During the early years of the Methodist work in Medan, Sunday worship services were held in three different languages: Chinese, English and Malay by Rev. Newton Gottschall, who for many years served as missionary in North Sumatera (1921 - 1922 and 1929 - 1935) wrote:

" The church was housed during those early years in the center Chinese Shop House on Kapiteinweg. Besides here, services of worship, Church School classes, and social gatherings were held in the headquarters for the Y.M.C.A. corner at far right. These were conducted in Chinese, English and Malay Languages."

English, then, was one of the three languages used in conducting worship services since the beginning (1905) of the history of the Methodist presence in this region. This practice continued until 1942 when the Japanese invaded Indonesia, which at that time was known as the Netherlands East Indies. Upon the Japanese surrender to the Allies in 1945, Indonesia declared her independence, i.e., on August 17 that year. But then the war against the Dutch colonial power started and continued until 1949 when Indonesia’s sovereignty was finally recognized by the world. During the war years (the Japanese occupation as well as the war for independence) the English work was discontinued, but the Chinese and Indonesian Methodist congregations continued to hold Sunday services quite regularly.