundays. He was instrumental in the development of the Tamil Methodist Church, which was established in 1887, with Rev. C W Underwood, recruited from Jaffna, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), as its first pastor. Underwood played a significant role in expanding the church's influence by addressing the educational needs of the Tamil community. He founded two Tamil Schools: the Tamil Boys’ School in 1885 and the Tamil Girls’ School (now Methodist Girls’ School) in 1887.

In 1915, the church launched a building fund to construct a church on Short Street. In 1925, Bishop Titus Lowe laid the foundation stone for the new church building, which was completed the following year. Rev. S S Pakianathan served as the pastor of the new church. Later, Rev. T R Doraisamy, who would become the first Tamil Bishop of the Methodist Church in Singapore and Malaya, ministered from 1951 to 1954. In 1969, Rev. R Prabhu Das introduced bilingual Tamil and English worship services to address declining membership.

The church offers a range of ministries, including separate fellowships for the youth, women, and men, Sunday school, and community outreach programs tailored to the needs of Tamil Christians. The Indian Friends Fellowship (IFF), co-founded by TMC members, supports migrant workers from Tamil Nadu in Singapore. Initially focused on evangelism in Little India, the IFF has expanded to include prayer meetings, Bible studies, community activities, island-wide cell groups, and English classes. The IFF also actively promotes the integration of migrant workers with local communities.



For more information
Lau, Earnest. From Mission to Church: The Evolution of the Methodist Church in Singapore and Malaysia, 1885–1976. Singapore: Armour Publishing, 2008.
Tamil Methodist Church. Accessed on 1 August 2025. https://tamilmethodist.sg

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The information in this article is valid as of August 2025 and correct as far as we are able to ascertain from our sources. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history of the subject. If you have any feedback on this article, please submit here.