Twenty Years of God's Faithfulness: The Beginnings

Did you know Jesus for Asia is turning 20 years old this year?

What started as a desire to simply work for God has become a growing ministry serving nine countries in the least reached parts of the world, all by God's grace.

Throughout the year, we'll be sharing meaningful testimonies from the last twenty years, demonstrating God's faithfulness every step of the way.

This week, we want to share how it all got started. 

Our co-founders, Jon and Natalie Wood, were earnestly seeking God for how they could serve Him more directly in getting the Gospel to people that don’t have access to it, when Jon took his film students to Thailand and India at the end of 2004.

What started as a trip to film mission projects to help raise awareness became an opportunity to record and share the devastating effects of the tsunami that hit Southeast Asia the day after Christmas. 

When they returned home in January 2025, Jon's film students shared their video of the needs at church, raising $6,000 for ADRA. 

People affected by the tsunami

Jon posted the video online, and it attracted the attention of his sister's mailman, who gave $2,000 to help the people on the beach that were affected by the tsunami. He and Natalie started sharing the need for the Gospel in India with their friends and family and people responded positively. 

Jon and Natalie wondered if this was God's way of calling them to get more involved with missions in India. After much prayer, they decided to move forward. They turned in resignation notices at their jobs, and "Jesus for India" received its first official donation in March/April of 2005.

So, how did Jesus for India become Jesus for Asia? How did God help Jon and Natalie transition from regular salaried jobs to living by faith?

We'll share more in an upcoming newsletter. Stay tuned!