Kajang
Assembly of God
Celebration Services KAOG@Timur 52, Jln Timur, 43000 Kajang
ENGLISH SERVICES Adult Services Sat 5.30pm Sun 11.00am Powerhouse Youth Service Sun 11.00am Sonshine Kids Children Service Sun 11.00am CHINESE SERVICE Sun 8.30am BAHASA MALAYSIA SERVICE Sun 8.45am TAMIL SERVICE Sun 4.30pm NEPALI SERVICE Sun 10.30am All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part without express written permission is prohibited. Opinions and views expressed do not necessarily constitute the official stand of the church. Printed by Sun Graphic.
WHAT IS OUR VISION? “We are a worshipping community of God’s people declaring God’s Glory.” “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” (1 Peter 2:9)
WHAT IS OUR MISSION? What we intend to do to fulfill our vision. Each of the mission statement below seeks to fulfill one and at times two out of the three components of KAOG’s vision statement. To reach out to the different language, ethnic, age and social groups in the Kajang area with the gospel of Jesus Christ.
KAJANG ASSEMBLY OF GOD Tel: 03-87361890 . Fax: 03-87369396 Email: office@kaog.org.my Website: www.kaog.org.my KAOG@Timur 52 Jln Timur KAOG@Jelok 1-2&1-3, Tgkt 1&2, Jln Pusat Perniagaan 2, Pusat Perniagaan Sg Jelok
To disciple and equip every member in order that they may achieve their full maturity in Christ and be released into effective ministry. To bless our society and our nation through our community services and through the influence and ministries of our members. To raise up and send Christian workers, pastors and missionaries worldwide. To plant churches in the regions beyond Kajang which will share a similar vision and sense of mission. To bless the body of Christ at large.
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When mixed with faith, God’s Word will take a life of its own inside our hearts and will propel our lives in directions that will permanently change us and can cause entire communities to turn to Christ, says Rev Chan Nam Chen
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Mikha, Ps Chan, Mee Lin & Jeshua
FAITH
ALL IT TAKES IS
A Word from the Senior Pastor Is it God’s will that the gospel of salvation be preached to all the nations of the world? Is it God’s will that people who have not heard the gospel should at least have one opportunity in their lifetime to hear the gospel in a manner that is meaningful to them? Is it God’s will that every church and every Christian be empowered to reach the lost? For the simple reason that the Bible, God’s Word says so, anybody who has been a Christian for any length of time will have to answer a resounding YES. However, to actually embrace and live out this vision will require something more than intellectual lorem ipsum dolor met set agreement. The Bible calls this quam nunc parum extra something, FAITH. Unless 2007 God’s Word is “mixed with faith” (Heb 4:2) inside our hearts, it will not change us. But
when mixed with faith, God’s Word will take a life of its own inside our hearts and will propel our lives in directions that will permanently change us and can cause entire communities to turn to Christ. This happens because faith will cause a release of: Divine Compassion. Speaking for myself, I do not have the depth of love to consistently move out of my comfort zone in order to demonstrate love and share the gospel to another person who may not necessarily be open to me. What more if it is across social, cultural and language barriers! When we reach the limits of our human compassion, we must depend upon the boundless compassion of Almighty God. Faith will release [5]
into our hearts a divine compassion that will break us out of our natural selfishness and go beyond ourselves. Sharpened and New Abilities. When I was in my twenties, I had the privilege of planting my first church among people who are of a different race and language from me. It was not easy. I struggled to adapt to their culture. I struggled to understand them and I guess it was equally difficult for them to understand me. How do I share God’s Word in a manner that was relevant to them and cause them to want to be genuine disciples of Christ? I lost count of the times I wanted to throw in the towel and quit. But clinging on to God’s Word in desperate
Are we ready to be a
Philip Chang
Suffering
Church?
By Philip Chang, Chairman of Interserve Malaysia
faith, over time I developed abilities I never thought I had and started doing things I once thought impossible. Faith has a way of giving you new abilities and sharpening abilities you already have. Financial Resources. If we confine our vision for the lost to the financial resources that are already in our hands, we will not get very far. But when we give sacrificially and by faith launch out to reach the lost, our heavenly Father has a way of multiplying our finances so that our own needs will be met and we will be able to give in increasing amounts. It is God’s will that every member of KAOG should be blessed financially because He wants to use us to bless others.
transformed simply because God open doors of opportunities. The open door may be the favor of an influential person in a community. The open door may be a healing miracle. Or the open door may be an unexpected encounter. Faith will open doors. Faith will enable you to embrace God's vision and be empowered for missions. God commended our spiritual forefathers for their faith and their certainty of things that they could not see with their natural eyes (Heb 11:2). May He commend us for our faith in this generation.
