From September 30 to October 3, 2025, the fourth Impact Asia Alliance Summit, themed "Sun Rises From the East," was held in Tokyo, Japan. Nearly 800 Christian leaders from across Asia attended the event, and Japan's first Protestant Prime Minister, Shigeru Ishiba, sent a congratulatory letter.
Participants came from South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, the United States, Taiwan, and the Chinese mainland, including nearly 400 pastors and leaders from Japan. The organizers expressed their hope that Christian leaders from around the world would connect and resonate with one another, jointly witnessing the awakening of the Asian church, the revival of faith in Japan, and the advancing of God's kingdom in the East.
Organized by The Christian Tribune, a Christian media outlet based in Taiwan, this annual Impact Asia Alliance (IAA) Summit aims to "respond to God's call and encourage outstanding Christians to go into the world and become people of influence." Previous summits have been held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Jakarta, Indonesia; and Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
"At first, when we proposed holding the IAA in Tokyo a year ago, many people said it was impossible," said Dr. Simon Hong, chairman of The Christian Tribune, as he recounted the story behind the 2025 summit during the opening ceremony. "I spent six months in prayer, and God gave me seven words—four in Chinese and three in English. While praying, I heard God say to me, 'The Lord wants to use you (主要用你).' Finally, God gave me three English words: 'Jesus never fails.' The Lord Jesus never fails. I believe Jesus never fails. Reflecting on God's faithfulness in making the summit possible, Dr. Hong declared, "This is Jesus' gathering. Nothing is impossible for him."
The conference was convened by Rev. Yoshiko Ito, senior pastor of White House Fellowship Church from Okinawa, Japan. Recalling the moment she was entrusted with hosting the summit, Pastor Ito said she was moved to tears, feeling as though God was saying to Japan, "I have never forgotten this land."
Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba sent a congratulatory letter to the summit, writing, "Amid the current social climate of deepening divisions and conflicts both at home and abroad, I am deeply encouraged and sincerely grateful that Christian leaders from various Asian countries, who serve society with Christ's love, have gathered in Tokyo to pray together and seek the Lord's guidance. I earnestly pray that the Lord's blessings will be abundantly poured out upon this conference."
The four-day summit featured 23 speakers from Japan, Taiwan, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the United States, including well-known pastors among Chinese Christians such as James Hudson Taylor IV, the great-great-grandson of missionary Hudson Taylor, Pastor Nathaniel Chow, chairman of the BOL Global Apostolic Network and chairman and the previous senior pastor of Bread of Life Christian Church in Taipei, and Pastor Brian Liu, senior pastor of Shekinah Bread of Life Christian Church branch. Due to health reasons, Pastor Rick Warren, founder of Saddleback Church in California and executive director of the Finishing the Task mission coalition, was unable to attend in person but delivered his message through a video address.
The event took place at Wesleyan Holiness Yodobashi Church in Shinjuku, Japan's first Holiness Church, a congregation that inherited John Wesley's pursuit of holiness and a disciplined spiritual life, later developing independently into Methodism. Former Senior Pastor Tatsuhiro Mineno (transliteration) recounted the church's two major revivals, which occurred in 1919 and 1936. However, following Japan's defeat during World War II, the church faced persecution, and many believers fled the country, causing the revival's flame to die out. After the war, the U.S. military took over the church, and Christianity in Japan began to grow again, seemingly reigniting the lost fire. Yet Pastor Mineno noted that this revival was merely superficial, an admiration for America rather than a genuine spiritual awakening. He lamented that Japan has since lost much of its spiritual fervor, with Christians comprising only about 0.5% of the population. Expressing gratitude for hosting the summit in Japan, he said, "I believe the spiritual fire will be rekindled here. Let us continue to pray and move forward. This is a wonderful blessing for us. The time has come, and the sun of the Lord has risen."
On the final day of the conference, Pastor Nathaniel Chow and Pastor Tatsuhiro Mineno jointly presided over a communion service.
The event also featured performances by various groups, including the Century Voice Choir from Kaohsiung, the Youth Performance Group of White House Fellowship Church from Okinawa, Taiwan's Vox Nativa Children's Choir, Praise Dance Taiwan, world-class performer and composer Solnamoo Song, as well as pastors from Indonesia and Malaysia.
This year, a delegation from Saddleback Church in the United States visited the Impact Asia Center in Taiwan and extended an invitation to host the conference in the U.S. in 2026. Dr. Simon Hong, chairman of the IAA, called on attendees to continue praying for the summit, expressing hope that it would expand beyond Asia next year, coinciding with the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States.
Originally published by the Christian Times
- Edited by Katherine Guo and translated by Poppy Chan
