IMPORTANT NOTICE TO A3 DONORS
A3 is moving to a new donor platform called Virtuous! Our existing donor platform has been shut down for a few days to prepare for the new platform launching on Monday, March 27, 2023. We are sorry for the inconvenience.
Existing donor information will be transferred. However, for security reasons, banking and credit card data will not be brought over. Therefore, if you have a recurring donation to A3 (via direct debit or credit card), you will need to re-establish your recurring donation on the Virtuous platform starting in April 2023.
FOR ONLINE DONATIONS:
- Online donations through March 20, 2023 have been processed through our existing donation platform.
- Our online giving portal will be taken down on March 21, 2023, and restored on March 27, 2023 with new capabilities, including an optional account to view/manage gifts online.
FOR RECURRING DONATIONS:
Certain donors will be impacted immediately. If you are in the impacted group that is migrating in April, you should receive an email on March 21, 2023 and a hard copy letter a few days later with additional action steps. If you did get this communication, . . .
- March gifts will be processed as usual under our old platform but then will come to an end.
- After the online giving portal is restored on March 27, 2023, donors who would like to continue their automated donations will need to login to the new giving portal and set up their recurring donation(s) on the new platform. You can do this starting in April to ensure no gap in your recurring donation.
Please accept our sincere apologies for the inconvenience. We value your data and have determined it is more secure not to transfer your banking or credit card information during the migration.
Furthermore, we are confident that the new online donation platform will provide a better donor/partner experience compared to our old online platform. In addition, we will save quite a bit by making this switch. Thank you for your understanding. We appreciate your partnership!
FRESH EXPRESSIONS OF THE CHURCH
- Article Information
- Written by Gary Bauman
- Category: A3 Community Blog
How one Japanese congregation responded to the COVID-19 pandemic
WHEN I TALKED TO PASTOR YOSHIYA (JOSHUA) HARI, THE NATIONAL DIRECTOR FOR A3 JAPAN, his church had already been dealing with its own crisis before the coronavirus came. After over 20 years in the same location, in 2019 the congregation of Saikyo Hope Chapel was told they had to vacate the building they were leasing because it would be demolished. Finding a similar facility for the same price proved to be extremely difficult, so from February 2, 2020, they found themselves alternately renting one of two local community centers for services each Sunday.
- Article Information
- Category: Mission Network News
Japan (MNN) — In January 2020, a group of believers in Japan lost their church building. Little did they know, God would use their “temporary solution” as a growth point when the pandemic turned the world upside-down.
- Article Information
- Written by Joe Handley
- Category: From the President
He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.” — Matthew 13:31-32
- Article Information
- Category: Mission Network News
Japan (MNN) — As cherry blossoms bloom across Japan, the country has barred international spectators from the rescheduled 2021 Summer Olympics due to concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic. 600,000 people bought tickets to watch the games in-person.
- Article Information
- Written by Joe Handley
- Category: From the President
Silk and I have had such a wonderful last few weeks in Japan.
Last week we were moving which brought several aches and pains, even after just day one of the move! However, the last four we were able to travel to many places in country and say farewell for this season of ministry.
- Article Information
- Written by Joe Handley
- Category: From the President
I was so inspired a few weeks ago visiting my colleague Pastor Hideo Ohashi. He has served faithfully with A3 over several decades and his church is a remarkable testament to God’s faithfulness to Japan.
You’ll see him pictured here with his son and grandson: three generations of pastors! What a powerful image of God’s work from one generation to the next.
- Article Information
- Category: A3 Community Blog
It has been six months since the lockdown began in Manila...
- Article Information
- Written by Mary Jo Wilson
- Category: A3 Community Blog
A3 has been training pastors in Japan for over 40 years, largely through gatherings of cohorts who come together as a learning community, grounded in deep relationships. The current pandemic, which requires social distancing and a period of shutdown, has challenged this model. In the process, it has accelerated our development of online learning platforms and opened the door to new opportunities and even greater reach. As Japan was dealing with the outbreak in April, churches across the nation were increasingly limited in how they could meet. Much like the persecution of the early church, which resulted in the gospel spreading around the world, our A3 Japan National Director, Rev. Joshua Hari, saw this “shut down” experience as...
- Article Information
- Category: A3 Community Blog
Some months ago, just before the entrance of the coronavirus, I began reading a book on my shelf that had been in my possession, unread, for a few years. The author is John M. Barry, and its title is The Great Influenza. It is a New York Times Bestseller. Barry tells the epic story of what he says is the deadliest plague in recorded history. The US experienced 650 thousand deaths; worldwide some 50 million died. Somewhat ominously for us now, as we are hoping for an end to the present crisis, there was a second wave during that influenza that was far more deadly than the first. While a little long, it is a good read. The timing of the read for me is most...
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