Rev. Dr. Hay-Chun Maak
Consulting Pastor Emeritus of Richmond Hill Christian Community Church

Whenever we talk about passing the baton, inevitably, we will recall the story of Elijah’s passing of the baton and Elisha’s receiving of it. How the Bible tells this story is not only vivid and lively, it is also very moving.

Witnessing God’s glory and being given double portion of spiritual power: Elijah’s life is filled with glory throughout and it ends in great glory as well. Elisha witnesses all this of his predecessor. In accordance with God’s plan and promise, he himself also receives abundant power as he becomes Elijah’s successor.

Inheriting Elijah’s cloak and breaking grounds in new ministries: After receiving Elijah’s cloak, Elisha does not simply wear it. Instead, he uses the cloak to strike the water in Jordan River to part the water, bringing about a brand new situation.

Rev. Simon Wong has seen Rev. Dr. John Kao’s glorious life and work; including evangelism, cultivation, church planting, church building projects, discipleship and mentoring young pastors.  He has also seen how Rev. Kao spear-headed missionary

work at ACEM churches as well as at CCCOWE, challenging all Chinese churches over the world to spread the Gospel to the ends of the earth. In addition, Rev. Kao founded Chinese seminaries in Toronto and Calgary, training and equipping future pastoral staff for the coming generation to complete the unfinished work of this one.

Indeed Rev. Wong has, in fact, inherited Rev. Dr. John Kao’s cloak, the flourishing ACEM and the twelve healthy ACEM churches where there are many talented people of God with rich gifts; where finances are always sound; and where a simple and effective organization structure with low administrative expenditure is in place; and where excellent spiritual ministries are being carried out. Through these ministries, annual missions budget approaches a total of about $2M. Also, annually, hundreds of short-term missions team members, supported by thousands of prayer warriors, are sent out. In short, ACEM and her churches always adhere to the five fundamental principles of building them together and they aspire to fulfill the absolute missional vision from above.

I sincerely trust that God will grant Rev. Simon Wong double portion of spiritual power to break new grounds and develop brand new ministries to God’s own glory!

Rev. Samuel Ng
Consulting Pastor, Toronto Chinese Mandarin Community Church

I have known Rev. Simon Wong for over 20 years and he has always impressed me as a dedicating and energetic pastor. It is my prayer that Rev. Simon Wong will lead ACEM forward, building upon the foundation and vision of Rev. John Kao: Unity and Love, Discipleship, Church Planting, World Missions, and Social Concerns.

As General Director of ACEM, he will embark upon a journey with many challenges. I pray that God will give him:

Strength as he shoulders this important responsibility;

Wisdom to discern His will;

Love to care for all ACEM churches;

Courage to stand up for truth;

Humility to serve God and people;

and Justice to glorify His name.

Amen.

by Rev. Dr. Sam Chan
Senior Pastor of Richmond Hill Christian Community Church

Strongly recommended by Rev. Dr. John Kao, invited by the ACEM Council, approved by the ACEM Conference and endorsed by the Richmond Hill Christian Community Church (RHCCC) Executive Church Board and all their pastoral staff, RHCCC’s Senior Associate Pastor and P.E.A.C.E. Director, Rev. Simon Wong, will begin to serve full time as ACEM General Director effective from October, 2012.

Rev. and Mrs. Simon Wong have served faithfully and with great dedication at RHCCC for almost thirty years. During this period of time, Rev. Wong has built effective and harmonious pastoral and administrative teams. He charted P.E.A.C.E. endeavours and formed the P.E.A.C.E. Institute with the aim of giving intensive training to congregational members. As well, Rev. Wong has shepherded multi-cultural, multi-generational and multilingual communities of brothers, sisters and friends. Because of all these ministries, he has earned and enjoyed the continuing love and praises from people both within and outside RHCCC.

ACEM’s global missions and evangelistic work along with the rapid development of its twelve churches urgently need a fulltime General Director to lead and guide their ever-expanding ministries. Let us serve together with Rev. Wong, partnering with him, praying for him, supporting and encouraging him.  May the big family of ACEM continue to prosper in serving Jesus and extending His Kingdom.

In accepting this position, Rev. Wong does not only respond to the invitation from men, it is also the consequence of long and patient waiting and earnest prayers before our Lord, Jesus Christ, until he clearly knows that it is God’s own calling for him to carry out this specific charge of His. God’s commission Shower of Blessings to the New ACEM General Director to him is more than pastoring and co-ordinating the ACEM churches to jointly live out ACEM’s specific vision and mission, he is also to nurture and train the next generation of God fearing ACEM leaders to be the shining lights of the world. He is to provide young Christian leaders with a platform that transcends the boundaries of one’s own church to serve communities everywhere in the world. This will prosper the ACEM churches and more importantly, it also promotes a multi-faceted “Movement of Churches” through ACEM. This movement, in turn, will bring about in many churches an invigorated willingness and readiness to spread the Gospel so that salvation will reach all receptive communities.

