Pastor Eniong Hilario with Asian Access says the Taal Volcano is within sight of a center they often use for training and retreats. “During the eruption, there was a lot of ashfall, and it reached our place where we live,” he says.

“When we woke up it was very gray… the entire area was covered with ash.”

In late 2016, Asian Access began partnering with Filipino pastors to see dynamic church growth throughout the archipelago. Learn how Asian Access develops leaders who accelerate church growth.

Taal volcano eruption

Lava fountain from Taal Volcano Main Crater.
(Photo, caption courtesy of @PHIVOLCS-DOST via Twitter)

The Taal Volcano spewed lava on Tuesday evening, raising alarm among experts monitoring the situation. The lava, combined with rising magma levels, means another eruption could be moments – or months – away.

“The volcano could stop erupting [within] four days, or the conditions could last for a number of months,” Hilario explains. “That unpredictability is causing insecurity for… most of the residents.”

Some want to take advantage of the lulls in seismic activity. “People are wanting to go back but they are not [allowed] yet because of the insecurity that this volcano has. This location is a bit unpredictable,” Hilario says.

Believers are extending help and hope in Jesus’ name to people who’ve been displaced.

“The area itself, where we had the Asian Access retreats, [is] owned by the Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches,” Hilario says. “They are so kind to actually open the center as a possible place for those [who] have been affected [by] the volcanic eruption.”

Yesterday, authorities urged 450,000 residents to flee the area immediately surrounding Taal Volcano. The UN is helping with evacuation efforts; over 38,000 people have been relocated so far.

How to help

This situation is still unfolding, so it needs your continued prayers. “Pray for the people… to be firmly united and hopeful in the situation,” Hilario requests.

“Filipinos, in general, are able to deal with calamities and catastrophes. Our country [experiences] a lot of typhoons and earthquakes. We are, in a sense, used to that.”

People supporting their families through jobs in agriculture or tourism face an extremely uncertain future. Both of these industries are directly affected by volcanic activity. Ask the Lord to calm feelings of fear and anxiety. Pray messages of God’s protection and providence will resonate with people in need.

“[This region’s] main industry is agriculture and all of these things have been essentially damaged or affected,” Hilario says.

Header image depicts Taal Volcano activity on January 13, 2020.  Picture obtained via Wikimedia Commons. 

A few years back, they announced big goals as part of their Vision2020.

• (Partners/training) 20 Countries in Asia
• 100 Church Multiplication Teams/Networks – Japan
• 1000 Reproducing Churches in Japan

(Image courtesy of Asian Access)

A2 president Joe Handley says 2018 was a great year for implementation after years of laying a solid foundation for growth. As he looks back on 2018 and ahead to 2019, he keeps using the word ‘exciting’. What does ‘exciting’ mean for Asian Access? Doesn’t everyone use that word to describe an upcoming year?

Here’s why Handley might be a little ‘excited’. While he couldn’t go into detail yet due to some security concerns, he says the time is right and God is opening doors. “Right now, we have five new countries, I think, even six that might be looking to open with us. And these are countries that are completely closed to the development of leaders within their midst. “

This will be in addition to 15 Countries where A2 is now fully operational: Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Japan, Korea, Nepal, Mongolia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Sri Lanka plus five additional countries with select pastors/leaders and faculty.

Other national directors share his enthusiasm. A2’s Myanmar director shares:

Dear A2 Community,

New Year greetings from A2 Myanmar! This 2019 will be very exciting year for us as we are getting one year closer to our 2020 vision. I feel like that we have to try harder this year to reach God-given Vision. So each every day is so important for us, we have to pray more, work more, build each other up more, go deeper and in whatever God wants us to go further let’s go further as our Heavenly Father gives strength and resources. Personally, I really want to see our 2020 vision accomplished so I prepare myself in all ways as much as I can in my present reality. Lord may we see Asian Access to be Global Access before you bring us Home.

