Borneo Evangelical Church
Encyclopedia
The Borneo Evangelical Church or SIB is an evangelical
Christian
denomination in Malaysia. The church was organised in 1959 from the work of the Borneo Evangelical Mission
with help from the Christian and Missionary Alliance
Church in Indonesia
Claiming more than 500,000 members , the SIB is the largest Protestant
denominations in Malaysia having evolved from a small missionary presence among the Lun Bawang
people of the Kelabit Highlands
and the Iban
people of Limbang
to having congregations both in East Malaysia
and West Malaysia today.
(BEM), Hudson Southwell, Frank Davidson and Carey Tolley arrived in what was then known as the Kingdom of Sarawak
. Together with a timber merchant by the name of Alexander Henderson
, a mission station was established along the banks of the Pranga River in the Limbang
district.
The Japanese occupation of Malaya, North Borneo and Sarawak
and post-war developments resulted in the intentional indigenization of the mission and a Bible school was established in Lawas
in 1947. By 1959, a local church organization was established with organizational help from the Christian and Missionary Alliance
Church in Indonesia and the new entity, named Sidang Injil Borneo worked in parallel with the BEM.
In 1972, a Bible school was established in Miri
to cope with the increased demand for trained workers. With the merger of the BEM with the Overseas Missionary Fellowship in 1979, the SIB had grown into an indigenous self-governing, self-supporting and self-propagating church.
The SIB expanded its work to the state of Sabah
in 1974 and SIB Sabah was organised in 1976. By 1993, SIB had established a nationwide presence when SIB Semenanjung was inaugurated in November of the same year.
framed within an Evangelical Charismatic
context :
Evangelicalism
Evangelicalism is a Protestant Christian movement which began in Great Britain in the 1730s and gained popularity in the United States during the series of Great Awakenings of the 18th and 19th century.Its key commitments are:...
Christian
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
denomination in Malaysia. The church was organised in 1959 from the work of the Borneo Evangelical Mission
Borneo Evangelical Mission
Borneo Evangelical Mission was a Protestant Evangelical Christian missionary society that worked among the people of Borneo, Malaysia. It was founded in October 1928 by three Australian missionaries, Hudson Southwell, Frank Davidson and Carey Tolley...
with help from the Christian and Missionary Alliance
Christian and Missionary Alliance
The Christian and Missionary Alliance is an evangelical Protestant denomination within Christianity.Founded by Rev. Albert Benjamin Simpson in 1887, the Christian & Missionary Alliance did not start off as a denomination, but rather began as two distinct parachurch organizations: The Christian...
Church in Indonesia
Claiming more than 500,000 members , the SIB is the largest Protestant
Protestantism
Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...
denominations in Malaysia having evolved from a small missionary presence among the Lun Bawang
Lun Bawang
The Lun Bawang is an ethnic group found in Central Borneo. They are indigenous to the highlands of East Kalimantan, Brunei , southwest of Sabah and northern region of Sarawak...
people of the Kelabit Highlands
Kelabit Highlands
The Kelabit Highlands are a mountain range located in the northernmost part of Sarawak, on the island of Borneo. The highest mountains in this range are Mount Murud at 2,423 m , Bukit Batu Buli at 2,082 m , and Bukit Batu Lawi at 2,046 m .In the Kelabit Highlands, there are 14...
and the Iban
Iban people
The Ibans are a branch of the Dayak peoples of Borneo. In Malaysia, most Ibans are located in Sarawak, a small portion in Sabah and some in west Malaysia. They were formerly known during the colonial period by the British as Sea Dayaks. Ibans were renowned for practising headhunting and...
people of Limbang
Limbang
Limbang is a border town and the capital of Limbang District in the Limbang Division of northern Sarawak, East Malaysia, on the island of Borneo. The division has an area of 3,978.1 square kilometers, and a population of 42,600...
to having congregations both in East Malaysia
East Malaysia
East Malaysia, also known as Malaysian Borneo, is the part of Malaysia located on the island of Borneo. It consists of the Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak, and the Federal Territory of Labuan. It lies to the east from Peninsular Malaysia , which is located on the Malay Peninsula. The two are...
and West Malaysia today.
History
In 1928, three Australian missionaries of the newly established Borneo Evangelical MissionBorneo Evangelical Mission
Borneo Evangelical Mission was a Protestant Evangelical Christian missionary society that worked among the people of Borneo, Malaysia. It was founded in October 1928 by three Australian missionaries, Hudson Southwell, Frank Davidson and Carey Tolley...
(BEM), Hudson Southwell, Frank Davidson and Carey Tolley arrived in what was then known as the Kingdom of Sarawak
Kingdom of Sarawak
The Kingdom of Sarawak was a state in Borneo established by Sir James Brooke in 1842 by receiving independent kingdom status from the Sultanate of Brunei as a reward for helping fight piracy and insurgency...
. Together with a timber merchant by the name of Alexander Henderson
Alexander Henderson
Alexander Henderson may refer to:* Alexander Henderson , Scottish theologian* Alexander Henderson , Scots-Quebecer merchant and photographer...
, a mission station was established along the banks of the Pranga River in the Limbang
Limbang
Limbang is a border town and the capital of Limbang District in the Limbang Division of northern Sarawak, East Malaysia, on the island of Borneo. The division has an area of 3,978.1 square kilometers, and a population of 42,600...
district.
