The outreach was spearheaded by some Christians from the Klang Chinese Methodist Church who initially got together some doctors, dentists and lawyers from within their midst to reach out to residents in the fishing village, an hour’s boatride away from Klang. From one church, the ministry grew to attract medical professionals from other churches including those from the SIB, Full Gospel Assembly, Lutheran and Baptist.

According to Andrew Ng, one of the pioneers of the outreach, the group believed that presenting a ‘whole’ gospel – one that ministers to both body and soul – was more effective than just plain preaching. In the outreach, the ‘preaching’ was done by ‘befrienders’ – Christians who stood by to chat with the residents waiting their turn to be examined.

Their first outreach not only impacted the residents but the volunteers themselves – Christian doctors and lawyers from other churches who heard about the work asked to participate.

Today, the outreach has a pool of about 30 professionals from various churches in Klang and Petaling Jaya. With this number, the organisers were able to increase the number of visits to the island.

Last year, the outreach was conducted every Sunday for the whole month of October. The professionals were divided into four groups, with each group working one Sunday. While the medical professionals demonstrated Christ’s love through their skills, some 40 befrienders mingled with the crowd and ‘spoke’ His love.

"The befrienders would gently remind the residents that the event was organised by churches and Christians. When the opportunity arose, they would share the gospel," Andrew said.

Besides individuals, the outreach has also drawn in support from some churches, and their combined effort has produced a more effective and coordinated project. For example, one church organised the transport to the island, another church took care of the volunteers’ meals, while another provided medical supplies.

The outreach was not confined to contribution from churches; the organisers also drew the partnership of the Klang General Hospital Christian Fellowship (who sent their nurses), pharmaceutical company Pfizer which provided some medical supplies, and the OUG Lions Clubs which organised free eye-checks. Another company came in to help organise activities for the children waiting in the rented hall.

"If we were to do this alone, we wouldn’t have been able to touch so many lives. By combining our efforts, we could really impact the whole community," Andrew said.

Spurred by the response in Pulau Ketam, the organisers extended the outreach to another nearby village, Kapar. Again, the outreach was a combined effort of several churches – Kapar Methodist Church, Gospel Community Centre, Kapar Tamil Methodist Church, Klang Chinese Methodist Church – together with the Klang GH Christian Fellowship and several corporations.

The team operated from the Kapar Methodist Church every Sunday for the whole month of August last year.

Andrew reckoned the ministry reached about 1,000 people at the villages during the two months. He stressed that the gospel is the heart of the outreach and the residents are continually, albeit gently, reminded that the project is run by churches.

"What we are doing is planting seeds. We know we may not get immediate results, that’s why this (outreach) is not a hit-and-run affair. We are in this for the long haul," he said.

For Andrew and the many volunteers involved, the outreach has been an eye-opening experience at inter-church partnership.

"Personally, I have seen churches responding to the challenge to be the salt and light and because of our partnership, we were able to impact a whole community. For this, I must thank my church, particularly the senior pastor, and the other (participating) churches who have supported the project."