(Photo courtesy Asian Access)

Investing in Women

Beyond church planting and leadership training, since 2014, A2 has been investing in women. They apply the following four outcomes to women leaders across Asia:

1. Nurturing a love relationship with God;
2. Growing in Christ-like character;
3. Reproducing disciple-making leaders;
4. Planting multiplying churches.

The reality: being a female leader can be difficult and lonely, but A2 is investing in these leaders to encourage them. In all of the training they offer for women, they try to help the women understand and answer this question: “How do you grow as a leader?”  Since they’re in the A2 community, these women are also learning from each other. The approach is unique enough that more countries are inviting A2 to share their perspective on empowering women in ministry. In 2018, the ministry expanded to a brand-new country (also unnamed, due to security reasons); by years’ end, Asian Access leaders found the results of the many conversations and cohorts, thrilling.

What happens when you say ‘Yes’ to God

In fact, last month, says Handley, “I met leaders from three new countries (who) are saying, “Hey Joe, I’ve heard about what God is doing through women in these two countries. Can you bring that to our country?””  The answer is almost always ‘yes’—and that’s what led to a breakthrough year last year.

(Photo courtesy Asian Access)

As he looks ahead to 2019, he added one more thing onto his already full plate: AsianAccess.biz, culminating from a journey that began four years ago. The goal is to care for, mentor and walk among entrepreneurs and marketplace leaders so they can be more Christ-like leaders in their spheres of influence.   The venture is now bearing fruit with communities in the marketplace and among entrepreneurs in Asia. Handley explains, “We are looking at expanding at a rapid rate with business professionals. We have leaders from places like Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, and Japan that are saying, ‘We are hungry for the development of our capacity as Kingdom marketplace leaders.'”

When Joe Handley says things are ‘exciting’, he isn’t kidding. He’s at the front end of trendsetting curves, riding the wave of momentum, listening for God’s direction, covered in prayer, as he leads A2 into a 2019 full of probabilities and possibilities as they help change the few who will change the many.

Headline image courtesy Asian Access.

“In the midst of this ‘ethnic cleansing’ type of situation, the Church is just trying to be the Body of Christ reach out to their neighbors, and share the love of Jesus,” says Asian Access’ Joe Handley.

“They’ve seen hundreds, maybe even thousands, come to Christ; they’ve started dozens of churches among the Rohingya.”

It’s the silver lining to an otherwise frustrating state of affairs.

Myanmar leaders refuse to give in

Aung San Suu Kyi
(Wikipedia)

The office of Myanmar’s President, Aung San Suu Kyi, yesterday announced she would not be attending next week’s UN General Assembly. Myanmar’s ongoing Rohingya crisis is expected to be a major theme of Assembly discussions.

Although Rohingya Muslims have faced hardships in Myanmar for decades, UN investigators said last month that military persecution of the Rohingya revealed “genocidal intent.”

Between 700,000 and 800,000 Rohingya fled to neighboring Bangladesh last year following clashes between state authorities and rebel forces. This UN official described the attack as “a textbook example of ethnic cleansing.”

Unfortunately, as described here, the Rohingya aren’t likely to find justice in the courts of man. Myanmar does not recognize the International Criminal Court (ICC) as a valid entity, and world superpowers have little initiative to push the issue.

It’s not stopping local believers from responding to urgent needs.

Christians respond in love

Asian Access equips and encourages national Christian leaders to be “change agents” in society.

“In the midst of our Asian Access Leader Training, we develop communities that support each other,” explains Handley, adding that graduates of the program are often referred to as ‘A2 alumni.’

Multiple trainings and a long history with Asian Access helped prepare Bangladeshi believers for the onslaught of Rohingya refugees.

(Photo courtesy Tommy Trenchard/ Caritas/ CAFOD via Flickr)

“A2 alumni are right in the middle of Rohingya [refugee camps]. They’re trying to hand out rice and give shelter to these Rohingya refugees; they’re trying to help them with the cost of visas.”

