Issue 34

 

Be Faithful

                      At a tender age of 5, Albert Einstein was given a compass as a birthday gift by his dad. He discovered that the compass needle always points to the true North. That stirred the boy’s curiosity in the forces at play in the unseen  world. Einstein is to grow up and make his mark in the world through his theory of relativity, gravitational waves, photoelectric effect of light, and so on.

A book, with the verses that read, “As therefore you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so live in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.” (Colossians 2: 6-7, RSV) was given to me on my 18^th birthday. It changed the course of my life. It took me beyond church-going to a lifelong quest of knowing and following Jesus as Lord.

In the fall of 1934, Evangelist Mordecai Ham of Louisville, Kentucky, held a three-month-long revival meeting in Charlotte. A few weeks into the meetings, a certain Albert McMakin, gathered a group of local youths and took them to the service in his pick-up truck night after night. Billy Graham was one of the youths. Finally one night Billy went forward to make a personal commitment to Christ. The rest is history.

Our calling is to be faithful in doing the will of God — in big things — like obeying the Great Commission, and in small things – like giving someone a ride to church. Small gifts and thoughtful acts can have an impact beyond our dreams. Mega changes in our world today can have a dwarfing effect on us. We must take comfort in the fact that in God, there are no little people. Under God — a ‘mustard seed’ gift given, a word of encouragement spoken, a thoughtful line written, a ministry assignment done etc., can lead to kingdom-size impact.

Be faithful — every moment and every day to the Lord’s promptings and leading. The obedience is ours. The results are His!

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Over 900 from more than 60 different churches and Christian organizations in Malaysia and beyond gathered for the MAP 10^th Anniversary Thanksgiving and Fundraising Dinner on 18^th November, 2010 at The Club in Bukit Utama, Petaling Jaya, Selangor. We give thanks to God and to all who have partnered in the work for the following:

Over 220 evangelists in 10 nations of Asia Pacific

1. Over 22,000 came to Christ
2. Over 6,000 baptized
3. Over 750,000 gospel tracts distributed and
4. 5,000 Chinese bibles given to believers in rural China.

The evening began with the joyful noise of praise and worship led by The Impressions, an opening prayer by Mr. Lim Eng Weng, Chairman of MAP, and a DVD presentation on MAP – A Decade of Gospel Advance. Lydia Ooi rallied the crowd to finish the task with the “Back to Jerusalem” Chinese theme song before Ooi Chin Aik, MAP Founder and President, challenged the audience in the MAP 10^th Anniversary Address to partner in sending out 1,000 evangelists, distribute at least 5 million gospel tracts and 50,000 bibles in the new decade.

Dr. Patrick Sookhdeo, special speaker for the evening, gave the MAP 10^th Anniversary Message after he launched the book: “Turning Faces Towards Heaven”, authored by Ooi Chin Aik. In between lots of food and fellowship, Darren Yeoh, expressed the sentiment of all with his English rendition of “Thank You”. 10-year service awards were presented to Chin Aik, Audrey Tan and Philip Soh by Mr. Lim Eng Weng, MAP Chairman. An appeal for the MAP New Building Fund was made before the evening closed with a benediction by Pastor Ong Hock Huat.

 

A Decade of Gospel Advance

 

 

MAP 10-year Service Recipients

In Appreciation

 

Thanks to Agape Chapel, Beacon Presbyterian Centre, Ravi Chitty, Andrew Ng, Valerie and Donald Cheah, The Impressions, and many others for all the help given. Thank you everyone for coming and cheering the work of gospel advance through MAP.

The MAP Malaysia Family

 

 

Christian leaders and pastors gave their feedback on the evening:

“The 10^th Anniversary Thanksgiving & Fundraising Dinner was a real success as the banquet hall was fully packed with well wishers and supporters from many different Christian denominations from Malaysia and afar. It’s indeed a memorable and challenging night, particularly the keynote address from our brother Chin Aik and the special message from Dr. Patrick Sookhdeo, the International Director of Barnabas Fund and MAP International Council of Reference. I was especially moved by the special gospel song presented in Mandarin by Mrs. Lydia Ooi who was full of passion and zeal for her Lord. I truly believe that both Chin Aik and Lydia are united wonderfully to enable our Lord to take MAP to even greater heights in the days ahead!

It’s amazing that within a mere decade, from 2 evangelists in 1 country, the work has grown into a movement of over 200 evangelists in 10 different countries of Asia Pacific and is still growing!

I count it a great privilege and honour to be a part of MAP.”

Rev. Woo Kit Sang

Trinity Methodist Church, Penang

MAP Council of Reference, Malaysia.

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“It’s a great delight to be able to witness what God has done through MAP for the past 10 years. I believe MAP will do greater things  in the next 10 years!

Dr. Patrick Sookhdeo has certainly spoken with great conviction on MAP:

1. Missions A Passion, 2. Missions A Purpose, 3. Missions A Privilege, 4. Missions A Partnership,         5. Missions A Price. The message has summarized what MAP is doing, and it has touched my heart.”

Rev Chua Soon Kent,

Canaan Baptist Church, Kuala Lumpur

MAP Council of Reference, Malaysia.

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 “Congratulations to MAP on her 10^th Anniversary! The testimonies were clear evidence of the display of God’s faithfulness and favour towards this kingdom work. May an increasing portion of wisdom, strength and grace rest upon the dynamic leadership of MAP as you continue to pursue and listen to God’s heartbeat for this end time generation. We stand with heaven to applaud this God-driven assignment. To God be the glory!”

Pastors Edward Lim and Selina,

Gateway City Church, Penang.

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“It was an honour and joy to come all the way from Kalimpong, North India, to participate in the MAP 10^th Anniversary Dinner. The experience and fellowship with over 900 celebrating the joy of 10 years of gospel advance is awesome! We look forward to working together with you and the team under the Spirit’s guidance for God’s task in Asia Pacific.”

Pastor Nandu Gurung

Regional Coordinator

India and Bhutan.

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“10 years ago a vision like a drop of water created a ripple for the gospel. Today we see the breaking wave for the gospel through MAP. As partners with MAP, we are challenged to catch the wave. We witness today God using faithful men and women to move mountains for the gospel. We cheer the work of MAP and ask the Lord our God to establish His work in the years to come.”

Elder Peter Tan Jin Hooi

Agape Chapel, Petaling Jaya

MAP Board of Director.

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“As key partners in ACTs Church, we really appreciated the information and inspiration we received that night. It was truly an evening to remember – a well organized event with good food and great fellowship among so many friends. We applaud and support wholeheartedly the vision, mission and strategy the Lord has given Pastor Chin Aik for the way forward, and count it a privilege to be in partnership with MAP for what is set to be a very exciting and fruitful next 10 years for the kingdom of God- here in Malaysia and around the world.

We also congratulate Chin Aik on a very timely and well written book.”

Pastors Kenneth and Sandra Chin

ACTS Church, Petaling Jaya

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A Commitment to Preaching and Gospel Ministry