Churches should consider honouring in a special way their members who are schoolteachers to thank them for choosing a laborious but influential vocation. The move may also help to boost the image of the lacklustre career, one that has been slowly losing its shine among Christians over the last few decades.

NECF Malaysia Secretary-General Rev Wong Kim Kong made the proposal at a recent seminar on local current issues and how they affect the local Church. Held at the NECF office in June, it was attended by over 60 pastors and leaders from Petaling Jaya churches.

Rev Wong expressed optimism that the switch to teaching Maths and Science in English in national schools would attract more Christians to the teaching career. He was also hopeful that the switch would also help to reverse the decline in the enrolment of Chinese students in national schools.

Quoting an article from the Far Eastern Economics Review which said that, on a national average, 98 per cent of Chinese students went to national schools in 1964 but the figure is down to a mere five per cent today, he said: "We have a tendency to isolate ourselves from the issues surrounding us. This is evident in, for example the low number of Christian teachers, and our general apathetic attitude towards the teaching career. He added: "For instance, I nearly said ‘wasted’ when a girl in my church, a top student, opted to enrol in a teachers’ training college instead of Form 6 or other courses after completing her SPM."

Besides his observations on education, Rev Wong also covered trends and issues in religion and society. He shared about the revival in other faiths, notably Buddhism and Hinduism; the rising militant extremism in Islam; demographic changes and how they affect the local church.

Rev Wong urged Christians not to be dismayed or alarmed by the events or isolate themselves from the issues, but to face the challenges and persevere in prayer for the nation. On this note, he called on the participants to involve their churches in the NECF 40-day Prayer and Fast from July 21 to Aug 30 in conjunction with the Merdeka Prayer Rally.

A similar seminar was held for Subang Jaya churches in early July and two separate ones will be held for Kuala Lumpur churches and NECF Associate Members.