Borneo Evangelical Church

[1] Claiming more than 500,000 members,[2] the SIB is the largest Protestant denomination in Malaysia having evolved from a small missionary presence among the Lun Bawang people of the Kelabit Highlands.Sarawak's border areas were exposed to influences from American missionaries in Kalimantan (then known as Dutch Borneo), and most of the Lun Bawangs became Christian through interaction with their kinfolk, indigenous converts on the other side of the international boundary.The first missionaries to visit the Kelabit Highlands in the Sarawak interior arrived in 1939, but the internment of Europeans during World War II opened the door to indigenous leadership.When missionaries returned to the highlands in 1947 they found that the Murut church had survived and that most Kelabit people had accepted Christianity through the activities of indigenous converts, including a pastor from Timor, Guru Paul also known as Nimang Tepun.With the emphasis on training married couples to extend mission work and Kelabit out-migration to the oil-fields of Miri and elsewhere in search of employment and education, the SIB church spread through Sarawak.Although there was a strong Chinese component in the urban areas, most SIB members were tribal peoples (comprising the Kelabits, Berawans, Lun Bawangs, Kayans, Bisayas, Ibans and Kenyahs in Sarawak as well as Lundayehs of Sipitang, Muruts of Tenom, Keningau and Beaufort and also Dusuns of Kota Belud as well as Ranau in Sabah).In line with the emphasis of the 'Twin Primary Tasks'[clarification needed] of BEM, SIB seeks to be significantly involved in evangelism and to build up churches through Bible teaching and leadership training.The SIB is also well established in urban centres notably Lawas, Limbang, Miri, Kuching, Sandakan, Tawau, Labuan and Kota Kinabalu where many native villagers have migrated in search of work.The church's leadership was handed over to a married couple, Dr. Chew Weng Chee, an obstetrician-gynecologist from Tung Shin Hospital, and Lew Lee Choo, another doctor who studied in the UK.Services are held in Malay, English, Chinese and district languages including Iban, Bidayuh, Kadazan/Dusun, Kayan, Kelabit, Kenyah, Lun Bawang, Penan, Punan, Tagal, Orang Asli, and several others.
ProtestantEvangelicalCharismaticPolityNational Evangelical Christian FellowshipChristian Federation of MalaysiaSabah Theological SeminaryCouncil of Churches of MalaysiaMelbourne School of TheologyBorneoSarawakEast MalaysiaBruneiWest MalaysiaBaptistAnglicanChurch of the BrethrenMalaysiaBorneo Evangelical MissionChristianIndonesianTorajanSouth SulawesiChristian and Missionary AllianceCentral JakartaLun BawangKelabit HighlandsBritish North BorneoKalimantaninternment of EuropeansWorld War IIKelabit peopleOverseas Missionary FellowshipLimbangKuchingSandakanLabuanKota KinabaluMalaysianOrang AsliJerantutChristianity in MalaysiaStatus of religious freedom in MalaysiaProtestantismAdventistChurch of the Province of South East AsiaDiocese of West MalaysiaDiocese of SabahDiocese of KuchingMalaysia Baptist ConventionCalvinist (Reformed)Presbyterian Church in MalaysiaLutheranBasel Christian Church of MalaysiaEvangelical Lutheran Church in MalaysiaLutheran Church in MalaysiaProtestant Church in SabahMethodistMethodist Church in MalaysiaFree Methodist Church in MalaysiaPentecostalActs ChurchKingdomcityChristian Brethren of MalaysiaEvangelical Free Church of MalaysiaCatholic ChurchCatholic Church in MalaysiaArchdiocese of Kuala LumpurArchdiocese of Kota KinabaluArchdiocese of KuchingEastern ChristianityOrthodox Syrian Church in MalaysiaCoptic Orthodox Church in MalaysiaRussian Orthodox Church in MalaysiaSyriac ReformedMar Thoma Syrian Church in MalaysiaNontrinitarianThe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in MalaysiaNational Evangelical Christian Fellowship MalaysiaChristianityMissions timelinePeopleGeorge BoardmanSarah Hall BoardmanAdoniram JudsonAnn Hasseltine JudsonFrancis MasonEliza Grew JonesJohn Taylor JonesEmily ChubbuckDan Beach BradleyDaniel McGilvaryEugenio KincaidMargaret LandonJustus VintonCalista VintonAmerican Baptist Foreign Mission SocietyAmerican BoardAmerican Presbyterian MissionAustralian Baptist Missionary SocietyBaptist Missionary SocietyChurch Mission SocietyLondon Missionary SocietyMission to the WorldOMF InternationalSEND International