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About Acts Baptist Church Singapore

ACTS Baptist Church first began as the ACTS Baptist Gospel Centre when on 20 May 1984, American missionaries Charles and Sharon Carroll, along with twelve other young men and women known as the New Life Team, were commissioned by Queenstown Baptist Church to begin a new congregation. At that time, all the team members were single young adults except for the Carroll's, and they collectively made a commitment to stay for two years to help establish the group. Today, members of the original team continue to serve the church faithfully, a testament to their dedication, tenacity and God's empowering.

The name 'ACTS' was proposed and adopted because of the importance of prayer to this new team, the word 'ACTS' being an acronym for Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, and Supplication, key elements in prayer. This name also reminded the team of the Acts of the Apostles of the New Testament, an encouragement and inspiration of the powerful and continuing work of the Holy Spirit in all believers' lives.

A venue for gatherings was first sought in Bukit Batok New Town, but when a suitable venue could not be located, the team held their first worship service and Bible study in a home in Jurong West on 27 May. By the end of 1984, it was decided that ACTS would remain in Jurong West rather than continue searching for a place in Bukit Batok. Trained in the Evangelism Explosion witnessing and MasterLife Discipleship training courses, the team spent a significant amount of time visiting and serving the community, with many new members joining them as a result of the strong personal relationships that were forged.

ACTS' first baptism was held on New Year's Day, 1 January 1985, with three new Christians baptized; worship attendance then averaged 19 people with 23 attending Bible study regularly. Two years later, on 25 January 1987, Pastor Shoo How Beng was installed as the pastor and, on the same day, ACTS Baptist Church was officially constituted with 33 members.

Pastor Shoo How Beng was a Mechanical Engineer and a member of Jurong Baptist Church (later to become Shalom Baptist Chapel). Mentored by Lillie O' Rogers, the first American Southern Baptist Convention missionary officially appointed to serve in Malaysia and Singapore, Pastor Shoo and his wife, Molly, answered God's call to shepherd the congregation, themselves being involved in leading and serving Agape Baptist Church with several others earlier. Originally a bi-vocational pastoral staff, Pastor Shoo entered full-time ministry with ACTS Baptist Church in obedience to God's call, and continues to serve with his family in the church today.

In June 1987, as ACTS Baptist Church grew, the congregation moved to the theatrette of Jurong Town Corporation's headquarters. There were to be several more moves for the church as it grew over the following two decades – first to a bomb shelter in Choa Chu Kang, then a HDB hall in Bukit Panjang, a ballroom in IMM at Jurong East, even amid industry at Henderson.

Along this physical journey, ACTS Baptist Church has continued to serve and positively impact the surrounding local communities and those overseas as well, having missions partnerships with churches and organisations in Indonesia, India, the Philippines and other nations in Asia.

Today, ACTS Baptist Church continues to remain committed to nurturing a real, personal and intimate relationship with God in every believer, proclaiming and teaching the truth of God's Word, the Bible, and desiring genuine, transformed lives in the everyday reality of the world. Find out more about us as you browse through this website and do come visit us in person and experience God at work in your life!