Last year A3 made a pivotal and strategic shift. We changed the role of one of our vice presidents. Why?
The world is changing rapidly. The Global Church has shifted from West to East and from North to South and we have entered a new era of missional engagement. It is no longer from the West to the rest as many have pointed out. Rather, our world is completely changed and we live in an age of “From Everywhere to Everywhere”.
The era of colonialism is behind us or so it should be! Yes, there are still problems with the spirit of the colonization. But, it’s time for a new approach. Yes, many have pointed to the post-colonial reactions… But, it’s high time we moved to a decade of mutuality: where the best from every sector of the world can enhance one another.
That is why we have shifted the role of Mary Jo Wilson from a field leader in solely Japan, for which she still overseas our missionary efforts, to a role serving more globally, helping us engage with one another cross-culturally. Mary Jo, now our vice president for missional engagement, will be with me these next two weeks co-teaching in India.
Pray for us as we teach on Global Mission and seek to invest in the lives of our current cohorts in both the North and the South of India. We seek to encourage our friends as fellow co-laborers in Christ’s kingdom. I’m sure we’ll learn more from them than they will from us! It’ll be a fantastic few weeks together.
Pray too for us at A3 as we seek to move beyond the colonial and post-colonial eras of mission to a place of deep mutuality and partnership in mission! We hope to begin to build new East/West partnerships between churches in the West with churches across Asia. If this is of interest to you, write Mary Jo at
How do you see the future of mission engagement?
Joe Handley
@jwhandley
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