Interview: Senior Pastor of an Anglican Megachurch (COOS)

This is part of our bi-monthly interview series in 2025. Pastors of various churches will share spiritual reflections and insights on their journey with God and their role as shepherds of His people.

To kick start this series, I have Pastor Daniel Wee with me.

You might also like the interview series with various Christians sharing about their past, present and future.

Who is Ps Daniel Wee?

Ps Daniel Wee is the Senior Pastor and Vicar of Church of Our Saviour (“COOS”), a parish in the Anglican Diocese of Singapore. COOS has a congregation of over 4,500 attendees and is currently only situated in Queenstown (Singapore). It has plans to open another church service in Jurong in the coming days.

His ministry work:

• In his early ministry days, Ps Daniel served in a Korean mission ship called M/V Hannah.
• He first became a pastorat a church in Singapore called Emmanuel Pneumatos Centre, as the Senior Pastor.
• He was later the youth pastor at St. John’s – St. Margaret’s Church (“SJSM”) where he was ordained as a priest in the Anglican diocese in 2002.
• Following the ordination, he became the vicarat Light of Christ (which later became Light of Christ Church Woodlands).
• He subsequently moved to Church of Our Saviour where he now serves as the vicar.
• He was also appointed the Canon of St. Andrew’s Cathedral and instituted as the Archdeaconof Singapore in 2021.
• He had helped two churches in Kenya and Tanzania get started by preaching to the congregants online and training the local pastors to lead the congregations. The African pastors started taking over to lead the churches in the beginning of 2025.

Ps Daniel has a deep interest in electronics, robotics and programming, with some runaway software hits for the Palm Pilot. He speaks a few languages, including Swahili, Dholuo, and Japanese. He is also familiar with Koine Greek (not modern Greek), a language used in the bible.

He is married to Aileen Foo and they are blessed to have a 31-year-old daughter, Bethany, who currently works and resides in Tokyo, Japan.

The Past

Looking back…

How did you come to accept Christ?

Since I was young, I have had some affinity and incidental exposure to Christianity even in my primary school in Malaysia. I don’t have a very clear recollection of the exact moment I decided to accept Christ. However, during my secondary school days, I attended Youth For Christ (“YFC”) fellowships before my classes on Fridays.

No one in particular was reaching out to me but Christian literature was available at YFC. I started reading Christian tracts and praying the sinner’s prayer provided in those tracts. This was long before I started going to church. Hence, it was probably in secondary school that I “accepted Christ”, which I probably did several times whenever I prayed the sinner’s prayers I came across.

How were you called to be a Pastor?

When I first decided to go full-time while studying at the National University of Singapore (“NUS”), my thoughts were leaning more towards being a missionary. I did not have my sights on being a pastor. Even when I went to bible college after my university studies, it was with a mind to go into the mission field to teach the bible.

Moreover, it’s uncertain whether my church (Emmanuel Pneumatos Centre) at that time would employ me after I graduated from Trinity Theological College. It was quite a small church and had not supported me through bible college either. However, the Korean Senior Pastor had plans to do his doctoral studies at Fuller Theological Seminary in the US, thus his role fell upon me and you could say I became an “accidental pastor”. Even then, I still wanted to be a missionary. I had presumed I was only to hold the fort and take care of the church while waiting for the Korean pastor’s return.

After about 2-3 years, I was offered to be the youth pastor at SJSM. I took up the position because it sounded like a more plausible path to the mission field than as a senior pastor. My eyes were still on the mission field during my time at SJSM. At one point, my family were almost ready to head to South Africa to be missionaries, having established some links with a church there. Yet, around this time, my name was submitted for ordination consideration.

All this while, I was still thinking about mission work. For many years, I wondered if being a pastor was just a temporary arrangement or a transition phase until I could get myself to the mission field like I originally planned. I eventually accepted after many years that perhaps this was not happening and being a pastor was what God wanted me to be after all.

What are the most memorable lessons or insights you had (as a pastor)?

That’s a difficult question to answer. There have been many memorable lessons and insights and I don’t know how to pick one over the other. One of the lessons I have come to understand is that God often works not because of me, but despite me and my many flaws.

Another insight could come from my gradual realization and acceptance of being a pastor and not a missionary. At the back of my mind, the options and opportunities to be a pastor had always been there for me. However, I had been so caught up in the heroism of being a missionary that perhaps I overlooked the reality of the work on hand. It was the giving up of my will for God’s will to see the open doors for me.

If given a chance to return in time, is there anything you would do differently?

I will probably do it all again the same way. What I am today is the cumulation of all the experiences I have had in my life, good or bad. By God’s grace, all those things have shaped me into the person I am today. I dare not presume to know what to change about my life. That’s because it would take me down a different path that may not be what God intended for me. I am contented and grateful for what I do have.

Anything to make you say “God works all things good”?

When I set my heart to go to the mission field, I was prepared to burn all bridges. By that, I meant that there was no plan B. It was the only option. This idea came from a booklet about General Cortez’s invasion of what would later become Mexico. He had his men scuttle the ships to close out any hope or thought of retreat. This was mentioned as a “burning of the bridge” and it stuck in my mind ever since.

Hence, there was no turning back regardless of my eventual estate. As a result, there were some difficult moments in those earlier years of my life when my wife and I could barely make ends meet. The truth is, I didn’t even think I would get married given my goal of being a missionary.

Today, as I look back at all that, I realize that God had always had a plan and knew the end from the beginning. Of course, I didn’t know about it but the journey of discovering God’s plan had been an adventure and that itself was “good.”

