Praying for Spiritual Breakthrough | February 2019

In 2001 the EPC had high hopes for a new project. We sent a team of EPC families led by Greg and Sally Livingstone to live and work among the 17+ million Malays of Malaysia who were without a single church reaching their own people. 13 years later the Pacific Presbytery (now Pacific Northwest) adopted the Malay of Malaysia as their Engage 2025 focus, and began partnership with the reconstituted WO church-planting team led by Jeff and Lynn.

In 2016 we looked back at our fifteen years of costly, difficult work and inventoried the results – we had zero churches, zero Bible studies, and zero conversions! Our global workers in Malaysia were fulfilling their responsibilities – learning language well, sharing their faith, and inviting Malay neighbors to discover God in the Bible — but there was zero response.

So, in the fall of 2016 World Outreach called our brothers and sisters throughout EPC churches to a Year of Prayer for Spiritual Breakthrough Among the Malay. At almost the same time a visionary Chinese Malaysian pastor, Raymond Koh, began to lead a national movement of Malaysian Christians (from Chinese, Indian and Tribal ethnicities) to pray for the same thing. We waited expectantly for the breakthrough ….

On February 13, 2017, Pastor Koh was abducted out of his automobile in broad daylight, in full view of private CCTV cameras. He has not been heard or seen since. Sadly, much of the Malaysian Christian momentum for spiritual breakthrough among the Malay was lost, but at Jeff’s urging “to fill the gap” EPC World Outreach led a denomination-wide recommitment to prayer for the Malay.

Last year short-term teams from the Pacific Northwest and Midwest presbyteries began to arrive in Malaysia to pray on-site. Our EPC global workers recommitted themselves to do the work of evangelists and significantly increased their gospel sharing. They increased their partnerships with Chinese, Indian, and Tribal Christians in Malaysia to pray for and share good news with their Malay neighbors. And through online advertising and social media they’re connecting with thousands of Malay and making the scriptures available. 

We believe our prayers for spiritual breakthrough shook the gates of Hell, and the first result was a violent backlash by demonic forces. We believe millions of Malays in the depths of their spiritual dungeon are hearing the faint din of battle outside. Now is not the time to withdraw. 

Our field team leader, Jeff, urges those of us who can to fast and pray on the First Monday of each month for:

After 18 years of sowing now is the time to cry out to the Lord of the Lord of the Harvest for spiritual breakthrough among the millions of Malay.