Being as far as it is away from the U.S., many people don’t know much about Japan, especially in terms of the state of the church there. Because of that, it may be difficult to understand why this mission field is so important to my family, as well as some of the challenges that exist on the field. Rather than write a lengthy blog post about every point, I thought it might be easier to make a simple infographic to provide a profile of the mission field in Japan. Scroll down to the bottom to see a few points of interest explained in further detail. As you can see, the…
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Evangelism In Japan: The Obstacle Double Punch
Anyone who has done evangelistic work in Japan for any length of time knows it is a challenging field. I’ve known of missionaries in other fields who find incredible success, baptizing hundreds over the course of a decade. Meanwhile, in Japan, making 10-20 disciples over the same amount of time could be considered a significant success. Why such a huge difference? Why is mission work in Japan so much slower than in some other places? From my experience, I would say there are two particular issues that form a kind of double punch on potential followers, making it difficult for them to commit to following Christ. Left Jab: Religious Worldview…
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A Prayer For The Reiwa Era
One week from now, the emperor of Japan, Emperor Akihito, will officially abdicate and the new emperor, soon-to-be Emperor Naruhito, will take his place. Much like England’s royal family, the emperor of Japan has no legal authority in the country, but that does not mean the status is unimportant. The change of the emperor is a major event in the nation’s life, marking not only the literal end of an era, but also an important change to the nation’s calendar. While Japan uses the Western year system (e.g. 2019), it also uses its own system based upon the year of the Emperor’s reign. The current era is called Heisei, and…
