Berita NECF Newletters

Bridging East and West Malaysian Churches

Bridging East and West Malaysian Churches

Sarawak and Sabah churches can look forward to closer ties with Peninsular Malaysian believers following trips by NECF Malaysia staff to Kuching and Kota Kinabalu in February.

In Kuching, the team comprising NECF Executive Secretaries Eugene Yapp and Andy Chi, and NECF Secretary-General Sam Ang, held many meetings and discussions with pastors and leaders of Kuching Ministerial Fellowship (KMF).

The trip to Kuching was necessitated by the need for speedier, more up-to-date and effective communication with Sarawak churches, particular those in Kuching, Sibu, Miri and the interiors.

The desire for better communication with our East Malaysian brethren arose from the current 'Allah' issue when NECF felt the need to personally hear from them their thoughts and feelings about the issue. Likewise, there was a need to update the Sarawak brethren on the actions that NECF and its counterparts have been working on towards resolving the issue.

At a dinner hosted by NECF, but sponsored by KMF, KMF pastors and leaders expressed their appreciation to West Malaysian Christians for standing with them on the 'Allah' issue and agreed that a more open and fluid communication between KMF and NECF is much needed.

The NECF team spent time with various other pastors and learnt more about the social dynamics of Kuching churches, their various ministries and respective challenges. They also visited Pr Cheli's Reading Bus project (see January-February Berita NECF, page 6).

It was a trip worth every sen spent as communication and fellowship with the Kuching churches were re-established and there is now a deeper understanding of and identification with the pastors and leaders there.

 

Next Stop: Sabah

NECF Research Executive Eugene Yapp held a brainstorming session with SIB Sabah Central Council at Kota Kinabalu during which its president, Pr Jerry Dusing, shared SIB's vision of enhancing three particular areas for Sabah churches - mission and evangelism, education and human resources management, and administration and finance.

He also raised several challenges facing the Sabah Church, particularly:

  1. Mass conversions of their people out of Christianity;
  2. The lack of expertise and resources, both human and capital, and the apparent helplessness in combatting this process; and
  3. The need for the West Malaysian Church to help the East Malaysian Church, particulary SIB as it is the biggest denomination in Sabah. SIB Sabah President Jerry Dusing said that Christians in Malaysia to have a say and future in the nation's affairs, the West Malaysian Church must help the East Malaysian Church.

 

From the discussion, Eugene observed three things that the West Malaysian Church needed to consider doing:

  1. Supporting the Sabah Church with its material and spiritual resources;
  2. Viewing the support as as a shared partnership and fellowship, not a giver-receiver relationship; and
  3. Building a stronger bond between the East and West Malaysian Church which will result in a strong Malaysian Church that is able to withstand the many challenges threatening our religious freedom.

The trip to Kota Kinabalu has helped NECF to better understand the struggles faced by the Sabah Church and the specific help that can be extended to them.

 



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