The 42nd Session of Sarawak Iban Annual Conference (SIAC) was held from 3rd to 5th Nov, 2017 at the Iban Methodist Centre at Fong Ming Road, Sibu.
From the reports, SIAC has 20 churches with a congregation of more than 200 people. Meanwhile, there are 68 churches that have 50-70 regular worshippers. Worship places at the longhouses have increased from 461 in 2016 to 474 this year. SIAC has a total membership of 45,188 this year as compared to that of 44,382 in 2016.
In general, the number of congregations, places of worship and income have all increased.
In terms of total income, SIAC has also improved from that of RM 720,460 in 2016 to RM 805,238 this year, an increase of around RM80,000.
As for baptism, there are 310 adults and 523 children who were baptized this year.
Two pastors were ordained as Elders and three as Deacons this year. The newly ordained Elders were a husband and wife team, namely Rev. Limbai Banyang and Rev. Winnie Chendu. Meanwhile, Yan Foong Peng, Senorita Wat, and Johnny Mallet Ak Bullet were ordained as Deacons.
Apart from these, Rev. Jubin Jamal was appointed as the superintendent for Bintulu district for 2018.
On the first night of the annual conference, a “Fellowship Gathering Night” was held at a restaurant. The present Deputy Chief Minister of Sarawak Dr. James Jemut Masing, who once held 4 offices as the secretary of SIAC, was invited to the gathering as the honourable guest. He said that he had received his education at Methodist School starting from primary school, a true Methodist indeed! He announced the good news of donating RM50,000 to SIAC.