Rev Chan Nam Chen
Open Doors. No matter how hard you work, unless doors open, ministry can be frustrating. From experience, souls get saved, churches are planted and communities are [6]
Throughout church history, the true body of Christ has always experienced suffering and persecution. The global church of the 21st century is certainly not exempt from such, and is likely to face more hostility than ever before. The world has become an increasingly dangerous and challenging place for doing missions. Wars, famine, political strife and hostility all make cross-cultural Christian witness fraught with challenges. Missiologists estimate that 200 million evangelical Christians live in pockets of intense persecution around the world today. Therefore, believers in Jesus Christ will need to understand and be prepared with a theology of suffering that will enable them to stand true to their Lord in the face of growing opposition. In countries like Iraq and Afghanistan, foreign aid workers and believers have been attacked, abducted or even killed. Elsewhere, we hear increasing reports of people being arrested because of their faith.
Even in some Western countries, there is growing opposition to Christianity. In Matthew 10, Jesus uses five phrases to describe opposition: rejection, detention, violence, persecution and martyrdom. And Jesus tells us to expect this as Christians. So how should we respond when we are faced with opposition? First, we should not be surprised! And nor should we be afraid of anyone except for the One who is our Creator. Romans 5:3-5 tells us that we should rejoice in our suffering because it produces perseverance. In 1 Thessalonians 5:18, Paul encourages the church to be joyful always, pray continually and give thanks in all circumstances.
We should not be ashamed of the gospel, but continue to be faithful witnesses for Jesus. In Luke 9:26, Jesus says that if anyone is ashamed of Him and His words, He will be ashamed of him. ! Peter 4:19 tells us that we should commit ourselves to our faithful Creator and continue to do good, even though we may not fully understand why we are facing opposition or suffering. Finally, we should fervently obey the Greatest Commandment, to love the Lord our God with all our being, and to love our neighbours as ourselves. That means loving even those who oppose us or cause us to suffer, including our enemies.
apostle Paul’s statement in 2 Corinthians 4:8-9: “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed…” In many places where Christians are engaged in cross-cultural missions, the conditions can be very hard and hazardous, where suffering and hostility are common. Remember to pray for those who are labouring during these turbulent and yet exciting times!
When the going gets tough, we can find great comfort in the
The Lord has been faithful as we continue to serve Him in Kg Tekir. Presently, we have a care cell with 12 adults and two English classes for children. Here are some of the people whose lives He has touched. Jayabalan We shared Christ with Jayabalan in 2006. He is married to an Orang Asli lady. At first, he was hesitant to receive Christ for he feared he might be ostracised by his family. We continued to pray for his salvation. In June 2008, during a seminar in Kg Tekir, Jayabalan came for prayers. He was having severe dizziness due to diabetes. He was healed and he started to share with his elderly mother who was suffering from gall stones. He encouraged her to go for prayers. In December 2008, Jayabalan brought his mother to church for prayers. She went for a check-up the following week and the doctors confirmed that the gall stones were gone! Jayabalan and his mother have accepted Christ and the 80-year-old has been testifying about the healing power of Christ to her relatives. Whenever she sees the sick, she will ask them to pray to Jesus. God is using this old lady to reach out to others through her simple and unwavering faith.
PRAYERS THAT MOVE MOUNTAINS by Mok Yen Ching
Amoi Another soull who came to the Lord last year is an Orang Asli lady named Amoi. From the beginning, she had been open to the gospel. She said she had never felt such peace in her life. She enjoyed listening to worship songs and always asked for prayers for her children. After a month, she accepted the Lord. Her husband was a drunkard and used to beat her and the children. Amoi’s son Razif was a Christian before he became mentally unstable a few years ago due to his father's abusive behaviour. We started having care cell at her house. Razif responded to the Lord gradually. We bought him a Bible and he started reading the Word and attending Sunday service. Amoi’s 27-year-old daughter died of an illness three months after accepting Jesus. However, this did not hinder Amoi’s faith from growing. Being such a young Christian, she wasn’t bitter towards the Lord. On the other hand, she drew herself closer to the Lord and found comfort and strength in Him. Today she attends cell group and Sunday service faithfully. Amoi prays tenaciously for her son. She invited her husband for an evangelistic meeting and he turned up. After years of hopelessness, she found hope and peace in the Lord. Through years of fervent prayers, we can see that the Lord is causing hearts to turn to Him. The villagers are open to the gospel. We know every seed sown will not return void.
