Dear brothers and sisters and friends of GMC,
Christmas with a difference
Praise the Lord for GMC brothers and sisters are able to identify at least 7 poor families for us to bless them with hampers. We need to visit them and sing carols and pass them the presents. This year, this is Christmas with a difference. Let us pray that as all Methodist churches start to do this ministry, it will become a movement. Also, we need to pray that those whom Methodist churches visited, they will come to know Jesus and be saved.
Jakarta Trip
My trip to Jakarta (14th to 18th Dec) is full of learning and great reflection. Indonesia is made up of over 200 million population. It is the largest muslim country in the world. Christian population is estimated to be 20%. There are 5% Chinese. There are hundreds of tribal groups. The Batak tribal group has been exposed to the gospel for 130 years. Lots of Methodist churches (more than 160) are made up of Batak Christians run by Batak pastors. They are using Indonesian language to worship God. It is a language quite similar to our Malay language. This really inspires me to further work on our BM ministry.
I find that Batak peoples have similar cultural and social problems as the indigenous people of Sarawak. However, may be because of a longer period of evangelization and christian nurture, Batak Christians are now more matured.
Bishop Amat (one of the 2 bishops of the Methodist Church) is heading a big General Conference of over 160 churches with 5 district superintendants and about 150 pastors. He shared with us the urgent need for us to send mandarin speaking pastors and missionaries to Indonesia. Now, they can conduct services in Mandarin and there is great vacuum that need to be filled. There are lots of Chinese but they face great shortage of mandarin speaking manpower!
We (Rev Dr Wong Kee Sing, the chairman of Sarawak Indigenous People Ministry; Brother John Ling, the SCAC missions board member and Board of Finance Chairman) also visited the Wesley Institute. It is actually a theological college with over 100 indigenous students. Lots of Korean missionaries and local indigenous lecturers working side by side to make disciples of all nations. I have to see the same picture in the Methodist Theological School in the near future. I hope in my life time, I will see that Chinese and indigenous people will be working side by side to run the BM theological department with one hundred students.
We visited a 3 language church (English, Tiong Hua and Indonesian), Immanuel. She is 40 years old but managed to plant over 20 big and small churches. Her congregation is about a few hundred persons. It started with one miracle. Dr Chiw, who is missions chairman of the church shared this very touching story. His sister who is now over 60 years old experienced miraculous healing from an unknown sickness which doctors and bomohs could not do anything when she was small. His cousin who was a christian just laid hand on her and prayed for healing. Then she dreamt of a while dressed person to come and heal her. She was healed and the whole family turned to Christ. This family served as the pioneering family of Immanuel Methodist. The church starts to develop from this family. What is interesting is that the sister acquired some kind of gift of prophecy. She was able to foretell future events. Family was tempted to ask her for 4 digits. She scolded them for the request and emphasized that Jesus would not give 4 digits! This testimony touched me very much and it inspires me to preach and present Jesus and live to be like Jesus.
May I bless all the readers with a very powerful and personal Christmas in Christ.
A faithful disciple of Jesus,
Pastor Law Hui Seng of Miri, Grace Methodist Church
24th December, 2009.
Christmas with a difference
Praise the Lord for GMC brothers and sisters are able to identify at least 7 poor families for us to bless them with hampers. We need to visit them and sing carols and pass them the presents. This year, this is Christmas with a difference. Let us pray that as all Methodist churches start to do this ministry, it will become a movement. Also, we need to pray that those whom Methodist churches visited, they will come to know Jesus and be saved.
Jakarta Trip
My trip to Jakarta (14th to 18th Dec) is full of learning and great reflection. Indonesia is made up of over 200 million population. It is the largest muslim country in the world. Christian population is estimated to be 20%. There are 5% Chinese. There are hundreds of tribal groups. The Batak tribal group has been exposed to the gospel for 130 years. Lots of Methodist churches (more than 160) are made up of Batak Christians run by Batak pastors. They are using Indonesian language to worship God. It is a language quite similar to our Malay language. This really inspires me to further work on our BM ministry.
I find that Batak peoples have similar cultural and social problems as the indigenous people of Sarawak. However, may be because of a longer period of evangelization and christian nurture, Batak Christians are now more matured.
Bishop Amat (one of the 2 bishops of the Methodist Church) is heading a big General Conference of over 160 churches with 5 district superintendants and about 150 pastors. He shared with us the urgent need for us to send mandarin speaking pastors and missionaries to Indonesia. Now, they can conduct services in Mandarin and there is great vacuum that need to be filled. There are lots of Chinese but they face great shortage of mandarin speaking manpower!
We (Rev Dr Wong Kee Sing, the chairman of Sarawak Indigenous People Ministry; Brother John Ling, the SCAC missions board member and Board of Finance Chairman) also visited the Wesley Institute. It is actually a theological college with over 100 indigenous students. Lots of Korean missionaries and local indigenous lecturers working side by side to make disciples of all nations. I have to see the same picture in the Methodist Theological School in the near future. I hope in my life time, I will see that Chinese and indigenous people will be working side by side to run the BM theological department with one hundred students.
We visited a 3 language church (English, Tiong Hua and Indonesian), Immanuel. She is 40 years old but managed to plant over 20 big and small churches. Her congregation is about a few hundred persons. It started with one miracle. Dr Chiw, who is missions chairman of the church shared this very touching story. His sister who is now over 60 years old experienced miraculous healing from an unknown sickness which doctors and bomohs could not do anything when she was small. His cousin who was a christian just laid hand on her and prayed for healing. Then she dreamt of a while dressed person to come and heal her. She was healed and the whole family turned to Christ. This family served as the pioneering family of Immanuel Methodist. The church starts to develop from this family. What is interesting is that the sister acquired some kind of gift of prophecy. She was able to foretell future events. Family was tempted to ask her for 4 digits. She scolded them for the request and emphasized that Jesus would not give 4 digits! This testimony touched me very much and it inspires me to preach and present Jesus and live to be like Jesus.
May I bless all the readers with a very powerful and personal Christmas in Christ.
A faithful disciple of Jesus,
Pastor Law Hui Seng of Miri, Grace Methodist Church
24th December, 2009.
Posted by Teresa Han
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