Mobilizing the Asia Pacific Region to Cooperate in Missions

God is opening doors for the worldwide Alliance to strengthen cooperation in missions with its emphasis on Diaspora Missions, Relief and Development, and Business as Mission. The 2022 AWF Regional Conference of the Asia Pacific Alliance Churches (APAC) allowed the participants to discuss and to plan the next steps to foster cooperation among national churches.

Dr. Stanley John of the Alliance Theological Seminary, the keynote speaker for the theme “Missions in an Ever-Changing World,” used the book of Acts to explain how migrant workers employed their vocational skills and trades to establish a livelihood while spreading the gospel. Principles and applications from those texts were presented that the church might be effective in its gospel proclamation today.

AWF-ICTE Chair Dr. Peter Laughlin presented the Guayaquil Manifesto, which was approved at the last AWF Quadrennial. He facilitated workshops dealing with key questions related to the challenges that the Alliance faces today as a missionary movement.

The event contributed to the development of cooperation among leaders toward missions. Workshops with topics such as Relief and Development (Mark Jones, Canada, and Pak Nehemiah, Indonesia) and Business as Mission (Bao Her, USA) challenged participants to think of and understand missions innovatively, focusing on leaders from diaspora backgrounds. Focus groups based on language and ministry were created to discuss critical questions. God used the shared experiences to inspire and encourage leaders to work together.

One of the highlights of the conference was the fellowship and brotherly love shown by the APAC gathering for believers who had fled North Korea. The attendees enjoyed cultural dancing, songs, and testimonies of God’s grace from the North Korean congregation while noticing the care the local team provided, which included lunches and dinners daily.

The business session saw presentations by the national presidents and representatives on how the Lord is working in the APAC region and how they can support each other in prayer. Local television news stations interviewed AWF President Jura Yanagihara and APAC Regional Coordinator Ken Graham on the C&MA and the purpose and direction of the AWF and the Asia-Pacific Region.

The conference was held in Seoul, South Korea, November 1-4, 2022. More than 70 delegates from the national churches, international workers, and the wider AWF family participated, together with those from the hosting national Alliance churches of Korea. After all the restrictions from COVID-19, the delegates were grateful to be physically together once again. On the final day of the conference, attendees visited Nami Island near Seoul. The island is famous for its half-moon shape. The next APAC regional gathering is planned for November 2024.