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HOW CHRISTIANITY BEGAN IN CHINA Rev Elisha and Phyllis Chua
Emperor Taizong
In the 6th century, the Chinese empire began to extend to north of the Yellow River. At the time of the 2nd emperor of the Tang Dynasty, Bishop Alopen arrived at Changan, one of the two capitals of China. Emperor Taizong, probably the greatest of the Tang emperors, expanded the empire further, bringing the Turkic peoples into it as his subjects. He had Turkic blood himself. His grandmother was Turkic. One source suggests that she might have been a Christian, which might explain his special interest in Christianity, or his choice of it as the representative of Persian religion. Taizong is called a cultured emperor and enlightened sage. He was a scholar who gathered scholars around him and encouraged scholarship. He built the greatest library in the ancient
world and set up the institutional teaching of the classics. He established the Chinese examination system so that anyone who was going to be a public administrator had to study the classics. He was himself nourished in the Confucian classics. Emperor Taizong was interested in ideas. Upon hearing the arrival of Bishop Alopen, the emperor received him as a guest in the palace. The missionaries were said to be bearing the true Scriptures. When they met, the emperor did not say, “Please give me a lecture on Christianity and tell me what you are teaching.” He said, “What books have you brought with you? What are your classical texts?” Thus the Scriptures were translated in the royal library. This was the first Bible translation into Chinese. It took place with the assistance of [8]
official scholars. And it was examined in the private apartments by the emperor.
Knowing well that the Scriptures were right and true, the emperor commanded its propagation. In the 7th month of the 12th year of Cheng Kuan, that is 638, he issued a royal proclamation for the propagation of Christianity throughout China. And hence, began the history of Christianity in China. By Rev Elisha and Phyllis Chua, Wycliffe International
(Adapted from Prof Andrew Walls’ lectures in Horsley Green, UK, 2007)
TOUCHING LIVES THROUGH COMMUNITY PROJECTS The winter has been bitterly cold this year in Tibet with more than a foot of snow falling in January and February. We are doing well and enjoying serving the Lord here.
W thank you for your partnership, both in prayer and in We fin financial support. Our vision is to reach out to the Tibetans an see a church-planting movement among them. Our and str strategy is to reach out to family units through community de development and building long-term relationships by de demonstrating His love and proclaiming the Good News.
W have been involved in a few community We
development
pr projects. We have finished building a primary school in a very re remote village. In June last year, we installed 2 computer labs in 2 primary schools in our area.
Three years ago o ago, we partnered with an NGO to o provide solar panels that generated electricity to villagers. Since then, we have been able to establish a deeper relationship with some of the villagers ass well as hold special programmes for the children. Forr e the last two years, we were able to share true meaning of Christmas by telling them the Good News.
y We have been accepted by the village community h Lord. d We h d a h d time and have had the privilege of seeing two women coming to kknow the had hard discipling them because most material we have here is in Mandarin, a language which the people hardly speak, so we used the story-telling method instead.
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Be Before we left for Malaysia in April last year due to the unrest here, one of the women had problems th with her husband because he was beating her and w taking her money to feed his alcohol and gambling ta habits. We encouraged her in the Lord with the ha little time we had. When we got back last lit November, we met the woman and saw joy in her N face. She testified that Jesus answered her prayers. fa Her husband had found a jog and had stopped H beating her. We know this is just the beginning of be the work that God is doing here. th Vicknes, Bow Yuin and Caleb, Tibet Vi
BIRTH OF THE KAMPAR CARECELL Last year was a year of leadership transition for Czone (Campus and Young Adults Ministry). Going to Kampar is another phase of my life that God is leading me. In the beginning, I was reluctant to go because there were unfinished tasks for me in Kajang. After seeking God for a year and having got myself refreshed and recharged at Station of Life (Lahad Datu), I felt strengthened to move on to another level. I was excited, but at the same time sad, to leave Kajang. Nonetheless, many showed their concern and encouraged me to venture into the new mission. I moved to Kampar on Jan 2 and was alone in a strange land. Thankfully, the Lord prompted me to make a short trip to Ipoh to meet up with one of the Czoners. The young man gave me two contacts: students in Kolej Tunku Abdul Rahman and Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman. When I got back to Kampar, I called them out for a drink and surprisingly, they were very open to the idea of assisting me. Day by day, God started to connect me with people and I found myself busy meeting new friends and networks. Powerhouse also sent four youths to me for training before they flew to Cambodia. I was blessed by their presence. They helped me with the oikos events. I also thank God that a group of women "generals" from our church, led by Meng Chow, came to my place to pray. Finally, after a month, on Feb 12, the first Kampar care cell was born with 10 people in attendance. - Ps Nicky Ling [10]
THE NATIONS AT OUR DOORSTEP by Dr KC Ang
Every day when I leave my condominium for work, the Iranian guards g nod at me with a bright g and cheerful smile. At times, they stand by the gate to hand me the Sun newspaper as I drive out. Along the way, y I pass p by y numerous new housing g developments being built by Indonesian workers. I eat at hawker centres and mamak restaurants which are mainly run by foreigners. g Some of them speak Malay so fluently that we have mistaken them for Malaysians. How many times have we walked into hawker centres and seen Nepali,Vietnamese, p , , Myanmar, y , Indonesian or Filipino people running the stalls?
