The 13th Session of the Sabah Provisional Annual Conference was held on 4-5 November 2016 at Shern En Methodist Church, Kota Kinabalu. 46 pastors and delegates from each church and district gathered to elect the new president and Board of Executive Committee Members. Rev Dr Hii Kong Hock was re-elected to lead the ministry in Sabah for another term of 4 years. Mr Yong Siong Mew and Anthony Lau Bong Horng, were elected as the lay leader and deputy lay leader; Mr Lau Kiing Ho and Mr. Loi Hien Khong were re-elected as Chairman of Board of Finance and Treasurer of SPAC for 2017-2020.
Opening Ceremony
Put God First
The Bishop of Malaysia Methodist Church, Rev Dr Ong Hwai Teik used Pslam 127:1 to remind the congregation. He said, “Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labour in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain.” Thus, all our service to the Lord should be rooted in our relationship with God. If God is not with us in our undertakings, all are in vain!
Bishop Ong urged the participants to bear in mind the three important areas where we must put God first: 1. Family, 2. our town or city, 3. Work or ministry. We need to let God be the head in each of these areas. A praying family will be united by the love of God. A city or town that fears God will have its people watching out for each other. As for our workplace, if we fear the Lord, we will be blessed with wisdom and are diligent at work. Besides we will learn how to have sufficient rest as well. We can’t accomplish all we are doing in one day. As Matthew 6:34 tells us, “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
New Pastors
Two new pastors join the pastoral ministry next year. One of them is a new graduate from Sibu Methodist Theological Seminary who is fluent in three languages. Pastor Jenny Teo Kim Chee is fluent in Chinese, Bahasa Malaysia and English. Rev Jun Nam Kwen hails from Korea. He and his wife will be serving in the BM ministry.
The Way Forward:
“Root Deep on Solid Foundation, Enlarging Our Territory”
In his Presidential Address delivered at the 13th Session of the Sabah Provisional Annual Conference, President Rev Dr Hii Kong Hock frankly expressed his concern that some ministries of SPAC have not been growing. He urged all delegates to seek wisdom and faith from God in order to seek breakthroughs and renewal. In his speech, President Hii revealed SPAC’s theme for the new quadrennium (2017-2020): “Root Deep on Solid Foundation, Enlarging Our Territory”.
The President disclosed that the theme was derived from three aspects. Firstly, believers with shallow and rootless faith can’t attain the Discipleship in accordance with Biblical teachings. Secondly, believers with ‘closed’ faith can’t see the fore-coming crises and challenges of this age. Thirdly, believers with weak faith can’t carry out the Great Commission of Christ.
He asks: “As Christians in Malaysian, do we sense the impending crises? We can see how bleak our situation is. Looking at the chaotic world, where are we heading to? Is our faith deeply rooted? Do we have the sense of urgency to expand our boundary?” The root problem, he says, is our shallow spiritual quality and a lack of the essence of discipleship. Rev Hii thus urged SPAC to put “Nurturing matured disciples as our top-priority, to build a healthy and growing church.” To realize this goal, he proposes some viable ways:
1. Fully implementing the Methodist pooling connectional system, from top down: SPAC Master Plan to be executed by the District levels and put into action at the local churches led by the pastors and leaders.
2. Enhancing believers to have deeper understanding of the word of God. For year 2017-2018, all congregation across SPAC will study the Gospel of Luke (Theme: The Road of Discipleship); whereas year 2019-2020 will focus on the Book of Acts (Theme: Enlarging our Territory). Churches are encouraged to organize Bible Expository meetings, Seminars on Biblical Background, etc.
3. Entrusting the Board of Christian Education to plan and launch a holistic programme in the form of “21st Century Christian Education Nurturing Programme.” This programme, when fully implemented, shall cover: Samuel (Children), Daniel (Junior Youth), Gideon (Youth), Nehemiah (Adults) and Caleb (Senior).
4. Discipleship Training: all local churches must implement the “Disciple” course in proper sequence. Emphases must also be laid on the nurturing of a new generation of pastors and leaders.
In his concluding remarks, President Hii quoted from Rick Warren: “Our ministry must be both faithful and fruitful.” Our prayer and hope is that SPAC will grow – not so much to be measured by numbers, financial strength and buildings, but by producing a community of matured disciples, who are true witnesses for Christ!
20% Income Invested in Mission work
From the reports of each Board, we see the richness in grace and provision of God. Bishop Rev Dr Ong felt relieved to see that 20% of our income was spent on mission work. Mr Lau Kiing Ho was also grateful to God for the blessing He endowed upon His children who gave graciously to the work of God though the economy is sluggish.
Ordination Service
God’s wisdom to be hidden
On the night of 4th November, Bishop Rev Dr Ong shared Isaiah 53: 2-6 saying that during the times when the Israelites were captured to be brought to Babylonia, God seemed to have ‘hidden’ himself behind the scene. During this period, the people had also become very self-centred, seeking power expansion, personal success and self-reliance. Religious activities were just rules and regulations that edify oneself.
From the perspective of the theology of the Cross, it was God’s wisdom to be hidden. Like Isaiah 53:2-6 put it, “He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground…He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem…” but God’s way is above and beyond our understanding. We should not stop learning. We should put our trust solely in God. God has used a crooked staff to draw out a straight path. He is a God of history and he is never too late.
Pastor Esther Lu Yi Tin and Pastor Goh Lian Choo were ordained as deacons.
Reported by Lee Ting Hwong
Translated by Christina Tiong