The Present

Looking at now…

What’s your experience with pastoring churches of different sizes?

Over the years, I had various roles in small and big churches. These roles were all in very different contexts, and naturally that presents different sets of challenges and needs.

Small Church

When I first started, I pastored a small church. It was very challenging and difficult. I didn’t have anyone to guide me and help me figure things out. Going it alone meant making many mistakes and learning things the hard way. Amazingly, as I look back – God has seen me through all those challenges, however great they may have seemed to be at that time.

Pastoring a small group meant I could deal with people more directly since the number was usually small. Yet in smaller churches, pastors are so much part of the ground that you sometimes fail to think about strategic directions and plans for growth.

Big Church

When pastoring a large group, you often have to work through different layers of leadership and delegation. It is inevitable because it is increasingly difficult to address issues directly simply because of the sheer number of things to take care of. As a result, the skills needed for leading a larger church often include managing people and group communications.

In a larger church, a pastor’s work tends to move towards managing and strategic direction – running the risk of becoming increasingly disengaged from the ground. Yet with a larger group of people also comes increased collective resources, which will require tighter processes and policies to steward them.

Were there moments that made you feel like giving up (on being a Pastor)?

I don’t think I had those moments, although I have been burnt out at different times.

There was a time when I was burned out as a youth pastor at SJSM. The role was an opportunity for me to do things differently from my previous years as a struggling young pastor. With this new chapter, I poured my heart into becoming a better pastor and a leader. I did everything I knew to grow and learn. This was the period of my life when I was extremely motivated and driven to grow the ministry.

While there was significant growth, I also worked myself to the point of exhaustion. I took on many new challenges and pushed my limits, believing that if only I could work just a bit harder, there would be more breakthroughs. In retrospect, this was just part of the learning process in which we work out where our limits are(which is different from person to person). I had to find my limits and learn to operate better within those limits.

Thankfully by God’s grace, I managed to get the needed recovery and somehow just kept going even in burned out moments.Perhaps my love for the church kept me going too. I have always counted it as a privilege to serve God and the people of God.

How do you deal with difficult people or people who don’t like you?

My wife thinks that I have an autistic streak! I’ve never been overly affected by what people think or say of me. Some of what they think or say may be true, while others may be untrue. Regardless, the opinions of others do not directly affect who I am or what I have to do. It is impossible to be liked by all and I am not sure that such a goal is healthy either.For me, I try to stay focused on what I have to do and to do it as best as I can. That is all I can offer and I am at peace with that.

I think the opinions of others weigh on us sometimes because we desire something from them in return, such as their approval or acknowledgement. I do not desire these but simply want to do my best for God and them. I don’t need them to reciprocate in appreciation. It is nice when people do, but I can also understand that often people can’t or won’t do so. That’s just a function of where they are in their journey and I’m quite alright with that.

That said, I think we should always try to be winsome and loving unto others for the gospel’s sake. It’s not so much for us to be liked, but that we present a good testimony for God.

What are the joys of being a Pastor? 

I’m a simple person. My joy is merely seeing the love and care in the church community– watching how we grow in authentic ways, overcoming our challenges, putting one foot in front of the other – even crying together over shared sorrows. In the Anglican liturgy, there is a phrase “It is our duty and our joy, at all times and in all places, to give You thanks and praise.” It is indeed both my duty and my joy to do so.

In this season, what is God speaking to you about or teaching you?

At this point in my life, I am concerned with passing the baton well. The last thing anyone wants to do is run a great race and be buried with the baton in hand. I am being reminded to invest in people and relationships – keeping the big goals in mind.

The church is about God but it is also very much about people. A church is far more than it is about institutions and structures. After all, the Sabbath is made for man and not for God or buildings. In practice, this becomes about encouraging people, giving honest feedback, making new friends and sharing what I know and have with those who might need it.

What fruit of the Spirit do you think God is growing in you?

I try my best to extend the same grace, patience, and kindness to others just as God has done for me, especially grace. What stands out for me is God’s amazing grace because He is willing to work through an unworthy vessel like me. Well, I am not Jesus – that’s for sure. If anything, I am far from perfect and deeply flawed as a person.

What is your bible verse of the season?

I don’t have any single bible verse that stands out to me. Every time I pick one, I realize I could not do without the others. Picking just one verse might be overly reductionistic for me.

The Future

Look forward…

What’s one piece of advice for young pastors?

Be patient and persevere. We don’t get where God wants us to be in a year or even ten years. If you stick to it long enough, you’ll figure things out and the seasons will eventually change.

Where do you think God is leading you next – your purpose, dreams and visions?

With duties as an Archdeacon of Singapore, I am trying to help more churches under my care and support the diocesan bishop in leading the Diocese of Singapore. There is only so much a person can do with one life but as the Lord leads, I will try to make myself useful in encouraging more people.

Fun question: What would you be doing if you did not choose the path of a pastor?

I would probably have ended up as an engineer or programmer. That is the sort of analytical work I seemed to enjoy doing!

Editor’s Note

We thank Ps Daniel for sharing his journey and insights into being a pastor. As I edit this interview, I see how God works in mysterious ways. He might give us the desire to walk a certain path but call us to walk an entirely different path because the time could be not yet. We just need to be faithful wherever we are planted and He will grow us and lead us to the right place, at the right time. If this post speaks to you,leave a comment or send us a message to encourage Ps Daniel.

If you liked this, you may enjoy reading other interviews too: shema-rhema.com/blog/category/interview

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