Singapore is a relatively new country. A former British colony, it gained independence from Malaysia in 1965. At the time of independence, Singapore would have been considered a third-world country. Through strong leadership and multiple government programs, Singapore quickly developed into the modern, first-world country it is today. 

Singapore is a city-state meaning the whole country is just one big city. Singapore’s land area consists of one main island and a few other smaller islands. You can drive across the entire country in about 45-50 minutes.

Because of its British colony roots, the main language in Singapore is English. English is the official language and also the heart language of many Singaporeans. Chinese is also spoken in Singapore and has a heavy influence. Many older Singaporeans will prefer Chinese while the younger generations will prefer to communicate in English. Malay is spoken by people of Malaysian ethnicity and Tamil is spoken by people from south India are also official languages. 

Singapore is a place of great spiritual need. With a population of over 5.7 million, It is a place of many different religions but has few true believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. Buddhism would be the most popular religion and is practiced by about one-third of the people in Singapore. Christianity accounts for about 19% of the population. Muslims and Taoists are also very common as are people that would claim they have no religion. Of the 19% that claim to be Christian, many of them wouldn’t be truly born again as they would believe in some kind of works-based salvation. There are some churches preaching the Gospel in Singapore, but there is a great need for many more. 

There is a good amount of religious freedom or tolerance in Singapore. Missionaries are allowed to get religious visas and do missionary work legally in Singapore. Churches are legal and allowed to meet freely. The only religious group that is banned in Singapore is the Jehovah’s Witnesses. There are some restrictions for churches.  Churches are only allowed to meet in places that get approval to be used for religious purposes and there is a lot of red-tape for new church registrations. Still despite some restrictions, there is a great opportunity for church planting to be done in Singapore. 

As of 2021, we have found out of 11 Independent Baptist churches in Singapore, with two of them being pastored by missionaries, seven or eight pastored by Singaporean pastors, and a couple of churches without a pastor. These churches are not new church plants. Most of them were started 20-40 years ago. From what we have found out, it has been years since any new Independent Baptist churches have been planted. While it is encouraging to know of churches in Singapore faithfully preaching the Bible, the reality is many more new Bible-preaching churches are needed to reach the 5.7 million people. Would you pray for God to send men to start more churches in Singapore? Would you pray about what God might have you to do to reach Singapore with the Gospel?