Then, in 1956, three dedicated brothers from the Philippines came to Sabah on a work contract and settled in the seaport town of Tawau. Their wives followed shortly afterward. Over the next few years, more brothers and their families came from the Philippines as part of their secular work. They began witnessing to others, and in due course a congregation was formed. The result was that by 1963 there were 28 publishers in Tawau.

The Tawau Congregation continued to grow spiritually and numerically over the years and now has 62 publishers.

The second congregation established in Sabah is at Kota Kinabalu, where the witness work had its small beginning in the 1950’s. There are now 71 publishers and 6 pioneers serving in this congregation. So with these two congregations and the five isolated groups in the towns of Keningau, Lahad Datu, Sandakan, and Kota Belud, and on the island of Labuan, the work is on a solid footing in the state of Sabah. The peak number of publishers, including pioneers, has now reached 180.