The Bible-Presbyterian Church ("BPC") was a conservative reformed denomination in Singapore. It existed from 1955 to 1988, following the history of the country, as the Bible-Presbyterian Church of Malaya, then the Bible-Presbyterian Church of Singapore and Malaysia, and finally the Bible Presbyterian Church of Singapore ("BPCOS") (with the then eight Malaysian BP churches in 1985 to register themselves in Malaysia thereafter) before the BPCOS dissolved in 1988. Since that time, Bible-Presbyterian (B-P or BP) churches in Singapore have continued to exist separately. The B-P movement grew out of the Bible Presbyterian Church in the United States. As of 2009, there were 20,000 members in 32 B–P churches in Singapore. The number of B-P churches in Singapore grew to forty-three in 2020/21 but stands at forty as of 2024

BPC was noted for a belief in literal six-day creation and a preference for the King James Version (KJV).

History The BPC was founded in 1955 by Timothy Tow. Tow had been influenced first by John Sung, and later by Carl McIntire. He was strongly opposed to liberal theology and ecumenism, and the de facto link of the English service he founded in 1950 in a Chinese Presbyterian church in the Chinese Presbyterian Synod that was connected to the World Council of Churches (WCC) in promoting modernist ecumenism in opposition to the International Council of Christian Churches (ICCC). A conflict ensued and the English Service pastored by Tow in Singapore Life Church (生命堂, Say Mia Tng in Teochew) at Prinsep Street severed connections with the Synod in 1955 to form Life Bible-Presbyterian Church (Life B–P Church, Life BP Church or Life BPC).

In 1988, after experiencing a period of significant dissension, the Synod of the BPC (BPCOS) voted to dissolve itself. It was "mainly due to strong differences in interpreting the Doctrine of Biblical Separation, Fundamentalism, and Neo-Evangelicalism"—as in the statement issued by the BPC on 30 October 1988 describing the dissolution.

Divisions

Fundamentalist and Evangelical While individual BP churches operate separately and independently post BP Synod dissolution, they fall essentially or broadly into two factions or groups. One group subscribes to the fundamentalist stance of the founders while the other considers itself to be evangelical. This latter group of churches is denounced by the former to be "neo-evangelical" or "liberal", and are often called "the new B-Ps" because of a different interpretation on the doctrine of "Biblical Separation".

The evangelical group of B-P churches embraces the fellowship of any church that professes evangelical Protestant Christianity and cooperates with para-church organizations like Campus Crusade, Youth for Christ, Navigators and the Bible Study Fellowship. Many ministers or aspiring ministers in the evangelical group prefer an evangelical seminary over the B-P's fundamentalist seminary, Far Eastern Bible College ("FEBC").

Shortly after the dissolution of the BPC Synod on 31 October 1988, Quek Swee Hwa ("SH Quek") and David Wong invited the general public to a "Presentation Evening" on 19 November 1988 at the Sanctuary of the Clementi Bible Centre that led to them starting in 1989 the Biblical School of Theology, which later changed its name to Biblical Graduate School of Theology ("BGST"). Although the founders are BP ministers, BGST is a trans-denominational college. Notwithstanding the statements on separation in its Theological Position, BGST is a non-separatist school. It works and co-operates with persons in churches linked with the World Council of Churches (WCC).

After Life BPC failed in its lawsuit to dislodge the FEBC directors from the Gilstead Road premises to take over the operations of the FEBC due to the church disagreeing with the college teaching the doctrine of verbal plenary preservation ("VPP"), Life BPC – taking the lead role – started Emmanuel Reformed Bible College ("ERBC") in January 2017 on the premises of Calvary (Jurong) BPC, an ERBC affiliate together with Maranatha BPC and Sharon BPC. Charles Seet heads the ERBC as director and principal.

Twenty-three years after the dissolution of the BPCOS, four BP churches – Emmanuel, Herald, Zion Serangoon and Zion Bishan – inaugurated on 8 October 2011 the Bible-Presbyterian Church in Singapore ("BPCIS") to form what they had considered to be the new BP Presbytery. However, the BPCIS was not legally constituted and registered as a society until 19 December 2018. Three more BP churches – Mount Carmel, Mount Hermon and Shalom – joined after 2011 to make seven charter members before BPCIS submitted its application in 2017 to register as a society. The BPCIS had only seven BP churches (out of a total of forty-three BP churches in Singapore) as charter members at its registration despite organising many meetings and activities prior to the registration's approval and gazetting by the government. However, Wong, the first General Secretary of the BPCIS, announced in August 2020 on Mount Horeb BPC (another in the Mount Carmel group of mountain-named BP churches) becoming the eighth member of the BPCIS. Wong announced in October 2021 on Grace BPC becoming the ninth BPCIS member. He announced in May 2022 on Hebron BPC joining on 10 March 2022 as the tenth member of BPCIS. Mount Gerizim BPC, another mountain church operating at #05-06 Woodlands 11, 11 Woodlands Close, Singapore 737853, is listed on the updated BPCIS website as of April 2023 as the eleventh member.

With only seven BP churches out of a total of 43 BP churches when BPCIS was registered with the Registrar of Societies ("ROS") in December 2018 – it is now eleven (see above) – Jeffrey Khoo remarked that BPCIS calling itself the new BP Presbytery is a misnomer. A new B-P presbytery called “The Presbytery of Singapore Bible-Presbyterian Churches” – comprising five non-BPCIS churches in Abundant Life, Calvary (Jurong), Life, New Life and Sharon B-P Churches – was registered with the ROS on 3 October 2022 with Peter Chua as Chairman and Charles Seet as Vice Chairman of the interim board .