An end to the Rohingya crisis is nowhere in sight. But, as Christians from various backgrounds work together to meet needs, the Rohingya see God’s love and unity in action.

“It’s not a ‘lone ranger church’ out there reaching out amongst the Rohingya, it’s actually the Body of Christ reaching out across denominations resourcing one another, in addition to the resources of Asian Access and others that are coming alongside,” states Handley.

Please continue praying for the Rohingya, and pray for unity among responding churches.

Learn more about the work of Asian Access here.

Header image courtesy Jordi Bernabeu Farrús via Flickr.

Non-stop rain that began last week continued through the weekend, submerging five provinces. Though some Cambodians were evacuated and resources were stockpiled months ago, others needed immediate help finding food and shelter.

“Because of this flood, Asian Access alumni in that area [are trying] to help, especially the people in their town [and] in their villages… [They are] also helping church members who are affected,” shares Asian Access’ Meng Aun Hour. Rev. Aun Hour oversees all of A2’s work in Cambodia.

“We want [listeners/readers] to stand with us in prayer. Pray for food…and also, a place to stay.”

The current preoccupation of government officials underscores the importance of Cambodian Christians’ response.

“Right now, the government [is] really busy with [the] election…[on] the 29th of this month,” Aun Hour says.

Supporting Cambodian Christians

(Photo courtesy of Asian Access) School of Discipleship

The first class of local believers graduated from A2’s pastoral training course in 2005. Inspired by the effectiveness of A2’s two-year training for senior pastors, Aun Hour developed a similar program for church leaders at every level. At the “School of Discipleship,” Cambodian Christians learn how to become better youth ministry leaders, church planters, women’s ministry leaders, etc.

While disaster response isn’t an A2 focus, reaching out to neighbors in crisis is a natural way for Cambodian Christians to “walk the talk” and demonstrate Christ’s compassion.

“Alumni are raising up special funds from their churches to help flood victims,” says Aun Hour. Believers are also supplying food to beleaguered families and helping them find temporary shelter far from the flood zone.

Contact Asian Access if you’d like to support these efforts financially. Most importantly, please remember to cover this situation in prayer.

Header photo courtesy of Diariocritico de Venezuela via Flickr: https://goo.gl/aoHxRv

Noel Becchetti of Asian Access (A2) says it’s looking like an exciting new venture is ahead for Asian Access. Church leaders from Indonesia have invited A2 in to see if a leadership development program can be implemented there. They’ve held conversations for about a year now, and Becchetti and some colleagues recently visited some church leaders to assess the next steps.

“Geographically our discussions have been focused in the Jakarta area because Asian Access is really small. We work with one group of 12-18 leaders at a time over a two-year period. So, realistically you start somewhere and then over time things grow so we’ve focused on Jakarta as a place to begin.

Indonesia is made up of over 17,000 Islands and the population is comprised of several different ethnic groups. Christians make up just over nine percent of this nation.

(Logo courtesy of Asian Access)

Sometime this summer, A2 will be holding a meeting in Indonesia to see who should be a part of this program, or if it should continue forward at all.

“What makes Indonesia interesting is… there’s so much going on. On the one hand, there does seem to be a lot of positive Christian activity. I mean, a lot of people becoming Christians, a lot of interest in the Christian faith.”

However, the growth of the Church is alarming to people of other faiths. Others are fabricating numbers of growth in order to raise the alarm even higher.

“Things are happening, nobody’s sure about the numbers for a whole lot of reasons, including the fact that a lot of the Christian leaders are trying to kind of keep things down to not unnecessarily alarm everybody,” he says.

An interest in Christianity is certainly not a problem in A2’s eyes. But it makes strong leadership that much important. And there is another issue that A2’s leadership development program comes against time and time again:

“The key is getting the right leaders for that first group. Because we’re so small, and we move so slowly, and we’re committed to real life transformation that then we believe over time will have some significant impact, getting the right people together is critical.

