Asian Access & SIM win award for excellence, innovation & partnership

Asian Access was honored to be co-nominated with SIM for the 2012 eXcelerate Award for Innovation in Partnership from our peers through Missio Nexus. And now to receive news that we have been selected to receive this award later this week, we are greatly humbled. We thank Missio Nexus, and we congratulate SIM!

Several years ago we realized we needed to make some major changes at Asian Access in order for our ministry in Japan to thrive. God took us on a 3-year discovery path that led to forging a strategic sending partnership with SIM USA. What a thrill to find a mission partner with a common goal to reach Japan for Christ and who was willing to blaze a new trail in the way mission is accomplished!

This is the future of mission and it flows from the heart of God. As King Solomon once suggested:

"Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor." - Ecclesiastes 4.9.

Indeed, working together is better than working alone.

Through this strategic sending partnership, we envision sending more missionaries to Japan and supporting our current staff in a much stronger fashion. At the same time, we retain our leadership on the field and our unique model of ministry.

Interestingly enough, we have always been about partnership--rather than sending pioneering church planters or missionaries, we have sought to place missionaries strategically with visionary pastors for catalytic synergy in ministry and church planting.

Our dream is to fulfill our 2020 vision:

• To deploy 100 church multiplication networks
• Who will plant 1,000 reproducing churches
• Who will see 1,000,000 new followers of Christ
• And send 1,000 Japanese missionaries to Asia.

All of this is proving very promising these days post-Disaster as Japanese pastors and churches have been the unsung heroes of the relief efforts. As they have been the hands and feet of Jesus, people are more responsive to spiritual conversations, and pastors have developed enormous vision for church planting. This is an exciting day and "the future is as bright as the promises of God" -- Adoniram Judson

Thank you for celebrating with us this new strategic partnership. We are indeed humbled and honored to receive an award for this unique moment for the hope of Christ in Japan!

Bruce Johnson of SIM and I will be in Chicago this Friday, September 21st to personally receive the eXcelerate Award at the Recalibrate Conference, sponsored by Missio Nexus. Bruce is a good friend and a valued partner in the Gospel. I am thrilled to be with him to represent both organizations.

Joe Handley, President
Asian Access

P.S. - Here are a couple comments I've received from A2 Board Members:

"Congratulations on the news of this award! I do believe this strategic partnership with SIM will serve as an inspiration and creative model of collaboration for other mission organizations struggling with issues of sustainability." - Kärin Primuth

"This is a wonderful award and will give us added credibility in our good paths ahead." - Phil Foxwell, Jr.

Read original post on Joe's blog... http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/A2president/~3/X6z6O0jbUUc/index.php