A few weeks ago, I was attending Pastor Joshua Hari’s church near Tokyo. Joshua is an assistant director for Asian Access/Japan and the lead pastor for this dynamic congregation. His church began a new outreach by providing a weekly community exercise and stretching program for young mothers.

On this particular morning, a young mother got up to promote the new program. She wasn’t a believer! She enthusiastically shared how another church ministry rallied around her during her time of great need. She was so moved that she wanted to be part of this new community outreach and the leadership team said, “Of course you can!"

As she was sharing and promoting the new outreach, she said,

“Help us promote this new program so that many will come and gain the benefits of this for their lives. And, let’s trust that many will come to faith in Jesus Christ because of their participation!”

Imagine that—a non-believer promoting a community outreach program and encouraging a church to participate so that more people can come to know Jesus!

That was impressive and encouraged me in the sharing of my faith. If she as a pre-Christian can be so bold, I should be even more bold! I have a lot to learn…

I’d love to hear what you are learning. Share with me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or @jwhandley

Joe Handley