Gregory Kong caught up with Archbishop Ng Moon Hing, who shared his anticipation and aspirations in taking on the position as Archbishop of South East Asia on 22 February 2016.

Archbishop Moon Hing, who is also the Anglican Bishop of West Malaysia, does not foresee making many significant changes as a result of his taking on the position as the Archbishop of South East Asia on 22 February 2016. “Within the Anglican Communion, the Archbishop serves primarily as a representative of his Province to inter-Provincial or global Synods, and as a coordinator between the various Dioceses that make up the Province. He does not have formal authority over any Diocese other than his own,” he explained.

The Archbishop’s present coordinative work revolves around the two special province wide initiatives; namely, the Province of SEA Mission Services (PROSEAMS), which is aimed at pooling inter-Diocesan resources and sharing these resources for Mission and Evangelism work in the SEA countries beyond Malaysia and Singapore, as well as the Provincial Youth Network (PYNET), which is a ministry targeted at identifying promising candidates amongst the youth and providing them leadership training to meet the Province’s future needs.

The Archbishop’s heart is set particularly on the area of discipleship. “While it is the responsibility of the individual Bishops in their Dioceses, if at all I could set the overall direction of the Province, it would be the Great Commission, as in the gospel of Matthew “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (28:19-20–19).”

Indeed, the Archbishop’s passion is to see all Christians become real disciples of Christ; and he believes that to get there, Christians will have to return to a process of discipleship for everybody and for discipleship to become a personal lifestyle.

“Only true disciples can withstand changes in the world. In the midst of troubling global developments like religious extremism, terrorism, secularism, growing sexual immorality, and atheism, true faith and discipleship in Christ are able to shine through that and withstand the “flaming darts of the evil one”. Only true discipleship can produce faith like Stephen’s (the first martyr) and motivate us to help and care for the needy; provide for disaster relief; share the Gospel regardless of consequences; allow us to lead Christ-like lives and lead us towards true transformation. It may be a slow process, but if we are serious and we start now, we will get there.”