Our Daily Bread Ministries Malaysia 2021 Highlights - english

OUR DAILY BREAD MINISTRIES MALAYSIA

2021 HIGHLIGHTS

Our Daily Bread Ministries helps millions of people connect with God each day. For more than 75 years, our purpose has remained the same: to reach people with the life-changing wisdom of the Bible.

OUR MISSION is to make the life-changing wisdom of the Bible understandable and accessible to all.

OUR VISION is to see people of all nations experiencing a personal relationship with Christ, growing to be more like Him, and serving in a local body of His family.

CONTENT English Language 2021 Highlights

06-08

Chinese Language 2021 Highlights

09 -11

Malay Language 2021 Highlights

12-15

Our Daily Bread Ministries is here to help you deepen your relationship with the Lord through resources that speak to everyday issues of life.

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Dear Bishop / Reverend / Pastor / Elder It gives me great pleasure to update you with some news from Our Daily Bread Ministries Malaysia (ODBM) for year 2021. As Covid-19 and political uncertainties befell us, ODBM has also been impacted in our operations, financials and human resources.

Another 2021 focus was to translate our Journey Through series into Chinese and BM as quickly as possible. The series helps Christians with a structured book-by-book Bible study programme, and many churches have requested for at least two languages to use in their small groups.

However, we are grateful that the Lord Himself has watched over us and stands beside us. Your prayers, financial and content support have been of great help, and we yield ODBM unto Him.

Below you’ll find our ministry updates for year 2021 in detail, arranged by language. You’ll notice that many of them are digital resources, as the pandemic has caused us to go online in order to reach more people.

OVERVIEW

Do share this newsletter to your church members, so they can benefit as much as possible from the resource links provided. For 2022, let us know if you or your church members want to be included in our content planning and distribution. We look to you for feedback and support as we serve in God’s kingdom together.

Our primary focus continues to be on producing resources in English, Chinese and Bahasa Malaysia (BM) with some in Iban and Tamil. In 2021, we used global resources developed by other countries but also increased localised content – in the form of booklets, articles and videos contributed

by Malaysian seminary lecturers, pastors and Christians.

We also published content revolving around important Christian events alongside Malaysian ones to remain relevant to our readers. Examples are Good Friday & Easter, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Gawai & Kaamatan, and Malaysia Day. Besides that, we published many prayer, devotional and biblical resources to share the nation’s pain in coping with Covid-19.

“He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ.”

- Colossians 1:28 Blessings always.

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English Language

2021 Highlights

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GOING DEEPER INTO THE WORD QUARTERLY DEVOTIONAL Our Daily Bread daily devotional is still the most requested English resource. It is accessible in print, via our website, email subscription or mobile app.

With office closures, we struggled with packing and distribution. However, we are grateful for churches’ response in redirecting them to members’ personal homes.

Do continue to encourage personal sign-ups so that they will not miss out.

JOURNEY THROUGH SERIES This is an in-depth study of one book of the Bible every quarter for personal or small group use. It is available in print and online. In 2021, we released 1 Peter, 2 Peter and Ecclesiastes. Amos will be coming soon in December 2021. In 2022, we plan to release Job, Nehemiah and Ezra, Psalms 51-100 and Joshua. Check out the Journey Through website for all books.

12-DAY EASTER DEVOTION: FOLLOWING JESUS TO THE CROSS BY REV DR LIM KAR YONG For Easter this year, we collaborated with seminary lecturer Rev Dr Lim Kar Yong to produce a 12-day devotional called “Following Jesus to the Cross.” It is based on the Gospel of Mark and depicts Jesus’ journey from Palm Sunday to Holy Saturday.

Available in print and online, each day’s reading contains a Bible passage, photos, reflection questions and prayers to help Christians commit to God. In 2022, we will make this available in Simplified Chinese and BM.

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LOCAL CONTENT

PRAYER

EVANGELISM & MISSION

To apply God’s Word in everyday life, we produced online campaigns, devotionals and short articles to draw Christians back to Scripture. Some popular ones that appeared on our website, e-newsletter and Facebook include:

‘PRAYER CHANGES THINGS’ Resource Page

OUTREACH RESOURCE PAGE

• Mum, You Are Not Alone with God Hears Her” 7-day devotionals, podcasts and print resource • Stand Strong for fathers with 5-day devotional and print resource • Responding to the White Flag online article • 3 Things that Christians Can Do When Malaysia is in Pain online article • Is the Vaccine Our Greatest Hope? online article • Serve the Nation as a Teacher Facebook post encouraging Christians to serve as teachers after the MOE’s call in June 2021 • YMI articles and Facebook posts.

