Asian Access
Our Past – Founded in Partnership
Asian Access launched ministry in Japan in 1967 under the name Language Institute for Evangelism (L.I.F.E.), later revised to LIFE Ministries. For the next two decades, LIFE focused on church-based English outreach. Thousands were trained to serve in English teaching ministry, as LIFE developed partnerships with hundreds of evangelical churches from over 50 denominations. Some of those teachers returned with LIFE as career missionaries and launched innovative partnership ministries that later became independent ministries, such as Friendship Golf and Song-Rise.
At the same time, it became clear that many Japanese pastors would benefit from practical pastoral training to supplement their seminary education. This resulted in the development of the leadership training now known as JCGI Network.1
Over the course of several decades, JCGI Network training brought together over 400 Japanese pastors from a wide variety of denominational and independent groups. Its focus was gradually defined in terms of the four-fold aim that guides the program today—the development of leaders who
• live in a love relationship with God,
• are growing as Christ-like leaders,
• are reproducing disciple-making leaders, and
• are planting multiplying churches.
Our Present – Committed to Partnership
The ministries with which we partner have changed with the decades, but partnership is still a foundational value guiding all Asian Access ministries as we partner with local evangelical churches across the theological spectrum.
Over the years we have partnered with churches from Hokkaido to Okinawa, but our more than two dozen missionary staff currently are focused in the Tohoku and Kanto areas.
We partner with local churches in marriage ministry, parenting ministry, English ministry, creative arts ministry, pastoral health, relief ministry, surfing ministry—whatever supports the multiplication of disciples, leaders, and churches.
Our purpose in partnering is to spark disciple-making movements and church multiplication movements. At the same time, we support Christian relief activities. Alpha Japan, Be One Network, Churches Helping Churches, CRASH Japan, Hope Miyagi, Miyagi Mission Network, Relationship Central, and Samaritan’s Purse are all groups with whom we have partnered, as well as many others.
Since 2012 we have formed partnerships with SIM USA and SIM Canada to provide mobilization and support services for our missionaries. We look forward to new missionaries joining Asian Access Japan through an SIM East Asia partnership soon.
Our Future – Driven by Partnership
In the mid ‘90’s, God opened the door for the “made in Japan” JCGI training model to be adapted for our first pastoral leadership training program outside the country. Our program in Mongolia was launched in 1996, and from there spread to other Asian nations. Our 2002 name change to Asian Access anticipated the continuing expansion of our partnership ministry that had just started taking place. As of 2014, contextualized leadership training programs based on the Asian Access/JCGI model have been introduced to eleven Asian countries.
The mission of Asian Access is to “identify, develop, and release emerging kingdom leaders to unite the church, multiply leaders and congregations and extend the transforming power of the gospel of Jesus Christ.” Takeshi Takazawa, our Japan Director, is coordinating the combined efforts of our multinational staff as we enter a new season of ministry. We hope to deploy and serve church multiplication networks across Japan that will “establish reproducing congregations which will enfold one million new followers of Christ, and in turn send 1,000 missionaries from Japan to the cities of Asia, that will be home to one billion people by the year 2020.”2
In partnership, we believe God can accomplish through the body of Christ that which no single group can achieve on its own. And in God’s grace we believe we can have a part in the Lord’s development of “a vibrant community of servant leaders with vision, character and competence leading the church across Asia.”3
1. JCGI originally stood for Japan Church Growth Institute before its training focus shifted from growing larger churches to planting more churches.
2. http://www.asianaccess.org/about/vision-japan.html
3. https://www.facebook.com/AsianAccess/info