After sixteen years of serving as president of Asian Access, an evangelical mission organization that develops leaders and serves as a catalyst to multiply churches, the Rev. S. Douglas Birdsall, will step down on 30 September 2007 to devote full-time to his position as executive international chair of the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelism (LCWE). Bruce Johnson, vice president for leadership development, will become interim president. Birdsall will continue as an Asian Access missionary and member of the ministry's board of directors. “After much thought and prayer, I realized that I could no longer effectively lead both organizations…I also realized that Asian Access is at a point in its growth where it needs the undivided time and passion of a new leader who can take the ministry forward.” Johnson joined Asian Access in 2004 as vice president for leadership development. He currently oversees the design and implementation of the ministry's pastor training model in twenty targeted countries across Asia (Asian Access)
