Chairman’s Note
The general response of the Malaysian Church to the outreach work among foreign workers within their vicinity can be likened to Cain’s response of “why do I care” when God confronted him concerning the whereabouts of his brother, Abel. This is indeed a very sad situation considering that we have this huge mission field right at our very doorstep! What a pity!
Statistics have shown that there about 4 million foreign workers, excluding another 50,000 registered as refugees with UNCHR in Malaysia. This works out to be about fifteen percent of our population!
Figures compiled from newspaper articles are as follows:
- The Malaysian Trade Union Congress (MTUC) stated on December 7th that there are around 2.1 million undocumented (illegal) foreign workers in our country.
- The Star newspaper dated November 08 quoted Dewan Rakyat debated that there are over 2 million legal workers
- Another source states that foreign workers make up 30 percent of our laborers.
Based on this information, the Church is in a unique position to reach out to these people, who are right at our doorsteps, and without the legal and socio-cultural constraints that would be faced if the same work were carried out in their home countries. Globalization has made this possible and the church needs to seize this opportunity to “strike while the iron is hot”. Remember, the Church rose up to the situation when the boat people landed on our shores during the 70s. Many of the destitute Vietnamese were saved through acts of kindness and compassion shown by Christians. Let us continue to rise up to the challenge that God has placed right into our hands!There is no argument that overseas missions must continue but we need to be reminded that reverse mission is an option that we should seriously consider. The “kairos” time may be lost when the door is closed to us as most of the migrant workers are given a work visa for a duration of only 3-4 years. It may be the first and only time that they ever get to hear the Gospel!
We are so often caught up with our church activities that we could hardly find the time to do anything else. Whilst the well intended programs are focused on equipping and preparing us for the greater use for His Kingdom, these activities often become an end itself, rather than as a means to be light and salt of the world. We develop strong vibrant discipleship within the congregation with little or no impact on the community around us. Unless the alabaster jug is broken, the fragrance remains within the bottle. Unless we are prepared to make sacrifices for His Kingdom sake, we cannot make any impact.
Therefore, I earnestly beseech you to reach out to these ethnic groups that God has placed right before us. Let us join our hands with the One who has called us to be His light and salt for the nations He has placed at our doorstep.
