Ministry Report Apr/May 2017

Entering into the second quarter, things are picking up. After all, the season for festivities has, sort of, ended. I’m in Ipoh for a two-week class in Cultural Anthropology. We meet in the evenings from Mon-Thurs and permit me to return Penang over the weekend in between. Holding classes of similar topics lessen me the time of preparations. As of today, the syllabus has concluded for the Ipoh certificate/diploma module and tonight is the final session where students will be sitting for the test. There are ten students in attendance: one certificate and nine diploma students. Two inactive diploma students came back to revive their academic journey. A total of two certificate graduates are upgrading to their diploma which means additional funding will need to be sourced for them (RM1500 x 1; RM1800 x 1 [one student upgrade from STM Certificate of Christian Ministry n one student upgrading from MBS Certificate in Bible Studies])

Elsewhere in Penang, class ended for the Discipleship course in Prai and SP just begun this class. The enrolment for SP class increased to 19 students.

One of the co-founders of SAM will be in town next month. The entire SAM network will try to meet each time he is in this part of the world. Thus, there will be a meeting in Cameron Highlands early next month for this purpose – update of SAM ministry. Besides us, SAM Northern Centers, there are SAM networks in Klang Valley and JB.

In the meantime, SAM Northern Centers has been consulted in a proposal to begin SAM Southern Centers. Further details have yet to be finalized. We are also in the process of proof-reading of a commentary where its completion will see the joint publication with other seminaries in Malaysia. A big thank you to our sponsors who share the burden to develop the BM theological education ministry in Malaysia.

In June, we will launch the first Master in Ministry module in partnership with Seminari Teologi Sabah (STS). STS will be sending their lecturer to teach our students, consisting of BM pastors base in Peninsular. While some are able to claim their course fees from their sending churches, we have a small pool of funds for a few who need scholarship. However, we do welcome more contribution to ease the pastors’ expenses as they seek to upgrade theologically. Classes will be held in Ipoh at St Peter’s Church. Thus far we have eight students but still short of two as STS requested a minimum of ten students to justify the cost of sending their lecturers here. Do pray with us for BM pastors/church leaders to be convicted in this capacity. This STS-SAM partnership will greatly reduce time/expenses while ensuring quality theological education to our BM counterparts.

Apart from classroom activities, we are also seeking partnership between urban and rural churches. Thus far, we have two possible partnerships and both (Chinese) churches in Penang have planned their visit to the rural locations for further exposure, understanding, and planning. We hope to establish more long-term partnerships. Do join us to pray for more such partnerships. I am exploring one possibility with a church in Ipoh. Let me know if you’d like more details on this matter.

Again, I greatly appreciate your partnership in this exciting ministry. There are huge challenges but they appear small because I am confident of God’s hand upon us through each one of you who prays for us, encourages us, and supports us. Should you need further information to be more involved, feel free to drop me a line or two.

SB 270417

Ministry Report Mar/Apr 2017

Everything seems to move fast n I even lost track that the end of the month has arrived, needing another report to my ministry partners.

March went by swiftly, similar to February. SAM Penang class in SP center concluded. Their next class with commence in April in Christian Discipleship. We are exploring an attempt to offer TOPAD through two-week intensive classes in July for this center. Elsewhere, SAM Penang Prai center continued with their class in Christian Discipleship which will conclude in April before the Anthropology class begins in early May.

SAM Ipoh has no classes scheduled in March. The next class will be the Anthropology class in April after Easter for two-week nightly classes.

We are still praying for more students to participate in the Master in Ministry (MMin) program in partnership with Sabah Theological Seminary (STS). The first module is scheduled for June. Will greatly appreciate your sharing with (BM) pastors needing further theological extension training about this program. Classes will be held in Ipoh.

Praise the Lord that SAM received from a sponsor quite a substantial amount to form our publication fund. In progress is a commentary (Philippians) being proof-read. With this publication budget, we can give a love gift to our proof-reader n pay for (our share of) printing costs in partnership with STS.

