Borneo Ministries:
What:
To train and equip local pastors,
evangelists and missionaries to take the
Gospel all across Borneo.
To minister to ethnic minorities in both urban and rural areas.
Why:
Accessing the Dayak (Iban) people is
not straightforward. They live in longhouses on rivers, often
in remote regions where few are willing to serve. The Iban
are former headhunters. They are animist in belief, bound
by fear of spirits and subject to the control of witchdoctors.
Most have never heard of Christ.
Target
Peoples: There are almost 400,000 Dayak people, the largest of about
50 people groups on Sarawak .
Cost:
Seminars for national evangelists are covered by whatever
costs are raised locally. Sometimes help is required to supplement
this given the huge distances covered in order to bring 30
people at a time together.
Suggested gift of £20 per month.
Prayer:
The
Church is under pressure from materialism in cities and intense
pressure in some rural areas from Islam. Pray for more rural
evangelists and pastors. Many churches have no trained leadership.
Some Chinese Churches are growing quickly in coastal areas,
others are struggling.
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Malaysia has two distinct parts: West Malaysia on the Kra peninsular and East Malaysia on the northern part of Borneo island with the territories of Sarawak and Sabah. Recent years have been dominated by the efforts of the Muslim Malays from the East to extend their powerful political influence over the non-Malay half throughout education, economics and religion.
The growing power of fundamentalist Muslim political parties has further polarised the country and consequent inter-ethnic and inter-religious tensions. There are about 6 million people in Northern Borneo including large numbers of Chinese and Filipino immigrants. One of the largest groups is the Iban people with a population of about 400,000.
There have been several periods of sustained church growth among various groups. Notably, estimates place about a third of Chinese immigrants and the majority of indigenous peoples as believers.
Muslim peoples among Filipinos and Indonesians are largely unreached. Some tribal groups are still largely unevangelised though many have experienced widespread revival. 