I’ve been home since Sunday, but find myself thinking often about my short time in Dhaka. It was such a blessing getting to know the women in the cohort. Two-and-a-half days wasn’t near enough time to connect with each person deeply, but I was able to greet each one and pass along your love and prayers.
The last few days we've posted a few reports from our recent session in Jakarta for A3/Indonesia. Here's another one from Heny about her A3 experience and what she learned at this session...
On this International Women's Day, we celebrate the voices of these valued members of our A3 Community. We are so fortunate to know and work with these tremendous people and many others like them.
New Year 2022
As we usher in the Year of the Tiger, I wish you all a Happy New Year!
India (MNN) — The Indian government is taking steps to punish violence against women. Most recently, four men were sentenced to death for the brutal gang rape of a 23-year-old female student in New Delhi in 2012. However, not much has changed at the societal level. Joe Handley with A3 says many Indian women still suffer marginalization, domestic abuse, and sexual assault. “Gang rape is a huge problem in India,” Handley says. “These gangs will pick on a young girl and unfortunately do atrocities in those situations. “In addition to that, there are situations where someone will get married and something will happen in the marriage relationship. It’s so bad that the husband wants to disown the wife, so…they’ll throw acid in their face and then...”
This past week was an encouraging one for me as we spent time exploring the idea of launching our Women in Ministry training in Cambodia. It came on the heels of seeing our largest group of women ever in a graduating class – around 7 of the members in Bangladesh were women. Everywhere I go, the need to empower and equip women is overwhelming. That’s why A3 is spending more time and energy investing in women. Nearly 30% of most of our cohorts in 16 countries include women but that pales in comparison to the need. Thus, our special Women in Ministry cohorts are...
Hear from President Joe Handley as we look ahead to 2019 seeing how the Lord might be directing our movement. Building on breakthroughs in 2018, the horizon looks bright...
From A3's series called, Eastern Voices: Insight, Perspective, and Vision from Kingdom Leaders in Asia In Their Own Words... Here's part 4 in a series from Pastor Jeyakaran...
Pastor Jeyakaran shares how Powerhouse Church tackled the issue of full empowerment for leadership for both men and women the simple way—by releasing women as well as men into all roles of leadership in the church. Jeyakaran reflected, “God wanted us to champion the cause of releasing women into all positions of leadership the church." This has not been without controversy. He shared, “We know there is a big debate...
David and Jackie Ro, OMF missionaries, were with me this week in Taiwan. They are some of the finest servants of Christ you can meet. Jackie serves as the director for A3's Women in Ministry leader development program, while David serves as the East Asia Regional Director for the Lausanne Movement and for Gordon Conwell Seminary’s J. Christy Wilson Center for World Missions. As we were sharing with leaders in Taipei about the ministry of A3, they both had some profound insight to share: insight that was incredibly encouraging to...
2017 holds a lot of promise for us this next year. A3 is really thrilled with what’s in store, and I'm excited to just share with you a few of those ventures that are upcoming. First and foremost is our 50th anniversary—our Jubilee in Jakarta. I hope you'll join us for that. As a part of that celebration, we're showcasing a new series, and their first volume will come out in Jakarta called, "Eastern Voices". We’ll share more with you about that soon. We will be opening the country of the Philippines, and we're exploring several new countries. Many of them are unreached areas for the gospel; some of them are completely closed to the Gospel's advance...
I just came away from an inspiring working session. A3 is looking to both deepen and expand our efforts in empowering women who are in ministry. One of my colleagues quoted Mao Zedong who said, “Women hold up half the sky!” This is so true. In all my years in ministry, it’s astounding to see how many women are the key movers and shakers in the Church globally and in mission. They lead from behind, below, beside and now increasingly from the front. The sad part is that they receive such little investment and empowerment. One of the key sessions during the Cape Town Congress in 2010 walked through these issues: Men and Women in Partnership. You can learn more by reviewing that link and the various videos posted there. A3 has...
Here’s a question for you: Is there still a glass ceiling when it comes to women in leadership? Here in the US, our answer may be, “it’s being shattered.” Mary Jo Wilson, Vice President for Missional Engagement for A3, wants the same for women around the world. "I think it’s been difficult sometimes to capture those women and to find a place where we can engage...
Mary Jo Wilson shares why she is proud that A3 applies its four outcomes to women leaders...
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...
Women in Leadership, Interview 1:
Kӓrin Primuth, A3 board member and Wendy Wilson with Missio Nexus discuss the pros and cons surrounding the topic of women in leadership with Mission Network News’ Katey Hearth.
Listen to the interview...
Interview: Joe Handley of A3 explores a controversial issue with Mission Network News’ Katey Hearth: Women in Leadership...
Listen to the interview...
International (MNN) — In Part Two of our series about women in leadership, MNN is going “straight to the source.” As women in roles of leadership themselves, Kӓrin Primuth of A3 and Wendy Wilson with Missio Nexus have a lot to say on the subject. In this article, Kӓrin and Wendy explore the “pros and cons” surr...