“And Indonesia faces the same issues that many countries face—maybe everybody faces—and that is even in the Christian community, there can be a lot of disunity, there can be a lot of barriers. You can have denominational problems, theological problems, cultural problems. We’re committed to trying to be a ministry that bridges all of that. But that means you have to have the right people who say ‘Yeah, we’re willing to enter into a group that’s committed to being diverse, to getting after knocking those barriers down.’”

Additionally, they need leaders who understand and accept the fact that knocking down these barriers can have consequences in their home communities if people disagree. That’s why this summer they will have an orientation to see if there are leaders like this, ready to jump into this leadership development project.

“That’s where 25-30 prospective leaders are invited to get a taste of the program, with no obligation, and then it’s kind of a mutual decision-making process: Should this move forward? And if it should move forward, who are the right leaders that will come out of that group of 25-30 and become the 12-16  that’ll be part of that first group of leaders who will then be together for two years?”

Will you take time to pray for this orientation, and the project going forward in Indonesia? Ask God to raise up the right people to be a part of this program. Pray that the leadership would know how to respond to opposing pressures from their society.

If you’d like to support Asian Access’ leadership development program, consider a financial gift. Becchetti says it normally takes around  $100,000 to launch a new program for a period of one-two years. You can give, here.

(Header photo by Sander Wehkamp on Unsplash)

Indonesia (MNN) — It’s not every day that you can mark a jubilee in ministry by snowball growth, but that’s what is happening to Asian Access (A2).

(Photo courtesy of Ruth Kramer)

I’ve spent the last few days with them, not only celebrating what God’s doing through them, but also hearing about big dreams for the future. Between 1967 and 2001, A2 was in pioneering mode. They had a call from a Japanese pastor to come and train their church leadership to help them figure out a strategy to multiply churches.

Laying the groundwork was painstaking, but well worth-it when, in 2002, believers in Mongolia asked A2 to come alongside their church leaders. From there, came requests from Sri Lanka, Nepal, India, and several creative-access Southeast Asian nations — with the newest cohorts being trained in the Philippines next week.

Admittedly, the snowball growth is a God-thing, but the next question the ministry leadership team had to answer was, ‘How do they finish well?’ The answer: it’s all based on relationships. When believers are in fellowship with God, it follows that they would be in fellowship with each other.

Easy to say, harder to accomplish, especially as many of the nations face shifting governments, political changes, and other instabilities. A2 is equipping the Next Generation of church leadership to be ready to stand in the face of adversity.

One theme that emerged over the last few days of jubilee was unity: unity through prayer, through revival, and through growth. It’s a vision A2’s President Joe Handley is excited to execute. He’s hoping to see Asian Access go global in the next decade, as requests for their training curriculum come in from Africa and South America. Handley challenged the delegates from 12 nations to join him in standing together and dreaming big…and the responding shout was, “Hallelujah!”

(Photo credit: Sergio Carbajo via Flickr)

But, that was before the triple disaster of 2011. Now, hearts have been softened.

Many Japanese are ready to hear the Good News of Jesus. In order to reach them, Asian Access is investing over $500,000 in planting churches and training pastors.

“Join me in praising God and praying for the harvest, that many might come to know Jesus as their Savior in Japan!” said Asian Access President Joe Handley in a recent blog post.

Where’d all that money come from?

By most standards, a half-million dollars is a lot of money. It’s an especially-large sum in the world of nonprofit and charity organizations. For the Lord, though, it’s a drop in the bucket.

It all started in November, when He moved on the heart of Dan Amos, CEO of Aflac Insurance.

(Graphic courtesy Asian Access)

“I have been a strong supporter of Asian Access for over 15 years…. I have full confidence in their president, Joe Handley, their board, and the mission that they oversee,” wrote Amos in a note to Handley.

“That is why I’m proud to offer this $250,000 matching challenge to help reach Japan for Christ.”

