Our Mission
Jesus for Asia exists for one purpose:
To see as many people as possible accept eternal life before it’s too late.
We do this by going to the least reached section of the planet and by calling the church to re-engage its mission. In other words, we do mission and we advocate for missions.
All for the sake of the joy
that is set before us!
Our story
How Jesus for Asia Began
Jesus for Asia began as a desire to serve the Lord full-time in Jon and Natalie Wood's hearts. They prayed for several years, especially the last six months of 2004. Jon’s prayer was, “Lord, I want to work for you full-time. But I want my job description to come from you, not me. And even more than my desire to work for you, I want to be in the dead center of your will.”
That December 2004, Jon was on a trip through Thailand and India with some students from the college he was teaching at when the big tsunami that killed 250,000 people struck. It was a sobering time as Jon was able to film the survivors on a beach where many had perished. It was at that time that the Lord began to raise up a movement that was to become Jesus for Asia.
When Jon came home, his students edited the video and showed it in church that weekend, raising $6,000 for disaster relief through ADRA. Jon then uploaded the video to the internet, and the following week, someone donated $2,000 toward ministry on the beach where Jon had been. With those funds, rice was given to families hard hit by the disaster, meetings were held and 35 people were baptized. Also, several Bible Workers were hired, and these workers formed the beginning of what has become Jesus for Asia.
Soon, more Bible workers were hired, and Jon and Natalie began to sense the Lord calling them into this ministry full-time. They had no home equity and no money in the bank, but they believed that “when God calls, He provides.” So they tendered their resignation to Pacific Union College and stepped out by faith. So, in June of 2005, they moved out of their rented mobile home in Angwin, California, and hauled everything up to Idaho into a house they rented from Jon’s parents on their amazing country property where they could raise their two children.
In July of 2005, the ministry was incorporated (as Jesus for India), and in August, became ASI members.
In January 2007, they felt the call to expand the work to Thailand and Cambodia, so they changed the name to Jesus for Asia.
In 2010, Jon and Natalie felt the call to move again, this time to Tennessee, where a TV studio was being underused. There, they started MissionTV.
In 2015, the Lord moved them to a house/office/studio in Collegedale, TN.
In 2019, God inspired Jon with His dream ministry expansion, not just survival. Over the next few years, God opened doors to start work in new countries, more than double the number of Bible Workers, and grow the reach of current projects.
In 2021, after years of prayer and searching, God led Jesus for Asia to build an office in Collegedale, TN, where the staff could grow to keep up with the expanding work in Asia. God’s hand was visible in every step of this process. Construction started in November 2022, and the team moved to the new building in May 2023.
Jon, Natalie, and the whole team at Jesus for Asia are amazed at what God has done and are humbled by His ability to use the least promising of all His people. They can often be heard saying, “If He can use us, He can use anybody.”
Missions at a glance
Why the need is so urgent
6%
of income Christians gave to missions in 1930
0.3%
of income given to missions today
577
missionaries sent in 1906 from 79,422 members
551
missionaries sent in 2013 from 18.1 million members
NAD Giving Trends
Over the last 90 years, while giving for tithe and local church budgets has more than doubled, missions giving has dramatically decreased. In the 1930s, a person giving $10 in tithe would give another $6 to foreign missions. By 2006 that was $0.028; and now only $0.16 in 2024.
Why Focus on Asia?
Most of the people who have never heard the gospel live inside the 10/40 Window, yet only a tiny minority of workers and resources go there. If we don't tell them, who will?
From Here to There
In 1906 the Seventh-day Adventist church had 79,422 members and sent out 577 missionaries. In 2013 it had 18,143,745 members and sent only 551.
Southern Asia-Pacific Language Groups
This chart shows progress within different language groups across the Southern Asia-Pacific Division. People in the red areas have little to no access to the gospel in their heart language.
Financials
Accountability matters to us
We are stewards of every gift entrusted to us. Take a look at how funds are used and where they go.
Financial Accountability
Rest assured that 100% of your donation goes directly to the project(s) you specify. Nothing is deducted for "administrative overhead" or paying for our offices and salaries here at the home office, which exists on a portion of the donations to "Where Needed Most" (although a majority of these donations also go into projects that are underfunded but have a high strategic impact in God's work).
Jesus for Asia, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit charitable organization, which makes donations given from within the United States tax-deductible.
Jesus for Asia has been a member of ASI (Adventist-Laymen's Services and Industries) since 2005.
Who We Are
Meet the JFA Team
President
JON WOOD
During a visit to Cambodia in 1996, at the tail end of the Khmer Rouge movement, Jon came to two life-changing realizations: God's government is worth following above all else, and he no longer needed to fear death — since he was in the center of God's will, he could be sure of his salvation. Those realizations, along with Bible promises like Matthew 6:33, increased his faith and prepared him and his wife Natalie to start Jesus for Asia. Over the years, Jon's passion for God and for the lost has only continued to grow.
"But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." — Matthew 6:33
Treasurer
Office Manager
Writer
Event Coordinator
Video Editor
Accounting Assistant
Prayer Coordinator
Schools Project Director
Video Editor
Video Correspondent
Team Member
Marketing Director