Pronounced ‘Why am I?’, it is part of ODBM and has content targeted at young adults to ask the why and know their purpose.

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This specially prepared prayer resource page was launched in July for Malaysian Christians to connect with God in prayer.

We had a 7-day devotional reading, seven short videos with Pastor Dr Lew Lee Choo, 11 readers testimonies of prayers, four Discovery Series prayer resources on how to pray, prayer request forms and ODBM prayer points.

COVID-19 PRAYERS We also published a specific Covid-19 prayer post for frontliners.

We have an outreach resource page with titles such as “Help! I May Lose my Job”, “A Story of Hope” and “What If It’s True? What Jesus Means for You”.

Churches can share them digitally or request for a print version. This Christmas, we will be offering “Windows on Christmas” resources.

THE TRUE MALAYSIAN SPIRIT In August, our newest article on #KitaJagaKita and the children’s book, “Bunny Finds the Right Stuff” also encouraged Christians to step forward and outward for love in action.

Chinese Language

2021 Highlights

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GOING DEEPER INTO THE WORD QUARTERLY DEVOTIONAL Our Daily Bread daily devotional is still the most requested resource in Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese (large print). It is accessible in print, via the Simplified Chinese website, email subscription or mobile app.

With office closures, we struggled with packing and distribution. However, we are grateful for churches’ response in redirecting them to members’ personal homes. Do continue to encourage personal sign-ups so that they will not miss out.

JOURNEY THROUGH SERIES This is an in-depth study of one book of the Bible every quarter for personal or small group use. It is available in print and online. In 2021, we released 1 Peter, 2 Peter and Ecclesiastes.

Amos will be coming soon in December 2021. In 2022, we plan to release Job, Nehemiah and Ezra, Psalms 51-100 and Joshua. Check out the Journey Through website for all books.

DISCOVERY SERIES BIBLE STUDIES This is a Bible study series based on topical issues for personal or small group use. A few titles are available online with model answers, which group leaders can download for reference. Do find out more: • Time with God • The Surprising Saviour • How Can I Understand the Bible (video)

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LOCAL CONTENT

PRAYER

To apply God’s Word in everyday life, we produced online campaigns, devotionals and short articles to draw Christians back to Scripture. Some popular ones that appeared on our website, e-newsletter, Facebook and Instagram include:

As many struggled in 2021, the focus on preparing prayer resources for our readers increased. Some are listed below:

• • • •

Easter 2021 Project Hope for Reunion Reading Plan Time with God Devotional Project Serve the Nation as a Teacher Facebook post encouraging Christians to serve as teachers after the MOE’s call in June 2021 • YAMI, the Chinese version of YMI. They are part of ODBM and has content for young adults to ask the why and know their purpose.

• • • • • •

Prayer webpage Pray for flash floods Covid-19 prayers Simple Prayers Make A Difference 10 Loving Prayers for Your Mom 10 Loving Prayers for Your Children

EVANGELISM & MISSION With There were many opportunities to minister and reach out to others during this season. Some 2021 resources include: • I Want to Believe, But I don’t Want to Be Bound by Religious Rules • Outreach resource page

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Malay Language

2021 Highlights

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GOING DEEPER INTO THE WORD PEDOMAN HARIAN DEVOTIONAL Pedoman Harian devotional is still the most requested resource in Bahasa Malaysia (BM). It is accessible in print, via the Pedoman Harian website, mobile app or even WhatsApp broadcast. Simply send a message to 0123751718 to be included in the mailing list.

With office closures, we struggled with packing and distribution. However, we are grateful for churches’ response in redirecting members to receive their devotionals via WhatsApp, mobile app or online. Do continue to encourage this so that they will not miss out.

JOURNEY THROUGH SERIES This is an in-depth study of one book of the Bible every quarter for personal or small group use. For BM, it is available in print only. Books released in 2021 are Esther, Proverbs, Mark, Acts, Ephesians, 1&2 Timothy and James.

OUR DAILY BREAD SPECIAL EDITION: Refreshing Your Marriage Relationship (in Iban) Our Daily Bread special edition is a devotional series translated into Iban. It is meant to help couples build a loving, God-centred marriage based on a firm foundation. It helps them navigate various stages of married life amidst social, emotional and physical pressures.

