On May 19, 2026, The Heavenly Asia Pacific (HAP) Leaders Meeting marked a historic gathering as regional directors, national leaders, and church pastors and other key leaders from across the Asia Pacific continent convened together for the first time in one unified continental meeting. The meeting was led by Continental Director Rev. Yutaka Yamada and included representatives from the Philippines, Indochina, Southeast Asia, Central Asia, South Asia, and Oceania regions.

The program opened with the Cheon Il Guk anthem, prayer, and welcoming remarks from Rev. Yutaka. Rev. Julius, serving as moderator, emphasized the importance of ensuring that all church pastors, especially recognized awardees, were connected and participating in the meeting. Translation support was also provided for participants from different language groups, including Thai-speaking leaders.

Reverend Yamada welcomed all regional directors and national leaders and shared guidance concerning the current providential situation surrounding True Mother and the church worldwide. He emphasized the need to unite with True Mother during the ongoing legal and public challenges faced in Korea and Japan while strengthening blessed families, communities, and future generations as the foundation for long-term growth. He encouraged leaders to cultivate stronger family and church cultures centered on true love, education, and intergenerational unity, stressing that local churches must become environments where both first and second generations can grow together.

The meeting included reflections on the recent events held in Korea commemorating the 66th Anniversary of the Holy Wedding of True Parents and the first anniversary of the entrance ceremony in Cheonwon-gung. Leaders shared about the special worship service, blessing ceremony, and global recognition program for outstanding churches around the world.

Rev. Daniel Meadows testified about his participation in the Korea Open Forum, where continental representatives engaged in direct discussions with World Mission Headquarters Director General Reverend Ken Doo. Discussions focused on legal concerns, church policies, transparency, and future growth strategies. Reverend Du encouraged open communication between headquarters and field leaders and emphasized the importance of building trust throughout all levels of leadership.

Rev. Julius shared some of the key messages shared during the forum was the call for leaders to become “prophets rather than simply administrators,” highlighting the importance of lifestyle witnessing, authentic leadership, and cultivating true love culture within families and communities. He also presented the results of the Global Church Awards Ceremony held in South Korea on May 3, 2026. Churches were evaluated based on both quantitative and qualitative indicators, including witnessing results, blessing participation, worship attendance, tithing, membership development, leadership quality, and intergenerational integration.

Out of 43 worldwide awardees, 12 churches from Heavenly Asia Pacific received recognition. These included: Witnessing Churches = Marshall Islands, Seri Center, Thailand, Vanuatu; Pastoral Churches = Melbourne Church, Sydney Church, Singapore Church; Additional churches from across the region; Developing Communities = Antipolo Family Church, Philippines, Bangkok Headquarters Church, Thailand. Additional Achievement Awards were presented to churches and leaders including Melbourne Church, Singapore Church, Cavite Church, Kalasin Church, Navajo Church, and Antipolo Family Church. Hong Kong Church also received an Excellence Award in Networking Young Professionals, with Reverend Hyunjin recognized for leadership in this area.

Rev. Julius announced that plaques of recognition would be distributed to all awardee churches and encouraged every church in Asia Pacific to strive toward becoming future global awardees under the new evaluation system. In the meeting, he also addressed the future direction of church growth throughout the Asia Pacific region. Leaders discussed the newly introduced evaluation framework, which combines both quantitative goals and qualitative indicators of spiritual and community development. He shared that Rev. Doo reportedly emphasized the importance of:  1. Building trust between headquarters and local churches, 2. Strengthening grassroots leadership 3. Transitioning from top-down management toward more localized leadership initiatives 4. Supporting sustainable church culture and witnessing environments. Asia Pacific, along with Africa and Central & South America, was identified as one of the regions with significant potential for future growth. Leaders discussed collaborative continental strategies and core activities that can support witnessing expansion and long-term development.

Mrs. Dulce presented updates and statistics from the 2026 Hyojeong Chonbo Blessing Ceremony held in Korea. Asia Pacific contributed 65 blessing candidates representing multiple nations across the continent. Due to visa limitations, many participants joined the event through satellite participation while maintaining active engagement in the ceremony. The report highlighted the sincere efforts of leaders and members in preparing blessing candidates and supporting international participation despite logistical challenges.

Rev. Leo Angelo Halog shared an extensive report on the ongoing 21-Day Spiritual Growth Workshop in Pakchong, Thailand, which began on May 9, 2026. The workshop gathered 76 participants from nine nations, including participants from Russia. The workshop program includes: Daily Chanyang sessions, Cheon Shim Won devotions, Intensive prayer conditions, Group prayer activities, Unity and sports activities, Education centered on connecting participants to True Mother. He also reported that the workshop had entered its second stage and that participants were experiencing meaningful spiritual transformation and unity. Positive feedback was also received from senior leadership, including President Lee Gi-Seong, who expressed hope regarding Asia Pacific’s strong participation. Also he shared that a future 3-day resonance workshop was also announced as part of the continuing spiritual education efforts.

The Future Generation Department provided updates on upcoming youth initiatives and educational programs throughout the region. These included: Pure Water Youth Assembly, Trinity Youth Assembly, Religious Youth Service (RYS) Project in Sri Lanka, HDG Asia-Pacific programs & Annual songwriting workshop.

Mrs. Ursula McLachlan, President of UPF Asia Pacific, also announced upcoming webinars and highlighted the 40th Anniversary of Religious Youth Service (RYS).

Continental Director Yutaka additionally recognized HTG Missionaries and UPA Missionaries in Asia Pacific and encouraged participation in the English language study program in the Philippines coordinated by Director Soo Won Lee, especially for missionaries and young leaders preparing for international missions.