I have friends from all over the world living g in Malaysia. y We always y pray p y that God will send people p p as tentmakers or missionaries to other nations. However, God has a better plan; He sent the nations to us!
Many y foreigners g have come to our country y to work or to study. y Many y of them are being g exploited p and some are scorned at. Malaysians y are even afraid of some of these workers. We look to the Good Samaritan p parable on how to be a good g neighbour g but we forget who our neighbours are. God has brought g the different nationalities to our doorstep. This is the opportunity pp for us to reach out to them and share the love of God. Making g friends with foreigners g has corrected my y p perspective p of them. I am proud of our African students in CZone who helped p us learn more about their culture. The Nigerians g are such good g singers, g the Sri Lankans are wonderful people with great smiles and the Vietnamese are very warm when you g g get know them. They help us to understand their people and we work together to bring the gospel back to their countries. We should not be like the Jews of the old who lived together g with the Samaritans but disassociate with them. We should not miss the chance to evangelize g the world at our doorstep. p I invite you y to join j our Saturday service anchored by the CZone. Come and have a little taste of heaven where there is unity in diversity.
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From left: The Malex Church congregation. A Vietnamese brother being baptised. A house church meeting.
REACHING OUT TO THE VIETNAMESE
We currently oversee three housechurches (in the Semenyih/ Beranang area) meeting in their dormitories at the factory sight or outside in a rented flat. They each have their own leaders and function fully by themselves, meeting once or twice per week, doing most of everything a normal church does including worshipping the Lord, winning souls, baptizing, training and discipleship etc. Each group has 2-3 leaders and these are the people I meet every week and train. Since November, 11 people have been baptised. Malex Church has been reaching out to laborers in two other areas and has led a number of people to Christ. They have caught the vision of training trainers and are now training the next level of leaders. The two leaders we trained who then started Bangi church recently returned to Vietnam, handing over to two other young leaders who they trained. Although seven men were baptized in Bangi, five have since
returned to Vietnam leaving just the two new leaders who meet each week with one or two new people. Even though they are few in number, nevertheless, their meeting is dynamic and they have clear plans to evangelize in other factories also. Leper ministry God continues to bless Anne (name changed) and her teams as they reach out to the lepers in North Vietnam. Many leper patients (mostly very elderly) and many children received Christ during Christmas. They were given Bibles or children picture storybooks. About 450-500 people were ministered to in December alone.
