A brief history of the church in Kuching, East Malaysia

A brief history of the church in Kuching, East Malaysia
The Lord’s recovery spread to Malaysia in 1928 through brother
Watchman Nee, with the raising up of the Lord’s testimony in Sitiawan
(now Manjung) on the Malay Peninsula.
In 1938, a sister from China, Hwang Bi Gwe, and brother Wu Hou Shen
came to preach the gospel in the Rejang River basin area and testified
concerning the Lord’s recovery. At that time, they began having a
meeting in the village of Engkilo in Sibu province, in the home of brother
L. Chen. The widespread preaching of the gospel brought many people
to salvation. Afterwards, the bread-breaking meeting began in several
towns: Kelupu, Tanjung Kunyit, Ensurai, Nang Chun, Sarikei, Bintangor.
In 1940, brother Philip Luan and sister Peace Wang visited Sarikei,
Bintangor, and Sibu; however, they encountered opposition from the
denominations and were restricted to only a three-day stay. In 1947,
leaving their former hometowns, a few saints who loved the Lord
gradually moved to the urban areas and resided there. What followed was
the start of the Lord’s recovery in the city of Sibu among these few saints
who met in the house of brother Y. Chen for the bread-breaking meeting.
Close to the end of 1955, two families moved from Sibu to Kuching.
In January 1956, they began meeting and having the Lord’s table in a
small house on the west section of Pisang Road. In 1957, they moved to
Padungan Road and conducted their meetings on the third floor of a store
building. About 10 saints met together at that time.
In 1960, the saints moved to Rock Road and had their meetings in a
store building. The number of saints in the meeting was about 12 to
15. In 1967, about 15 saints who used to be in the denominations, after
having read brother Watchman Nee’s book, “The Normal Christian
Church Life,” saw the proper ground of oneness of the church and the
proper practice of the church life. As a result, they came into the Lord’s
recovery.
Two years later, in 1969, the saints moved to a store building of the
Chaozhou denomination. The attendance then was 30 to 40 people.
From 1969 till early 1990, the Lord’s servant, brother Chang Wu Cheng
frequently came to visit the church in Kuching because of his concern and
care for the growth and advancement of the saints. During those years,
many saints, family after family, moved from Sibu to settle in Kuching.
By 1975, the saints were able to purchase a meeting hall located on
Central Road. The attendance had reached 50 to 60.
On January 12, 1986 the meeting was transferred to the Chong Kiun
Kong Road meeting hall. The meeting attendance was around 110 to 120.
Between 1986 and 1987, many young people, especially students, were
saved through hearing of faith in the gospel. Consequently, the attendance
increased to between 230 and 280. In 1986, the church saw the vision
of the God-ordained way: living, begetting, nourishing, teaching, and
building. The church also began knocking on doors and preaching the
gospel from house to house.
From 1987 to 1990, the church commenced the practice of the small
groups and the community gospel. Many middle-aged people were saved.
This resulted in the increase of the saints to 400, and the increase of the
small groups from 19 to 34.
In 1990, the Lord’s servant, brother Witness Lee visited the churches of
East Malaysia, including the church in Kuching. The church then saw the
importance of the building framework: gospel, home, group, and district.
In 1991, the west annex (now called Annex C) of the meeting hall was
constructed to accommodate the practice of the district meetings.
By April of 1992, the small groups had increased from 34 to 43. In
August of that year, Annex C of the meeting hall was completed. At that
time, there were a total of six districts and the attendance exceeded 500.
In 1993, the church realized that the addition of groups and districts
was the way to propagate and increase. One year later, the church began
its first term of the steward training in order to perfect the brothers and
sisters who served in the church.
In February of 1994, the small groups increased from 43 to 56, the district
meetings increased from the previous six to thirteen, and the attendance
reached 600. In September of the same year, through the book, “One
Thousand Godly Families, Ten Thousand Little Samuels” published
by the church in Taipei, the vision regarding the children’s group was
revealed. The whole church entered into this burden and practice with the
goal of gaining 50 godly families and 500 little Samuels. October was the
start of the practice of the children’s group. According to the record of
October 16, the total number of children was 477.
In 1995, the first East Malaysia kingdom camp was conducted in
Kuching. In 1999, the church in Kuching conducted the camp again. This
annual regional event was later designated the East Malaysia churches
blending conference.
After the perfecting training for the small group core members in
February 1997, the district meetings of the church jumped from the
former 13 districts to 27 districts, the small groups rose from 56 to 77,
and the total number of saints surpassed 700.
The church went through three years (1997-1999) of lukewarm and
barren church life. In March 2000, the church organized a tour for
visitation overseas, naming this the “service-perfecting tour.” With a
desperate and seeking heart, the saints visited the churches of Taiwan
with the earnest hope that the Lord would show them the blueprint of the
church’s building, and thereby perfect them. In May of the same year, the
church receive a “perfecting training of the new way.” The saints came
in one accord, riding on the wave of the Holy Spirit, with much laboring
and struggling for the sake of the Lord’s testimony in Kuching. From the
stagnation of the past, the church made a fresh start in an entirely new
setting and turned to a new page for the Lord’s recovery in this locality.
