by Leow Yew Chong
Last week in Kuantan, bro Roger Campbell had a series of meeting with the church there on Friday and Saturday night, and Sunday morning (10-12th October 2014). He was accompanied by his lovely wife, sis Donna. Six of us (Caroline Chong, Linda Leong, Khoo Tze Wei, Lee Tiong Soon and Tan Sze Yin) and sis Ai Ngik of KL went along to attend the meeting. We had five friends who attended the entire duration of the meetings.
Bro Roger spoke in Mandarin on Friday. Thereafter from Saturday, he spoke in Mandarin with translation into English for those whose proficiency in Mandarin is poor. As usual, bro Roger taught the Word with clarity and simplicity showing who is the Christ, the Cross and the Church. Our bro Khoo Tze Wei assisted in song leading during Sunday worship with Lee Tiong Soon closing the worship in prayer.
A friend who had a study with bro Roger in the afternoon felt that it was only proper to reciprocate the kindness shown by the preacher in sharing God’s word by giving him a bouquet of fruits. This friend had asked Linda to accompany her to purchase the fruit basket. I felt it was a lovely gesture and certainly reminded me that we must honour those who shared the good news with us (Gal 6:6; 1 Tim 5:18).
The church in Kuantan is a small congregation where the average worship consists of ten people. However the work put in for this gospel meeting with bro Roger was tremendous as exemplified by their attendance of 18 on Friday, 32 on Saturday and 28 on Sunday.
In case you are thinking that this number is small and irrelevant, please note that the friends who came to hear the Word spoken was 6 on Friday, 11 on Saturday and 7 on Sunday. In percentage, about 30% of the attendance were friends and visitors who came to hear the Word spoken. Imagine if we have such crowd in Klang during our meetings!
The attendance for this gospel meeting is much better than previous occasions. In my opinion, these are some of the reasons.
There was excitement among the Kuantan brethren for having this meeting with bro Roger. They were enthusiastic about it and each played their part in making it a success, warmly welcoming and sitting next to their friends and visitors.
Sis Lai Pheng, who is suffering from mental health challenges herself, took her 80+ year father for dinner with us on Saturday, walking up to Mega Mall. She was excited to have her father meet up with the brethren. By the way, her dad owns a hotel chain in Kuantan. So it was not an easy thing for her to convince her dad to come along.
They prepared themselves for this gospel meeting months ahead by identifying their friends whom they will invite to attend, and making an effort to reach out to them. Bro William Chan took Ng Yeow Kong to have dinner with one Uncle Lee a few months ago, and it culminated with him attending all the gospel meeting sessions.
There was camaraderie among the brethren, something that has not been seen for a long time. All worked for the Lord and the lost. The church belongs to Jesus Christ and we were baptized into Jesus Christ. Hence we are but servants of His. Sometimes we forget that and unfortunately strayed into the wilderness and remained there.
The gospel message is still needed in this modern but uncertain world. Our Lord Jesus made a statement to His disciples in John 4:35, “Do you not say, ‘There are still four months and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!” All that we need to do is reach out and plant the seed in their hearts, by sharing with them the story of Jesus Christ.
Sis Mollie invited her morning walking ‘kaki’ and she came for all the meetings. Sis Margaret invited her sister from Kota Kemuning to come to listen to bro Roger’s sharing of Jesus. Both these sisters-in-Christ remind us of how Andrew and Nathanael did it (John 1:42, 46) showing that the Word of God is alive and active. The examples that are written in reaching out to the lost remained tried-and-true. Bro Roger told us in one of his lessons that the Kuantan audience have some common things i.e. all have one head and one body. Therefore, he concludes that it must be same in Klang. It is for the rest of us to take up the gauntlet and act on it. If it works for Andrew and Nathanael, and works in Kuantan, it will also succeed in Klang.
There will be lots of work to be done in Kuantan church before they reach the stage in Klang with elders and deacons, but last weekend’s meeting was surely a right step in that direction. The congregation there needs our help to continue reaching out to and teaching their friends and loved ones. Will you go and help?
Let me end with this statement by our Lord Jesus “I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored, and you have entered into their labors.” (John 4:38)