Ba Ha, an 80 year old leper woman, is very happy that she can move about after being prayed for, even though she encounters difficult circumstances. She has no lower limbs. Part of Anne’s ministry is getting local churches involved, as there are many leper centres in the provinces. She is planning to re-start a work in two large centres in the mountain provinces. Most of the patients there are from tribal minority groups. Many thanks for your prayers and support. Ps David and family
In one centre, police restricted the Christmas program, ordering them to leave out the drama, worship songs and scripture memory verse. Nevertheless, they still had a great time and managed to share the love of Christ. Some comments from the Leper patients: A 75-year-old leper patient, uncle Dong, said he enjoyed Christmas and felt much joy and hope. Uncle Luong said he has been reading the Bible every day and says that he loves the word of God. [12]
A girl with the Children picture storybook
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MENGHADAPI CABARAN PERTUMBUHAN JEMAAT
Pdt Salomo Sinaga GSJA Praise Community Brayan Medan
Pelayanan kami di Brayan pada 2007 dimulai dengan ibadah 15 orang di ruangan yang sempit dan panas. Setelah 1 tahun berjalan pelayanan penuh dengan pergumulan dan perjuangan, jiwajiwa pun bertambah sehingga ruangan tidak cukup untuk menampung kehadiran jemaat. Kami terus berdoa dan menggumuli pelayanan agar boleh memiliki tempat yang lebih besar dan menampung jiwa-jiwa yang sudah mencapai 40 orang setiap minggu. Walaupun banyak masalah, kami tetap
Permulaan Baru Di Sini -
Pelaya Pelayanan y nan di rum rumah panjang Sebau
Kami K bersyukur b kepada k Tuhan T atas a
kesempatan untuk melayan melayani di Sibu. Kami bekerjasama dengan gereja Full Gospel Sibu dan sasaran kami
tekun membawa jiwajiwa kepada Kristus dengan segala keterbatasan tenaga dan dana. Saya dengan isteri melayani kelompok sel tiga kali seminggu karena belum ada yang mampu dari jemaat untuk memimpin. Banyak cabaran dan masalah yang terjadi dalam pelayanan kami tetapi saya selalu ingat akan firman Tuhan yang berkata: "Segala perkara dapat kutanggung dalam Dia yang memberi kekuatan kepadaku (Filipi 4:13)." Pada awal bulan Mei 2008, pembangunan gedung gereja dapat
Ps Julian Balu mengharapkan bantuan dari rohroh. Jadi, kami perlu menyiapkan diri dalam aspek kerohanian. Mereka juga golongan yang cepat “tertutup� jika kita membetulkan apa yang salah dalam penyembahan mereka. Saya percaya kuasa Tuhan dapat mengubah
adalah kaum Iban. hidup dan Dari awal bulan cara fikiran Februari hingga sekarang, mereka kami telah ikuti semua Pergi ke sa satu lagi tempat di Pelayanan di pelayanan di bandar dan Selangau sini di kampung. Pelayanan di memerlukan sini memang mencabar jangka masa yang lama. Tetapi kerana jaraknya sangat jauh dari kami melihat jemaat yang sudah satu tempat ke tempat yang lain mengenal Tuhan begitu dan ramai orang Iban di sini masih bersemangat dalam Tuhan. Bagi mengamal kepercayaan nenekmereka yang tinggal di moyang mereka. Mereka pendalaman, ada tempat yang menyimpan ajimat dan tidak ada jalan darat tetapi hanya gunakan bot. [15]
dibangun, berkat pertolongan Tuhan, dimana gereja KAOG membantu dana untuk pembangunan gereja kami tersebut. Kami sangat bersyukur kepada Tuhan, karena KAOG memberikan sokongan misi yang besar bagi pelayanan kami di Medan. Tahun ini, gereja kami membuka pelayanan untuk anak-anak dari keluarga miskin, kerjasama dengan yayasan Compassion Indonesia. Rencana kami di tahun 2010 ialah membuka tadika dan pelayanan yang membuat gereja bertumbuh dan memenangkan jiwa.
Tempat tinggal mereka tidak ada elektrik dan air. Walaupun gaya hidup mereka sederhana, mereka kaya dalam melayani tetamu. Bila kami ke rumah panjang untuk melayani, mereka begitu gembira dan dengan rela hati mengalukan kehadiran kami. Pelayanan di sini memerlukan kos (petrol untuk bot) yang tinggi. Masalah yang kami lihat di sini, perlunya lebih ramai pelayan orang Iban. Ramai yang tinggalkan Sibu untuk bekerja atau belajar. Jadi jemaat di sini kebanyakannya terdiri daripada yang sudah berkahwin dan pelajar sekolah. Buat masa ini saya memberi seminar dan latihan untuk pemimpin dan pelayan-pelayan sepenuh masa di gereja ini. Kami percaya ini dapat membantu mereka meneruskan pelayanan dengan lebih berkesan lagi.
Fidel C. Monzon and family, World Missions Department, PGCAG
I AM WITH YOU ALWAYS He clearly promised, And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age Before dinner one night, my daughter Micah asked, “Daddy, when are we going...?” She was referring to our future mission field.
is not the new house, new friends or new environment, though it does provoke an excitement in their young minds. It is knowing mommy and daddy are there with them that gives them the confidence to face the new field.
