Out of Calamity, Compassion—and a New Vision for Ministry

“We are experiencing Forceful Sabbaths – time to slow down, be with our families, recalibrate the focus on our ministries. God is causing us to rethink how we can serve the people in our communities in new ways.” “We are seeing a shift in how we do church, how we minister to our congregation and others; this lockdown is causing us to connect in new and different ways.”  “There is a new spiritual hunger in our country, among nonbelievers as well as believers. In the midst of disaster and suffering, there are new opportunities for the Church to meet the spiritual needs of our people. How will we prepare to do that?” Last week, for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began its swath across the world, Asian Access gathered its key national and regional leaders for a time of sharing and prayer together, via the Zoom communications technology. While we were not able to get every leader on the video call, we were blessed that over 90% of our leadership were able to join...

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Modi considers 'end or extend' lockdown decision

India (MNN) — Will India end or extend its current nationwide shut-down? A national shelter-in-place order went into effect on March 24 and is scheduled to end on Tuesday. However, Prime Minister Modi plans to discuss options tomorrow with state leaders before making a final decision. India’s coronavirus cases more than doubled last week, and the number of new infections continues to rise. At least one state already extended its restrictions through the end of the month. See our global coronavirus coverage here. Many people live hand-to-mouth in India, and believers want to demonstrate Christ’s love by helping those in need. David Dayalan of Asian Access says the lockdown makes this practically impossible...

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When things go wrong, God shows up strong!

Greetings on Good Friday. When it looks dark, that's when God shows up.

The year I joined Asian Access was the year the economy last collapsed. I was responsible for raising more money than I had ever dreamed of before and suddenly, the stock markets dropped to the floor. We had come to the end of the year and had set up a special meeting to begin closing major portions of the ministry. The same day of that meeting, I had a lunch appointment with a pastor and told him, “What was God thinking calling me to this post? I knew he wanted me to step out in faith, and raising funds was a big part of that, but I had no idea the funds wouldn’t come in.” I would likely have to cut staff and perhaps close a lot of ministry. That same lunch hour, a call came in letting me know that a $500,000 check was in the mail. When I called our team later that afternoon, I told them “God showed up—we don’t need to worry...”

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Updates from Asia and an Easter Prayer for You

A Personal Message from Joe & Silk Handley

Hello, Everybody! We just wanted to take a moment and wish you all a Happy Easter. And we are glad to be with you this year. We know most of you, like us, are facing social isolation—stuck at home—not able to see your family. But we wanted you to know how much we appreciate you. It's been a unique year. I was just on the phone with most of our national directors the other day, hearing what's happening in their countries and...

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