The Methodist Church in Malaysia Family praises and thanks Almighty God for His sovereign guidance and rich blessings received in our just concluded 11th General Conference [20-23 Sept 2016] gathering and proceedings that went smoothly and edifyingly in Sibu.

It was a fruitful time of fellowshipping, discussion, receiving input and reports, and discerning the will of the Lord of the Church in our decision making. The theme adopted for the 2017-2020 quadrennium is A Church after God’s Own Heart [see item #5 below]. Please continue to uphold me in prayer as the Bishop, together with our brothers Anthony Row [GC Secretary] and Tan Swee Ann [GC Treasurer] as the elected GC Officers for the next quadrennium.

Let me thank all our members and churches, as well as our friends from the wider Christian community in Malaysia for your steadfast prayers, warm concern and enriching support.

I also take this opportunity to call on us in the Methodist Family to pray fervently for our beloved nation at this critical time of need as we face many moral, political, social, economic, environmental, health, ethnic and religious challenges. We can do this together by using the intercessory strategy of the Issachar Watchmen Movement of the Methodist Church in Malaysia below, and adding other intercessions that you may have before God’s throne of grace.

The 6 KEY STRATEGIC AREAS / PRAYER FOCI of the Issachar Watchmen Movement at the personal, local church, Annual Conference and General Conference levels are:

1. We pray for the “clearance”/ breaking down of the influence of “the cosmic powers over this present darkness”, “the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” [Eph 6:12] that infect our whole nation, invisibly and visibly.

2. We pray for the rise, growth and completion of God’s Church in Malaysia – as we prepare and look forward to receiving the unreached people groups in our land, especially the obviously bigger ones, so that the Church of God in Malaysia may be complete.

3. We pray for the crucial institutions in our land at this time – viz Conference of Rulers, Parliament, Judiciary, AG’s Office, Police Force especially the IGP’s Office, MACC, the Military/ Army, Bank Negara and the Education Ministry.

4. We pray for progressive political re-structuring and reforms – so that there is greater effective “check and balance” in the governance machinery of our country.

5. We pray for The Methodist Church in Malaysia to be a Church after God’s Own Heart – experiencing:

> Every Methodist Personally Renewed in his/her 1st love for Jesus.
> Every Methodist Church Congregationally Revived as in the Book of Acts.
> The General Conference to be Nationally Refocused and Reframedafter the Word of God and empowered by the Holy Spirit.

6. We pray that we will successfully leave a generational legacy – where a new God-fearing generation is raised up in the home/ family, the church and the nation.

May we as God’s people called Methodists be A Church after God’s own Heart, “keeping in step with the Spirit” now and into the new quadrennium [2017-2020].
Bishop Ong Hwai Teik
The Methodist Church in Malaysia
27 September 2016