At the 14th World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) General Assembly in Seoul, Bambang Budijanto, secretary general of the Asia Evangelical Alliance (AEA), introduced the Asian member countries. Highlighting the challenges Christians face across the region, he urged global Christian leaders to pray for the courage and boldness of the Asian church in bearing witness to the gospel.
During the Asia regional prayer meeting on October 28, Budijanto reported that there are currently 415 million Christians in Asia, including Roman Catholics and other denominations, representing 8.2% of the continent's population.
He explained that the AEA currently comprises 20 alliances, including Bhutan, Cambodia, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, and Sri Lanka.
Among them, the Korea Evangelical Fellowship plans to change its name to the Korea Evangelical Alliance, pending WEA confirmation. Meanwhile, East Timor is drafting its bylaws and is expected to become a full member early next year. In Brunei, pastors held their first meeting on December 4 last year to prepare for establishing a national alliance.
In addition to its full members, the AEA includes 13 associate members, organizations that operate across multiple Asian countries. The main distinction lies in voting rights: full members hold three votes at the general assembly, while associate members hold one. (This differs from the WEA, where only full members can vote.)
To accelerate the spread of the gospel, the AEA plans to focus on the most active 20% of its 415 million Christians, about 83 million, over the next decade. If each of these believers mentors one person every two years, the number of Christians could grow by 211% within ten years. Budijanto emphasized the urgency of discipleship training, declaring, "Disciple or die!"
The AEA launched its "Disciple or Die" movement with the 1.0 gathering in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, followed by "Disciple or Die 2.0" in Seoul this year. The next event, "Disciple or Die 3.0," will be held in Manila, Philippines, from June 9 to 11 next year.
At a prayer meeting on the morning of October 30, Budijanto again called on Christian leaders worldwide to intercede for churches in Asia. "Asia is home to 60% of the total population, and only 8.2% claim to be Christians," he said. "So if we're talking about everyone hearing the gospel, more than 70% of the work is here in Asia. We need all of you to join us, to help us, to pray with us, to fulfill what we fulfill."
He urged the present Christian leaders to first pray that "the church is awakened to take full responsibility, because with numbers comes responsibility." Secondly, he appealed for prayers for courage and boldness: "In the midst of all the restrictions, war, and persecution, give us boldness. Not simply protection, but boldness to share the gospel, to disciple."
Originally published by the Christian Times
- Edited and translated by Poppy Chan
