Over the past four years, NECF Foundation has been quietly helping many pastors and full-time workers by providing material assistance. Though the ministry may be low-key, yet the assistance it renders has long-term impact for the future generations of the beneficiaries.
For example, the interest-free loan extended to pastors’ children for their tertiary education has lent them hope of a brighter future. Thus far, the foundation has disbursed RM135,094 to help fund the education of 14 full-time workers’ children. Another RM51,500 has been given out as welfare support (medical expenses and cash aid).
Another form of help that has farreaching impact is the subsidies given to needy pastors in East Malaysia for their insurance premiums.
Through a special insurance scheme specially packaged by Great Eastern (GE) for NECF, many fulltime workers whose churches could not afford to buy insurance for them, can now serve easier with insurance coverage.
Because of the large number of participants, GE is able to underwrite the scheme at a lower premium, thus making it affordable to many full-time workers.
In addition, GE contributes two percent of all premiums it collects to the NECF Foundation, which in turn turn subsidises half of the premiums for 376 East Malaysian full-time workers. The subsidy given thus far is RM103,955.
Recently, a Sarawakian pastor died in a car accident but because he had earlier purchsed this insurance policy, his wife and young children had a substantial amount of money to ease their burden.
This is not the case for another pastor who died alongside his two young sons in a pre-dawn fire that swept his house in Beluran, near Sandakan in Sabah. In the March 30 incident, Prince Lee died on the spot while his father, Richard Lee, went home to the Lord eight days later. The eldest son followed suit on April 19.
Another son suffered serious burns to the face and body and the mother, Shirly Gakim, was so busy tending to him at the hospital that she missed her husband’s and children’s funeral.
Only the youngest child was spared the fury of the fire, but the family, which had been serving at SIB Iran Baru, lost all their belongings. The family did not own any insurance policy and they are now under the care of SIB Sabah. Shirly has written to NECF for welfare support from the foundation, and the committee is looking into her request.
There are many crying needs, but the foundation’s fund is limited and fast depleting. In the last two years, it received RM170,498 donation, which the foundation expects will be used up within two years.
The NECF Foundation was set up to ease the burden of those in fulltime ministry. If you would like to be part of this work of caring for God’s servants, please send your cheque, addressed to “NECF Foundation”.
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