year. She I responded, “Lord willing, middle of next year.” was excited though I am quite sure if she only Thinki understood how hard it would be to learn Thinking about the message, it became clear e, another language, adapt to another culture, that it was a message of God’s capability of sus raise financial support and work in a sustaining us as His divine parent. He clearly Go wherever pro potentially dangerous situation, her promised in Matthew 28:20b, “And behold I h. am enthusiasm would be snuffed out in a flash. with you always, to the end of the age.” He leads... I certainly didn’t want to shoot down her enthusiasm. What mattered most was the ere thought that she and her younger sister were interested to join us on the field. Several weeks passed and I listened to a message by Ravi Zacharias (www.rzim.org). He touched on a child’s confidence when moving from one place to another. Apparently no matter how foreign the new location may be, because mommy and daddy are there, the child has the assurance that everything will be fine. I recalled our daughter’s coolness of going to the mission field. What really matters to Micah and Monica
TOUCHED BY GOD
It wa was a wonderful assurance to know that our fa family need not fear the uncertainties of a new area because our heavenly Father is with us. Yes Yes, we will go wherever He calls because His presence is enough. We are confident that He will sustain and use us for His glory. But even so alarming is the aggressive pace of our competitors. Research shows how determined other groups are to enlarge their territory and will go to great lengths to demonstrate their willingness and sacrifice. May this serve as a challenge to us who hold the truth. May we match the zealousness of our competitors and be ready to go wherever He leads.
I suffered from nose bleeding and spent a lot of money to buy medicine but I was not healed. One day, a pastor came and shared the gospel with the villagers. She told us Jesus Christ is God and He can heal. Every week, she came and prayed for me. Now I am healed! I have received Jesus and am attending cell group and church. Mottan, Cambodia
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TOUCHED BY GOD
by Chum Vuthy, Cambodia I am from the Mahasang commune in Kg Speu. I was a staunch Buddhist and used to go to the temple regularly to find meaning in life. I was a heavy drinker and wasted time and money mixing with other drunkards. Because of this, my family and I were considered social outcasts. My neighbours did not allow their children to play with mine. It was very painful but I couldn't stop drinking. One day, Ps Rat and Sirim tried to reach out to me with the gospel. I noticed that they cared for me. As a result, I gave my heart to Jesus in March last year and was baptized later. My life has changed. The villagers acknowledged that. I don't waste my time any more. I am now a pre-school teacher. I also teach English at another village as well as share the gospel. God has blessed my family. I thank KAOG church for helping me start a micro business rearing pigs. My pigs grew and I was able to sell them.
INAUGURATION INTO A NEW PHASE A new phase has begun in our lives. I was made the 9th president of the Asia Pacific Theological Seminary (APTS) in Baguio, the Philippines, on April 2. Some years ago, I prayed a prayer and used it to preach a message. It was based on Abraham’s life. The prayer went like this: "Lord, by grace, lead me through this phase, into the place you want me to be.” In that prayer, I focused on 3 words: GRACE, PHASE and PLACE. Ministry is "grace" in the sense that we never qualify ourselves. We are called by God’s grace. While committed to our calling, we must hold our ministry lightly for we do not know when this "phase" will end. We cannot practise our ministry like we used to in the past. Every season in life is a PHASE. Ministry is also a location. It is not just what we do but where
Rev. Yee Tham Wan was installed as the first President of APTS to come from an Asian country.
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we do what we do. We must be willing to uproot and move. Many like to DO but few like to GO. That is what I meant about ministry as a "place". One of the greatest encouragements for missionaries is to have visitors from home. Some of the teams (from various churches) ministered in our services, did tracting and evangelism in Baguio and fed some street kids. Over the next two months, we will have another five or six different teams visit us. It is nice to know that friends in Malaysia still remember us. We hope to be their contacts in the Philippines so that they can make their missions investment here (especially in APTS) with confidence. We would like you to come too. Our prayer for all our friends who visited us is that they may sense the GRACE of ministry, be prepared for a new PHASE of ministry, and be wiling to go to a new PLACE of ministry when called. by Rev Yee Tham Wan & Moon Tee
We have 111 adults and 30 children attending the Tamil service, 15 adults at the English service and 25 Nepalis at the Nepali service. We also have 40 Our God is a God of faithfulness. youths who are being nurtured by We have shifted to a new building leaders. at Sunway Semenyih last November. After much prayer and God is moving mightily in negotiations, the owner agreed to Semenyih where notorious gang leaders are getting saved and rent out the building at a very they, in turn, are moving out with reasonable rate of RM1,500 a zeal to minister to other gang month. members. We did minor renovations through the support of our members. We As for the Abaco Estate ministry, we were able to establish a thank KAOG for purchasing airconditioning units for the church. relationship of trust with the community. They send 15 children for classes once a week. On March 28, we organized a Thank you for the donations in fundraising dinner at Bangsar Seafood Restaurant which netted cash and kind. The youths of KAOG brought cheer and joy to RM32,000. The Lord brought the underprivileged children when many young people and celebrities from other churches to they painted the murals in our community centre. This has made organize this project. a great difference in their lives.
