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stepping
stones a prayer letter of Iwa
Transforming Ministry and Leadership in our Community
April 1995, Number 95-2
New
Networks Bustin’ Out All Over
Stan has found himself doing a lot of traveling and speaking
during the first three months of this year. Although, he has
found himself in different places meeting a bunch of new people,
one dynamic emerges as common to all. We are seeing God network
Asian American leaders in dramatically new ways for what we
believe is a future wonderful beyond imagination.
People
on the Way - San Francisco Bay Area
Keith and Stan were almost stranded by flood waters at the
Marconi Conference Center north of San Francisco near Point
Reyes in early January. Together with Stan’s sister and
Iwa Associate, Arlene, they were participating in a conference
entitled People on the Way: Asian North Americans Discovering
Christ, Culture and Community. Over one hundred Christian
leaders from various Asian American communities came together
for this event sponsored by Pacific Asian American and Canadian
Christian Education (PAACCE) and funded by the Lilly Endowment
and the Marin Community Foundation. This historic meeting
was unprecedented because of its diversity culturally, linguistically,
denominationally, generationally and theologically. Several
responsible for leadership development and Christian education
for their denominations encouraged Stan, et al. to produce
more materials they could use and distribute among their churches.
The Gospel and Our Culture Network - Atlanta
Stan is still trying to recover from three consecutive weeks
of speaking engagements. The first was February 16-18, at
Simpsonwood Conference and Retreat Center just outside Atlanta,
Georgia. Stan was asked to be one of two Asian American presenters
at the annual consultation of The Gospel and Our Culture Network.
This growing group of largely Anglo American theologians,
missiologists, denominational leaders and pastors has been
meeting for several years grappling with what it means to
remain faithful to the Gospel in the midst of their dominant
cultural setting. A parallel movement is also going on in
Europe.
This
is the first year they have sought to enlarge the network
by inviting American Christians of other cultural backgrounds.
Over 80 attended this year with representation from the African
American, Native American, Hispanic American and Asian American
communities. According to the conference brochure, “The
guiding theme for this consultation is the question of ‘fidelity.’
How do we each, within our own ethnic communities, face the
challenge to be faithful to the gospel? ...How must we live
together in the future to fulfill our common calling to fidelity?”
George
Hunsberger, Coordinator for the network and consultation,
shared in a letter to Stan, “You gave us insight into
your community and the way you and others struggle to maintain
‘fidelity’ in service to Christ. You helped the
meeting enter a very important conversation which I trust
will continue.” George was referring to Stan being the
first speaker and his use of Momotaro, the famous Japanese
folktale, to provide a metaphor for discussing the challenges
we face as multi-ethnic Christians seeking to establish the
Kingdom of God on earth under our common Lordship of Christ.*
* Note: In another part of this issue of Stepping stones,
we provide a glimpse into how Momotaro can be used as a fun
and entertaining way to share the Gospel. Also, you will find
out how you may receive a T-shirt with Momotaro and his faithful
followers on front as an appreciation gift for your support.
Bay
Area Men’s Breakfast
The next weekend in February, Stan could be found in the San
Francisco Bay Area speaking over breakfast to an interdenominational
group of about 30 Asian American Christian men and their wives
about the need and Biblical basis for ethnic ministries. This
was the first event sponsored by a small core group of key
Asian American lay men who have been greatly influenced by
the ministry of Promise Keepers, a Christian men’s movement
sweeping the country.
While
feeling it important to support what Promise Keepers is doing,
they feel there are certain ethnic-specific issues and needs
that must be effectively addresssed if they are going to be
able to fully contribute to what God is doing across the nation.
The
breakfast verified to those who planned it that others too
felt the need and desire for a ministry in the Bay Area that
networks and empowers Asian American Christian men to fulfill
their God-ordained role and responsibilities in the home,
workplace, church and community. They also believe this network
should not be confined to the Bay Area but spread throughout
California and beyond, enabling Asian American Christian men
to learn from one another and share ministry resources. These
visionary men of faith have asked Iwa to prayerfully consider
working in partnership with them to help establish such a
movement of God’s Spirit. In a day when 25% of our nation’s
children are fatherless, the time for such a movement is now.
