HISTORY AND MISSION OF ASSEMBLY WORK IN PENANG

IN CONNECTION WITH THE GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY OF BUTTERWORTH GOSPEL HALL ON 15TH AUGUST, 2009BY KC UNG(Not to be reproduced or extracted from without permission)

History and MissionYe shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto Me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.Acts 1:8

A Wall in Ruins or A Wall of HistoryI asked them concerning the Jews that had escaped, which were left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem.And they said unto me, The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach: the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire.And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven. Neh. 1:2-4

What do You Think of This?

Or This? What it is now.

What It was then? Farquhar Street Mission House and Chapel

Site Plan in the Land Office

The Inside

The Upstairs

1859 -> 1938

BRGH now and will be!

But what about Farquhar Street Mission House and Chapel?Is it just a Building of Bricks? A Ruin to be left to Rest in peace?Will it be Restored to a MISSION House with a Mission again?Where Missionaries will be trained?Where Missionaries will be sent out?Where Missionaries can Return to Rest?

ASSEMBLY WORK IN PENANGWhen did Assembly work start in Penang, Malaya, Malaysia?1855 or 1859???

1855 with the Bausums? The ECHOS The BRGH Assembly Prayer Bulletin Vol. 9 No. 4 April June 2006 WAS IT 1855? 1859? In The World May Know Volume 5 The Mysterious Far East, Dr. Fredk. A. Tatford, the editor, wrote on page 167 Assembly work commenced in 1855 in Pinang, when Mr. Bausum of Swiss assemblies began work there

It could not be 1855! Firstly, assembly work could not have commenced in 1855 because that was the year of Bausums death. Secondly, there was no evidence that he was a missionary from the Swiss assemblies. Rather he was a German Lutheran who later became an independent missionary with similar convictions and stand taken by the assemblies. Thirdly, no document could be traced to link him with the assemblies directly though he was closely associated with George Mueller of Bristol through marriage.

Or was it 1859?That was the original year commemorated for the commencement of assembly work by the early missionaries in Penang until it was changed to 1859 in 1987 because of the publication in the Echoes of Service. John Chapman from Bristol was then credited for commencing assembly work in Penang in 1859. Burmah Road Gospel Hall celebrated its Centenary Anniversary on August 1959 followed by a three-night evangelistic gospel campaign by the late Dr. GD James.

Do You know your Assembly History?Farquhar Street Chapel (1859)Burmah Road Hall (BRGH) (1938)Butterworth Gospel Hall (1959)Island Glades Gospel Centre (1970)Sungai Nibong Gospel Hall (1982)Sungai Ara Gospel Hall (1998)Bukit Mertajam Gospel Centre (1984)Kepala Batas Outreach work (2005)

Do You know your Assembly Commended Workers?20th October, 1996 KC Ung from BRGHto Malaysia and Singapore. 10th July 1998 Daniel and Ruth Jevaraj from SNGH to Taiping. 22nd May, 2005 - Chan Mei Lai from BRGH to Indonesia.1st Feb. 2006 - Annie Khoo Seok Chin from IGGC to Cambodia.

Do You know your Assembly Commended Workers?(?) 2009: Wong Ee Ling from SAGH to Kazakhstan Others: Wong Lai Har from IGGC in ChinaLay Bee from IGGC in ThailandMable Dunn (BWGH) from BGC in KL

BRGH Centenary CelebrationsBRGH AT NIGHT

Grand Seniors at the Celebration

BWGH Missionaries in early yearsMr. Wilson WangMr. Wilson Wang & Dr. GD James

BWGH Missionaries in early yearsMr. & Mrs. Tom BentleyColin, Ruth and Mr. & Mrs. A.E. Phillips

BWGH Missionaries in early yearsMr. & Mrs. SS AdamsMr. & Mrs. William Wilson

Assembly Missionaries in Early YearsWilliam MacDonald & familyMr. William McVey

Assembly Missionaries in Early YearsMr. Robert TanMr. W. Wilson, Mr. Reg Vines & Mr. Tan Wah Kim

Assembly Missionaries in Early YearsDr. & Mrs. A. McGregorMr. & Mrs. Jimmy Chew

Early Burmah Road Hall

Early Assembly ActivitiesBible Class at 51 Service Road

Early Assembly ActivitiesBible Classes & 1st Residential Bible School, 1972Burmah Road Gospel Hall28 Barrack Road

Early Assembly Activities - Bible CampsRelau, Aloha, Setfair, Sunnyside, Shamrock, CCC

Early Assembly ActivitiesPetani Road Round-the-Island Open-air Services

Early Assembly Activities Sand ServicesVillage Sand ServiceSand Service at Coast Road

August 2009 Golden Anniversary of Butterworth Gospel HallNext WeekEarly Butterworth Work

August 2009 Golden Anniversary of Butterworth Gospel HallSee You All Next Week (DV)

GOD BLESS ALL OF YOUTHE END