GOD’S FAITHFULNESS
“The God of Heaven Himself will prosper us; therefore we as His servants will arise and build.”
“Perhaps one of the greatest joys of NECF has been to see the growing unity of the Malaysian Church.”
Message From Rev. Datuk Dr Prince Guneratnam
Chairman, NECF Malaysia
For the past 20 years, we have seen God’s hand upon NECF Malaysia. He has richly rewarded the faith of the small group of volunteers who initiated the forming of the fellowship many years ago. Their faith was like that of Nehemiah’s (a faith to build) and their trust was in a God who rewards those who diligently seek Him (Heb. 11:6).
Through all these years, God has been faithful in helping NECF to fulfill her mission to bless the nation through the local church. Like Nehemiah, the desire to do His will has kept NECF focused, and our prayer is that we will continue to be a blessing as long as Jesus tarries.
He has also given NECF the privilege and opportunity to be a testimony in making the gospel relevant. He also provided unprecedented opportunities for us to organise historic events, such as the Emmanuel Celebration in December 1999, that drew crowds of up to 60,000 nightly to the Bukit Jalil Stadium.
We thank God for the continual emphasis on the importance of prayer, which has led NECF to sponsor numerous prayer initiatives. Prayer has been a vital part in all evangelistic rallies and spiritually undergirds advocacy on issues affecting Christian witness and churches in Malaysia. NECF has partnered with the Malaysian churches in the past few years to raise a large group of passionate intercessors to stand in the gap for the Malaysian Church and the nation.
The Lord has also blessed us with the privilege of linking with regional Christian entities and to contribute towards His work internationally through involvement with groups such as the World Evangelical Fellowship (now known as the World Evangelical Alliance). In 2001, NECF was privileged to host the WEF International Conference on Globalisation and the WEF General Assembly. The latter was attended by some 600 Christian leaders from 84 nations and graced by our Prime Minister at its opening. Today, NECF is represented in the International Council of the WEA.
NECF has also sponsored training programmes, seminars and conferences that have helped equip Christian leaders and the Malaysian church at large in fulfilling the Great Commission, not only to our nation, but also throughout the world.
This year, NECF is sponsoring a nationwide fast and prayer and those participating will be sowing their meal money towards helping the poor. We also thank God for many of you who have rallied with NECF to respond to urgent needs of victims of disasters both in and out of our country. May God bless you for your generosity.
It is appropriate at this juncture for me to also thank the many churches and individuals that have faithfully financially supported the work of NECF over the years.
Perhaps one of the greatest joys of NECF has been to see the growing unity of the Malaysian Church. The coming together of different denominations to organise evangelistic activities, prayer rallies and community projects is a testimony of the desire of Malaysian churches to be the Salt and Light Jesus commanded us to be. This is reflected in the growth of the NECF family in the last two decades from 64 to 393 churches, and from eight to 682 individuals. To cater to the needs of the growing fellowship, the initial staff team of two has grown to 16.
The NECF Council has prayerfully chosen the theme “Quest for Spiritual Perfection – The Malaysian Church Agenda” for our 20thanniversary celebrations according to Hebrews 6:1, “Therefore, leaving the elementary principles of the doctrines of Christ, let us go on to perfection.”
The call is for the Malaysian Church to move towards maturity through the most holy faith (Jude 20), becoming a church sanctified and blameless (1 Thes. 5:23) and without “spot, wrinkle or … blemish” (Eph. 5:27) at His coming.
We covet your prayer and support for the continuing ministry of NECF. May we seek to obey God and to bless our churches and nation until we see Him, our Blessed Hope! |
