Note: Some photos have been filtered for sensitivity reasons. All photos kindly contributed by KLUF and Steve Yew. KLUF is still operating. However, all photos in this article were taken pre-MCO.
What sustains a person to serve full-time for close to 20 years in a street ministry that is often challenging and seemingly unrewarding if we were to look at touchable rewards? Many well-meaning people I know have given up after less than half that time. This question was on my mind as I recently visited and chatted with Steve Yew from the KL Urban Fellowship (KLUF) at their drop-in and community center in Petaling Street.
The name of KLUF is familiar to many people who are in ministry and serving the destitute (defined by Steve and KLUF as more than just poor and in lack or in ‘trouble’, but also the rejected, disowned, outcast, and even those without identity, are empty and lonely, etc). An initiative under the Community Excel Services (CES), among the best-known events and work they have conducted in the past is the BlesStore (a form of a mobile free clothing store giving the homeless a chance to experience ‘shopping for clothes’, something that many of us at times take for granted), and the Jalan Sultan Street Fellowship which they hosted every Saturday before the MCO.
I visited the drop-in center on a Thursday, which was also the same day KLUF has its weekly devotional. That morning, Steve shared how Christ had come for the destitute and how His sacrifice on Calvary had removed the barrier between Jews and Gentiles, men and women, rich and poor. From this very fact, the homeless and broken people KLUF serve are in reality, people in Christ’s family ( “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’” Matthew 25:40).
‘My primary hope for KL Urban Fellowship is that we become a church without walls,’ Steve conveyed to me. Traditionally, many see churches as a building where people gather for worship. In the Biblical understanding, however, a Church is the family and people of God, closer to a community than a localized building. ‘What we are doing here is that we want people to come to know the love of Christ. God created us to love and reconcile humanity with Him. Often, people who have nothing else to lose respond most readily to God’s love and grace. I don’t see KLUF solely as a ministry but rather a community of brothers and sisters in God’s family.’
Though unassuming, and though Steve kept telling me that the story of KLUF is not his alone and that he did not want me to focus on his story, I explained to him that understanding his story would give readers a context and connective point in understanding KLUF’s story. In his younger days, for many years, Steve was living on the fringes of society, being involved in triad and drug activities. The Lord reached out to Steve in 1986 while he was serving time in prison for a house break-in, and it was through Malaysian CARE’s Prison Ministry that he came to find hope and a future. He would grow in the Lord and later come to serve in many ministries among the destitute. Coming from a challenging background himself, Steve connects with the people he and KLUF serves. This story can be read on Green Pastures’s website: https://www.gpchristiandrugrehab.org/steve-yew. Green Pasture is another Christian Drug Rehabilitation Ministry that Steve is in partnership with.
Steve related that throughout KLUF’s existence, the Lord had already directed them to move several times, but always to a location where there were many in need of help.
‘We moved a few times, finally settling down in this location (at 154-1, Jln Petaling, KL). Originally, we were located near a large Indian temple and then at Klang Bus Station, just opposite Central Market. In the early days, the Urban Street Ministry/Fellowship was founded to provide food to meet the hunger needs of those who, for one reason or another, require help,’ he shared.
KLUF’s mission can be encapsulated in 6 statements:
- To meet the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of those who live on the streets and also of those in the community
- To bring hope to the hopeless in the community
- To show love and care to the rejected and despised in our community
- To effect positive changes in our community
- To help those who have gone wayward in our community to get back on track
- To be a referral point for those who are seeking rehabilitation and professional help for their brokenness
‘You know, one of the things that encourages me the most is that people do respond to our ministry. We are able, with the kind assistance of volunteers, to provide a medical and nursing team to treat wounds, sicknesses, and so on. We have Legal Aid to mitigate on their behalf, as well as English classes too. And there is our resident Ministry Team to help them identify and face up to their struggles; guiding those who are willing to receive appropriate help for their problems. Others volunteer to give free haircuts.’
‘We even had politicians, doctors, and lawyers come in and help give talks and advise the destitute on their rights as citizens and residents of our nation. Everyone involved is committed to raising the dignity of the destitute. And many of them come from different denominations. In many ways, we are truly seeing a church without walls being lived out. I felt so comforted that we (KLUF) were actually able to work and serve together with them for the community,’ Steve said with gratitude.
As Steve took me around the drop-in center, I could see the rays of hope in people’s eyes, and the happiness they had gained from belonging to a community that accepted them without any compunction. More than that, I could see a sense of purpose in them.
At KLUF, it’s not just about handing out resources to those in need. The hope is to create a platform for people to love and care, and to touch lives through authentic relationships.
‘We get many who have broken relationships with their loved ones,’ Steve relates. ‘Many have faced rejection due to their spending time in prison. We encourage them not to give up and lose touch with their families. We provide them with a phone – and in times near festivities we also give them greeting cards to send to their families – and we encourage them to give their families a call. We have seen many emotional healings and reconciliations.
‘We also encourage them to go out and share with others in return. In fact, we are happy to share that our current Head of Street Ministry, Jerry Teo, is an outgrowth of KLUF. Jerry overcame many challenges and we found that he is versatile in skills, music, management, and engaging with governmental organisations and with NGOs.’
The KLUF community celebrates birthdays, cell groups, reunion lunches, weddings, Christmas, the New Year, and Hari Raya, and even go on outings together. Through their mobile and portable stage and platform, they celebrate on the streets together, helping them to be on the move when they need to, but also helping them to bring joy and hope to a wider community and to invite them to KLUF’s community centre.
Because many of the people who come have Cantonese and Bahasa as their first languages, KLUF conducts Celebrations and Messages in those languages, and they have light refreshments and fellowship after the celebrations.
‘There is no compulsion but we find many joining the Bible Studies and Prayer Meetings we conduct,’ Steve shared. ‘Other than the celebrations, on a more secular level, we also have a music club where people come to express their musical gifts together. There is no restriction as long as the music is healthy and clean. We even have movie nights.’
Among the work KLUF is doing is also to impact and invest in the next generation. They provide free education and English classes and have many activities among the young, including field trips and parties. Ultimately, the goal is to build God’s community and make known His glory.
‘In the end, we just want people to know that no matter what mistakes they may make in life, and even at their lowest point in life, there is a God who loves them,’ Steve conveyed. ‘As KL Urban Fellowship ministry workers, we can only do so much. But the best reward comes for us when we see hope in people’s eyes, the mended relationships, and the coming to life of what Jesus said about us all being in one family; His family.’
Kuala Lumpur Urban Fellowship (KLUF) practises a hospitable and open-door policy and they welcome partners who want to use their talents and gifts to bless the destitute via voluntary work. Being a self-sustaining initiative, they are reliant on prayers, as well as partnerships and/or financial support from generous donors.
You may contact KLUF through email at steveyew5947@gmail.com or by dropping in at their center which is located at 154-1, Jalan Petaling, KL (doors open daily).
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