By Tan Szet Anne
In June 2025, representatives from various denominations, organisations and kingdom ministries gathered for two days to share about their work and learn from one another.
This strategic encounter, Kingdom Alliance, was organised by Haggai Malaysia, whose mission is to equip and inspire strategically positioned leaders to more effectively demonstrate and present the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and to prepare others to do the same.
On the first day of the convergence, immediate past president of Haggai Malaysia Ritchie Tay said, “This is not about Haggai. This is about the kingdom of God.”
As different individuals took to the stage, we obtained a remarkable snapshot of how God has been moving and working in Malaysia through the decades.
The schedule was packed, with different roundtables peppered throughout the day, allowing participants to forge strategic alliances and collaborative networks.
As the conference unfolded, it became apparent that the two days had gathered kingdom-minded people united by a desire to achieve a vision bolder and bigger than their organisation and ministry.
Session after session echoed the same message: we need to work together for this dream to be realised.
Sharing the same vision
Pr. Samuel Ang, secretary-general of the National Evangelical Christian Fellowship (NECF), expressed, “Haggai has brought all of us to the same table. But we still need to see the same vision – both opportunities and threats – in order to see the way forward.”
He also shared that this kind of convergence would not have been possible twenty years ago, but Christian leadership has and must continue to evolve as well as practice respect and mutual understanding amongst the groups; pulling resources together and work together for the grassroot ministries and for the kingdom.
Rev. Elisha Satvinder, co-founder of Dignity for Children Foundation, encouraged churches to breakdown the walls of divide, stop competing, criticise less, and work together for God’s kingdom. “There’s so much that we can do together,” he implored.
Pastor Dato’ Dr. Daniel Ho, Founding Senior Pastor of Damansara Utama Methodist Church (DUMC) urged everyone to realise these are urgent times and that we are faced with tremendous collaborative opportunities to maximise resources and minimise wastage.
“Doing God’s work requires courage. Accept and expect opposition, intimidation and threats that cripple the work,” he boomed, ringing the evangelistic call and challenging conventional mindsets about faith in the workplace.
East Malaysia calls for partnership through empowerment
Unity and strength were also tenderly displayed as Rev. Bina Agong, the president of Borneo Evangelical Mission (BEM), Bishop Danald Jute, the Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Kuching, and Bishop Richard Ng, the Bishop of Miri Diocese, Roman Catholic Church, stood together before everyone to represent the voices of East Malaysia’s indigenous communities.
Fondly referred to as the ‘Abang Sulungs’ present, they took the opportunity to call for collaboration instead of charity, partnership through empowerment instead of welfare through hand-outs.
They appealed to all West Malaysians to change mindsets on how missions to East Malaysia should look like, taking into respectful consideration the culture of the land while working towards reducing the gap between the East and West.
Where once we might stand behind denominational and geographical lines, the time has dawned upon us to cross those boundaries and work with one another with a single purpose in mind – the extension of God’s kingdom, the Great Commission.
Bishop Richard Ng, Bishop of Miri Diocese, dispelled any further doubts by affirming that the doors are always open to work together in the spirit of raising and releasing for the kingdom of God.
Don’t be afraid of the new
Dato’ Sri Idris Jala, President and CEO of PEMANDU Associates, graced us with his presence and wisdom by reminding us that we can optimise the opportunities we have and make the most of the available flexibility we have.
He said, “Transformational leadership is about disappointing people at the rate they can tolerate… If the church wants to achieve the impossible, it cannot keep doing things the way it has been done before.”
It was a sobering reality, but one that challenged and convicted many. The traditional way of reaching people will never reach some people, and so diverse approaches must be considered.
As the conference ended, the fruits of gathering emerged. Mindsets shifted and world views were enlarged.
Pastors, ministry workers, key influencers and organisational leaders stepped out with firmer steps and lighter hearts, realising this timeless truth: with God, all things are possible.
