The Seventh-day Adventist Church in Malaysia is rejoicing after the successful conclusion of its Hope for Malaysia evangelism initiative, which welcomed more than 1,600 individuals as they embraced their new faith through baptism. After seeing such a large crowd eager to hear more about Jesus, organizers were motivated to set up a second round of evangelistic activities on November 25, 2023.
The week-long evangelistic campaign started on August 18 in major cities such as Kuala Lumpur, Kuching, and Kota Kinabalu. The meetings took place simultaneously at over 25 locations throughout the country. Hope for Malaysia is intended to promote revival among workers and church members in united worship while revealing an impactful initiative pertaining to the urgency of urban missions.
“This is a major achievement for Malaysia,” remarked Pastor Abel Bana, president of the Malaysia Union Mission (MAUM), expressing how heartening it was to see the first nationwide movement of the Adventist Church in the country. "It was not easy, but going through all that story and inspirations just brought our church in Malaysia to be spiritually motivated and seek more to do mission in this challenging field," he continued.
The climax of the nationwide evangelism occurred as thousands gathered at designated meeting sites for the Harvest Celebration Sabbath. The Christian Ecumenical Worship Centre in Kuching, Sarawak, welcomed more than 2,500 attendees, while the Wisma MCA in Kuala Lumpur and the Sabah International Convention Centre in Kota Kinabalu hosted approximately 1,500 people each from the Peninsular Malaysia Mission and Sabah Mission, respectively.
Other churches also gathered at selected locations for regional united worship services, such as Johor Bahru for southern region churches in the Peninsular Malaysia Mission.
According to Pastor Francis Amer, director of Adventist Chaplaincy Ministries and Ministerial (and Evangelism) Association for MAUM, the groundwork and preparation started with a ten-day prayer revival and enrichment seminar in January. Soon afterward, training and seminars on care group evangelism, cell phone ministry, and the Digital Missionary, to mention a few, were conducted all around the country. He expressed his belief that the program's success was a result of unified, collaborative efforts from leaders at all levels of the church organization.
Despite the difficulties of organizing such a large assembly of believers, "it is encouraging to see how our churches mobilized as one in this country," Amer added. Moreover, "I personally believe that the whole program is a success because, as I have observed from the leaders from the higher level of our church organization to church levels, everyone has worked unitedly and collaboratively. As a result, souls are won through Christ."
The Adventist Church's recent Hope for Malaysia project highlighted its dedication to the I Will Go movement. This national endeavor demonstrated increased church member involvement in personal and public evangelistic outreach, which aligned with the church’s Total Member Involvement (TMI) goal. It also included frontline missionaries who spoke at large meetings, inspiring audiences to get involved in preaching the Gospel. Furthermore, Hope for Malaysia proved demonstrably successful in converting new believers, echoing the development within the 10/40 Window region.
Sharing Hope in Malaysia’s Major Cities
Peninsular Malaysia Mission
Located in the city center, the Hope for Kuala Lumpur Harvest Celebration Sabbath gathered congregations from 27 churches—approximately 1,500 church members, visitors, and friends, united in praise and worship. The morning service was filled with songs of praise and testimonies. The message shared by Pastor Kent Sharpe was impactful and needed. He said, “We love evangelistic meetings because it gives us an opportunity to share Jesus, and at the same point in time, it allows us as a church, as a body of believers, to work toward a common goal where we can win souls for Christ.” Thirty-one precious people accepted Christ—eighteen from Myanmar churches.
Sarawak Mission
Over 2,500 people gathered at the Christian Ecumenical Worship Centre in Kuching, Sarawak, for the culmination of Hope for Kuching. The hall was packed, and people were waiting outside, trying to get a seat inside. In an interview with Pastor Mike Lambert, the speaker at Kuching, calls believers to “share everything you have learned to pass on the blessings that God has given you. But to do that, we must surrender to Jesus day by day. Pray for His Holy Spirit to lead and guide us.” The Sarawak Mission offered three sites during the evangelistic series: Kuching City Evangelism, Tebedu Evangelism (south Kuching), and Simunjan Evangelism (north Kuching). A total of 370 precious people accepted Christ in Sarawak.
Sabah Mission
According to Pastor Neville Neveling, of Adventist World Radio, “Evangelistic meetings are important and necessary because it is a direct command from Jesus Christ. When we are busy with evangelism, we ourselves grow and, at the same time, make other people ready for heaven. We are in the process of helping others, but also helping ourselves.” The Likas (Kota Kinabalu) Church baptized 355 precious souls during the Harvest Celebration Sabbath. Hope for Sabah nightly meetings took place at 18 churches in the Sabah Mission, with 409 newly baptized members.
As the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Malaysia continues to work towards spreading the message of hope and salvation and prepare for more opportunities to share Jesus with individuals who want to embrace their faith and embark on a spiritual journey, they invite all to join them in prayer for their ongoing efforts.
The original version of this story was posted on the Southern Asia-Pacific Division website.