Things that Change and Things that stay the Same

In mid-November of last year, the announcement was made of a strategic partnership agreement between Asian Access and SIM USA.  You can click this link to read the announcement here.

July, 2011 in Charlotte, NC

 for Strategic Partnership Discussions

I (Faith) have been part of the team helping to develop this relationship over the past year.  According to the agreement, SIM USA will partner with Asian Access (A2) to recruit and send missionaries to Japan to help plant churches. SIM assumes responsibility for the functions of mobilization (recruiting missionaries), human resources (missionary training and U.S.‐based care) and financial accounting. Asian Access retains responsibility for championing the overall vision in Japan, managing the strategy of missionary deployment through its vast network of Japanese churches, and Japan-based missionary care. 

Because of my involvement for the past year, we have volunteered to be the first on-field career mission family to make the transition to SIM USA.  We are excited about the partnership and look forward to the benefits we will gain from being a part of a larger mission organization. We expect to discover where any glitches may be in the transition over the next few months in order to help smooth the way for the other Asian Access missionaries who will make the move later in the year.

In many ways, this change will not be noticeable to you unless you are a financial partner.  We will be continuing the same work in Japan, though we technically have become SIM USA missionaries seconded (loaned) to Asian Access.  Stan will continue to serve at the International Community Chapel of Saitama (ICCS). I will continue to oversee Missionary Care for all missionaries working with Asian Access in Japan.

If you are supporting our ministry financially, instructions for sending future support to SIM USA are given on the link labeled "How to support the De La Cours"at the top of this page.  We will have “open accounts” in both organizations while this transition is under way, so if you’ve already sent this month’s support to Asian Access, you don’t need to be concerned. We do value and need your faithful and ongoing gifts!