NEW BUILDING, NEW VISION
TOUCHED BY GOD
by Omnet, Cambodia I am a widow and have a grandchild to care for. My children did not bother to visit me and I was alone and helpless. Although I claimed to be a Christian, I wasn't faithful to God. I became sick and was not able to see well. Last year, I decided to rededicate my life to Jesus. Now I attend church.
Samuel, Ps Marcel, Eva and Deborah
In November, I heard the church wanted to help the poor like me. So I asked for a loan to start a small business of selling rice and vegetables. I thank God the loan I received has helped me greatly.
by Ps Marcel Joseph and Eva Marcel PCC Semenyih
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A REFUGE FOR THE ABUSED
Theres Santhiavoo, Home Administrator
Rumah Hatiku, a home for abused women, was established in June 2008. We started with 3 residents. Initially it was difficult to handle them but Jesus gave us the strength and wisdom to do it. Today, the home has 9 residents - 4 adults and 5 children. They have been abused physically and mentally. Here in Rumah Hatiku, they find love, peace and Jesus. The home aims to provide opportunities to the women to be independent and raise their families. There are motivation and counselling workshops to help the residents. We motivate them to live courageously and to overcome adversities in life. We are renting a house and are largely dependent on public donations. We welcome contributions. To help, contact Ps Marcel Joseph or Theres Santhiavoo at -87230429/017-5661083/013-3644171.
CALLED TO BE HIS SERVANT by Rajeswari Velusamy I was born into a Hindu family. When my mother became sick, God healed her miraculously. In 2000, my whole family accepted the Lord Jesus. In 2006 when I was 18 years old, the Lord called me to full-time ministry. I obeyed His calling. After that I studied in Malaysia Tamil Bible Institute. I faced trials, difficulties and financial problems but my God who called me was faithful in meeting all my needs. I would like to thank the church for sponsoring my 3-year course. During the weekends, I help Ps Seigar in Bangi Lama Tamil section, the children's ministry in Abaco Estate in Semenyih and care cells in KAOG. Thank God for His strength.
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GOING FROM STRENGTH TO STRENGTH
Last year, I came to Malaysia to serve the Nepali ministry of KAOG. In the beginning, there were about 20 members. By the grace of God, the number has doubled now. About 50 people had accepted the Lord so far. During our Christmas programme last year, more than 200 Nepalis came and were blessed by the word of the God. We also started another Nepali fellowship in PCC Semenyih this year. by Ps Simon Shah
Our Brothers in Nepal I was born a Hindu but I had no interest in any religion. As it was, I already had so many problems in my daily life. I came to work in Malaysia 7 years ago. I met Ps Bernard and Silas who shared the gospel with me and invited me to church. I accepted the Lord and was baptized in July 27, 2004. God has blessed me in various ways through His grace. He has brought me out of darkness and made me His child. My goal is to serve the Lord. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to study in a Bible school in Nepal. I have learned so many things in the school. by Udaya James Gurung
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U D AY A
& JOHN
epal t h e r s i n n from our bro
L R P E T E R ,
Nepal students in Bible school
I was born in 1986 in Rukum district, Nepal. Although I was a Christian, I did not know much about Christianity. I came to work in Malaysia four years ago. I joined the KAOG Nepali Fellowship and was encouraged by Ps Bernard, Silas, Ps Roshan, Udaya, Ps Simon and Peter. When I was working in a company here, I had back pain. I thank God Ps Bernard took me to Kajang Hospital. At that time, my condition was serious but I haven’t got any money. Then God provided the money for my operation. I want to thank all those who regularly prayed for me and helped me during my critical situation. I also want to thank Dr Peter Richards who helped to treat me. When my 3-year work contact ended, I went back to Nepal. I thank God and KAOG for supporting me in Bible school. Now my goal is to serve the Lord. "Through Jesus Christ I can do all things." (Philippians 4:13) by Rupilal (John) Kham
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I was sa n Hindu but in by Khem Narayan Pe ter Basnet reality, I had d no interest in ame religion. I came to work in Malaysia 5 years ago. I met Ps Roshan and d Ps Bernard who o shared the gospel and invited me to o church. After er that I began n attending the he KAOG Nepali ali Fellowship. After some time, the word ord of God touched my y heart and I accepted Jesus as my y Lord and Savior. I am grateful to all those e who helped me in my spiritual growth growth. When my work contract ended, I returned to Nepal. I am now in a Bible school in Nepal. Thank you for your financial support. God has blessed me and I had the opportunity to visit many places and share the gospel. I am also growing strong in my faith. God is teaching me how to share the gospel and how to lead in praise and worship.
