Dear Friends,
I recently came across a thought-provoking infographic about the state of mission work in Japan, put together by Team missionaries, Caleb and Beth Trim. According to this report, there are 22 cities and 546 towns without a church. There is one church for every 16,071 people in Japan. Although there is religious freedom and missionaries are welcome, there is only one missionary for every 64,244 people. The number of missionaries working in Japan has decreased 34% during the past twenty years. What this all means is that the Japanese are the second largest unreached people group in the world.
In addition to the lack of missionaries, another area of concern is the fact that 70% of Japanese ministers are over fifty, and the number of young ministers to replace those reaching retirement age is not adequate. This means that many ministers continue in the ministry beyond retirement age, and that others have to serve two or more churches. Here in Kagoshima, we have five ministers (including myself) working with our nine churches. Two of the five are in their mid-eighties, and one of them had to retire recently due to serious health issues. One of the two remaining Japanese ministers is serving three churches, and the other is working with two churches. I am serving as minister for three churches. The need is great, but workers are few. Please pray that the Lord of harvest will provide workers for Japan.
Let’s now move on to a brief review of our activities during the past few months. January 9th I attended an all-day seminar on personal evangelism here in Kagoshima with members of the Yoshino church. This annual seminar is planned and hosted by the Kagoshima Evangelical Association, of which I am a member.
At the end of January, a reporter from a major local newspaper came to the Kagoshima prison to interview me and observe my Bible study with prison inmates. His article about the work of prison chaplains appeared in the February 6th edition of The Minami Nihon (Southern Japan) Newspaper.
February 11th, members of the Yoshino church attended the Annual Rally for Evangelical Churches in Kagoshima. I led the afternoon program of this all-day rally, and ladies from the Yoshino church were part of the special music.
Teaching at Kagoshima Prison
February 24th, our son Trent, who was in Tokyo for a month of research, flew down to spend the weekend with us. It was great to have him back home for the first time in several years.
February 27th-28th, I was in Okinawa to attend the annual meeting of Christian prison chaplains in southern Japan. I always enjoy this time of fellowship and interaction with fellow Christian chaplains.
With fellow Prison Chaplains in Okinawa
March 23rd, I flew to Osaka to attend graduation and the trustee meeting at Osaka Bible Seminary. OBS celebrates its 80th anniversary this year. As a trustee of OBS, I am happy to report that we now have twelve students at OBS. Eight are full-time students, and four are studying off-campus through Skype classes and correspondence courses.
Ladies’ Meeting at Yoshino Park
April 19th, the monthly Yoshino church ladies’ meeting was held at Yoshino Park, a beautiful wide-open space with a panoramic view of Sakurajima, the bay, and the city. They also enjoyed a delicious typical Japanese “box lunch”—full of a variety of rice, seafood, meat, and vegetables.
Japanese Box Lunch - “Obento”
Yoshino Park
Sunday, April 23rd, the Yoshino church conducted its annual congregational meeting and discussed, among other things, plans for its annual outreach meeting on October 21st with guest speaker, Daiki Kishimoto, president of Osaka Bible Seminary.
May 18th, the ladies traveled to Kanoya (on the eastern peninsula) to attend the annual combined women’s meeting for our churches in Kagoshima Prefecture. This all-day event was attended by 37 ladies from five churches. The guest speaker was Brother Setoguchi, associate minister of the Kanoya church. In addition to the main message, fellowship, church news, prayer requests, special music, and sharing lunch together are special parts of the day.
Combined Prefectural Ladies’ Meeting
May 24th, I flew south to Okinawa to attend the 68th Annual All-Japan Christian Convention for our churches in Japan. This 2-1/2 day convention was attended by over two hundred Christians from forty-two of our churches from all over Japan. What especially impressed me about this convention was the emphasis made by the Okinawan Christians (who planned and hosted the convention) on the role missionaries of our brotherhood played after the war in not only spreading the gospel and establishing churches, but in helping the people rebuild their lives after having lost everything in the war. Okinawa was the only part of Japan that experienced a full-scale invasion by American troops at the end of the Pacific War.
All-Japan Christian Convention - Okinawa
June 12th, I attended a dinner hosted by the local chapter of Gideons for ministers of churches in Kagoshima who support their work. Brother Iimure, a member of the Yoshino church, is the leader of the Kagoshima chapter of Gideons. Under his leadership, the number of churches supporting the Gideons has increased, along with the addition of new members to assist in their Bible distribution ministry. Last year (2016) the Gideons distributed 5,346 Bibles to junior high, high school, & college students in Kagoshima. The Yoshino church has been supporting this ministry for over twenty years. I know of one of the ministers here in Kagoshima who began attending church, was eventually baptized, and later entered the ministry after reading a Gideon Bible he received as a high school graduation gift. The Word of God is living & active (Hebrews 4:12), and, when it is received by an open heart, can give birth to spiritual life.
June Kagoshima Gideon Dinner
We thank all of you for sustaining our ministry here with your faithful prayers and support.
In Him,
Walter & Mary