The Borneo Evangelical Mission is 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 (Baptist), Frank Davidson (Anglican) and Carey Tolley (Church of the Brethren). In 1975 the BEM merged with Overseas Missionary Fellowship (formerly the China Inland Mission).
| Borneo Evangelical Mission | |
|---|---|
| Classification | Protestant |
| Orientation | Evangelical, Charismatic |
| Polity | Interdependent local, regional, and national expressions |
| Associations | Melbourne School of Theology China Inland Mission Overseas Missionary Fellowship |
| Founder | Hudson Southwell, Frank Davidson and Carey Tolley |
| Origin | 1928 Melbourne, Australia |
| Members | 500,000 |
The Borneo Evangelical Mission (BEM) was pioneered by Hudson Southwell together with two fellow missionaries Frank Davidson and Carey Tolley of Australia. They boarded an old cargo steamer from Melbourne in early October 1928 bound for Singapore. Travelling with them was Alexander Henderson, a pioneer of the Southeast Asian timber trade who had offered to help establish a base on the island of Borneo. Henderson left the team the following year.
On 12 November 1928, Southwell and Henderson landed in Kuching, Borneo. The Rajah, Charles Vyner Brooke, gave permission to establish a mission in Sarawak and recommended starting in the Limbang area to the north-east. Davidson and Tolley were to join them later.
Sarawak, together with Sabah and the Federation of Malayan States came together and formed Malaysia in 1963. With the increasing use of the Malaysian national language, Borneo Evangelical Mission (BEM) soon became Sidang Injil Borneo (SIB). Today, SIB churches may be found in Sarawak, Sabah and Peninsular Malaysia.