Two Malaysian men have just completed studies at Moore College that will equip them for ministry upon their return to Malaysia.
Nick Loi and Robin Gan are leaving Sydney tomorrow (Dec 8) to return to the Anglican Diocese of West Malaysia for their ordination service in St Mary's Cathedral, Kuala Lumpur on December 15.
The Bishop of Georges River, Peter Tasker has been especially invited to Malaysia to preach at the ordination.
Nick and Robin have spent their final year of studies this year serving as student ministers at St Paul's, Kogarah, under the leadership of rector, the Rev Mee Ping Lau.
The style of worship in the Diocese of West Malaysia is more traditional than much of Sydney Diocese, so Nick has valued the opportunity of serving at St Paul's.
"Bishop Tasker encouraged me to go to Kogarah, to help out there and learn from them, and to gain exposure to more traditional forms of worship," he says.
Nick, 39, became a Christian while studying at UNSW in the late 1980s.
After working as an electrical engineer in Malaysia he returned to Sydney in 2001 to commence theological study.
"People who taught me had gone or were going to Moore College so I went with the advice of friends I trusted and chose Moore " a place where I was confident they would teach the Bible well," he says.
Robin, who formerly worked in marketing, has been in Sydney for the past six years, having completed a two year Ministry Training Strategy apprenticeship before entering College in 2002.
Having previously trained with the UNSW Campus Bible Study and Unichurch's FOCUS church, Robin has valued the exposure to different styles of ministry and worship he has had in his time at Kogarah.
"St Paul's, Kogarah, has more seniors then I have previously ministered to and combined with their liturgical approach this has helped me to continue an evangelical ministry in a different environment," he says.
Mee Ping Lau believes that both men are qualified and ready to serve in Malaysia.
"They have led Bible studies, led services and helped take care of a new contemporary service. They have great potential."
Robin says that, having spent half his life in Australia, many of the challenges he faces upon returning to Malaysia will be personal ones.
"Things like getting used to the traffic and learning simple things like the best route from my house to church. Even going to a place two suburbs away can take an hour to get to," he says.
"There will also be the challenges of getting used to the ministry environment and trying to better understand people so we can serve them."
Robin will be serving in St Paul's, Petaling Jaya while Nick will join the ministry team at St Peter's, Ipoh.
Nick says that while only four per cent of the Malaysian population is Christian, the churches there are growing and thriving.
"God has been very kind in allowing Christians to go to church and profess their faith freely in West Malaysia and there is no persecution by the government," he says.
Nick is thankful for the work Bishop Tasker has put into maintaining relationships with the Diocese of West Malaysia.
"It's been really encouraging to see people like Peter Tasker do the work of building relationships with the church in Malaysia," he says.
"I think the relationship made it easier for people like me going back to the diocese to be accepted."
