The Rev. 黄宽柔 arrived in 1913. Through four years of effort, the church grew greatly in numbers and spiritual vitality, making its premises too small and the need for a larger meeting place urgent. In 1914, Sunday worship moved to Wesley Church on Burmah Road. The Rev. 黄 led the church until his transfer to Surabaya in 1917. The young Mr 邱清浩 returned to Penang from theological training in Singapore and succeeded him. He served voluntarily with unwavering dedication for four years, reorganising the Sunday School and the Epworth League.
The Rev. 黄宽柔
The Rev. 邱清浩
The church consistently worked towards self-support and eventually achieved it. In 1918, Sunday School enrolment and church membership increased so greatly that meetings had to be held at Anglo-Chinese School on Prangin Road, now Jalan Dr Lim Chwee Leong. That year, Miss 格礼曼 also organised the Women’s Aid Society.
In 1918, evangelist Ms 王查姑 retired after seventeen years of service to the Lord. By the end of 1919, the church had accumulated RM1,000 as the foundation of its building fund. In 1920, Mr 邱清浩 resigned and was succeeded by the Rev. 林鸿万, who served for six years. With more people coming to faith, a house between Prangin Road and Penang Road was rented that December for church activities.
Ms 王查姑
The Rev. 林鸿万
In 1922, Dr L. Proebstel began organising Cantonese worship. A building committee was also established that year with a fundraising target of RM10,000, which was achieved the following year.
Photo taken from https://acsipohalumni.files.wordpress.com
Penang Cantonese Methodist Church1922: established (Cantonese-language Methodist Church)
The church continued its ministry and provided substantial financial support for evangelism in Air Itam, Bukit Mertajam, Sungai Petani, 木头公屿 and Jelutong. The women’s association, now called the Dorcas Society, also continued raising funds for the new church.