Plant Churches... Plant Churches... Plant Churches!
At Asian Access’ fall board retreat, Doug Birdsall shared the powerful story of how the 2020 Vision for Japan emerged. Listening to Doug share is always an inspiration! He spoke about how he was sensing the Lord might be calling him away from the mission of Asian Access—but one night woke up and all he could see and hear was the phrase “Plant Churches… Plant Churches… Plant Churches…” over and over again!... Read more
From Killing Fields to Streams of Grace
Cambodia (MNN) — In Cambodia, streams of grace are replacing Pol Pot's killing fields. Asian Access is teaching believers like Meng Aun Hour how to share their faith. "Cambodia is really open for the Gospel of Jesus. We can go out and preach the Gospel, do church planting." As a result, Cambodians are coming to Christ in droves. One of them used... Read more
A2 for Business Leaders Launches in Korea
This weekend, seven CEOs gathered together outside of Seoul, Korea for the first ever A2 session for marketplace leaders. The energy and enthusiasm was magnetic. As these leaders shared their lives and their vision in a dynamic collaborative learning community, the atmosphere was electric. David Kim, A2 board member and founder of Telos Ventures, co-taught the session with me focusing on our "Love Relationship with God" and being a "Christ-like Leader as a CEO". The weekend went very well as we adapted the pastor-focused integrated curriculum for the CEOs. We also learned and adapted on the fly since this was our first cohort of this nature... Read more
New Life Springs Up... from an Earthquake Devastated Church
It was the guy in the worship band—a guitarist playing with two broken legs—who finally got to me. When the 7.9 earthquake struck Nepal on April 26, over 300 men, women, and children were worshipping at Visions of Salvation church in central Kathmandu. The building collapsed. Nineteen people, including the pastor, were killed. Yesterday, my friends here (who shall remain nameless) and I were invited to share at the VOS service. They are renting a building near their now-destroyed sanctuary. It is unfinished—bare concrete floors, tin roof, no lights—but it is sturdy. The late pastor’s son and his wife now lead the... Read more
What Generosity Can Do: An Example of a Buddhist Monk
Not long ago, I was serving with Asian Access in a predominantly Buddhist nation. It’s a nation where the Buddhist priests have been quite antagonistic to the Church, threatening believers and burning down church buildings. As I was serving, I was visiting an impoverished village where some of my colleagues had reached out following a devastating natural disaster. They went into the community, served the people, and rebuilt hundreds of homes that had been lost. I was visiting trainer centers that had been built to equip the people and educate the children. Apparently, the region surrounding this village was quite activist as the radical Buddhists were ready to ... Read more
The Church in Japan Serves Nepal After Earthquakes
Nepal (MNN) — Japanese Christians know firsthand the value of receiving help in times of disaster. That's why a team of individuals impacted by the 2011 tsunami spent their holiday in Nepal helping their neighbors. The team spent four days cleaning up a children’s home and helping a village rebuild. Despite everything the Japanese team has given,... Read more
See also: Following disaster, Japan gives back to Nepal
Perseverance Through Persecution
At the latest leader development session in one of the restricted-access countries where A2 is at work, one thing is clear: Pastors here persevere in the ministry despite persistent persecution. Let two of our leaders share their testimonies with you in their own words: “In [location deleted], I was able to start three churches. Soldiers or local authorities would stop me from my rounds to these three churches, but we learned to post watchmen so that if police were on their way to our meeting locations I could temporarily slip away until the danger of in... Read more
ALL IN with God
Asian Access recently reviewed our values as a mission. What a fascinating journey and valuable learning experience it was! We spent hours in dialog throughout the movement at every level: volunteers, staff, alumni, faculty, board and reference council. It was nothing short of amazing to see things come together. As we honed the various nuances and prioritized down to three core characteristics, we came up with three core values. The first is... Read more
Blockade of Supplies into Nepal Continues
Nepal (MNN) — It doesn’t look like there’s a solution to the disagreement between Nepal and India anywhere in sight. Noel Becchetti of Asian Access says India is still angry about Nepal’s new constitution and keeps blocking supplies. “As India is exercising their political will, they have the power unfortunately to basically starve these guys out,... Read more
Asian Believers Cast Vision for Massive Outreach
Asia (MNN) -- Terrorists are striking fear around the world, but they're not stopping dedicated believers. By the year 2030, Christians in an Asian country hope to have sent out 20,000 indigenous missionaries. Joe Handley with Asian Access, a ministry dedicated to raising up Christian leaders, says: "There is a sense, at least for many parts of Asia that the Gospel has been brought to them, and they owe a debt to God for bringing this hope to... Read more