Meanwhile, it’s a big headache for us here in BJAC: cloudy future n an unreasonable auditor that kept harping on some past wrong entry. Morale is at an all time low in BJAC now. Will appreciate your prayers as we begin to enter into the Holy Week/Easter season

Once again, thank you for your partnership in ministry

SB

020417

Ministry Update FebMar 2017

So we have quickly flew past two months into this “new” year. I think many of us are still reeling from New Year or Chinese New Year. Now, entering into the Lent season, churches are gearing up for Easter preparations.

February was pretty busy. With the CNY festivity end Jan/start Feb, the festivity in the air breathes “laziness” into most of us. The ASOD team went into the villages n it was a refreshing “break” for me to commune with the “jungle” at the start of this “new” year. Then we had the Northern Clergy Retreat at a beach hotel in Penang. It was good to be “pampered” in comfort. Getting in touch, networking, n fellowship with fellow ministry workers was refreshing. After the retreat came loads of work!

SAM Penang SP is continuing their first course of the year in Cultural Anthropology. I seized the opportunity to stay at a nearby hotel when the class was held on the eve of the Thaipusam break. Well, it was boring. SP has nothing much to offer. The budget hotel I stayed at was pretty unique actually. Its deco carries the Middle Eastern theme but the wi-fi speed was so slow I didn’t manage to get into the internet at all. Classes will conclude at the close of March.

SAM Ipoh held two classes in February. At the start of the month was a two-weeks nightly class for certificate students n towards the end of the month was the intensive one-week day classes for diploma students.

SAM Penang Prai will begin their academic year with the study on Christian Discipleship tonight (27Feb).

Elsewhere, our signed MoU with STS to offer the Master in Ministry program in BM, also begins our planning towards the first module to be offered in June in Ipoh. Do pray for us as we need a minimum count of 10 students for the class to commence n thus far we hv 7 with a few undecided/pending inquiries.

Prayer items:

1.         Expansion of partnership/networking with other churches/Christian organizations in areas of finance, training, ministry, etc

2.         Expediting process of creating a new bank account accessible by SAM central committee for a more efficient responses in financial matters

3.         SAM leadership: unity, wisdom, perseverance in ministry

Thank you for your partnership in ministry

Ministry Update JanFeb 2017

Festivities, though very much toned down this year, still have an effect to cause laziness in many of us. I am one of those affected. January had been a fast-paced month. It moved so fast n suddenly we have arrived at the close of the first month of the year.

SAM Penang academic year began with a class in the Sungai Petani center. I am teaching there for this first slot. We are studying Cultural Anthropology, which is a subject close to my heart. Why? Because I majored in Anthropology & Sociology for my undergraduate study; graduated without fully understand what anthropology really is; finally in Seminary discovered those undergraduate years were “foundation” years to my current major in Missiology! God orchestrated everything beautifully, as always. As the class in SP is at night, I usually spent the night “camping” in the church n only drive back Penang early the next morning. However, from the start of class this year, a student managed to persuade me to spend the night in her home. Well, it sure is more comfortable – proper bed n no noisy “mickey mouse football match on the roof” or clattering of utensils at odd hours as neighboring shops begin preparing for the next day’s business. Praise God for His providence!

SAM Penang Prai center will only begin its academic year with its first class in Discipleship end of February. I hope the earlier enquiries will translate into actual attendance as majority of the current students will be ready for graduation by end of this year. They may miss this year’s convocation and I am still looking at options and possibilities to enable the accumulation of enough academic credits so they can make it before deadline to graduate this year.

Elsewhere, SAM Ipoh will open with a certificate course of intensive 2-weeks nightly classes at the start of February and an intensive one-week day classes towards the end of February. The courses offered will be “Church Growth” and “Corinthian Letters” respectively. We are also anticipating some new students for the certificate modules this year.

