Goh Ewe Kheng was born in Penang on April 1, 1924. 

Goh committed his life to Jesus Christ at a young age in 1935, when Dr John Sung came to the island to conduct a series of evangelistic meetings. He shared that he was present for all the sessions and was deeply impacted by the messages which centred on Jesus Christ, His death and resurrection. Goh was baptised a year later, in Burmah Road Gospel Hall.

The Lord provided him with a wonderful helpmate, Miss Teh Phaik Hong. They were married in December 1948 and had five children: Beow Leng, Chuan Ooi, Beow Chu, Chuan Lau and Beow Ai, all of whom are married and have families of their own.

In 1949, the young couple moved to Singapore to establish the branch operations of Tithes Dental & Photo Supply Ltd, his father-in-law’s business. The Singapore assignment was very significant — it set Goh on a path for discovery of a range of ministry engagements in God’s Kingdom. Even as he went about establishing and growing the business operations of Tithes & Dental in this burgeoning entrepot, he was mindful that God must have a purpose in placing him in Singapore.

Described as a “quintessential minister in the marketplace”^[1], Goh recognised that the Lord had led him into the business world. At heart, he knew that he was in the business of the King of kings and he sought to be a faithful steward of the resources placed in his hands — his time, talents and earthly treasures. Amazingly, the Lord opened doors for him to minister — in discipling, Bible distribution, equipping teachers of the Word, in prison ministry, missions and evangelism and the promotion of inter-church partnerships for the Gospel.

Loving God, loving His Word

Upon their arrival, the couple quickly identified with Bethesda Gospel Hall, a Brethren assembly with close ties to Burmah Road Gospel Hall in Penang. Goh was soon serving in the Sunday School, Youth Fellowship and also was given opportunities to preach during Sunday Services. In addition, he was directly engaged in the fledgling church plant in Bukit Panjang as well as the outreach work in Sedenak New Village, in Johor. Goh was appointed as an elder of Bethesda Gospel Hall in the mid-1950s.

In 1958, there was an initiative to establish a Singapore Chapter of The Gideons International Ministry. Goh Ewe Kheng was among the four men who together decided to establish the first “Gideon Camp” in Singapore ^[2]. Over the years, The Gideons’ Ministry has grown. Teams of dedicated marketplace ministers have been distributing the Gideons Bible, making them available in clinics, hotels, schools, camps and various public venues where doors were opened. Goh was active in the Gideons in Singapore since its inception — a joyous journey of nearly six decades. 

Shortly after, Scripture Union (SU) was added to his portfolio. Goh enjoyed children and youth work. He became acquainted with SU’s materials and approach to ministry. Goh was invited to serve on SU Singapore’s Council shortly after its registration in 1961. In 1963, he was tasked to chair the First SU Chinese Committee. Under Goh’s leadership, Chinese churches were rallied and doors were opened for work among Chinese schools. He continued active engagement in SU, serving on the Council for a span of 46 years and taking on various roles whenever the need arose. The staff in SU lovingly referred to him as the “Evergreen Elder”^[3].

As one passionate to see the equipping of servants of the Lord, Goh was pleased to serve on the Board of the Singapore Bible College (SBC). Reverend Dr Michael Shen, Principal Emeritus of SBC, shared this memory: “Elder Goh’s service to SBC dates back a long time, about 40 years. He was entrusted with an important position among the early leaders of SBC. In the ensuing years, the Board, with Elder Goh’s faithful presence and contribution, made significant decisions in academic programmes and campus development.”^[4]

Goh was later involved in the establishment of Tung Ling Bible School, to serve the growing needs of churches in Singapore.

Elder Goh served in The Bible Society Singapore’s Executive Council from 1969-2013 — a total of 45 years. His passion was for the Bible to be available in as many languages as possible and with extensive reach to different parts of the world. He saw this role as complementary to his involvement in various parachurch organisations that were focussed on discipleship, equipping of God’s people and evangelism and missions. 

Prison ministry

In the mid-1950s, Goh was among the pioneer group of volunteer counsellors who responded to Prison Chaplain, Rev Khoo Siaw Hua’s invitation. Goh was pleased to serve, using Mandarin or Hokkien (a Chinese dialect) to speak to the assigned inmates. His prayer was that the Word of God would reach these folks and that they would experience the Lord’s saving grace. 

Goh’s work with prisoners continued for over 50 years. He was featured in The Straits Times issue of 15 September 2008 in an article entitled, “Three Generations ‘in jail". ^[5]The article featured Goh’s volunteer service which commenced in 1955, his son Chuan Lau’s involvement from 2001 and later his grandson Joshua’s involvement. Obviously, Goh’s exemplary example of service has impacted those closest to him.

Passion for the Gospel

Throughout his discipleship walk, Goh’s burden to reach the yet unreached was evident. He made his office available and joined a small group of men to meet regularly for prayer, for an unreached people group in Southeast Asia. They would meet at the agreed time, share updates on the work and spend the rest of the time in prayer.  

He was soon approached and was pleased to be engaged in the Evangelical Fellowship of Singapore, The Far East Broadcasting, Operation Mobilisation, Christian Business Men’s Committee, Singapore, Full Gospel Businessmen Fellowship International, Prison Fellowship Singapore, Asian Outreach, Open Doors Singapore, and Eagles’ Communications, just to name a few. His secretary mentioned that in total, Goh was involved in at least 30 parachurch organisations at a given period of time. There was one common theme in all these engagements — the gospel of Jesus Christ. His passion was that the gospel be preached widely and that he avail himself as God’s servant to participate in the Lord’s Great Commission.

Called to plant a local church

Goh and two Christian brothers from another church were led by the Lord to commence a new church plant in 1963. They sensed the Holy Spirit at work in an inexplicable way. In obedience to the Lord, Goh offered his residence at 8 Siglap Plain for the worship gatherings. The three men served as the founding elders. The first Sunday Service was held on December 29, 1963 with some 100 believers. Included among the worshippers were many new believers who came to faith through a recently held series of evangelistic meetings conducted by a visiting evangelist. Within two years, the congregation doubled and it was necessary to move to a new venue for worship gatherings. In 1965, the Church of Singapore was registered with the Registrar of Societies. The church has since grown extensively, with a congregation size of about 4,000 members of diverse backgrounds and language groupings, worshipping in 15 different weekly services.^[6]

Goh shared the following thoughts during the church’s 50^th anniversary celebrations: “Looking back over the past 50 years, we have seen the Lord’s gracious hand upon the Church of Singapore. Our humble beginnings go back to a small number of believers meeting in a home. Like the early church described in Acts 2, there was much zeal and delight coming together for worship, breaking of bread, reading and teaching from the Word of God, praying and fellowshipping. We rejoiced as the Lord added to our numbers, with many coming to faith in Jesus Christ, getting baptised and being discipled."^[7]

Goh ran the race of faith with perseverance and with joy. His walk was marked by humble reliance on the Lord who called him and who blessed him abundantly. He sought to be a faithful steward of God’s grace. 

Goh Ewe Kheng completed his journey on earth on December 16, 2014.