Organized by the Asia Evangelical Alliance (AEA), the Asia Conference on Church & Mission (ACCM), themed ‘Disciple or Die 3.0,’ took place in Manila, Philippines. The four-day strategic gathering hosted at GCF, South Metro in Alabang, running from June 9 to June 12, 2026 gave a strong call to Asia’s church to prioritize discipleship.
In remarks during the gathering, Rev. Adv. Botrus Mansour, Secretary General of the World Evangelical Alliance, underscored that discipleship is not an optional ministry strategy but God’s purpose for the church. “God did not have a Plan B. His plan for the church was discipleship,” Rev. Mansour noted.
The Manila’s Asia Conference on Church called on Asian churches to shift from creating event-attenders to multiplying devoted followers of Christ. The conference challenged the church to re-center its mission on the Great Commission with a vision to see 20% of Asian churches become active disciple-making communities by 2033.
The WEA Secretary General described discipleship as a process of transformation in which believers are formed to resemble Christ: “…you have believers… to be resembling [Christ]… Working on a journey to resemble Jesus Christ Himself.” Rev. Mansour praised the Asia Evangelical Alliance leadership for keeping focus on what he called “what’s really important,” and he described the event as a blessed conference marked by fellowship among diverse leaders. He further called for other alliances worldwide to place discipleship at the center of what the church does, what the alliances pursue, and what they encourage among member churches—so that discipleship advances for “the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Key themes at the conference focused on realigning church structures and confronting modern challenges through the pillars of Attenders vs. Disciples, Discipleship in Community pillars. The conference outlined three major thrusts for Asia: Artificial Intelligence, Marketplace Outreach (reaching people in their workplaces), and the Empowerment of Young Leaders.
Across the conference, leaders emphasized the urgent need to re-center church life on discipleship rather than on event-driven activity. Discussions focused on practical ways churches can move from simply running programs and hosting services to building people through intentional, long-term formation. The goal was to cultivate believers who grow in Christlikeness and learn to follow Jesus as a sustained journey of faith and obedience.
The World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) is a global network of churches in over 160 nations uniting more than 650 million evangelical Christians to collaborate on missions, advocate for religious freedom, and represent their voice around the world including at the United Nations in New York and Geneva.
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