01 Apr 2006

April 2006 - Short Term Mission School (STMS) - Launched in English and Iban

Opening Ceremony of 1st Semester 2006, MTS

With new programs, new staff, new lecturers and many new students joining in after the year-end holiday, the once quiet campus of Methodist Theological School, Sibu, is now again bustling with activities and people.

During the opening ceremony of the 1st Semester 2006, John Ling, Chairman of the School Board of Management gave the new students four tips to do big things. In the light of the passage in John 13:1-20, Ling gathered four points:

1. “Jesus got up . . .” (v. 4)
    We need to leave our comfort zone;
2. “Jesus took off his outer clothing . . .” (v. 4)
    We need to put away all our entanglements;
3. “Jesus wrapped a towel round his waist . . .” (v. 4)
    We need to prepare in advance;
4. “Jesus began to wash his disciples’ feet . . .” (v. 5)
    We need to get started, otherwise there will be no success.

There are 16 students (11 Chinese, 5 Ibans) accepted for the first year Theology Course this year; 2 new students added to the Church Music and Worship Course; 15 new students to the 7th Batch Theological Education by Extension Students (TEE, Sibu); 4 new students to the 2nd Batch Worship and Music Course by Extension, Sibu. On top of these, there are also 4 returning students and 1 elective student.

In the area of Short Term Missions School (STMS), besides the well known Chinese STMS (with 52 new intakes this year), the school also launched two new programs: English STMS and Iban STMS. The response to these two STMS was encouraging, 10 for the English and 4 for the Iban program.

In the area of staff, the school has Rev. Bonnie Sedau as the Dean of Iban Ministry and Rev. Hoo Sing Hang as Assistant to Dean of Field Education. Miss Cecilia Ting is the new lecturer for the Worship and Music Course. There are also three new staff: Yii Ming Lu as Administrative Officer, Lau Sie Bing as IT Officer and Goh Hui Kee as Library Clerk.

“With such a big community, how should we live as chosen people of God?” President Su, SCAC, challenged all with 1 Thess. 1:1-10 focussing on three main points.

1. Greet each other.
Greetings is a sign of care and love and it could be done in many different forms such as sms, e-mail, fax, phones and the like. We should develop this culture in MTS.
 
2. Pray for one another.

3. Respect each other’s authority and position. We should be truthful to our calling and let others see that we are God’s chosen people. How should we go about doing this? Su reminded MTS is not just a place to acquire knowledge; it should also be a place to apply the truth. We should study God’s Word seriously as the example in Acts 17:10-12. When we fix our eyes upon Jesus, our faith will be strengthened. We also need to be faithful in serving Him until He comes again. All the training in MTS will equip us to serve Him better in the future.

The Opening Ceremony was held on 3 January 2006 at Wesley Church, Sibu.

Written by Winnie