More than 300 million people in an area spanning no less than seven countries: these statistics alone would be enough to leave many church leaders feeling totally overwhelmed, if not despondent.
But the daunting size of their region, not to mention the threat of government opposition or violent persecution in some areas, has not stopped the Diocese of Singapore from setting a bold vision to impact their region for Christ.
High on their list of priorities is raising up an army of indigenous church leaders in each country, and eventually building each of its seven nations into separate, independent dioceses.
Leaders from the Diocese were in Sydney last month, invited by Archbishop Peter Jensen to be guests at the annual CMS Summer School in Katoomba, where they outlined their vision for growing the church in South-East Asia.
The Diocese of Singapore is part of the Province of South-East Asia, headed by Archbishop Yong Ping Chung. Singapore is responsible for Anglican work in Indonesia, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and Nepal.
The Ven Siow Chai Pin, Archdeacon of Singapore, says that in an area with such a diversity of cultures and languages, developing indigenous congregations led by indigenous pastors has become a key strategy. The Church’s British roots left the Diocese with churches almost exclusively aimed at reaching expatriates.
“In the beginning, even in Singapore when they set up Anglican work it was more to cater to the people that came to Singapore either to do business or to hold government positions,” Chai Pin says. “Over the years, the Church began to reach out to local people – Chinese, Malays and Indians.
“But for the other countries, even up to six or seven years ago, the churches there were more or less catering to the needs of the expatriates.” Locals that did attend were not the primary focus, and almost all were English-speakers.
Central to their plan is the theological education of local leaders, in their own country and their own language. It is hoped that each country in the Diocese will become independent eventually, formulating unique strategies for reaching their own mission field.
“Going out and planting churches is a big endeavour in and of itself, but planting a Diocese is something even bigger and we’re even less experienced in that,” says Daniel Tong, rector of the Church of Christ the Redeemer in East Singapore. “With the raising of good indigenous men and women to give leadership in these churches, only then can we seriously get down to creating a form of worship that is really local.”
Singapore itself contains 26 Anglican parishes, and the Diocese as a whole has around 60 clergy. But with so many people to reach, the Diocese’s resources are stretched to the limit. “It’s impossible, humanly speaking, to actually cater to the needs of seven countries,” says Canon Kuan Kim Seng, Director of Missions for the Diocese. “That is why we need to network with our partners in missions, such as CMS-UK, CMS NSW, and other dioceses such as West Malaysia, Sabah and Sydney Diocese. We appreciate their partnership very much.”
Sydney has established a connection with the region, through appointments such as Stephen and Marion Gabbott’s recently completed ministry at Christ Church, Bangkok, and CMS missionaries David and Leonie Painter in Cambodia.
One major avenue for future partnership is English language teaching, a strategy used by Singapore Diocese to spread the gospel in areas where they cannot plant churches openly.
While many Singaporeans speak English as their first language, locals tend to regard Britons, Americans and Australians as ‘native English speakers’. While this limits opportunities for locals to teach English, it means the door is wide open for Westerners to join the Diocese in ministry partnerships.
“The English language has become a door-opener from which to preach the gospel,” says Kim Seng. “It’s a strange development, but in the 21st century this is probably one of the most useful developments, and most useful platforms.”
The reality is that some of the Diocese’s nations do not welcome new churches. But this has not stopped them from playing a role there.
“In areas where we can openly do Anglican church planting, we will do that – for example, in Indonesia and Thailand. But in countries where there are far more restrictions, we look for ways that we can work with the local churches in the country,” said Kim Seng. “We basically strengthen the local work of evangelism and church planting, whether they are Anglican or not.”
Anthony Brammall, CMS missionary and lecturer at the Theological College of Eastern Indonesia for six years, says the strategic importance of Singapore as a focal point for gospel ministry cannot be under-estimated.
“Like Sydney, the Diocese is full of people who have great passion for the gospel and for mission all around them,” Mr Brammall said.
“It is greatly important that CMS maintains, strengthens and utilises the strong links we already have with Singaporean Christians and that, under God, we let those links become a means for us to continue work in Asia.”