Leadership of Fundamentalist Faction

The fundamentalist group was headed by Timothy Tow and his brother Tow Siang Hwa ("SH Tow").

Timothy Tow pastored Life BPC until 2003 when he left to found True Life BPC because his two assistant pastors, Charles Seet and Colin Wong, and (a majority of) the Session at Life BPC rejected a 100% perfect Bible without any mistake in the doctrine of the Verbal Plenary Preservation ("VPP") of Scripture. SH Tow headed the Calvary BP churches until his demise on 8 March 2019. However, Calvary BPC (Jurong), one of the churches, split with him (before his demise) when they issued on 6 November 2005 their statement "Explanation of Our Non-VPP Stand."

The fundamentalist group continues after the deaths of Timothy Tow and SH Tow with such new leaders as Jeffrey Khoo, Quek Suan Yew and Prabhudas Koshy – all directors and faculty members of the FEBC. All three new leaders uphold the VPP doctrine. They were among the defendants in the lawsuit between Life BPC and FEBC in which the church sued to evict the college from their Gilstead Road premises on account of the FEBC upholding the VPP doctrine. However, the church failed as the Court of Appeal, the apex court in Singapore's legal system, held that the VPP doctrine is not a deviation from the principles contained in the Westminster Confession of Faith ("WCF"), by which the work of the college has been informed and guided from its inception, and it is not inconsistent for a Christian who believes fully in the principles contained within the WCF and the VPI (Verbal Plenary Inspiration) doctrine to also subscribe to the VPP doctrine.

From 2014 and by 2016, following the lawsuit, the entire BP Fundamentalist faction was left with two basic sides: the first is led by Jeffrey Khoo and Quek Suan Yew and their relevant churches who hold to the VPP doctrine on the one side, while Rev Charles Seet and a group of like-minded non-VPP adherents comprise the latter side [who are still fundamentalists and continue to hold to their traditional fundmentalist principles (such as inerrancy, non-ecumenism, creationism doctrines, etc) which were already held prior to the VPP saga]. These churches include Life BPC as well as Calvary Jurong BP, Abundant Life, New Life BPC, Sharon BPC, and Marantha BPC amongst others, and this latter group is different from the non-fundamentalist evangelical BPCIS faction [and those under SH Quek (aformentioned above and with more detail below)], and this is why in 2022, this group also formally set up a new BP Presbytery for the like-minded (non-VPP) fundamentalist BP churches.

Leadership of Evangelical Faction

The evangelical/new evangelical group is led mainly by SH Quek and Wong; they headed the Zion-Carmel combination and played a significant role in the dissolution of the BP Synod or the BPCOS in 1988 because of their different views on Bible versions, tongues-speaking, and biblical separation. SH Quek is currently the Senior Pastor of Emmanuel BPC and Pastor Emeritus of Zion Bishan BPC. Wong is currently the Advisory Pastor of Zion Bishan BPC.

SH Quek and Wong were, respectively, the pastors of Zion BPC (now Zion Serangoon BPC) and Mount Carmel BPC in 1988 when the BP Synod or the BPCOS dissolved. The BP churches included in the Zion group (of the Zion-Carmel combination) were Zion BPC, Bethany BPC (which dropped the BP name and renamed itself as Bethany Independent Presbyterian Church on 10 July 1992), Emmanuel BPC and Cana BPC; and the churches in the Carmel group (before the BP Synod dissolution) were Mount Carmel BPC, Hebron BPC and Mount Hermon BPC.

Wong, SH Quek's protege, issued his response on the BP Synod dissolution in the "Carmel Weekly" of 6 November 1988 to the congregations he pastored and supervised in the Carmel group. Wong is also one of the four authors/editors in the 2018 publication, Heritage & Legacy of the Bible-Presbyterian Church in Singapore (hereinafter Heritage & Legacy); he wrote seven articles compared to six written by SH Quek in the book. Although Chua Choon Lan ("CL Chua") wrote more articles in Heritage & Legacy, he did so as General Editor in a lay capacity; this is evidenced by the less doctrinal nature of his articles (seven of which are on church buildings) and his profession as a surgeon. SH Quek and Wong underline their role as the main spiritual leaders of the evangelical/new evangelical faction with answering the questions posed by the Editors in the round-table discussion in Heritage & Legacy on the dissolution of the BP Synod.

Quek Kiok Chiang ("KC Quek"), a founding BPC elder who relinquished the pastorship of Zion Serangoon to his son SH Quek on 31 October 1970, was on different side with Timothy Tow and SH Tow after the dissolution of the BPC in 1988. He (KC Quek) had defended his son's association and co-operation with para-church organizations; he also challenged the late Patrick Tan's proposal to him (as the incumbent Moderator before the Synod dissolution) to have Timothy Tow made the Synod Moderator to lead the BP Church back to the original stand before Patrick's proposal was withdrawn. Despite KC Quek's seniority, his switch to focus on pastoring the Mandarin/Teochew-speaking Faith BPC (first Mandarin BP Church in Singapore) meant that the main leaders of the evangelical/new evangelical faction were (and are) SH Quek and Wong. They also played key roles in the formation of BPCIS with eight of the current eleven BPCIS member churches hailing from the Zion-Carmel group (i.e., Zion Bishan, Zion Serangoon, Emmanuel, Mount Carmel, Mount Hermon, Mount Horeb, Hebron and Mount Gerizim ) – see "Fundamentalist and Evangelical" above.

Doctrine, Distinctives and Differences

Doctrinal Statement