A few years ago, Sister W from East Asia reached out with the bold idea to launch a full-time leader-development program for emerging leaders in her region. At first she assumed that our team would come and lead it for her, but we encouraged her to lead it herself.

 

 I immediately felt a lot of pressure.

 

Despite her apprehension, Sister W decided to trust God and move forward in faith. She and her team prayed earnestly throughout the recruitment process, asking God to bring the right participants.

 

We kept praying, and in the end, God brought every participant to us  ̶  three of whom even quit high-paying jobs just to attend.

 

The training launched the following May with a six-month, full-time program spread over three modules. Twenty participants from various cities in the region participated, along with a few others from nearby regions. The training followed the ConneXions Model, and Sister W and her team led it themselves – coached and supported by our team, but fully responsible for the program’s implementation.

 

We followed your designs for leading, creating culture and building relationships. Everyone greatly enjoyed and appreciated the process!

 

Even into the second week, when one of our team members arrived to provide coaching, Sister W was hoping we would take the lead. But then, in a moment of clarity during a group discussion, she experienced a turning point:

 

I suddenly realized the Holy Spirit was at work – among participants of all levels: some were blank slates, others had formal theological education or seminary degrees. But through their sharing, I saw the Spirit teaching, convicting, and correcting. My heart was comforted; God Himself was working! The more open we were, the more the Spirit moved.

 

A Program Marked by Transformation

The following weeks included themes such as the nature of leadership, new life in Christ, healthy and unhealthy thinking patterns, loving God’s Word, and knowledge of the Holy Spirit. The final two weeks proved especially life-changing. Participants discovered a hunger for Scripture and encountered the Holy Spirit in profound ways!

 

Brother Y, a participant who believed the Holy Spirit was no longer active in today’s world, initially resisted the teaching on the baptism of the Holy Spirit. However, when Sister W invited everyone to receive the Holy Spirit during one session, the Spirit began to move powerfully among them, with many of them weeping and some even seeing visions.

 

Brother Y couldn’t deny what he was seeing. His previous worship experiences never even involved clapping during worship, but he found new freedom after this experience. After he led worship the next day, he shared:

 

 It wasn’t me leading – the Holy Spirit was!

 

Another leader, Brother H, faced spiritual and physical tests. When a serious car accident three weeks into the training left several participants with fractures and injuries, the group relied on prayer instead of seeking out a hospital. They were fully healed! However, Brother H was confused and doubtful about this choice, until he experienced God’s healing firsthand.

 

One day, he had severe stomach ulcers. We laid hands on him and prayed, and he was instantly healed!

 

This overturned his understanding of God. He testified: “God truly is above medicine.” Soon, he began sharing with his home church, where his transformation deeply moved others.

 

Other participants experienced great changes as well! Brother D was caught in a career that tempted him toward greed, but through dreams and the encouragement of the community, he surrendered his ambitions and committed himself to serve God. Sister L had entered the training with no biblical background at all, but gained a deep appreciation for God’s Word and a strong burden for her church. And during a time of deep communion with God, Sister Z testified that God had filled, freed and healed her powerfully:

 

I was moved to tears nearly every day. It helped me reflect on my life and actions: Am I fully obeying God’s call? I want to be in deep communion with Him, put Him first, submit, and commit – to be a healthy leader aligned with God’s heart.

 

Sister W described the entire experience as heaven on earth:

 

This training brought people out of tradition and beyond denominational boundaries into pure understanding. The entire process was filled with God’s presence, our perspective was broadened, and we loved and cared for one another like heaven on earth. Everyone’s life was built up – truly a life-transforming miracle!

 

What Made It Work

 

When asked what price they paid for this move of God, Sister W was clear:

 

Before the program began, our whole church prayed every day for four months. Participants later said, “What we see most here is prayer – everything is soaked in prayer.”

 

Each emerging leader had two dedicated intercessors and a pastoral mentor, leaders who had been trained in the ConneXions Model and were deeply aligned in spirit and culture. They trained every participant holistically, which meant addressing their relationship with Christ, their relationships in community, their calling, their character, and their leadership competencies (what we refer to as the 5Cs), and then helping them face challenges head-on before stepping in to assist.

 

We prayed for your team too and continually evaluated what was lacking in the participants lives. We offered various platforms for learning and encouraged them to first face challenges themselves before we stepped in. This accelerated growth.

 

By the end of the first module, Sister W's fears had turned to boldness:

 

We’re full of confidence! After these two months, our team has been greatly built up. We are truly disciple-makers! So we can now co-labor with God to disciple others.

 

From Local to Regional Impact

 

The next step is clear. Next, Sister W plans to launch a regional version of this program involving multiple churches. Our regional leader in East Asia sees Sister W and this training as a prototype for the entire East Asian Church:

 

She doesn’t hold a formal degree. She’s very typical of most East Asian leaders – simple, prayerful, humble, and fully reliant on God. But she’s living proof: if she can do it, anyone can.

 

Our team is now preparing to help Sister W and her team share this model with others, encouraging them to visit, observe and replicate it in their own churches and regions. Her program is more than a local success. It is a living example of how healthy leader development can revive churches and transform lives.

 

As Sister W told the participants in her program:

 

We must live in the light … God’s light is so strong, and this kind of training fully exposes the darkness in one’s life.

 

And that, perhaps, is what makes this story such a powerful prototype not just for this particular region, but for churches across East Asia.