The 2020 Vision:

Whoever is of God hears the words of God.
— John 8:47

A2/Japan Retreat... in-person!

A few weeks ago, A2/Japan held an encouraging retreat in Okutama. It was the first time in three years that our entire missionary team met together and Silk and I were barely able to squeeze in with the covid restrictions.

breakthrough / ˈbreɪkˌθruː /

noun “a sudden, dramatic, and important discovery or development.” – Oxford English Dictionary

At the end of 2019, Silk and I felt led to choose a word that would be the focus for the new year. I had just completed a quasi-sabbatical to finish my dissertation and we were looking forward to what was in store for 2020. And, 2020 was sure to be spectacular: Asian Access was...

Happy New Year, Friends!

Looking forward, it's an exciting year as we enter this new decade. 2020 is ahead of us folks and I am super excited because a lot is on the horizon....{addthis off}

2020 is a pivotal year in the life of Asian Access.

In the early ’90s, Asian Access adopted a vision God had given my predecessor Doug Birdsall. It was a vision he had rested on for a few years but one that came into clearer scope by the time he became our fourth president. In many ways, it became an audacious goal, one which many told Doug was impossible. As he shared the discouragement from the feedback with our founder, Ken famously said, “Impossible. Impossible. I love Impossible.” Why? Because God makes... {addthis off}

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!

Japan (MNN) — The strains of the closing anthems have barely faded away in the Fischt Olympic Stadium (Sochi, Russia), and things are already getting busy in Tokyo, Japan.

Why? Tokyo plays host to the 32nd Olympiad in just six years.

They’re not the only ones with their sights set on 2020. Several years ago, the Lord gave Asian Access a specific vision. Takeshi Takazawa is the Japan Country Resource Coordinator for Asian Access. “God orchestrated almost for us, Japan, because we have Vision 2020 which we received from God to see 100 church planting networks, 1000 reproducing churches, one million believers, and...

Thanksgiving week was inspiring!

I spent the first few days of Thanksgiving week listening to one of my mentors, Doug Birdsall – Honorary Chairman of the Lausanne Movement, share about vision in Japan. 

Doug shared many powerful life and leadership lessons that all of us will treasure for years to come. He quoted scripture so frequently that you could tell he has spent a lifetime cultivating a deep relationship with God. Some of his many more salient points included...