I’m Makoto Fukuda from Grace City Church Tokyo. I’m a church planter as we as a pastor of the church. This year’s Church multiplication Vision Festa was great. I’ve noticed that this Vision Festa had much wider network than the one we had before in Tokyo. I can see increased interests in church planting and church multiplication, and I realized that its work has been spread, deepen, and strengthen. I really saw God has been at his work. Our work of church planting has been in the urban city area, and I saw...
For I will pour out water on the thirsty land And streams on the dry ground; I will pour out My Spirit on your offspring And My blessing on your descendants. – Isa 44:3
Ever since the Japan Evangelism Congress in 2017, Japanese Church leaders have been gathering together seeking to double the percentage of Christians in the country (Lord willing by 2023) and praying for a 10x10 blessing (by 2024) where Japan will receive 10 times the blessings. Vision Festa is where leaders come together to share inspiring reports of what God is doing in Japan and this year we were encouraged once again by countless stories of how God is moving in Japan. Between the sessions, I heard stories of many coming to faith and several baptisms; far more than I am accustomed to hearing living here. Every year I leave inspired with what God is doing but this year felt special. It feels like God is on the move and that we are on the cusp of a breakthrough...
The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. “Therefore pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into the harvest.” – Luke 10:2 Maya Chittry, one of our national directors, recently spoke to a conference in Japan on the topic of intercession. She shared about a group of ladies from her country that regularly gather together for prayer. They often fast and pray for their nation, the communities and families they have, and for other countries. I’ve even experienced them praying for me and my family several times over the years. She talked about how a Buddhist leader in one village who was stridently anti-Christian came down with boils. It just so happened that Maya’s ladies had been praying for that village for six months. When this Buddhist leader was at his wits end in trying to solve the problem, he called the ladies to pray as a last resort and he got healed. Today his whole family are believers in Jesus...
Not long ago, one of our national directors was sharing about visiting a leading pastor in his nation. He was visiting to see if they could work together toward human rights in the nation. They are a country whose Christian population is constantly scrutinized and often persecuted for their faith. He went not knowing what this well-known pastor might say. In fact, he wasn’t even sure he’d be willing to help because often churches like this one, led by this pastor can become insular focused exclusively on their own congregation. However, this day, the famous pastor said to the A3 country director, ...
Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. – 1 Thess. 5:16-18 “Even if they jail us, we will preach… Even though it’s illegal, who can stop the mouth of Christ.” These were the words out of our National Director's mouth while visiting Japan leading a seminar in Kumamoto. She and her husband shared that week powerfully about church multiplication and prayer and her teaching about prayer was convicting. About the husband and wife team, one Japanese pastor said, “He’s passion and she’s authority.” Such is the power of this couple...
One of the highlights of our recent Global Leaders’ Summit as meeting our latest coordinators for A3 in new countries. In this case, the pastor pictured here we’ll call Pastor S to protect his identity as he serves in a country that needs to remain unidentified for security reasons. Pastor S faces ongoing pressures and real-life threats. In fact, recently he was asked, “Why would you even consider doing A3 in your country if you know your life is in danger?” – He said, “It’s too important that we equip our leaders to not face this kind of threats. We must proceed and if I die, I die.”...
Sri Lanka recovery from terrorism brings with it hope and prayerSri Lanka (MNN) — On May 19, Sri Lanka marked the 10th anniversary of the end of the war with the Tamil rebels. Even amidst celebration, the specter of a new terror threat prompted the president, Maithripala Sirisena, to remind people that defeating the separatist guerrillas a decade ago meant Sri Lanka would meet the challenge from extremists now. He also vowed to crush the militants responsible for the Easter bombings that claimed 258 lives...
A3 partners with a local movement to meet needs in Sri Lanka following the bombingsA3 is partnering in Sri Lanka with a significant nationwide movement there that has consistently responded to disaster needs as long term involvement. Here is an initial list of response directly from this movement to the practical needs of the Sri Lankan people affected by the Easter bombing...
Joe Handley, A3, April 26, 2019MNN speaks with A3 President Joe Handley about the State of the Church in Sri Lanka in the wake of the Easter Sunday bombings, and how Christians are handling the chaos.
By R.B. Klama | April 26, 2019...
A Tragic Easter in Sri LankaBy now you have seen the tragic news about Easter Sunday from Sri Lanka. 3 churches were bombed during Easter services as well as three prominent hotels, one safe house and another location where police were stationed. At least 258 people have died and more than 500 people have been wounded. Later I learned that two Islamic centers also saw attacks in the northern part of the island. Our colleagues heard the bombs going off during their church services: "We heard of the explosions during our Easter service. We were on lockdown but proceeded the service and sent the believers home ASAP. We were unaware of the gravity of the situation… It is difficult to understand, but we are holding on to God. We are grieving with our people. We are safe. But we are absolutely devastated. Scared. And overwhelmed." They thanked us for praying and asked us to specifically pray that this act of terror could be a turning point in their nation...
Every time I turn around these days there are reports of increasing persecution of believers and churches in various countries. It seems that persecution is on the rise as nationalism becomes the political whim of the moment. 10 of the 16 countries A3 serves have seen persecution expand. Here are a few glimpses from just this past week: “One of our Bible college alumni is beaten by people, accusing of converting people while he was returning with friends helping people with relief material.” ... In another Asian nation, our national director shared this...
Prayer requested as persecution increasesReports are coming out every few days about the persecuted church and it appears that a new wave of this type of pressure is rising. Just yesterday, several news stories released about China and these are just the tip of the iceberg:
And, I can verify these and many more. Recently, I...
From CEO Joe Handley
Posts from Janelle Stoops, U.S. President of A3
A3 Community blog with posts from a variety of contributors
Stories about Asian Access published by Mission Network News, a mission news service dedicated to keeping Christians informed on evangelical mission activity around the world. In doing so we hope to educate and motivate Christians to prayer, participation, and support of missionary work to help further the Great Commission.
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For over half a century, A3 has catalyzed movements in Asia. Now, with doors open in the Middle East, North Africa, and the West, we have boldly stepped in...
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