Rev. and Mrs. Wong are always kind and loving to all. Their hearts are touched and seized by God’s love and Jesus’sacrifice. Accordingly, as manifested in their life-style, they deliberately endeavour to seek after God’s heart and to know His will to be His faithful and obedient servants, always ready to work hard, suffer and sacrifice for His sake.

May God grant Rev. Wong great blessings so that he will lead ACEM by God-given visions (Vision-Led). May God provide him with a wonderful Holy-Spirit-filled team at ACEM (Team-Based). And may God use him and ACEM mightily to influence Christ-followers to live out Christ-like missional lives (Missional-Directed). Thanks and praises be to God. Amen.

by Rev. Simon Wong

It was by faith that I humbly and obediently accepted my recent appointment as ACEM General Director. This decision was my response to a renewed calling from God.

The calling came in April 2012 during the RHCCC pre-Good Friday prayer meetings when we meditated on Christ’s journey to Calvary. Over two consecutive evenings of prayers, God spoke clearly to me with a message that rekindled my heart. I was reminded of Christ’s unwavering determination to endure the cross, bearing the weight of all our sins, to fulfill God’s salvation plan for all humanity. As we sang hymns, one praising Christ’s sacrifice and another reminding me of the rich heritage of faith we have, I was once again compelled to take up my cross. I was reminded that it is only by faith that I can be empowered to embrace new challenges and fulfill His plan for my life. I surrendered my life to Him again.

After I yielded myself to God, He refreshed my memory of a ministry “dream” that I had several years back. That dream came when Canada was in the midst of redefining marriage to include not just the union between a man and a woman. Many evangelical churches across different backgrounds had organized large gatherings in big cities to represent the biblical definition of marriage. The most note-worthy ones took place in Ottawa in front of the parliament building. Even though the opposition to the legislation was made loud and clear, our voice in the end was ignored. I lamented how this country had deteriorated into such a godless state. My “dream” was to reverse this deteriorating trend and make Canada into a God-fearing country again. I envisioned believers diligently planting healthy local churches in many cities and towns, and transforming these places into God-fearing local communities. When we as Christians form a critical mass, openly express our biblical stance in important issues, and elect godly leaders to represent us in Parliament, our country stands a chance at resisting the slide into further godlessness.

I thank the Lord for renewing my faith and commitment to do His will before reminding me of my “lost” dream this April.  This specific sequence of events has reassured me that my acceptance of this new calling to be ACEM General Director is not about the fulfillment of my own personal ambition.

I was not ready to accept the position of General Director a few years ago when Rev. John Kao first approached me. At that time, RHCCC had just completed Phase 3 of the church building project and I was fully occupied with the re-organization of its administrative and ministerial structure. But I continued to wait on the Lord for His guidance until I received the clear sign prior to the Good Friday of 2012. That April, I was filled with conviction. I then shared this conviction with Rev. Sam Chan, my Senior Pastor who had been ministering with me for nearly 30 years, and was familiar with my passions as well as the needs of ACEM. He graciously supported my decision and encouraged me to step out in faith, knowing full well that my departure would create some difficult adjustments in the RHCCC’s leadership. Many other pastors and deacons also expressed their support. My family gave me their blessing as well. All of this validation has reassured me to move forward by faith and rely on His grace. Though I am approaching my retirement age, I have not been deterred from accepting this challenge because I realize I still have a number of productive years ahead of me, God willing.

In my new role, I will continue to reinforce ACEM’s existing ministries, and focus on the following three areas in the coming years:

? Church planting: develop and promote planting healthy churches in different cities and towns.

? World missions: develop and promote missions by caring for, training and sending more missionaries.

? Local church renewal: develop and promote the establishment of healthy local churches so that they will flourish and sprout new and healthy churches in other communities. Under the leadership of Rev. Kao, ACEM has already developed its five ministry emphases and lived out the spirit of “It is more blessed to give than to receive”. I will continue to expand and develop these ideals of ACEM through serving God and serving people in our various ministries. May the motto of John the Baptist, “He must become greater, I must become less,” be mine as well!

Rev. Simon Wong – a brief profile

Association of Chinese Evangelical Ministries (Canada)

• 1984 planning committee member to establish ACEM

• 1982-1984, 2008-2009 Chairman of the ACEM Missions Dept.

• 1990-1991 Secretary of ACEM Council

• 2003-2012 Chairman of the ACEM Council. Also assumed dual role as Chairman of the   ACEM Missions Department for 2 years during this period.

• Oct 2012 appointed as ACEM General Director

Richmond Hill Christian Community Church

• 1977 member of TCCC at Lawrence (Later moved north and re-named RHCCC).

• May 1987 joined the RHCCC pastoral team.

• Jan 1992 ordained as Reverend.

• Oct 2001 appointed as Senior Associate Pastor.

• Jan 2006 launched P.E.A.C.E. Plan.

• Mar 2008 established the P.E.A.C.E. Institute. Until September 2012, 50 students have graduated from it. Another18 will be expected to graduate next year.