Just like many other organizations, ASM had its humble beginnings. At its organizing meeting on September 12, 2003 at Izmailovo Hotel Moscow, Russia, eight (8) mission scholars attended the meeting. They were Timothy Park, Greg Paek, Kwanja Park, Jin-Rag Son, Yong Joong Cho, Seung Oh An, Young-Ho Jang and David Hartono. Dr. Timothy Park was elected as the first president of ASM, and he was assisted by Dr. David Hartono who was elected as Vice President. The Board of Officers was formed in its first meeting. The Board was increased with the positions of General Secretary: Dr. Paul Jeong, Treasurer: Dr. Sam Sikitari, and three members: Dr. Kwang Ja Park, Dr. Yong Joong Cho and Dr. Greg Paek. Most of the Board were alumni of Fuller Theological Seminary, School of World Mission/School of Inter-cultural Studies.
In its formative years, all of ASM’s officers resided in Southern California, USA, not too far from Pasadena. Due to the convenience of location, the quarterly meeting place and office of the Institute of Asian Mission (IAM) was placed in Pasadena, California, USA. The ASM ministerial budget was supported by membership fees and love offerings from churches or Christian organizations that are closely affiliated with ASM’s officers. Because of its limitations, ASM officers prayed a lot and held many discussions to set a ministerial blueprint. Apart from those basic, fundamental and pleasant “spiritual chores,” its other main task then was to recruit scholars with doctoral degrees in missiology or inter-cultural studies.
The first public exposure for ASM was the opportunity for many of its officers to attend the AMA 9th Triennial Convention in Ephesus, Turkey on November 7-8, 2006. The Convention’s theme was: “Tracing Apostolic Way of Mission”. It was the first official contact between AMA and ASM, and the officers met many outstanding Asian missionaries who zealously serve the Lord in many parts of the world.
PURPOSE
The purpose of ASM is to serve Asian churches and mission for the implementation of the Great Commission most effectively through research and academic discussions. We also aim to foster networking and fellowship among Asian missiologists for mutual encouragement, knowledge sharing and more effective service in mission education.
While major vital mission movements are taking place in the Two-Thirds World, our view of missiology did not change much. In order to help the Asian Church accomplish her mission, we, the Asian missiologists, desire to address the great changes that are taking place and find a way to communicate them to the Church in a timely manner. The clear understanding of the changes in mission in our days will help the Asian Church do her mission more effectively and protect her from pitfalls that can hinder her efforts.
ASM adheres to the Lausanne Covenant. We shall partner with existing missiological societies both internationally and locally for the purpose of knowledge exchange and joint missiological research.
ASM Officer and Regional Directors
| Name | Position | Nationality | |
| Chansamone Saiyasak, PhD, DMin | President | Thai | president@asianmissiology.org |
| Eiko Takamizawa, PhD | Vice President | Japanese | e.takami@torchtrinity.org |
| Kim Chong Pae, DMin | General Secretary | Korean | chongpae@gmail.com |
| Ishak Wonohadidjojo, EdD | Treasurer | Indonesian | direct@acsi.or.id |
| Atul Aghamkar, PhD | South Asia Regional Director | Indian | atulats@yahoo.com |
| Kristen Combes | Executive Assistant | American | kristen@asianmissiology.org |
Contact
PO Box 305
Burns, TN 37029 U.S.A.