We must heal our families and prevent those yet in tact from
being broken.
Asian
American Leadership Conference - Boston
The next stop for Stan was just outside of Boston. On the
weekend of March 3-5, 14 staff and 71 students gathered at
Alton Bay Christian Conference Center for this year’s
Asian American Leadership Conference sponsored by InterVarsity
Christian Fellowship in New England. The students who attended
represent a wide range of colleges and universities including
Harvard, Radcliffe, MIT, Wellesley, Williams, Yale, Amherst,
Tufts, Brown and both Boston College and Boston University.
Even a student from Wheaton got in there somehow.
All
but one who attended this conference were Asian Americans.
What this reflects is an unprecedented movement of God’s
Spirit among Asian American students on many of the campuses
in our nation. Increasingly, Asian Americans are becoming
involved in InterVarsity Christian Fellowship and other student
ministries, not only in New England, but all over the United
States. Asian Americans comprise the majority of many InterVarsity
groups and this is true of their student leadership as well.
What does this mean for the future of the church? What kind
of leadership is God raising up? To achieve what end? Praise
God!
Stan
was asked to share the initial message on suffering from Iwa’s
first workshop, From Stumbling Blocks to Stepping Stones,
and all the messages of Iwa’s second workshop, In
the Potter’s Hands. At the retreat’s conclusion,
the applause was thunderous for Christ the Creator, who will
remove every tear, heal every disease and make all things
new and honoring to him again.
Staff
News from New Staff
Hi there! Let me introduce myself -- I’m Iwa’s newest
staff member, Jo Ann Akada. I trust that some of you
reading this newsletter know me personally and writing this
article provides me with a great opportunity to let you know
what I’m doing these days. (A special ‘hello’
to those of you in home town Seattle!) For those of you who
I don’t have the pleasure of knowing personally, I hope
that we will have the opportunity to know each other soon.
I
came on board with Iwa on March 13, as part-time staff. Joining
Iwa has been an answer to prayer not only from my end but
also in answer to the prayers of the Iwa staff. It’s
humbling to realize that God has given me this opportunity
to participate in the vision and mission of Iwa since I, too,
have a burden to more effectively reach Asian Americans for
Christ and yet feel unsure of exactly how God wants to use
me.
You
may not know that I came on staff in partial “replacement”
of Keith Edwards. At the time of the last of issue of Stepping
stones, Keith was the last remaining candidate for a position
as pastor of a small Presbyterian church in Three Rivers,
California (near Sequoia National Park). He was offered the
position, which he accepted, and said his sad goodbyes at
the end of February.
I
say “replacement” in quotes because it would be
impossible to fill Keith’s shoes in the important role
that he played here at Iwa. While Ellen and I have the task
of picking up some of Keith’s responsibilities -- Ellen
will increase her hours taking on many of the administrative
duties; I’ll be helping Stan wherever needed with his
various ministry projects such as the workshops and working
to build up relationships with all you friends of Iwa -- Keith,
in his unique giftings and talents, will be sorely missed.
Along
with my responsibilities here at Iwa, I’m also currently
attending Fuller Theological Seminary and working part-time
as a intern at Cerritos Baptist Church in the areas of small
groups, Father’s Heart (healing), young adult ministries
and church planning. Although all this keeps me very busy,
it’s great to see how God is working in so many ways
in the Asian American community. I pray that God will bring
all my experience to bear fruit as we work together with you
to fulfill God’s vision.*
Recently,
God has also blessed us with the volunteer efforts of long-time
supporter, Dexter Yuen. Dexter and his wife, Bessie,
are currently living here in Southern California with their
son, Taylor, after a 5-year stay in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia,
followed by a short stay in Houston, Texas. Dexter, working
for Exxon in KL, was transferred in February 1994, to Houston
where he was later joined by Bessie and Taylor in June. Never
very comfortable about the idea of living in Texas, the Yuens
made the big decision to leave Exxon and Texas, and return
“home” to sunny California. God has led Dexter to
help Iwa in any way possible. Dexter has been a big help in
compiling donor statistics which are a great reflection of
God’s faithfulness in providing for this ministry. Most
recently, Dexter has accepted two part-time engineering positions,
one in Santa Barbara and another in Long Beach. Both employers
want him full-time but Dexter wants to maintain his flexibility
as he continues to seek God’s will for his immediate
future.