Prayer requests:

1.         Teaching team: travels, preparations, good health

2.         Students: dedicated, teachable, committed

3.         Administrative team: well organized, attentive, focused

4.         Financial matters: task of “transferring” SAM fund from Bagan Jermal Anglican Church Penang into a new bank account that can be easier accessed by other SAM committee in Ipoh/Gopeng. This is on-going n please pray for St Peter’s admin team assisting us in this with the required paper works n liaising with various parties

5.         More OA to thirst to be well-equipped to serve effectively n willing to “sacrifice” comfort, time, convenience to attend classes n complete assignments

6.         This weekend, 3-5Feb, the Anglican School of Disciples (ASOD) participants will be visiting the OA villages. Pray for the participants to learn, enjoy, n be “bitten by the ministry bug” to carry the burden for OA work. Join us to pray for journey mercy, good weather, n fruitful time of ministry in Kampong Sungai Poh/Kampong Kepayang, Kampong Ulu Kampar, and Gereja Shalom Gopeng. Pray that it will be an “eye-opener” for the participants as they experience a different lifestyle from that of urban context

7.         The first class of Bishop Certificate of Ministry for Upper North Archdeaconry to prepare candidates to serve officially as lay ministers in the Anglican Diocese. I’ll be teaching the first module in “Bible Overview” over the 18-19 Feb weekend

8.         The Northern Clergy Retreat in Penang 20-22 Feb: that it will truly be a time to “relax” and fellowship with fellow workers in ministry

Thank you for your partnership in ministry

SBTan

Ministry Update Dec16Jan17

Yes, I noticed. I missed out “one issue” of my monthly ministry update. So sorry for that. It was a busy time to generate annual reports and send to heads of churches/organizations and student sponsors. The reports gave an overview of SAM Northern Centers academic activities and students’ academic progresses. I know that academic materials may not be a very appealing read, but if you are interested to have a copy, kindly advice so I can email you the pdf reports.

Generally, the “major milestones” in 2016 were:

1.                  Partnering with a Christian publisher to publish a BM book in Biblical Interpretation

2.                  Three OA students graduated with their Certificate in Christian Ministry from STM in October

3.                  SAM forged partnership with STS to offer the Master in Ministry program in Ipoh

4.                  4 courses were conducted in SAM Penang in both Juru and SP; 3 diploma courses in Ipoh; 2 certificate/diploma courses in Ipoh; 3 certificate courses in Ipoh

Anticipated tasks for 2017:

1.                  Create a bank account for SAM Northern Centers. The process is on-going. Didn’t realize so super many red-tapes in the Anglican church! We are not registered as we do not want to “expose” the sensitive nature of our ministry. So, we are functioning under the coverage of the Anglican church. Therefore, we need a lot of “maneuvering” in this matter. Thus far, we are parking our funds in BJAC current account. We are now in the process of creating a new (second) account under the OA church with signatories from SAM committee. Several factors were considered as we decided to transfer the funds to an account that can be (independently) accessed by the SAM committee.

a.       The funds are collected for (theological) training purposes of the OA church they should rightfully have an access to it. Besides, I gave myself a 10-year span to surrender the leadership to the OA church

b.      As a diocesan staff, I am subject to transfer. Therefore, this matter should be looked into now rather than later. In fact, I am foreseeing a transfer in the next one/two years. It will be good to begin sharing/transferring more leadership responsibilities till I can fully relinquish the leadership reign to the OA church

c.       The mother church of BJAC is creating much fuss in our financial matters. But I suppose, it is just timely

2.                  The Master in Ministry program in partnership with STS requires a minimum of 10 committed students. We are launching the first module in June but thus far we only have 6. Do join us to pray for more students. This is probably the only master program conducted completely in BM on a modular approach. Finance is not a problem. Scholarship aids, church sponsors, and study grants are available

3.                  SAM Penang: the meeting place will move from Juru to Prai while the Sungai Petani center remains at Taman Lagenda. There are several enquiries from prospective students in Prai. Not sure yet if they will turn up for class and commit to the program. Currently we have a regular of 10 in Prai n 11 in SP

