Around 1928, Deacon Goh Ying Fu (father of the late Deaconess Phoebe Goh) went to Penang with the intention of establishing a church there. He made this decision because he was miraculously healed by the Lord from his illnesses. He was zealous in evangelism; thus fulfilling a promise to God, to give up the world and to dedicate one’s life. The early believers who worked with Goh Ying Fu were Mrs. Lim, Deaconess Phoebe Goh and her sister. 

At that time, the places of worship were not fixed, the place of worship was later fixed at 162 and 160 Burmah Road (residence of Elder Aaron Ang’s father). As the number of believers increased year by year, the private abode was no longer able to house all the members. In 1943, Deacon Goh bought a single-storey house as a church (behind the Ayer Itam police station). At that time, the church was managed by Elder John Loh and his wife, sis Yap Yeok Har. Elder Aaron Ang was the in charge of religious affairs and Deacon Goh had assistance from resources from the Ipoh region. 

At the end of 1973, the church spent RM25,000 to renovate the church and to install air-conditioning. After the completion of the project, Spiritual Meetings and Evangelistic Meetings were held for three consecutive years during the end of 1974,1975, and 1976. Similar Spiritual Meetings and Evangelistic Meetings were held at the end of each year thereafter. 

Since 1968, the religious affairs were handled by Deacon John Liew (renamed as Elder John Liew in 1995) and assisted by Elder Aaron Ang and Deaconess Mary Cheah. Deacon John Wong was subsequently ordained in 1984 and joined the ministry. 

Due to the increasing number of believers, the facilities and the chapel were no longer adequate for the members as there were no proper religious education classrooms as well. After much discussion, a general meeting was held with the believers on 26 February 1983 for the planning and execution of the new church building project on the existing site and to establish a church building committee. The drawings were approved in 1986 and construction began on 11 May 1987 after discussion and public tender. Under the guidance and care of the Lord, the construction project went very smoothly. After the completion of the new church building on 12 October 1988, the renovation works, purchase of furniture and equipment, and installation of the sound system were done quickly, and the church dedication ceremony was held on 14 May 1989. The new church building is a three-storey building with the ground floor for general use, 1st floor as the church hall, and religious classrooms and a preacher room on the third floor. 

Thanks to the grace of God, after moving into the new chapel, everyone came together to serve and to spread the gospel through the working of the Holy Spirit. Large scale evangelical services were also held at Komtar and at hotels when the preachers from IA came to pastor the Northern region, and the results were very encouraging. At the same time, many divine workers such as Deacon Stephen Hee (currently ordained as Elder Stephen Hee who pastors the Bayan Baru church), Deacon Timothy Tan (current person in charge of the Bayan Baru church), Deacon Philemon Liew, Deaconess Phoebe Chin and Deacon Jabez Khaw started to participate in the ministry. Preacher Andrew Loh of the GA also returned to Penang to assist in the ministry after his retirement. 

In 1996, as the membership increased year by year, the size of the chapel was getting too small for the increasing membership. As traffic in Penang Island started to become worse, our members who worked in the free trade zone started to move to Bayan Baru. Therefore, the church board decided to set up another branch in the area to spread the truth. Under God’s guidance, a two-storey shophouse was finally acquired. The renovations were completed in November 2001 and the building was dedicated to the Lord on 25th August 2002. 

As the mother church of the True Jesus Church in Penang, apart from setting up Bayan Baru church, Elder John Liew and a few co-workers have regarded Butterworth as the next pioneering area since 1994. As such, he borrowed the shophouse of Sister Wu Yu Qing for use of a place of worship. However, Sister Wu relocated and services were held in the meeting room of Hotel ?? in Butterworth. With the help of the offerings of members from Butterworth and throughout Malaysia, a single storey shophouse was purchased in Bagan Ajam in 2002 as a place of worship and it was recognised by the GA as a prayer house in 2003. 

At the end of 2006, more than 10 believers from Sabah had come to work in Seberang Perai and the number of people attending the services increased. As such, ministers and youths from Penang Church had been scheduled to assist to speak sermons, interpret and to run religious education classes. In 2011, the said prayer house was finally upgraded as the third True Jesus Church in Penang – Butterworth Church. 

The Penang church now has 110 members, with about 65 attendees for Sabbath services and an average of 25 attendees for night services. May God’s grace continue to lead us to shine for Him and to work in unity to enable us to draw others to Him, that all nations may be blessed and that the Lord’s name would be exalted and glorified. Amen!