So
while God has raised up people to join Iwa, we still have
a great need for new staff in view of all the possible ministry
opportunities that face us. We have a special need for a senior
executive who can serve in direct ministry as well as ministry
management and fundraising. We deeply desire your continued
prayers in these matters. We praise God for his many blessings
and look forward to all that God is going to do in the future.
*Editor’s
note: Jo Ann also comes to us with an undergraduate degree
in computer science and MEd in educational psychology from
the University of Washington and a graduate certificate from
Multnomah Bible Seminary.
On
the Horizon
Honolulu ‘95
Stan and his wife, Janie, are going to Hawaii to attend Honolulu
‘95, a conference featuring 30 exceptional speakers from
all over the U.S., Hawaii and the world in 6 general session
and 70 elective seminars. Approximately 1500 Christians representing
more than 200 different churches and nearly 30 denominations
will be in attendance. Stan and Janie will be meeting with
Dan Chun, founder of Hawaiian Island Ministries (HIM), the
organization which sponsors Honolulu ‘95. Together, they
will explore how HIM and Iwa might be ministry resources for
one another.
This
trip will also enable Stan and Janie to spend time with Grant
Lee, the Associate Conference Minister who oversees over 60
churches for the Hawaii Conference of the United Church of
Christ. They will explore future ministry possibilities together.
Please
pray the Lord’s will be made very clear as Stan and Janie
meet with Dan Chun and Grant Lee, that we might know how Iwa
may serve as a resource to Christians and churches in Hawaii,
and what ministry resources
exist in Hawaii that should be shared elsewhere on the U.S.
mainland.
Nichi
Bei Christian Fellowship Retreat, Salem, Oregon
A coalition now known as Nichi Bei Christian Fellowship (NBCF)
has grown from its beginnings and Stan’s first involvement
with them 5 years ago, from an informal network of predominantly
Japanese-speaking pastors to a formal state corporation which
includes pastors, lay and parachurch leaders of both Japanese
and English-speaking abilities.
Nichi
Bei will sponsor its first retreat to be held at Tokyo International
University of America in Salem, Oregon at the end of May.
At the retreat, Stan will deliver the same selection of seven
messages from Iwa’s workshops, From Stumbling Blocks
to Stepping Stones and In the Potter’s Hands
he shared at the Asian American Leadership Conference in Boston.
In addition to a packed schedule, we will also be dealing
with the challenge of providing simultaneous translation into
Japanese. Please pray that we will be able to meet these challenges
and that the Spirit of Christ would speak through Stan and
give him the stamina he needs to deliver all the messages
with enthusiasm.
Pray
also that Nichi Bei will reach their desired goal to have
50 attendees and for those who do come that they would experience
spiritual renewal and be knit together by the Holy Spirit
with a vision to reach the Japanese and Japanese American
community in the greater Portland area for Christ.
Half
Way There
We are half way to our prayer goal, half way to Iwa’s
basic expenses being funded by the faithful support of the
community we seek to reach and serve for Jesus Christ. Those
who give and pledge to Iwa’s ministry has increased significantly
over the past couple of years. This past year, those pledging
to Iwa increased by 30%. The previous year’s increase
was 57%. Thank the Lord for the responsiveness of his
people!
At
the same time, we still have half way to go. For those of
you who have been reading Stepping stones for some
time, you are well aware that a major need Iwa has faced over
the past couple of years has been the need to build up a stable,
steady base of financial support emerging out of the Japanese,
Japanese American and Asian American community. This need
arose as a result of difficult national economic trends, the
end of a major non-renewable two-year foundation grant, discontinuing
a fee-for-services major ministry partnership equal to approximately
one fourth of our yearly income and the dropping off of support
designated to those leaving Iwa staff.
