Hsu, Peter

1922 - 1985
Pastor of Klang Chinese Methodist Church
Methodist
Malaysia

Rev Peter Hsu was born in 1922 into a poor peasant family in Jinjiang City, Fujian Province, China. Hsu’s father died when Hsu was seven and left his wife Cai and son penniless. Due to poverty and oppression, they had no choice but to move to Jinjing town where Pastor Xu Sheng Yan provided assistance to Cai and converted her from Buddhism to Christianity. 

After believing in the Lord, Hsu's mother began to teach her son to read the Bible diligently and to know the one true God, thus laying a solid spiritual foundation for future ministry. 

After Hsu completed primary school in 1937, he continued his education at Penghu Pei Yuan Secondary School in a remote mountainous area to escape the second Sino-Japanese war. In 1939, he was called by the Holy Spirit to become a pastor and he entered the Bible College run by the Jinjing Church for theological education. He graduated in 1942 at the age of 20.

That same year, Hsu was appointed as a preacher in Huangshan Church in a remote mountain area in Nan'an, Fujian, where he remained for more than three years. Hsu and his few members lived in poverty. The church was surrounded by forests where tigers roamed and Hsu had to be extra cautious on the mountainous roads when he went to visit the members.

All these challenges provided great spiritual training and character-building for Hsu, making him a faithful and indomitable warrior for Christ, one who was not afraid of hardship or danger.

In 1947, he entered Nanjing Tai Dong Theological Seminary to pursue further study so as to equip himself better to serve God. During his time in the seminary, he was selected as the leader of the student mission group and he often led his classmates to preach the gospel in the suburbs of Nanjing. His loyalty, diligence and enthusiasm for evangelism won the love of his teachers and the respect of his classmates.

In 1949, he transferred to Bethel Theological Seminary in Hong Kong to continue his theological course and graduated with a Bachelor of Divinity in 1950. After graduation, he returned to the mainland to continue his pastoral ministry.

In 1951, Hsu went to Hong Kong again to assist Pastor Zhao Shi Guang at the Ling Liang Church in evangelism. He married Li Jing Chun, whom he met at Bethel Theological Seminary, in January 1952 and she became his life partner in serving God.

That year, he was ordained at the Kowloon Ling Liang Church and in October, his eldest son, Zong Xin, was born.

In 1953, Hsu was invited by the Annual Assembly of the Malayan Methodist Church to serve as a pastor at Bukit Mertajam in Penang. In 1955, he was appointed to serve concurrently as pastor in the Ayer Itam Church in Penang. Two years later, he was ordained as the senior pastor and appointed head of the Ayer Itam pastoral district. In 1963, he was transferred to the Ipoh Methodist Church.

In 1964, he was appointed senior pastor of the Klang Chinese Methodist Church where he served for 21 years until he passed away in 1984.

Rev Hsu took charge of the pastoral ministry and made big changes. He printed and distributed the Sunday service bulletin, changed the monthly offering to monthly thanksgiving, and organised the Klang South and North Parish Groups. These changes led to a significant increase in the attendance at worship services, church members’ regular offerings, and closer fellowship and ties between members. Under his leadership, the church experienced a revival — mission activity increased and the congregation gradually grew until the church seats were barely enough.

In 1973, the church, by faith, purchased an 80,000 sq ft piece of land to build a new church. On December 12, 1977, the majestic Klang Methodist Church, which can accommodate 1,000 worshippers, was completed. The dedication ceremony was presided over by the then Bishops of the Methodist Churches of Malaysia and Singapore.

In 1979, Hsu got the Klang congregation to participate in global missions. Since then, the church has held a "Mission Week" (later "Mission Conference") every year and encouraged believers to make mission pledges to meet the needs of global missions. It has supported various mission agencies, local and foreign missionaries and theological seminaries in Singapore and Malaysia. (The church’s mission budget in 2020 was RM1.7 million.) Hsu also carried out pioneering missions in the Klang area. As of 1985, a total of 10 preaching points had been opened, and today all of them are independent pastoral congregations.

Hsu passed away from liver cancer on November 16, 1985, at the age of 63. 

Hsu was a kind man who showed loyalty to his co-workers and friends and cared for those in need. He had been born in poverty and understood people’s hardships. But perhaps the one thing that stood out most was his obedience to the Great Commission of Jesus Christ. Under his teaching and influence as a role model, the Klang Methodist Church became a mission-minded church focused on missions and evangelism.

 

Yeo Teong Loke

The writer is a retired pastor of the Klang Chinese Methodist Church.

 

Bibliography

"Good Shepherd Demeanor". Pastor Peter Hsu Memorial Special Issue. 1985.

"Special Issue for the 20th Anniversary of Missions Commemorating the Centenary of the Establishment of the Klang Methodist Church". 1998.

"The 85th Anniversary of the Klang Methodist Church". 1983.

"The 120th Anniversary of the Teaching Establishment of the Klang Methodist Church and the 40th Anniversary of Mission Special Issue". 2018.