In the early 1900s, a missionary from the Church of Englah Zananas Missionary Society in Singapore named Ms Apple proposed the idea of starting a mission for the Hing-Hwa (Chinese dialect) speaking Chinese here.
21-year-old Guok Koh Muo, a young schoolmaster, responded to the call. With the help of a friend, he begin organising gospel meetings in a barber shop along Bencoolen Street. Slowly but surely, this group of Christians grew significantly in numbers. Later on, they shifted their gospel meetings to a nunnery on Victoria Street and named in 'Church of the True Light'. The church continued to shift from place to place until it settled down at Jalan Besar.
After the Second World War in 1952, a church building was finally completed. It continued to serve the Chinese community that consisted mainly of trishaw riders who lived and worked in the area. Other than the regular Sunday services, the church also run a kindergarten and provided free medical care.
On the 24th of Februrary 1963, the Church of the True Light officially became an Anglican parish with Rev (Canon) Guok Koh Muo as its first Vicar.
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