Hi, I’m Erin
I’m Erin Kerber, your LCA International Mission Malaysia Program Officer. I’m here to help you and encourage you to join God’s mission in Malaysia.
The people of Malaysia are unevenly distributed between Peninsular and East Malaysia, with the vast majority living in Peninsular Malaysia. The population shows great ethnic, linguistic, cultural, and religious diversity. Within this diversity, a significant distinction is made for administrative purposes between indigenous peoples (including Malays), and immigrant populations (primarily Chinese and South Asians). The Malays constitute about half of the country’s total population, they are politically the most powerful group, and, on the peninsula, they are numerically dominant. Unlike the other ethnic groups of Malaysia, Malays are officially defined in part by their adherence to a specific religion, Islam. I’m meeting people who have hope for God’s kingdom to be spread in Malaysia, amongst the majority Muslim community. I’d love to visit your congregation, school or group to discuss ways you can partner with our Lutheran friends in Malaysia.
Some background
The ancestors of the people that now inhabit the Malaysian peninsula first migrated to the area between 2500 and 1500 B.C. Those living in the coastal regions had early contact with the Chinese and Indians; seafaring traders from India brought with them Hinduism, which was blended with the local animist beliefs. As Muslims conquered India, they spread the religion of Islam to Malaysia. In the 15th century, Islam acquired a firm hold on the region when the Hindu ruler of the powerful city-state of Malacca, Parameswara Dewa Shah, converted to Islam.
The independent state of Malaysia came into existence on Sept. 16, 1963, as a federation of Malaya, Singapore, Sabah (North Borneo), and Sarawak. In 1965, Singapore withdrew from the federation to become a separate nation. Since 1966, the 11 states of former Malaya have been known as West Malaysia, and Sabah and Sarawak as East Malaysia.
Malaysia program
The Lutheran Church of Australia has relationships with Lutheran Churches (LWF affiliations) in West Malaysia (Peninsula) and in East Malaysia (Sabah).
In East Malaysia the LCA has an established relationship and long-term partnership with the Basel Christian Church in Malaysia (BCCM). More recently through the establishment of the Lutheran Study Centre at Seminari Theologica Sabah (STS) (which has been at the request of the Federation of Evangelical Lutheran Churches in Malaysia and Singapore (FELCMS)), this has also opened the door to the establishment of a relationship in Sabah with the Protestant Church in Sabah (PCS).
Ministries and Programs you can support
- BCCM Youth Bahasa Malay ministry (Sabah)
- Guest Lecturers from LCA
- Scholarships in Australia
- STS Sabah Theological Seminary – Library Support
You may donate to these specific Malaysian ministries, or give a gift to be applied wherever it is most needed, from our online donation page (or visit our donation information page for other options).
Volunteering opportunities
- Teaching conversation English at one of the four schools in rural Sabah
- Helping in music, literacy, computing skills and English at Jireh Home, Sabah
More about mission in Malaysia
Mission partnerships
You already support mission work in Malaysia through your prayers and weekly offerings. But if you would like to work more closely with the Basel Christian Church of Malaysia or the Protestant Church in Sabah, you could talk to Pakenham Lakeside Church, about the blessings of their partnership with the Basel Christian Church of Malaysia and their work with the indigenous people living in the interior.
