Mike Crow
I am passionate about contemplating Jesus in light of His first-century context and helping others do the same.
Katie has an M.A. in cross-cultural counseling. I have a Ph.D. in cross-cultural leadership, both from Fuller. Katie and I have lived and served in Asia since 1980 (Indonesia, Singapore, East Asia, and Southeast Asia). We are fluent in Indonesian and speak basic Chinese. Katie is gifted as a pastoral counselor. My gift is in teaching, especially Bible teaching about Jesus, in the context of the Second Temple period (J-Mentors).
J-Mentors consists of 36 modules in what my Chinese friends like to call "advanced discipleship."
I see it as a modified form of Ignatian Exercises, using literary and archaeological sources from the Second Temple period to get a clearer picture of what life was like for a Jew in the first century (history, culture, politics, economics, religious currents, village life, etc).
We "put ourselves into the story" as if we were Jews in the first century to better grasp the radical nature of what Jesus was saying and doing in that context. It's like moving from color TV to entering a 3D movie about Jesus. We spend time contemplating Jesus to hear what His Spirit is saying to us. Then we work together to see how what Jesus in His context might be saying to us in our own contexts today.
As of 2025, we have 35 leaders in 3 groups of people going through J-Mentors. They serve in a variety of roles: pastors, lay leaders, educators, ministry to the poor, ministry to refugees, social workers helping addicts, business-as-mission, international student ministry, etc.
Two of these groups are online (Zoom), spanning 6 countries and 3 continents. One group in SE Asia is in-person. All the materials of J-Mentors are free-of-charge. This includes PDFs for individual study, and animated PowerPoints for people leading 4 or more people through J-Mentors.
You can read more about my ministry at www.J-Mentors.org.