Born in the district of Eng Choon in Fujian Province on October 25, 1888, Tan Han Kiat left China for Singapore at the age of 12. He followed his father to church when young and worked and studied part-time in a Christian school for seven years. In 1913, at the age of 25, he responded to the call of God and entered the seminary for theological training.
Upon graduation four years later in 1917, he was sent to pastor the Chinese Methodist Church in Klang and Port Swettenham (now Port Klang). In the same year, he married Yap Kim Ah from the Gospel Hall.
Jasin Chinese Methodist Church was officially established 100 years ago on December 25, 1921. Reverend Tan became the first conference-appointed pastor of the Jasin church when he joined the Methodist Conference that year. He was also pastor for churches in nearby Tangkak, Asahan, Bekoh and Bemban until 1925.
After being ordained by Bishop Titus Lowe as a deacon of the Methodist Church in 1925, Reverend Tan was appointed to serve in Taiping. In 1927, he requested leave from the ministry and became a coffee planter. The venture failed and feeling remorseful for leaving the ministry, he made a vow in writing promising to serve God in whatever circumstances. He went back to serve in Klang in 1932, and his faith and commitment never wavered from then on.
Reverend Tan was appointed to serve at the Kuala Lumpur Hokkien Church in 1933 and the following year, he was sent to serve in Medan in Sumatra, Indonesia. While there, he took three Nanjing Bible correspondence courses to improve himself.
He was ordained as an elder and became a full member of the Methodist Conference in 1936. He was then transferred to the Ayer Tawar Chinese Methodist Church in Sitiawan, Perak. He served in the Bukit Mertajam Chinese Methodist Church in 1939, and went back to Klang in 1941 during the Japanese occupation of Malaya.
Reverend Tan officially retired in Singapore in 1954 but continued to preach in different denominational churches, especially the Paya Lebar CMC and Spiritual Grace Presbyterian Church in Sembawang. He also visited and preached in an old folks’ home and cared for the needs of the elderly until ill health stopped him. Although he led a hard life as a pastor, he was thankful to God that his children were well-educated and successful, and that they had been blessed materially. His greatest desire was that his children and grandchildren remained faithful in serving the Lord.
Over the years, he was encouraged and supported by his gentle, capable and hardworking wife, Yap Kim Ah. Sadly, due to overwork, lack of nutrition during the Japanese occupation and close contact with a young tuberculosis patient she visited regularly in hospital, she contracted the disease and passed away on April 8, 1958, aged 63.
Reverend Tan returned to glory on December 1, 1974, aged 86, leaving behind three sons, four daughters and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren. In memory of Reverend Tan, the family made a donation to the Jasin Methodist Church to enable the new parsonage to be named the “Rev Tan Han Kiat Parsonage”.