The Japanese occupation of Malaya, North Borneo and Sarawak
Japanese occupation of Malaya, North Borneo and Sarawak
Throughout much of World War II, British Malaya, North Borneo and Sarawak were under Japanese occupation.The Japanese Empire commenced the Pacific War with the invasion of Kota Bahru in Kelantan on 8 December 1941 at 00:25, about 90 minutes before the Attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii at 07:48 on 7...
and post-war developments resulted in the intentional indigenization of the mission and a Bible school was established in Lawas
Lawas
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in 1947. By 1959, a local church organization was established with organizational help from the Christian and Missionary Alliance
Christian and Missionary Alliance
The Christian and Missionary Alliance is an evangelical Protestant denomination within Christianity.Founded by Rev. Albert Benjamin Simpson in 1887, the Christian & Missionary Alliance did not start off as a denomination, but rather began as two distinct parachurch organizations: The Christian...
Church in Indonesia and the new entity, named Sidang Injil Borneo worked in parallel with the BEM.
In 1972, a Bible school was established in Miri
Miri
Miri is a city in northern Sarawak, Malaysia, on the island of Borneo. It is the second largest city in Sarawak, with a population of about 300,000, and the government administrative centre of Miri District in Miri Division....
to cope with the increased demand for trained workers. With the merger of the BEM with the Overseas Missionary Fellowship in 1979, the SIB had grown into an indigenous self-governing, self-supporting and self-propagating church.
The SIB expanded its work to the state of Sabah
Sabah
Sabah is one of 13 member states of Malaysia. It is located on the northern portion of the island of Borneo. It is the second largest state in the country after Sarawak, which it borders on its southwest. It also shares a border with the province of East Kalimantan of Indonesia in the south...
in 1974 and SIB Sabah was organised in 1976. By 1993, SIB had established a nationwide presence when SIB Semenanjung was inaugurated in November of the same year.
Beliefs and practices
The beliefs of the SIB are contained within a Statement of faithStatement of faith
A statement of faith is a statement of the core beliefs of a religious group.A typical statement of faith is said to be a non-comprehensive summary of the core beliefs of a particular faith within a tradition . Even religious organizations without affiliation will use a statement of faith for...
framed within an Evangelical Charismatic
Charismatic movement
The term charismatic movement is used in varying senses to describe 20th century developments in various Christian denominations. It describes an ongoing international, cross-denominational/non-denominational Christian movement in which individual, historically mainstream congregations adopt...
context :
- We believe in the inspiration of the Scriptures as originally given. The Scriptures are infallible, inerrant, and the sole and final authority for all matters of faith and conduct
- We believe in the eternal God the Father, the Creator of the universe
- We believe in the creation, test and fall of man as recorded in Genesis, his total spiritual depravity and inability to attain divine righteousness
- We believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, Messiah of Israel, the Savior of men, conceived of the Holy Spirit, and born of the virgin Mary
- We believe the Messiah died and became the sacrificed Lamb for our sins, was buried and rose again on the third day and personally appeared to His disciples
- We believe in the bodily ascension of Jesus to Heaven, His exaltation, and personal, literal, and bodily coming again in the second time for His people
- We believe in the salvation of sinners by grace, through repentance and faith in the perfect and sufficient work of the Cross of Calvary by which we obtain remission of sins
- We believe in the necessity of water baptism by immersion in the name of the eternal God in order to fulfill the command of the Lord Jesus the Messiah
- We believe in the operation of the gifts of the Holy Spirit
- We believe in the Spirit-filled life, a life of separation from the world and perfecting of holiness in the fear of God as expressing the true Messianic faith
- We believe in the reality and personality of the devil and eternal judgment in the lake of fire prepared for the devil, his angels and those who follow him
- We believe in eternal life for believers and eternal punishment for the unbelievers
- We believe in the reality of one new man made up of Jews and Gentiles. There is one universal Body of Messiah, made up of genuine believers, but this one universal Body is also composed of many local fellowships in given localities. These fellowships are under the sovereign headship of the Lord Jesus the Messiah, exercising autonomous government under Him, administering all its local affairs, and ministry, as well as the propagation of the Gospel
- We believe that government is ordained of God, and powers that be are ordained ministers of God to us for good. To resist the powers and ordinances is to resist the ordinance of God. We are subject not only for wrath sake, but for conscience sake, rendering to all their dues, custom to whom custom, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor. We declare our loyalty to our government and its leaders and will assist in every way possible consistent with our faith in the Scriptures as Christian citizens
Further reading
- The Borneo Evangelical Mission (BEM) and the Sidang Injil Borneo (SIB), 1928 - 1979: A Study of the Planting and Development of an Indigenous Church; Jin Huat, Tan; University of Wales; 2008
- Drunk Before Dawn; Lees, Shirley, OMF Books, Kent, TN; 1979
- Mabuk Sebelum Fajar Menyinsing; Lees, Shirley; transl.: Evelyn Hwee Yong, Tan; Sword Publishing House, Malaysia; 2009
- The Bario Revival; Bulan, Solomon & Lillian Bulan-Dorai; Home Matters Network, Malaysia; 2004