God continued moving in the hearts of Asian Access supporters, and by the last month of 2015 they were near the finish line of their giving challenge. When the clock struck midnight on December 31, the year and Asian Access’s giving challenge came to an end.

The gifts kept coming, though. “It took a few weeks to gather all the data, due to online giving and some last-minute checks in the mail,” Handley shared.

“A total of $253,749 has been received, and so now we have $553,749 to invest toward developing leaders and planting churches in Japan.”

What will Asian Access use the money for?

(Photo courtesy Asian Access)

As explained here, the $250,000 giving challenge was intended to further church multiplication efforts in Japan.

“What seemed impossible in 1986 has exploded into a vision for so much more. There is significant synergy now,” said Handley.

“More churches have been planted, more quickly, than we ever could have imagined…we now have pastors in Japan dreaming of planting 50,000 churches by 2035!”

Building on the spiritual “breakthroughs” initiated by the mayhem of 2011, Asian Access and the leaders they’ve trained want to push toward new milestones:

• Plant 50,000 churches by 2035
• Reach Japanese businesspeople for Christ
• Reach entire families for Christ through marriage training and Alpha course
• Create mobile-based multimedia resources to facilitate/enhance leadership development
• Engage Japan and the world with the love and message of Christ at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo

(Photo credit: jpellgen via Flickr)

Download this flyer to see the full version of Asian Access’s goals for Japan.

As you praise the Lord for bringing about the finances needed to launch this project, please continue to pray for Asian Access and the people of Japan.

Pray for the continual softening of hearts by the Holy Spirit. Pray that through Asian Access, many leaders will be trained and able to share the Gospel effectively when opportunity arises.

Bright Hope believes that equipping the local, in-country church is the critical element needed to combat human trafficking in India.
(Image, caption courtesy Bright Hope)

International (MNN) — Throughout the world, women are treated as less than human. Gender-based killings — practiced everywhere from China to the U.S. — kills thousands of baby girls before they take their first breath. In many of the world’s “developing” nations, mothers and wives do 75% of the household labor.

If girls and young women make it beyond the age of five, they face a myriad of dangers specifically tied to their gender: female mutilation, the risk of becoming a child bride, being sold and/or trafficked as a sex slave, etc.

The list goes on and on.

In light of our current series about women in leadership, that begs the following question: How can you develop women leaders if their basic rights aren’t even recognized?

Kӓrin Primuth, CEO of visionSynergy and Board Member of Asian Access (A2), says not only is it possible, it’s key to growing God’s Kingdom.

“It’s a very critical opportunity,” Primuth emphasizes. “Basically, to develop a woman is to develop a family, a community, and a culture, because she is going to re-invest in her family, her children, and her community.”

(Photo cred: Asian Access)

A2 helps women recognize the skills God has given them, and then use those skills to tell more people about Jesus. But, they’re not the only mission agencies investing in an oft-overlooked people group.

“There are women who are trying to catalyze opportunities for other women to create ministries that encourage their development,” notes Primuth.

• Global Advance walks a similar path as A2: developing women in leadership.
• Mission India helps women find their voice by teaching them how to read and write.
• Gospel for Asia empowers women to reach other women for Christ.
• Food for the Hungry uses micro-loans to help women develop economic skills, thereby decreasing her vulnerability to traffickers and similar predators.

Click on the highlighted group names above to learn more about each opportunity.

Though our series has ended, keep praying for women — those in leadership, those who serve the Lord in silence, and those who don’t know about His love. Ask the Lord if He wants you to invest in programs, like those mentioned above, that are sharing the Gospel with women around the world.

Read previous stories in the series: Part One and Part Two.

(Photo credit World Bank)

International (MNN) — Putting women in leadership has been a controversial subject since the turn of the century, both in sacred and secular circles. Over the next few days, MNN will investigate the issue as it relates to global missions.

The goal of this mini-series is not to debate or choose a side (i.e. women leaders are better than men leaders, or vice-versa). Instead, these reports explore the advantages and disadvantages of women in leadership roles, as well as ministry opportunities and challenges the issue presents.

