Stories of Hope Emerging from the Storm
For most, 2022 has seen some return to pre-pandemic activity. We're not quite back completely, but we are definitely seeing glimmers. We have even been able to expand into new regions.
Here are a few of our top stories from 2022 that highlight the hope we have for the future. We trust these articles will encourage us as we collectively remember His faithfulness through the past year.
Everyone at Asian Access thanks you for your partnership in prayer and giving that made these stories a reality!
Transformation, expansion, and tightening restrictions by JACKIE RO — 04-FEB-2022 — Travel was limited, but expansion was not... With strict quarantine regulations in my country of residence, I was unable to travel for ministry purposes. All meetings and classes continued online on Zoom. Though we will always be better served to physically be present together, in some sense, the travel restrictions have allowed us to expand faster. Faster does not always mean better, but it does mean reaching more people and bringing them into a community of Christian growth when times seem desperate and dire, depending on the region. I have been privileged to see transformation in the lives of people and this is remarkable to witness. For instance,... Read more... |
The Blessing of the Pandemic: God's Deconstruction of My Ministry by HERMAN MOLDEZ — 08-MAR-2022 — My ministry activities have been undermining my intimacy with God. God has used the pandemic to dismantle the ministry construct under which I had been working. The pandemic forced me to embrace undoing ministry. I had no choice because pandemic rules and restrictions grounded me at home. Slowly, the restrictions created by the pandemic became God’s instrument to deconstruct my ministry practices and perspective. Deconstruction made it clear that what I had prioritized and pursued in life and ministry needed radical review and revision... Read more... |
Asian Access greetings from Poland? by MARY JO WILSON — 08-APR-2022 — This week we're in Warsaw and you're wondering, "What's Asian Access doing in Poland?" We're here learning more about the Persecuted Church and things that we can do to help our partners in Asia. They've asked for more assistance, more understanding, and more resources for dealing with persecution—things that they're experiencing in their local setting. And this is an amazing time to be here in Poland and we've had conversations with people coming—church leaders who have been in Ukraine... Read more... |
Celebrating the 2020 Vision & Passing the Baton in Japan by JOE HANDLEY — 31-MAY-2022 — Recently the A2 international board and A2 Japan board held a historic joint meeting. At this gathering, we solidified our commitment to Japan by officially passing the leadership and legal "shukyo hojin" (religious corporation) to the leadership in Japan.In the new agreement, A2 still keeps missionary management responsibilities but the overall vision and leadership sits with A2/Japan. We took the time to celebrate the completion of the 2020 Vision together. We highlighted the many achievements accomplished over the last 35 years... Read more... |
For Such a Time as This — A New Movement Births! by JOE HANDLEY — 30-JUN-2022 — The Global Alliance for Church Multiplication (GACX) estimates millions of new churches are springing up rapidly in desperate need of leaders. Five million more churches are still needed. Stephanes Sigemindus Loots observed: “Church planting is moving at the speed of a bullet train with leadership development following on a bicycle.” Thus, several of us have gathered, praying together and planning for a new movement to raise up and train a million new Christ-like workers annually. Dr. Manfred Kohl says: “Today we need a global leadership summit for the purpose of finding, training, mentoring, and commissioning a million women and men for the needed ministry every year.”... Read more... |
Disciplemaking course takes fresh look at following Jesus today by MARY JO WILSON — 07-JUL-2022 — A2 Course of Disciplemaking: Disciplemaking is not an everyday word. It may be mentioned at church, but even there it can feel foreign to our common experience. To be honest, the word “disciplemaking” is not in the Bible and my auto-correct continues to tell me it’s not a word in any standard dictionary. Yet for a serious follower of Jesus, the task of making disciples is core to our purpose in this world. Disciplemaking is central to the Asian Access leader development model being used across Asia and beyond. That is why we were excited to be asked by Bill Mounce of Biblical Training to produce a course on disciplemaking... Read more... |
Vision of A2 alumni to plant 14,392 churches across Cambodia by MENG AUN HOUR — 23-AUG-2022 — My name is Meng Aun Hour. I'm the country director for Asian Access in Cambodia. I just want to take this time to share with you what God is doing through Asian Access / Cambodia... especially through the alumni of Asian Access. Most of us in Asian Access come together with the same purpose and same heart. We want to plant a church in every village. Our Vision: We want to see a church in every village in Cambodia. So in Cambodia, we have 14,392 villages. So we want to plant the church in every village... Read more... |
Mission Visionary’s New Book Calls For Global ‘Leadership Shake-Up’ 01-SEP-2022 — A California-based mission leader with a vision to shake up the way Christian mission agencies, churches and businesses create their leadership strategies has released a new book on the topic. Dr. Joseph Handley, president of Asian Access (www.asianaccess.org), presents an innovative re-think on leadership strategies in Polycentric Mission Leadership: Toward a New Theoretical Model for Global Leadership. “We’re in a world that’s increasingly complex and difficult to navigate,” said Handley, who’s been with Asian Access for nearly 15 years. “Polycentric leadership helps bring us together and helps us center ourselves around Christ. It lets everyone’s voice be part of the leadership process.” ... Read more... |
The No-Name Ministry Trip by NOEL BECCHETTI — 07-SEP-2022 — I just completed an exciting trip for Asian Access that I can’t tell you anything about. If you’re like me, you would love to know everything possible about a ministry that you support. We would love to let you know all of that, and more. But in many cases, we cannot. And that can be frustrating—for us as well as you. We want and need your friendship, prayers, and financial support. It’s your backing that makes it possible for Asian Access to do its Kingdom work. And we know that it is important to keep you as informed as possible on our work. So why are there many times that we must keep you in the dark? The short answer is that many of our colleagues live under varying degrees of pressure because of their Christian faith and practice. To identify their names, vocations, and even geographical locations can put them at risk... Read more... |
Gospel workers balance joy, lament in first summit since 2019 by MISSION NETWORK NEWS — 05-OCT-2022 — Asian Access held its annual Global Summit at a secured location in Asia this week. “In many ways, it (the summit) is a celebration. Because of the pandemic restrictions, we haven’t seen each other in three years,” President Joe Handley says. “We celebrate the fact that we can be in community once again; we’re not going to have to live on Zoom forever.” The occasion is bittersweet in several ways. “We have had two very significant losses; these are people of profound influence within our history,” Handley says. “The first [loss] was Jan Wendling; her husband [founded] Asian Access over 55 years ago. And then, on top of that, Ophelia De Visser from Sri Lanka [passed away].”.. Read more... |
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Cover photo by zero take on Unsplash
For more stories, visit Asian Access Blog Centre — https://asianaccess.org/blogcentre 