4.                  SAM Ipoh: pray for our new administrator, Riboni, who will take on the task to promote student participation and update student academic records. Pray also for the OA/BM church. While many have the heart to serve, many also do not have the “staying power” to discipline themselves to attend class, do assignments, n attend to ministry responsibilities at the same time. I have always stressed to my team that we cannot afford to lower the standard just to meet the needs of the students. Instead, it is the students that need to raise themselves. We do not want graduates who are “below the bar.” Regular students cannot be estimated but it was approximately 5-7 for diploma classes and 3-6 for certificate classes. Registered diploma students are 7 and certificate students are 16. Pray for Fione, our Ipoh coordinator. The Ipoh/Gopeng team needs wisdom to inspire the students to commitment and to promote the ministry of the school in Kinta Valley

5.                  BM book – commentary on the book of Philippians: on-going project. We hope to publish this in partnership with several seminaries in Malaysia. In the meantime, I am also translating my doctoral dissertation into BM so that it can be published to benefit the OA/BM church

6.                  Teaching team: will greatly appreciate continuous partnership of teachers who are qualified, available, and possessing a passion for this BM theological education ministry. Our team is working very hard and guest lecturers received a very small token of love gift. I am praying for SAM financial status to be stable enough to give more

7.                  Adjunct duties: I have recently accepted an additional responsibility to serve as an adjunct lecturer in STM. Thus far, I have not received any teaching schedule. However, as this is a secondment from the diocese, it will need to be prioritized over my adjunct commitment in SPECS teaching team

I take this opportunity to thank you for your partnership and prayers that have sustained this ministry, without which it cannot function. It is “lonely” but writing my monthly updates to you and knowing you are my partners encourages me to keep going. Thank you, from the very bottom of my heart. I wish you God’s richest blessings as we venture into another challenging year to labor for our God and King in this land.

SB

301216

Ministry Update OctNov 2016

It has been an interesting month. As of now SAM is at the brink of closing its academic year for 2016. For the first time the module of Theology of Persecution and Discipleship (TOPAD) was conducted in BM with SAM students providing the “trial subjects.” It was unfortunate that a miscommunication resulted in just four students attending this very relevant course. We are now preparing course schedule for 2017. Before long year end reports need to be attended to.

The SAM team was in KK to meet with the leadership team of a local seminary there to initiate a partnership. It was an interesting trip. We were there about three years ago to initiate a similar partnership but it did not progress as expected. In January this year, a chance meeting with one of its staff “resurrected” the interest to pursue this partnership. Meetings were proposed but none materialized until Oct (26). This seminary was skeptical in our proposed partnership to offer a master degree through modular approach as their program is a full-time program. However, along the time both parties negotiated a suitable time to meet, other needs arose that the said seminary adopted the modular approach. It was truly divine timing. The principal even anticipated a lengthy meeting and allocated a whole two hours to discuss the necessary. On my end I was a bit “worried” as I do not know what I need to prepare for the meeting as it looked like as if I only need to be present. Within the first 30 minutes, the “deal was sealed.” What can I say? God prepared every heart involved in this matter!

It was also interesting to meet up with other partners in ministry and former students. In this meeting another partnership possibility was discussed. With God willing, SAM may establish another “branch” center in KK. A meet-up with a former second collegian brought further joy into the trip. It further opened another possibility of partnership. This is to partner a local church in their swiflet bird nest business. SAM considers this involvement/investment as it will provide an income-generating resource to finance our expenses without the need to constantly look for sponsors. Do pray with n for us that we will move in God’s wisdom.

Next month, the final certificate module in Ipoh will take place and I am scheduled to teach on the Gospels. The Theology 1 class in SP will also close in Nov. Then the reports will need to be generated. Christmas programs will begin to unfold. BJAC plans an outreach to the Holy Infant Jesus Home in Balik Pulau, a simple fellowship meal on the eve of Christmas after our service, n a thanksgiving service on NY eve. We are also being “ambitious” to plan for an all-night prayer meeting next year! Well, nothing is impossible because we serve a God who makes possible everything impossible!