Hello Everyone! It's inspiring being here at the Japanese garden at San Diego's Balboa Park.
For several years, you’ve become familiar with new ministry streams such as A3.business and Young Professionals. But today, I am excited to announce that our missionaries in Japan have a new descriptive name. We are now calling them “Missional Partners”.
February 3, 2023
Friends of Asian Access,
I am thrilled to announce today that Asian Access has a new name. I have been waiting a long time to tell you, and I have simply been bursting to get this out there!
February 3 (2.3.23) is the day we have targeted to share the news of the ministry's expansion which is also driving the moment for a new name for the organization. I think you'll agree it's a wonderful connection to the past and a bridge to the next era of ministry to which we're called. Stay tuned for this exciting news!
As we reflect on 2022 and prepare for 2023, several highlights come to mind:
This was the most encouraging Japan National Pastors’ Conference I remember in my 14 years with Asian Access.
The theme as set by Pastor Yoshiya Hari, Asian Access/Japan National Director, was “From 2020 to 2030” and Pastor Shinji Takita’s words captured it best:
Dear Family and Friends,
Joy to the World… This season is one giving us pause to reflect on the most important gift the world has ever seen: the Lord has come!
Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth… — Psalm 98:4a
I want to share with you a real-life story of two sworn enemies – Fuchida, a Japanese commander and DeShazer, an American pilot. The setting is in World War II.
"walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace."
– Ephesians 4:1
Recently I was interviewed by Evangeline Hsiao for her podcast, Care Package for Japan...
The purpose of this podcast is to showcase how much God loves Japan through different stories of people. It is like God sending a care package to the ones He loves in Japan!
by Yoshiya Hari
Director, Asian Access Japan
I became a pastor in 2003 and took over a church planted by missionaries. Ever since, I have been blessed to preach the gospel together with missionaries. Since 2011, I have served as the National Director of the mission organization アジアン・アク セス・ジャパン (Asian Access Japan). This has allowed me to collaborate with local churches in various places in Japan by sending missionaries to them.
Few things remind me of how much I’ve changed in the 10+ years living in Japan than sakura (Japanese cherry blossoms). I remember first-term Roberta rolling her eyes a little at the way people gushed about sakura - like they were really special or something. I remember thinking grumpily, “They are overrated and impotent. Why didn’t they plant something that actually produces fruit rather than all of this flowery nonsense?” I remember on a really rough culture stress day shaking my fist at a tree and bellowing, “You couldn’t even produce a peach, you impotent tree!” (She’s beauty and she’s grace, she’s Miss United States.)
By Nicole
Truth be told, Japan was never a country that was on my radar. I had always known that at some point in my life I wanted to explore East Asia, but for me that meant South Korea.
We often exhort one another at A3 with the proverb, “If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together.” While the exact origins of this proverb are murky, the truth of it is undeniable: for sustainable ministry (and really, life in general), we need each other.
And just days before departing with our 2023 Summer Short-Term Team, I experienced this truth in a profound way.
Hello Everyone! It's inspiring being here at the Japanese garden at San Diego's Balboa Park.
For several years, you’ve become familiar with new ministry streams such as A3.business and Young Professionals. But today, I am excited to announce that our missionaries in Japan have a new descriptive name. We are now calling them “Missional Partners”.
As much as I’ve tried to process, ponder, and pick stuff apart, I’ll simply say for now that the last seven years or so have been disorienting. I won’t go as far as to say I’ve been deconstructing, as that word is a bit loaded and a lot dramatic compared to what I’ve been doing. At the same time, I don’t want to understate the amount of disappointment, confusion, shock, anger (occasionally bordering on rage), and deep sadness I have felt toward certain branches of the stream of Christianity I’m a part of. Perhaps detangling is a better term. But I’m not wanting to go into that a ton here. Not yet anyway.
What I am wanting to do is practice being more of a noticer—seeing people who don’t seem to be flailing around in choppy waters like me but instead are more like anchors. People like my mom: a woman who is stable and steady, who sees similar things as me, yet keeps on watering her flowers, making food for people, playing the organ at church, showing up for her friends, and volunteering at a thrift store that employs people in the penitentiary system. She keeps on making music, meals, and memories, keeps on listening to Reactionary, Big Feeling Me, and keeps on being her steady self.
A3 (formerly Asian Access) began decades ago with a thriving short-term summer program called Scrum Dendo. Every summer, multiple teams would come to Japan, partner with Japanese churches, and create bridges to each community through English language outreach.
At the beginning of 2020, we had high hopes of reviving these summer mission teams, partnering with churches who wanted to do major outreach work surrounding the Tokyo Olympics.
We had no clue what was coming that year.