LOCAL CONTENT To apply God’s Word in everyday life, we produced online campaigns, devotionals and short articles to draw Christians back to Scripture. Some popular ones that appeared on our website, e-newsletter, Facebook and Instagram include: • Hari Gawai & Kaamatan • Coretan Hamba Tuhan • Kuasa Salib Yesus

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DISCIPLESHIP SERIES: SIRI PEMURIDAN

PRAYER

This year, we released a discipleship series called Siri Pemuridan in two parts:

As many struggled in 2021, the focus on preparing prayer resources for our readers increased. Some are listed below:

Set A (Book 1-5): Siapakah Tuhan; Alkitab; Identiti & Penyelamatan; Penyembahan & Kehidupan Peribadi Pengikut Yesus; Apakah itu Gereja?

Set B (Book 6-10): Pelayanan Pengikut Kristus; Perkahwinan, Keluarga & Anak-Anak; Kehidupan Komuniti, Kerajaan & Undang-Undang; Dunia Roh & Peperangan Rohani; Akhirat & Kerajaan Tuhan These have been well-received by BM-speaking Christians and churches across East and West Malaysia.

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• 5-min prayer posts • Weekly prayer posts • 5 Days Praying for Malaysia Posts • Apakah yang Anda Bimbang Prayer Posts

EVANGELISM & MISSION : GOD’S BIG STORY FOR YOU This award-winning children’s book has been translated to BM and Iban to share the gospel with children, help them understand God’s Big Story and affirm that they are part of His plan.

BUILDING A BRIDGE 2.0 PROJECT

https://ourdailybread.org.my/building-a-bridge/en/ From September 2020 to March 2021, ODBM reached out to readers to raise awareness of the lack of Christian resources in BM, Iban and other indigenous languages. Seeing as 60% of Christians in Malaysia are from indigenous communities, we felt the need to provide relevant and inspiring materials to help them grow spiritually.

As such, we focused on introducing the Pedoman Harian devotional, Siri Pemuridan discipleship materials, Siri Perjalanan Iman (Journey Through series) and children’s books Siri Cerita-Cerita Penting and God’s Big Story.

Praise God that we reached our target of 500 donors, 75 book sponsors and distributed almost 37,000 BM/Iban books. We received encouraging feedback from churches on the ground on access to these resources. We pray that more would be moved to continue supporting ODB in this work.

36,810 Books Distributed TWe have sent out this number of books purchased by sponsors for those in need

How Your Contribution Helped

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FELLOWSHIP & OUTREACH Since June 2021, we’ve been meeting with Pastors, Bishops and Seminary Principals and Presidents of different denominations to ask for feedback and suggestions for improvement. By strengthening our fellowship with local Christian leaders, we hope to be more effective within the Malaysian church ecosystem in spiritual development and outreach. We are thankful for your responses, and want to continue to be with you.

Internally, our teams meet every morning to pray together in our own small group devotions. We share the Word, reflections and learnings with each other, and uphold our readers, churches, nation and other needs. We believe that coming together in fellowship and praying in one accord will enable us to serve your congregations better.

CONCLUSION We hope you have found this newsletter helpful. The many efforts and resources spent is to enable Malaysian churches and Christians to grow. Please do share these resources as widely as possible as we look to support you in building Christ-centered believers. Do also pray with us as we shape, produce and distribute material with the help of our staff and volunteers.

Finally, it is only possible for these resources to be made available thanks to local individuals and churches who believe in what we do. We appreciate any gifts, as part of your church’s support in mission-giving, Christian education or discipleship. Do remember us.

Shalom, and we look forward to partnering and serving you in years to come.

In Christ we serve,

Caroline Ong Country Director, Malaysia Our Daily Bread Ministries

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If you would like to make a donation, you may do so in any of the following ways: 1. Cheque / Postal Order Payable to “Our Daily Bread Berhad”.

2. Direct Cash / Cheque Deposit / Internet Banking

A/C No. 501271 028662

A/C No. 8006187489 Please send us your bank in details with your full name and 10-digit readership number via post, email, or WhatsApp 012-3371718.

3. DuitNow — Business Registration Number ‘636914V’ 4.

OUR DAILY BREAD MINISTRIES MALAYSIA JOHOR BAHRU OFFICE No. 7, Jalan Seroja 41, Taman Johor Jaya, 81000 Johor Bahru, Johor.

Tel: 07 3531718 | Fax: 07 353 4439 | E-mail: malaysia.odb.org | WhatApp: 012 337 1718 SUBANG JAYA OFFICE No. 10, Jalan Tiara 3, Taman Perindustrian Sime UEP, 47600 Subang Jaya, Selangor. | Tel: 03 80811900 KOTA KINABALU OFFICE Sabah Theological Seminary, Tingkat 2, Bangunan Pentadbiran, No. 26, Jalan Pinggir, Off Jalan Istana, 88400 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.

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