Japan church meets in an unlikely location

Having church in a bar?

Japan (MNN) — When you think of church, what comes to mind? Well-dressed men and women worshipping in a large building with a cross on the top? That’s not always the case. Sometimes, you have to make do with what you have. That’s what Taka Hiroami, the pastor of Praise Community Church in Sendai, Japan who’s working with Asian Access’ leadership development partnership, is dealing with. They don’t have their own building, but that’s not stopping believers from worshipping together.

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Asian Access celebrates 50 years of ministry

What can a ministry accomplish when God is leading the way?

Asia (MNN) — What does the phrase ‘Jubilee in Jakarta’ bring to mind? Certainly, a celebration…probably one in Indonesia. You’d be right on both counts. Asian Access (A2), a ministry dedicated to leadership development and church planting in Asia, is marking what God has done with the initial vision of empowering pastors in Japan 50 years ago. A2’s Noel Becchetti shares, “The immediate, exciting stuff going on for Asian Access is next week…we have two new countries beginning.” What started in Japan has grown into core leadership partnerships with a dozen other nations, including the newest in the Philippines. At the same time, Becchetti explains, an orientation session is launching in a creative-access South Asian nation, “which means by early summer, the new class will be fully involved in its course material.” The commitment from A2 is...

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High alert grips Japan in wake of North Korean missile launch

Missionaries on alert in the wake of North Korean missile launch

Japan (MNN) — North Korea fired a ballistic missile over Japan’s northern Hokkaido Island into the sea on Tuesday, testing already frayed international relations. Days later, Japan remains on high alert and launched evacuation drills along its west coast.  A missile defense system has been deployed to the west of Japan.  Tokyo also slapped additional sanctions against Pyongyang following repeated missile launches and other unresolved....

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Shopping with my wife is like Walking with God!

Living in Japan brings all sorts of new life experiences for me. Stateside I focus mostly on ministry and family but here in Tokyo, Silk and I share house duties more because she is teaching and we live in a world that requires us to do more teamwork when it comes to daily living. Areas where I try to help out are weekly shopping, cleaning the dishes and once in a while laundry. No one trusts me with cooking so this is the best I can offer and all of these things I rarely participate in stateside. It certainly helps me grow as a Christ-like leader. It helps me develop character, one of the biggest challenges in Christian leadership today...

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Do you hear God’s voice?

"We tend to overcomplicate the simplicity of listening to Jesus." — Tony Dale

Not long ago I had the privilege of participating in one of our Asian Access sessions where Tony and Felicity Dale were teaching. It was brilliant and their stories inspired me.

Today, they lead a Christ-centered business that is on mission and...

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A2|50th Day 3: The Future is Now

Our capstone day for Asian Access Jubilee in Jakarta focused on the perfect theme: The Future is Now!

Dr Ajith Fernando led us in another in-depth devotional focusing on one of the core components to the fruitfulness of Asian Access. He called it "Spiritual Parenthood" but others may call it mentoring or discipleship. It was a powerful metaphor for me given the history and trajectory of our week. You see, Asian Access holds something unique for an organization. Every leader we’ve had within the movement invests in me as the next generation leader. They stand beside me, behind me and support me along the way...

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