When Pastor William Than volunteered to teach a Christian class for National Service (NS) trainees at an NS camp in Sarawak, he thought only a few would attend.
“Lo and behold, over more than 200 turned up instead! We were so surprised,” he gushed. “The group was just too big, so we divided them into two groups. My wife (Marian) took the girls and I took the boys.”
The following week, Pr William brought along two helpers who helped to teach the Bible lesson based on the materials from the Youth Aflame currciculum.
While Pr William had a good start, Robert (not his real name) had a “horrific experience” at his first session at a camp in Selangor. The lawyer who volunteered to run the Christian class had to endure the trainees’ indifference and the chaotic situation in the class.
“I asked myself whether I’ll be the first to start the class and also the first to resign!” he shared. Though discouraged, he was at the camp the following night and in his words, “a miracle happened”. The youths were suddenly attentive and they actively participated in the group discussion. Robert believed this was because at the start of the class, he told them that the class would be run like a youth fellowship with their own appointed committee.
Pr William and Robert were among the volunteers who responded to NECF Malaysia’s call for volunteers to run the weekly Christian class at 12 NS camps for the January–March session, the first one where NS trainees were given the opportunity to attend religious classes organised by the Jabatan Latihan Khidmat Negara (JLKN).
NECF Malaysia helped JLKN to coordinate the Christian classes at the 74 camps nationwide. However, due to unavoidable reasons, only 12 camps managed to hold the classes, which were held on Thursday and Friday nights and only at camps that have a minimum 15 Christians. JLKN has subsequently given flexibility on the number.
Statistics provided by the JLKN show that Christians at the January–March session constituted close to 10 percent of the 31,000 trainees nationwide. There were some 65% percent Muslims, 18 percent Buddhists and seven percent Hindus.
The March–June camps are currently running and the response for volunteers from churches has been encouraging, according to NECF Executive Secretary (Leadership Development) Patrick Cheng who coordinated the volunteer mobilisation. “I wish to thank those who have responded. One commandant actually told me that because there were no teachers, he had to send the Christian trainees to the Buddhist classes instead!” he said.
Those interested to volunteer are urged to contact him at patrick@necf.org.my
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