“We’ve got to expand [our] investing in women,” Joe Handley of Asian Access (A2) states boldly. “It’s important that we empower and platform people from any walk of life.

“It doesn’t matter if they’re women or young people, [a] different ethnic group, whatever; we need to empower [people] to expand the Kingdom.”

Empowering women leaders

A2’s mission is to develop and empower national church leaders who can share the Gospel and make disciples in Asia. While that has traditionally involved training men in leadership skills, A2 has been “branching out” in recent years to include women.

Learn more about A2’s ministry here.

“We’re not doing it big-scale yet,” Handley clarifies, “but we have a vision to ‘ramp that up’ in the future.”

(Photo credit Asian Access)

In one Asian nation, unnamed for security reasons, A2 has been training women in leadership skills for several years.

“The results have been profound,” says Handley. “They bring together women four times a year for an intense, deep dive with Jesus, and an intense, deep dive with ‘how do you grow as a leader?'”

At the quarterly retreat, women in this country are mentored by other female leaders and taught how to develop the leadership skills God has gifted them with.

“The six of us attending A2 from our church are all cell group leaders, and we have changed,” says one participant in a written testimony. “Through A2, we have learned that the Christian life is not just about performance or service, but rather our personal relationship with God. We want to help our brothers and sisters deepen their relationships with Jesus as ours have deepened.”

Please pray for A2 as they develop this area of ministry.

“We know that we’re just scratching the surface,” Handley admits. “We need a lot more work in this area.”

Tomorrow, we’ll explore the advantages and disadvantages of placing women in leadership with Kӓrin Primuth, the only female member of A2’s Board of Directors, and Wendy Wilson, leader of the Women’s Development Track for Missio Nexus.

In the Comments section below, please let us know what you think: should women be placed in leadership roles? Why or why not?

Missio Nexus photo op in front of the MNN booth! From left to right: MNN’s Katey Hearth, Joe Handley of Asian Access, MNN’s Laurelle Terrero, & Noel Becchetti of Asian Access.

USA (MNN) — The 2014 Missio Nexus Leadership Conference for North American mission groups has come to an end. However, the new strategies and relationships formed during the four-day event in Atlanta, Georgia are only just beginning. Among the major takeaways from this year’s event: collaboration.

“There’s no way we can do the whole job alone; we need each other,” notes Joe Handley of Asian Access.

“That’s the reality of the Kingdom of God, and I think that’s the way that God designed it to be. Unfortunately, many of us just say, ‘Hey, it’s our way or the highway,’ or ‘We’ve got the best thing since sliced bread, so if you can’t do it our way, we won’t work together.'”

Asian Access (A2) was among the first groups to put this theory into practice two years ago.

“We realized we were lacking in an area of sending folks to Asia to serve Christ, particularly in Japan,” Handley recalls. “There was a huge need, and we just didn’t have the capacity [to fill it].”

It took some time, but A2 and SIM USA were able to form a collaboration that worked well for both groups. Read more details here in the original article.

“That has been, really, a phenomenal partnership. Together, we’re working in a way that advances the Kingdom in Japan,” shares Handley.

“They let us lead the work in Japan, but they become the sending force.”

(Map credit Asian Access)

Collaboration is woven into the fabric of A2’s ministry. They don’t just send short-term mission teams to Asia: they partner with national pastors to further the Great Commission.

“Every one of our national directors is the leader of a church or an entire movement, or even the bishop of a denomination,” Handley says.

Asian Access develops Christ-like national leaders that strive to multiply churches and transform communities. A2 is working in 20 Asian nations, doing all for the glory of God.

Learn more about their ministry and how you can come alongside their work here.

“That’s just one small example of what groups are doing; Asian Access isn’t the only one.”

Pray for new partnerships and collaboration that began at the Missio Nexus conference. Pray that these efforts will honor God and expand His Kingdom around the world.