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The 3rd National
Consultative Council (NCC) met on 22 March at Genting Awana. One of
the major items is the adoption of the following principles for the
leaders:
| 1. |
National and Regional leaders must
recognise the personal and spiritual calling to the ministry in
the FGBMF and shall remain true to the Vision and
Mission that God
has given to its founder, Demos Shakarian in what is now a
recognised world-wide ministry. |
| 2. |
Members of the National and
Regional Boards are advised against holding or accepting positions
of active responsibility in other organisations which may dilute
their commitment and effectiveness in the FGBMF. This does not
apply to positions of an advisory nature provided the National
Board's views have been sought and consent obtained. |
| 3. |
Leaders are, however, encouraged
to be loyal and to help in their local churches with their time,
effort and finances. However, it is not appropriate for a member
of the National Board to hold positions on the Board of Directors,
Board of Deacons, Board of Elders or any other similar oversight
management or spiritual authority in any church as the holding of
such positions may affect the perception of churches who are our
partners on the neutrality of the FGBMF ministry at the National Board
level. It is also not appropriate for any member of the
National Board to head any non-FGBMF projects even on a one-off
involvement. |
| 4. |
Members of the Regional Board who
are currently serving in an oversight role or similar positions of
leadership in the churches should examine their commitment and
whether they can also be effective in the FGBMF ministry. Such
members should seek the Holy Spirit wisdom and be guided by the
advice of the National Board. If a leader is invited to serve
actively in the church or para-church ministry, he should notify
the National Board. He would have to decide how his calling could
best be expressed for the good of the Christian community. Should
the National Board decides that his main ministerial focus is
better served in a non-FGBMF organisation he shall be released
from his leadership role in the FGBMF within a time frame agreed.
He can and will be encouraged to remain as a member of the FGBMF
and can continue to serve in another capacity. The National Board's views shall also be sought and consent obtained even if
the position is of an advisory nature or for a specific short-term
project which is not promoted by the FGBMF. |
| 5. |
Leaders are encouraged to support
in their personal capacity the evangelistic effort of churches and
other ministries. However, the injunctions in holding simultaneous
positions on the board or governing body of such organisations
also apply as such plurality in roles can cause confusion in the
Christian community and more particularly among the FGBMF members.
Further the declared neutrality of the FGBMF can be compromised
and its platform can unwittingly be used to promote the vision and
mission other than that of FGBMF. Where they are led to help out
any social concerns and good works, this can be directed through
the local churches or ministries set up specifically for such
purposes through their individual commitment and contributions. |
| 6. |
All members in leadership are
advised against taking on positions of responsibility in social
services organisations and social and recreational clubs as such
involvement does require a great commitment of time, energy and
finances and will certainly dilute their effectiveness in the work
of the FGBMF. This principle does not preclude membership and
active participation in such organisations as an ordinary member. |
Membership as at 5 June 2002. Some
statistics for you to ponder over:
| 1. |
Northern
Region: 12 EC with 121
members, 5 CC with 53 members |
| 2. |
Central
Region: 48 EC with 319
members, 9 CC with 46 members, 1 TC with 2 members |
| 3. |
Southern
Region: 7 EC with 55
members, 4 CC with 45 members |
| 4. |
Sarawak
Region: 4 EC with 39
members, 1 CC with 10 members |
| 5. |
Sabah
Region: 4 EC with 57
members, 4 CC with 42 members, 1 BC with 5 members |
| 6. |
East Coast
Region: 3 EC with 13
members, 1 CC with 8 members |
| 7. |
Total 104 Chapters with 818
members comprising 78 EC (75%) with 604 members (74%), 24 CC (23%)
with 204 members (25%), 1 TC (0.9%) with 2 members (0.2%) and 1 BC
(0.9%) with 5 members (0.6%). |
| EC=English Chapter |
CC=Chinese Chapter |
| TC=Tamil
Chapter |
BC=Bahasa Chapter |
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National Office
After nearly 20 years of ministry, it is felt that the
present office needs a
facelift. Renovation will begin in June and may take one month.
During the
renovation period, the National Office will shift to an office
space opposite
the existing one. Phone and fax numbers remain unchanged.
Members are
still welcome to visit. |
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