I’ll never forget my first missions trip to the Philippines in 1975. I remember going up into the mountains to village churches—and to villages with no churches. I remember the extreme poverty. But more than the physical poverty, I remember being taken aback by the immense spiritual need, open hearts, and need for gospel work.
Today, the need for laborers across Asia is still great. Considering the population to missionary ratio, it’s a greater need than it’s ever been.
Yet, we’re encouraged that over the past decades the Lord has called many missionaries to serve across Asia who are investing their lives in planting churches and training national pastors.
Additionally, the Lord has raised up many national laborers across Asia who are preaching the gospel as pastors, evangelists, and missionaries. (Today, the Philippines is one of the highest missionary-sending nations in the world.)
It is for these missionaries and national pastors that we have planned Spiritual Leadership Conference Asia to be held in Manila, February 1–3, 2016. Already, the response has been overwhelming with missionaries and national pastors coming from over fifteen countries. With just the people already registered, this conference will be a historic event—the largest gathering of independent Baptists in Asia of which I am aware.
This conference will be very much like the Spiritual Leadership Conference held each year in Lancaster, California—only transported to Asia.
The heart of the conference is to encourage, edify, and equip missionaries and national workers—many of whom often feel isolated, lonely, and overwhelmed. To this end, sixteen guest speakers are traveling in, at their own expense, and will be preaching and teaching in evening services and breakout sessions.
With the conference just three and a half weeks away, I’m asking for your help in the following ways:
If you are a missionary serving in Asia, you are invited to attend this conference. Please visit our website which lists registration (which we have purposely kept very low) and even a listing of affordable hotel accommodations.
If you know missionaries in Asia, would you consider inviting them to this conference? You can direct them to asia.slconference.com for more information.
If you are an American pastor with missionaries in Asia, please encourage your missionaries to attend. Perhaps the most powerful way to do this would be to take an offering to pay for their travel expenses.
If you are a Christian living in any part of the world, will you pray with us that the Lord will use this conference to powerfully encourage and equip His workers? Specifically, we’re praying that this conference will result in encouraged workers, renewed vigor, more souls saved, new church plants, and great fruit across Asia.