We
have faced tremendous financial challenges at the same time
as God has continued to open new doors of opportunity and
affirm our effectiveness in ministry. Along with a faithful
core of supporters who have prayed for us and sacrificially
given throughout the years, God has used a number of miraculous
means together with some wonderful foundation friends like
the Stewardship Foundation, The Crowell Trust and Mustard
Seed Foundation to keep this ministry afloat and moving in
the right direction. All three of these foundations have given
money to encourage us to build our base of support from the
community we seek to reach and serve. It is as we develop
a sound base of ongoing support that the staff will have the
most freedom and flexibility to minister.
We
have experienced tremendous growth in areas most important
to insuring the future stability and continued effectiveness
of Iwa’s ministry. Not only has there been significant
and steady increases in the number of regular and repeat givers
but we have also substantially diminished dependence upon
foundation, fee-for-service and other income to meet our general
operating expenses. Combined income from these sources has
decreased over the past three years from 63% to 51% and finally
41% during this past fiscal year. Income from foundations
this past year was 33% of our total.
These
figures seem to indicate we are on our way to fully funding
our general operating expenses from the support of those we
serve so that funding from major donors such as foundations
can go fully to ministry projects and expansion. Praise God
for the progress you have helped us make in establishing a
sound financial base for the ministry of Iwa. The spiritual
need is far too great, the vision far too glorious for us
to be preoccupied with daily bread. Pray that the Lord would
free us more and more to offer the Bread of Life to the multitudes
of spiritually hungry Japanese, Japanese Americans and Asian
Americans. Praise God, we’re half way there!
They’re
Ba-a-a-ck!
Are you one of those faithful walkers, joggers or runners
who participated every year in our benefit walk-jog-run for
Iwa? Have you missed receiving the T-shirts designed by Stan
Sakai, the internationally famous originator of the Usagi
Yojimbo cartoon character, as a token of our appreciation
for participating? Well, to you collectors out there, we have
good news.
Although
we have chosen not to sponsor another walkathon, Stan Sakai
has agreed to design another Iwa T-shirt. This time they will
serve as our “thank you gift” as part of a new support
campaign Iwa’s Board of Directors has decided to conduct
each year. This new annual campaign is designed to help us
stabilize and broaden our base of support from individuals
and churches. In addition to asking new people and churches
to prayerfully consider supporting the Lord’s ministry
through Iwa for the first time, we also plan to ask those
who have already contributed to consider giving again or renewing
their pledge. This way we will have a better handle on the
additional funds needed to accomplish what we believe God
desires to do through Iwa over the upcoming year. T-shirts
will be sent to new and existing financial contributors who
support Iwa’s ministry at a certain level or more.
God
inspired Stan Sakai to suggest an illustration of the famous
Japanese folk tale Momotaro or Peachboy as appropriate for
this year’s Iwa T-shirt. At first, we scratched our heads.
What does this mythical character have to do with the ministry
of Christ to the Japanese, Japanese American and Asian American?
We wondered. When we dusted off an old copy of the favorite
tale, we were amazed at the parallels to the Gospel! Momotaro
unfolded as representing Christ himself. The very different
and unlikely warriors who joined him to fight the evil ogres
represent us who are also very different and need to be united
by Christ to defeat the Evil One. What a wonderful tool this
ancient story can be in God’s hands to explain the Good
News to children and adults alike.
In
any case, we simply do not have the space in this issue of
Stepping stones to explain all the details of our annual
campaign or the Christian meaning behind Stan Sakai’s
wonderful illustration. So, expect a letter in your mail box
soon. But, don’t feel you need to wait if you feel God
is urging you to give or pledge now. Whatever you feel led
by the Holy Spirit to do now will be considered toward receiving
a Stan Sakai T-shirt as our thanks.
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