From the beginning of our cross-cultural ministry we were committed to “working ourselves out of job.” We did this by equipping others with ministry skills to give birth to more ministry. How can you leave a legacy in multiplying ministry? Every day we wake up to that question. We are in our later seasons of ministry (see below) and we are living out the legacy of passing the baton to the next generations of leaders. Our task has been to equip leaders who will multiply disciples, leaders, and churches for the Glory of God in Unreached People Groups in Asia. I am leaving for Asia next week to continue building a legacy in the lives of these leaders from Japan and South Asia. Will you say yes to pray for these key leaders and me?
FOCUS ON JAPANESE SPIRITUAL RENEWAL MENTORING
In July, we finished a year-long mentoring program in Japanese with a key pastoral couple. This Sonship spiritual renewal curriculum works in you with the transforming power of the Gospel. This radically changed Elaine and my lives over 30 years ago. Our next steps are to multiply this program into more Japanese leaders who live powerfully by the Gospel of Grace. Serge the publisher of this curriculum is making some revisions for their new addition and those in Japan expect that to become part of the Japanese edition. I will be meeting with this couple next week to talk about their experience of Sonship and consider plans for using this material in the future. Pray for clear guidance and energy.
FOCUS ON SATURATING JAPAN WITH CHURCHES
For many years in the Japan Church Planting Institute we were holding the torch up for multiplying churches in the 2nd largest Unreached People Group on the planet. In the last several years, key Japanese leaders from all over Japan began gathering to dream, plan, and pray for the saturation of Japan with local churches. The dream is to multiply the current less than 8,000 churches to over 50,000 nationwide. This is without doubt humanly impossible. On August 25 and 26, the Japan Church Multiplication National Roundtable will assemble in the Osaka (Kansai) area. These 26 leaders from a variety of organizations and regions will consider the next practical steps in seeing this multiplication vision fulfilled. Pray that God would expand vision and inspire several concrete plans for collaboration.
FOCUS ON SOUTH ASIA LEADER DEVELOPMENT
A few years ago, the scope of my ministry expanded from just Japan to all of Asia for equipping local leaders for multiplying movements. In one South Asian country the believers are experiencing persecutions, social unrest, and government pressure. But they desire God to multiply their missionaries from 150 to over 300 working in several countries with dozens of Unreached People Groups. (For more information on this church network’s vision see this article at the Converge website: https://converge.org/resource/from-headhunters-to-soul-hunters/?mc_cid=cabc301ffa).
For the last two years we have had a Leaders’ Summit to develop leadership and expansion in seeing this vision fulfilled. We are working on missionary assessment, training, mission strategy, and mobilization. We are again back in Bangkok Thailand in September using the Santisuk ministry building connected with our Converge mission. Along with coaching the working teams John will facilitate a session on Training for Trainers and also present a proposal for mission curriculum for the whole network. At this event we will be joined by another ministry partner from South Asia who wants to observe these Leaders’ Summits. We hope they will demonstrate vision for expanded ministry and will have their own Leaders’ Summit next year. Pray that each leader would grow in faith and as a whole make bold new plans.