Our Mission
Asian Christian Mission
“For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works which God prepared in advance, for us to do.” Ephesians 2:10
Established in 1975, Asian Christian Mission is a not-for-profit ministry serving to bring God’s love to tribal communities through spiritual formation and meeting practical needs. Under the guidance and auspices of Southwoods Christian Church, Ati Yangmi, serves as field director for ACM. Ati uses her love for Jesus to encourage, develop and support dedicated teams of teachers and evangelists who find great meaning and purpose in being the hands and feet of Jesus.
Our History
1970
The Yangmi family (Jesse, Drema Esther pregnant with James, Sam, Lucy, and Mickey) arrived in the United States as stateless people from Burma (Myanmar today) where they had been ministering alongside the Morse missionary family. Jesse enrolled as a student at Ozark Christian College (OCC) in Joplin, MO.
1975
After graduating from OCC Jesse and Esther incorporated Asian Christian Mission (ACM) and their family began serving as full-time missionaries to the Thailand Lisu. Based in Chiang Mai, Thailand, the first decade of ministry focused on reaching the Lisu in their remote mountain villages. Few were accessible even with a 4WD vehicle, so it required days of trekking through the jungle to reach them. The Thailand Lisu were illiterate at the time, so simple “Heart Charts” or poster sized renderings were used to introduce the salvation message. Alongside evangelism, great effort was also made to teach them how to read and write their own language for the first time and the number of Lisu Christians began to slowly grow. Short term Bible schools were organized and from these, a handful of dedicated leaders emerged who joined the mission effort. This generation of pastors and evangelists have passed on, but through their hard work and dedication to the cause of Christ, most if not all Lisu villages have been reached with the Gospel.
1976
While great effort focused on evangelism, Jesse was approached by the United Bible Societies to work on a new translation of the Lisu Bible in a more readable version for the Lisu. The original Lisu Bible was done by Western missionaries to China and the language was very stilted and not very usable for the various regional dialects of the Lisu who lived throughout northern Thailand, Burma, Southwest China, and Northern India. Jesse took on the lead position for the translation project which dominated his energies for the next seven years. Once completed, twenty-five thousand copies of the new translation were printed and distributed from Thailand by a variety of methods from trains and ox carts and finally carried on the backs of the Lisu to their final destinations…the Lisu churches in Thailand, China, Burma, and India.
1980s
The second decade of ACM in Thailand involved organizing many short-term Bible Schools and leadership training seminars for the growing numbers of Lisu evangelists and pastors. In response to the persistent appeals from the Lisu churches, Jesse also began writing and producing topical Bible studies and commentaries to serve the growing need among the church pastors, leaders, and teachers for more in depth study materials. Jesse’s commentaries are still being used throughout the Lisu churches today. Jesse also helped establish a new church plant for the Rawang and Chiang Mai Christian Church (CCC) still serves the Rawang community to this day.
1998
After years of prayer and discussion with the Lisu leadership who asked for a more systematic approach to Bible instruction and training, the Lisu Bible Institute (LBI) began on a 12-acre parcel of land in Chiang Dao. The school started with no running water and simple bamboo shelters that served as classrooms and dorms. Today, the LBI campus has permanent structures and continues to train the Lisu in Biblical studies.
After Drema Esther passed away, Jesse continued leading and teaching at LBI and writing more Bible study helps and commentaries. The fourth decade of his ministry took Jesse back to his roots and he began a new effort to reach his own Jerwang people with the Gospel message. After training and equipping a small handful of evangelists, they now serve to reach the Jerwang in what has become a highly surveilled area where the local government is very antagonistic to Christianity. Yet these Jerwang pastors continue to serve the Kingdom at great risk to themselves and their families.
2016
Jesse married Ati Dvngshing, a fellow CCC member and she joined him in ministry. Ati took on a variety of responsibilities that included typing Jesse’s lessons and helping him with all the administration and accounting responsibilities for the mission. During this time, she also learned to speak Jerwang and developed a strong relationship with the Lisu and Jerwang pastors. As Jesse’s health began to decline, Ati shouldered more and more of the leadership responsibilities of running ACM. Since Jesse’s passing in March of 2020, Ati continues to oversee and develop the ministries of Asian Christian Mission under the auspices of Southwoods Christian Church in Overland Park, KS. These areas of service include but are not limited to:
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Jerwang Evangelism
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Village Children’s Ministry
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Teacher Development
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Water Filtration Systems