"Who does this?"

Andreas Thapa from Nepal shared this with me thanking me for the way the Asian Access family has rallied around their family. His mom, Sareeta, has been directing the ministry of Asian Access/Nepal from its beginning and sadly, the last few years, she’s been battling ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease).

“And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”
— Hebrews 10:24-25

A2 Prayer Meetings

This past year, our Asian Access family has been meeting monthly for prayer in addition to our online cohorts and those few countries who are actually able to meet in person. In the face of the pandemic, we are learning to live out the wisdom of this passage from Hebrews as we are such a community-driven ministry.

Last night our global community met for our monthly prayer gathering and I was so impressed as we prayed through the passage listed below from the prophet Joel. While our world has been through so much, Pastor K reminded us that we have been meeting repenting and praying, seeking the Lord’s direction. He challenged us that now is the time to pray for the healing of our nations from the pandemic and for revival. So, we prayed and the prayers were...

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...”

I trust and pray that you are well. For most of us, things haven't really settled into a new normal yet. We have recently begun a season of self-isolation here in Japan while others have been doing this for weeks now. But wherever we are, I think everyone has had a little time to try gaining perspective. I've been getting messages from our volunteers across Asia trying to find perspective. I hope to share some because it's important for you to know and to pray. Here is an insightful one from a national director that I wanted to share with you...

So we can trust him now.

As I was preparing for our upcoming Board meeting (now via teleconference), I received a letter from Doug Birdsall, my predecessor and current board member. Doug gave me permission to share his letter with you. Our hope is to encourage you. Perhaps you are discouraged, facing difficult circumstances because of coronavirus or other challenges in your life. This is a testament to God’s faithfulness to deliver.

Dear Joe: You and the needs of the mission have been on my mind in light of the uncertainty brought about by the virus and the turbulence of the markets. I have been thinking about 5 significant disruptions that have profoundly impacted the life of our mission over the years...

Dear Friends, One of the hallmarks of Asian Access is our belief in community. In fact, one of our three core values is “We LIVE Community!” In light of this, several of our countries are saddened that they cannot be meeting at this time due to the coronavirus impact. Despite their loss of meetings, they have expressed more concern for the people in their communities and for you than for their ability to meet. Herman Moldez, our director in the Philippines said, “Please pray for us as Metro Manila is now on lockdown… Pray for us as we seek to bring help to our communities...

A2 Board Member Kärin Primuth observes a key value lived out

We invited Asian Access board member Kärin Primuth to attend our A2 national directors' gathering to share devotions for the week. Afterward, we sat down with Kärin to get some impressions of her time with leaders from 16 A2 countries. This is one impression that she shared with us. Kärin observed Asian Access' value of authentic community lived out among the national directors' gathering. Despite the diversity in experience and theology, there was a sense of community, respect and shared learning...

Asian Access is honored to have one of our very own, Takeshi Takazawa, contribute to a significant new work about leadership called Missing Voices: Learning to Lead Beyond Our Horizons. I received a pre-released copy of the first chapter where Takeshi offers several important insights from an East Asian perspective about leadership. Having read this chapter alone, I’m eager to get a copy of this book as soon as possible! To give you a bit of a teaser on some of what Takeshi offers...{addthis off}

Have you ever failed at something? I have. Many times! I believe a key part of life and leadership is navigating, walking through and bouncing back from failure. I’ll never forget not making sports teams as a young person and how I responded to those situations. Those were great learning experiences for me. Later, in other school situations, I didn’t do as well as I had hoped and people told me: “Maybe you should consider a different career.” OUCH! That one hurt. Later still I was being encouraged to try other posts in life and several times I was told “No”. Again, big learning experiences for...

Not long ago, I had the privilege of being with some of the alumni from Asian Access in South Asia. What a privilege it was sharing with them and hearing their stories. After sharing briefly about the heart of Asian Access for our alumni—seeing a vibrant community of servant leaders… leading the Church across Asia—we then broke into small groups. Little did I know the treat I was in for. These two men had no one they could confide in prior to Asian Access. But, over the two year process...

At Asian Access one of our core goals in our mission is to “unite the Church”. We put it this way, we develop leaders… “to unite the Church, multiply leaders and congregations, and extend the transforming power of the Gospel.”  Jesus himself highlights the importance of unity in John 17: “that they may be one, even as we are one.” He’s speaking of times when the world will tear us apart and this is his prayer to the Father that we may be unified in the midst of the challenges the world throws our way. In my lifetime, I can’t think of a more important season for...

The Secret Sauce of Asian Access?

Sometime ago I was asked about the secret sauce of Asian Access… I’ve written previously about this on other blogs:
• ALL IN with God
• LIVE Community

That said, the other secret sauce corresponds to a question that I am frequently asked, what is your curriculum. While we do have a curricular model, the most powerful part of Asian Access learning is actually the learning... 

Jesus' next statement about discipleship is found in John 13, on the night of the Last Supper [Read John 13:34,35]. The third mark of a disciple is love for fellow-disciples. The command to love is not new in itself— back in Leviticus 19:18, God said "Love your neighbor as yourself."  But the measure of that love is new. The standard is no longer the natural self-love that all of us are born with. The measure is the self-sacrificing love that led Jesus to wash the feet of the disciples. It is the love that led him to death on the cross for their redemption. Jesus was calling his disciples to display this love so consistently and openly with one another that even people outside the community of faith would recognize Jesus as the source....

Being in this South Asian country this week has truly inspired me. The alumni caught the vision of being community and even more importantly of living in a love relationship with God: They are ALL IN with God and they LIVE Community! They are also all committed to Accelerating Kingdom Leaders BUT, it’s important to note that this only flows out of our/their love relationship with God: John 15:1-16 Just see John 15:5 alone -

"I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me...

I had the privilege of welcoming the newest group of graduates to the Asian Access family yesterday: “a vibrant community of servant leaders… leading the Church across Asia… to unite the Church, multiply leaders and congregations, and extend the transforming power of the Gospel.”

This group inspired me as they shared the impact of the last two and half years. I thought you might enjoy hearing their praise:

stories here...

Last week, the Asian Access family gathered for a rich community experience. We were in Jakarta, Indonesia for our Global Leaders’ Summit. What a fantastic week we had together. It was one of my all-time favorite summits!

What made it so special? - COMMUNITY! This is one of our three core values at Asian Access: We LIVE Community! You can learn more about our values here: Asian Access' Core Values. As we gathered together, we prayed and took a collection to help our persecuted friends in Bangladesh. Read their stories here...

At Asian Access, we have been affirmed for our ability to identify leaders who are right for our program. We’ve had numerous requests to share what we believe we have learned. So with humility, let me offer a few thoughts on our approach. The Asian Access approach is rooted in a core value: a commitment to developing a deep love relationship with...

Last week, Asian Access hosted our latest session in Sri Lanka. Our focus was on disciple-making and while there was a great deal of conversation and learning together about discipleship, one of the core distinctions of this week was the importance of making disciples within community. Pastor Garrick Hanger from Rolling Hills Covenant Church highlighted this as...

Tomorrow we will commemorate the fourth anniversary of the triple disaster. It is a very somber time for the community and for the nation. Please pray with us. Pray that we can listen well; that we can walk with people well through this time. We will be praying for 24 hours through the fourth anniversary and your prayers are appreciated as well!

A friend shared this passage, which I have always loved:

2 Corinthians 1:8-11 New International Version (NIV) "We do not want you to be uninformed,...