Great Expectations
The close of 2009 with the High Court judgment of the 'Allah' issue was not well received by certain quarters and immediately the Government filed and won an appeal for a stay of execution pending further hearing.
The subsequent events of fire- bomb attacks at nine churches led to press statements released by both Christian Federation of Malaysia and NECF Malaysia (see page 3).
Churches were urged to pray for the peace and well-being of the nation and certainly much prayer is critically needed this year.
One of the major events that will take place in 2010 is the Global Day of Prayer (GDOP) on Sunday, May 23. This happens to fall on Pentecost Sunday and we hope the Christian community will come together to intercede for the nation which is at its critical juncture in its history.
To cater to the expected large turnout, NECF Malaysia has booked Stadium Melawati in Shah Alam, Selangor, which can seat up to 15,000 people. This will be the first time the yearly GDOP is held in a stadium since it was launched in Malaysia in 2004.
The year 2010 will also be the 10th year since NECF launched the annual 40-Day Fast and Prayer. To celebrate this milestone decade, NECF has chosen to adopt the theme "Uniting the Generations" for this year's event.
And to commemorate the day Sabah and Sarawak became part of Malaysia on Sept 16, it has been decided that from this year henceforth, the 40-Day Fast and Prayer will start on Aug 8 and end on Sept 15.
The celebrations will co-incide with "One Malaysia Day", a historical event when the churches from West and East Malaysia celebrate and proclaim "Yesus Engkau Raja, Engkau Perwira, Engkau yang Teragung." (Jesus, You are King, Mighty Warrior and the Supreme One)
In support of the prayer emphasis, we will launch the NECF Prayer Vision for Transforming the Nation, through Prayer Cells and hope to achieve the following:
- To manifest the Kingdom of God in the world through concerted and intentional prayers;
- That the power of the Kingdom of God will be released and established in the various spheres of the public domain; and
- To connect believers in the public domain to intercede at their workplace, schools and homes.
The NECF Nation-Building Team (see page 5) will share through the various pastors fellowships on the five 'I' strategy as seen in the diagram on page 4.
To ensure that we saturate the nation with prayers and action, we want to welcome Andy Chi as Executive Secretary of Prayer, Evangelism and Discipleship. He will be assisted by Lucrece Loo who is currently our Executive Secretary on Prayer.
NECF's role is to facilitate and empower Nation Building through the local church.
Our desire is know what God is doing in the nation. We are aware that many churches have embarked on community and social work. We would like you to share your resources and expertise that would encourage others to take up the challenge of impacting the community.
The year ahead for the nation and the church is very exciting and challenging. We need your support and partnership.
For this reason our emphasis for 2010 is also to encourage the church to enlarge the place of your tent and be a missional community.
Pray with us, as we look to God's favour for our beloved land of Malaysia. |
