The 7979 Ministry Enhances And Strengthens Our Church Caring Ministry

Rev. Simon Chang was a Feng Shui Master before he decided to follow Jesus and become a pastor. Managing the church is one of the key responsibilities of a pastor, which includes leading and pastoring the congregation. Hence, before he joined the church, he was quite perplexed, not knowing where to start or how to bring people to church. Until one day, he learned from Rev. Michael Chan of Lighthouse Community Centre AG, Penang, that the best way to reach out to the community is through Community Care. After saying that, Rev. Michael Chan recommended “7979 Holistic Care Relief Network” to him, an organisation that trains the church in community care and sharing of available resources. 

EMBARK ON THE VOYAGE OF COMMUNITY CARE

After knowing more about 7979 and its programs, Rev. Simon Chang was inspired, and he began to have an idea of which direction the church should take. Therefore, in 2019, he opened Kluang Baptist Church with the intention to care for the community. Later, in August of the same year, they set up the 7979 Holistic Care Station officially, and it became an important milestone for their community work.  ​

Rev. Chang was very nervous and excited about setting up the 7979 Care Station; he thought he could immediately use the resources and help the community. 7979 Departmental Lead, Pr. Pysong pointed out that, to ensure the caring ministry can be effective and long-lasting, the church should receive training before they start their community service. However, a trial came unexpectedly when Peninsular experienced a great flood in December of the same year. Five Orang Asli villages in the vicinity of Kluang town and Pahang state were badly hit by the flood. They suffered great financial loss because their houses were damaged, and they were not accessible to any food supply during those critical times. Rev. Chang and his church members tried to send some food supplies to them, but they couldn’t do much. They were cracking their heads thinking of ways to help those people, then Rev. Chang suddenly thought of seeking help from 7979… 

“7979 Major Disaster Response” common practice is to set up a disaster response mechanism at a church in the disaster zone, for the convenience of disaster relief. When they received an SOS call for assistance, they would respond immediately. Relief works could include giving disaster aid in the form of financial assistance to every disaster family, the purpose of which is for them to buy food. “Before this incident, I hardly came across any Christian organisation that is willing to raise money to help the non-Chinese.” Rev. Chang was deeply moved by 7979’s loving actions that go beyond denominations and races.  

WITH 7979 ASSISTANCE, THE RESULT GRADUALLY UNFOLDS

After the disaster, life gradually returned to normalcy. To disaster survivors, the issue of hunger, having a full stomach, was still a significant challenge, and the most direct way to address it was through food. Rev. Chang knew that caring work cannot be stopped, so he continued by working with another organisation, hence, more food supplies went to the disaster survivors. Food was slowly piling up in the church as more food supplies were coming in. Rev. Chang decided to rent a house in a nearby village (Kampung Baharu Yap Tau Sah) to keep the food. Henceforth, Rev. Chang launched the community caring ministry with the accumulated food stock, which also benefited other financially disadvantaged families.

On one hand, Rev. Chang fully utilised the Crisis Intervention Financial aid and Manna Food supplied by 7979, and on the other hand, he penetrated the community by visitation. Gradually, he witnessed that many began to see rays of hope after they received timely assistance. As a result, the church also gained trust. Besides, he discovered that he cannot care for the disadvantaged families all by himself, thus he quickly arranged volunteers who could easily engage in conversations with service recipients to assist him. The present two volunteers, Chooi Chin and Cheng Hwa, are both aware that their community caring experience was not adequate. Hence, they were quite nervous and uneasy initially; however, they are willing and bold to learn. Previously, Cheng Hwa was hesitant to talk; she was afraid that she couldn’t contribute. However, as she participated in more visitations, she slowly stopped doubting, learned to listen and take initiative in accompanying and caring.     
  
However, caring work is not always a smooth sail. Later, Rev. Chang discovered that due to improper stock management and warehouse issues, food failed to be delivered on time, and the community’s needs were neglected. When he was troubled by this issue, he heard that 7979 was planning to set up a “Manna Food Bags” Delivery Point in Johor. The moment he heard the news, he was so relieved and comforted. What appeared before him was the significant result of community care work promoted by 7979 in Johor. He began to study more in depth the operation of “Manna Food Bank”- an organised system of delivering and managing food stock. ​ 

CARING WORK CAN BE SYSYEMISED

After they contacted “Manna Food Bank”, Rev. Chang and his volunteers have become more adept at delivering food supplies. The resources provided by 7979 were more practical and appropriate, and they perfectly make up for what the church lacks. He integrated his personal experiences with 7979 resources, consequently, reaching out to a wider scope of people in the community. First of all, he turned the rented house into “Home of Christ”, providing a place for the residents to fellowship, closing the gap between the church and community. Subsequently, he became dissatisfied with serving the villagers in Kg. Baharu Yap Tau Sah only, so he expanded his area of service to Gunung Lambak, Kg. Baru Sungai Sayong, and further. For he knew in those isolated places, there were many like Daji (pseudonym) and his family, struggling quietly in a corner, waiting for aid to come to them.      

Daji (pseudonym) and his wife are Sabah’s indigenous people; they lived in a shabby house. Daji leaves his wife alone with 4 children to work far away.  “Kami berterima kasih dari kamu punya pihak kerana datang dengan bantuan. Saya bersyukur.”（“We are very thankful for you and your organisation for assisting us.”）The wife was very grateful for the Manna Food Bag that had lightened their family burden of six members.         

When he talked about the way the caring ministry started, Rev. Chang shared that through the bimonthly “Manna Food Bags” and evaluation form, they can follow up on the service recipients’ needs and changes. The evaluation form is not only a tool to collect data, but it is also a bridge for the volunteers to start a conversation, enabling the church to better understand the service recipient. He also applies the technique that 7979 employs in identifying genuine cases through observing the house’s conditions. He jokingly said, “From the display and set-up of a kitchen, we can really judge the financial status of a family, because only the rich will renovate their kitchen beautifully.” 

Systemised caring enables caring to go deeper than the surface; it encompasses accompanying and togetherness. Having this mindset, Rev. Chang shared genuinely that, 
“7979 has indeed strengthened and enhanced our church’s caring ministry.” 6 years of involvement in caring ministry did not pull him down, but instead made him more passionate to serve. For he has seen the obvious result – the financially disadvantaged group’s needs were being met, and they experienced the church’s care and warmth. All these are the testimonies of 7979 walking closely with the church.