The church carried out “four great system changes” – change of ecology,
change of concept, change of living, and change of framework, plus “five
great constructions” – morning revival, prayer, blending, vital groups,
perfecting and training. By October of 2000, the number of regularly
attending saints surpassed 1,000. In 2001, the church entered into the
exercise and practice of the vital groups, making everyone function
organically through begetting, nourishing, teaching, and building,
building up the Body of Christ.
After one year, the church saw the coordination of the community vital
groups with the children’s groups as the secret to the church’s perennial
propagation and increase. The children’s groups are the foundation for
raising up spiritual descendants. Moreover, they are the excellent means,
amid this perishing world, for rapidly bringing large numbers of children
and their parents to salvation. According to church statistics, the number
of children is now more than 700, and the number of saints is around
1,200.
In these days, the church has received a special blessing by providing
hospitality to visiting saints from around the globe. By means of the
blending of the churches, the saints have enjoyed the abundant grace and
blessing of the Lord. Within these two and a half years (up to August
2002), the church in Kuching had served 96 tour groups, with a total of
3,494 people. At the end of 2002, the church had 68 districts, and a total
regular attendance of 1,200 saints.
From 2003 onwards, the burden and practice of the church were as
follows:
1. Raising up descendants who belong to God:
For years, to produce and nurture the young saints has been one important
item in the church service. Many young people grow up in the church life
and are perfected here. They learn to bear responsibility in the church and
in the Lord’s work in other places. In recent years, the framework for the
children and student work has tended toward being perfect and mature,
and more helpful in raising up the next generation of the church. May the
Lord gain a group of young people to rise up and cooperate with Him for
the accomplishment of God’s economy.
2. Pursuing the word of the ministry and blending in the Body of
Christ
Pursuing the seven annual speaking of the ministry has stirred up the
saints’ desire for the word of God and the ministry of this age. The saints
exercise the God-man living, practice the vital groups, and build up the
Body of Christ. Furthermore, the saints have gained much benefit in the
blending of the Body of Christ, and this has caused their feeling toward
the Body to be more profound.
3. A consecrated life:
Subsequent to the November 2004 steward training, the Holy Spirit led
many saints to have a drastic and thorough consecration. Many saints
and their families consecrated themselves anew to the Lord, exercising
to live a consecrated life, which is the God-man living. Up to the present,
they have continued steadfastly exercised to have a living of godliness,
pursuit, and service. Numerous saints have consequently been willing to
get involved in the various services in the church.
From 2006 onwards
1. Shepherding according to God:
“This year I will bear a healthy and remaining fruit, as healthy as I am.”
This was the corporate declaration at the end of the 2006 International
Chinese-Speaking Conference by many saints standing before the Lord.
At the same time, they announced that year as the Organic Shepherding
Year of the church. The saints were incited to be zealous for the gospel
and shepherding work. To this day, shepherding is what the church has
been doing positively.
2. Evangelizing Malaysia:
For the building up of the Body of Christ and the preparation of the
Bride, the gospel of the kingdom must be preached to all the inhabited
earth. This is the Lord’s commission; this is the saints’ ultimate
responsibility. The church in Kuching designated several nearby localities
as the goal for propagation. In February 2006, the church in Kota
Samarahan was raised up. At present about 80 saints (approximately half
of whom are university students of Sarawak University) keep the proper
church life and stand as a strong testimony of the Lord in that place.
3. Construction of the new building:
Because of the church’s continuous propagation and increase, the
existing meeting hall had become inadequate. Through much seeking
and fellowship, the responsible brothers felt there was a need for a larger
meeting hall to address the present and future needs. By the Lord’s
sovereign leading, He gave a piece of land adjoining the present meeting
hall to the church. Meanwhile, the saints began to give their material
offerings to the Lord for the needs of the new construction. The Lord’s
blessing and the saints’ continuous enjoyment of grace made the saints’
offerings sufficient to pay the entire cost of the construction.
From 2007 onwards
1. The practice of the “meeting hall system”:
For the church to practice the church life with a healthier framework, a
number of brothers visited the churches of Taiwan to seek fellowship.
In the middle of 2007, the church started using the meeting hall system
framework in practicing the church life. This enables more saints to
exercise their organic functions and to be perfected, thus taking care of
all the diverse needs of the church. The church in Kuching now has six
meeting halls and 48 districts, spread throughout every corner of the city
of Kuching.
2. The reading of the Recovery Version Bible:
Through the years, the brothers and sisters have been reading the Bible,
but never had there been a common schedule of reading for the whole
church. In order to bring all the brothers and sisters into the spiritual
riches supplied by this ministry, the leading brothers encouraged every
brother and sister to pursue the Recovery Version Bible and the footnotes,
to enjoy the Lord’s living word of life every day, and to be constituted
with the divine truth. The saints now have a greater desire to gain the
riches in the Lord’s word and in the ministry of this age.
3. Evangelizing Malaysia:
The brothers have begun the fellowship concerning Serian (one-hour
drive from Kuching) and Lundu (90-minute drive from Kuching) for the
propagation work. Starting from December, the saints of Hall 2 have been
visiting Lundu on a fixed schedule. Soon after, a weekly small group
meeting with the local saints was established there.