Nepali Fellowship in PCC Semenyih
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EMP WER
Four young people made a very important decision after their SPM/STPM exams. They enrolled in the Empower programme and gave two months of their lives to God’s work. It was one decision that none of them regretted.
Edmund Chelliah I learnt many new things. One is to share in cell groups. I learned to wait upon God while preparing to share. I also learned to care more for the poor. Some people in Cambodia live in poverty but are happy and do not complain. This taught me to be grateful for what I have and not take things for granted.
Deborah Bong The Lord gave me a heart for missions, especially for Cambodia. I experienced several breakthroughs such as
Edmund hard at work during a stint in the church office
street evangelism. The thought of going up to somebody in the street and sharing the Good News was at first a scary thing but because of His grace and encouragement from Ps Calvin, it wasn’t that scary after all. God also gave me the boldness to share in adult cell groups, teach children and youths English, and conduct Sunday school. One thing I could never forget was the experience we had as a team in supporting, sharing and praying for each Deborah with the Org Asli Kpg Tekir Kids
other.
Joel Dass Joining Empower was a big step for me. I always thought my ministry skills were confined to the four walls of the church and that I did not have what it takes to be involved in missions. God proved me wrong when He showed me what He could do through me. God used me to pray for the sick and oppressed, conduct worship seminars and share the Word.
Joel preaching in a Cambodian service
Mikha Chan The programme was a great opportunity for me to expand my boundaries. I got to know Him in a deeper way and also learned the meaning of missions. The drilling I received during the preparation period was on paper and in theory - Cambodia was the real proving ground. What especially touched me was the sheer godly love the local Christians had. They had a love for each Mikha with some students in our other and for God that was simply Kampar pioneering work amazing. [24]
What is the Empower programme? •
Being a blessing to those who are poor and needy. They learned to be unselfish, to put others first and inspire other youths to do the same.
It is a youth discipleship programme that challenges young people to give two months of their lives to build an intimate relationship with Jesus in a life- • aking a huge step of faith to do changing and God-encountering what they have never done before, environment. It including is a training preaching, programme that A section of the youth the te team ministered to in Cambodia teaching and is balanced with evangelism, praying for discipleship and people. They the development learned to of the whole depend on p e r s o n . God totally. T h ro u g h t h i s programme, we • Leading, aim to see organizing, changes taking place in lives of planning and our young people. During the two months of commitment, the youths will seek Helping o out in Tadika Anak Seri Cahaya to change and develop in three major areas: relationships, responsibilities and God’s results. What have our four young people experienced? •
he truth of the Word of God, the wonders of worshipping, praying, fasting and preparing for ministries. Mikha and Debora Deborah bonding with the kids in Cambodia
They learned that no matter what they do, they need to seek God first. •
Discipline, teamwork and bearing with one another. They learned to rub shoulders with each other and gain new relationships with fellow participants.
being purposeful in whatever they do; never to do things ad hoc and at the last minute but being disciplined and knowing that they are accountable. • here is a world out there to serve God. In their trips to Kg Tekir, Kampar, National Service camp and Cambodia, they saw opportunities and challenges that they boldly took on and passed with flying colours. Empower is an annual programme for SPM/STPM school leavers. So if you are in Form 5 or Form 6 this year, we want to challenge you to consider enrolling in the programme. Here's what some parents say about the programme: [25]
Emerson and Eliza Chelliah It is an excellent opportunity for our youths to experience a little of home and foreign missions. The exposure will impact them in a positive manner. Our son Edmund has indeed benefited much. The exposure opened his eyes. The team’s decision to raise funds to build a bathroom for an individual in Cambodia speaks volumes of what the experience has done for them. We recommend this programme to all youths. Mr and Mrs Bong It is time well spent to groom our youths for various challenges in God’s kingdom. I encourage more youths to enlist in this programme. Early morning devotion, street evangelism, discipline and team work are a foretaste of the life of a missionary. Deborah experienced various breakthroughs. Sharing the gospel with strangers in the streets of Kajang town was initially unnerving to her. Yet it became e a s i e r wh e n h e r c o n f i d e n c e increased. In the Kampar trip, she grew in her walk with God and learned to listen and depend on Him. Her Cambodian experience has taught her compassion and adaptability.
Even McD wasn wasn’tt spared s when they are out evangelising!
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Note: The amount of missions fund received and disbursed out for the months of May – Jul’09 has been projected at the time of print.
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