Dedication Service of  Xin Fu Yuan Good Shepherd Centre

The Sarawak Chinese Annual Conference (SCAC) Bahasa Malaysia (BM) ministry marked another new chapter. Good Shepherd Centre of Xin Fu Yuan Methodist Church in Sibu is now completed and is ready to serve the indigenous community in the neighbourhood.

The dedication ceremony fell on the evening of 19 May 2019. The President of SCAC, Rev Tie King Tai, delivered his message, “The Good Shepherd Who is Willing to Die for You,” and reminded the audience that Jesus is the good shepherd who is willing to die for us.

“Do we all really know why the Good Shepherd came? Some said it was to spread the gospel, others said He came to do miracles. However, the main purpose of His coming was to die for you and I. He transformed our lives which would perish so that we could have an abundant life. We have to share about His coming and a life which is everlasting.”

Furthermore, Rev Tie also stressed that the one who killed was the robber; the one who gave life was Jesus. We should emulate what Jesus had done, to give our lives for others.
“We only have to believe in Jesus Christ to enjoy abundant life. And to respond to His love is to worship Him and to share His sacrificial love with others.”

Rev Tie expressed that the indigenous people have a unique character. They are a group of people who are willing to share what they have and they live a simple life. We Chinese have to learn this willingness of sharing from them because Jesus as a person gave graciously without any reservation. “For example, we Chinese can invite our indigenous friends to come to our house during Chinese New Year celebration.”

Starting from the 80s, the Chinese congregations had adults and children separated for Sunday Service but the indigenous people have been enjoying family worship with the children, who behave in reverence. We Chinese need our children to worship together with parents, teaching them to obey and behave.

He continued to say, “I sincerely hoped that the indigenous churches would not follow our footsteps but, on the contrary, it is for the Chinese churches to do more review and reflections.”

Rev Tie thus encouraged both the Chinese and the indigenous congregations to work hard to find the lost sheep, so that more people would enjoy the fruitful life that Jesus would give us.

During the dedication ceremony, the hall was fully packed with 500 people, even with some indigenous sitting on the floor, and more outside at the verandah.

How good and beautiful it was when Chinese and the indigenous children of God sat and stood together to worship God and to witness this historic moment of Good Shepherd Centre.
May the Centre be a blessing vessel to many indigenous people!

Reported by April
Translated by Christina