The Word of God Cannot Be Chained

Josh and Sally went to Northern Asia in their early twenties expecting to teach English for one year. Instead, one year became a life.

They learned the language, raised their family, and built relationships among communities where many people had little or no opportunity to hear about Jesus. As those relationships grew, they began looking for practical ways to serve.

They opened two cafés that created meaningful employment and became natural gathering places for students, neighbors, and friends. Student nights, English tutoring, mentorship, and ordinary conversations over coffee created relationships with people who might otherwise never encounter a follower of Jesus.

Their work expanded into farming, roasting, and distribution, building relationships with farmers and opening doors into remote mountain communities.

In a province with more than 250 distinct people groups, approximately 190 remain unreached. Among them are numerous subgroups of the Yi people, including communities with almost no known Christian presence.

These are not simply statistics to Josh and Sally. They are friends, employees, farmers, and people they love. And the relationships are bearing fruit.

The Gospel has now reached people from at least six unreached people groups through this work. Many people have expressed faith in Jesus, and multiple believers have been baptized.

One café employee has experienced the peace of Jesus but remains afraid to profess her faith publicly. Still, she continues to be drawn toward Christ through the peace she feels and the love she experiences among local believers.

This is what Creative Access looks like among the unreached.

The business is real. The coffee matters. But the ultimate goal has always been Gospel access that leads to disciples, churches, and eventually an indigenous church among every unreached people group in the province.

Today, that vision is being tested.

Josh and Sally have been forced to leave their home for a second time because of arrests followed by visa restrictions. After decades of serving there, their ability to return remains uncertain.

But the work remains. The cafés are open. Team members remain in-country. Local believers continue sharing Jesus. The seeds planted through decades of faithful obedience are still growing. 

“Creative Access is not simply about getting workers into hard places. It is about building a Gospel presence that can remain.”

Paul wrote from his own place of uncertainty: “And because I preach this Good News, I am suffering and have been chained like a criminal. But the word of God cannot be chained.” - 2 Timothy 2:9

Neither can the Gospel work God began through Josh and Sally.

The Project42 community is standing with them now, helping provide for their family, covering transition expenses, sustaining team members who remain, and keeping the businesses operating.

Because Creative Access is not simply about getting workers into hard places. It is about building a Gospel presence that can remain.

Governments can close doors. Visas can be denied. Workers can be forced to leave.

But the Word of God cannot be chained.