Page 56 - Malaysia by John Russel Denyes
P. 56

SAVING FORCES.

        The regenerating forces which the Methodist
      Church is putting into operation in Malaysia may
      be classified under five heads—evangelistic work,
      school work, medical work, industrial work, and
      the spread of Christian literature.
        While the mission of the Church in Malaysia
      is primarily meant to reach Asiatics, it has not
                     overlooked  its  responsibility  to-
      Evangelizing   ward the Europeans settled in the
      Europeans      port cities. The work in Malaysia
                     was begun by    evangelistic  ser-
      vices among the English speaking people of Sing-
      apore, and from the first there has been a prac-
      tically self-supporting church in that place. There
      are also English-speaking congregations  at  Pe-
      nang, Ipoh, and Kuala Lumpur.      While  these
      three congregations are not entirely self-support-
      ing, they contribute largely to the support of the
      native work in the surrounding villages, and they
      serve as object lessons in organized church life to
      the native people.
        In native work, as in English work, the whole
      machinery of the home church is put into opera-
      tion as rapidly as the development of the organi-
      zation will permit.  The opening of a new station
                    in a village or a neighborhood  is
      Reaching      usually preceded by street preach-
      the Natives,  ing. A missionary, with a native
                    helper or two, finds his way into a
      village, selects a convenient street corner, and be-
      gins to sing.  The unusual noise attracts a crowd.
      The missionary mounts a doorstep or box, and ex-
      plains the nature of his message and calls upon
      his helpers to testify to the power of the Gospel.
      Portions of the Bible, tracts and Christian calen-

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