Amy: Churches in Japan

Today was the Sabbath and our team went to two different services - one at Yokosuka Grace Bible church and then to Nokendai Bible Fellowship. We were guests at the first service. The church was located just a few blocks from where we live. The thing that is immediately noticeable about Japanese churches is that they are very small - no more than 30 people including children. The Yokosuka Grace Bible church is a recent church plant from another church in downtown Yokohama. Worshipping in song is something that has always moved me. Sometimes, I will get tingly feelings in my arms and down my spine. Other times the lyrics will move me to tears. Today, the service was a mix of Japanese and English but I was particularly moved when the congregation started to sing the songs in Japanese. For me, it is so amazing to be able to witness the body for Christ working in Japan and seeing the Japanese people worshipping the same God in their own language. One song (You are Good) we sang had lyrics :

“People from every nation and tongue, from generation to generation”

and I thought that this is exactly what i’m witnessing - people from different nations worshipping in their own tongue, across multiple generations.

It is also very apparent to see that these small churches rely very much on faith - faith that God will provide financially for the church, faith that God will grow the church and faith that God will develop the younger generation to grow into leaders who will be able to continue to minister to the Japanese people. There are a lot of stories about missionaires who come to Japan and dedicate their life here but become so discouraged because the message of Jesus’ love doesn’t stick - they don’t see the fruit of their work. The people come to church once or twice and they hear about the good news but they don’t continue on to live out a Christ centered life. It is my prayer that God is working in this nation and that He is preparing the hearts of the Japanese to receive Christ. And it is part of my job as a short- term missionary now to help plant the seeds in their hearts.

At Nokendai Bible Church, I went to teach my first every Bible lesson about Mary and Martha to the kids. Fortunately for me, there were only 5 kids - three of them were Shirley and Koichi’s kids!! With very little preparation and a lot of anxiety, I was able to share with them the importance of making time in their busy schedules (yes, kids in grade school here are VERY busy…) to spend time with Jesus. I pray for these kids - the next generation - that they will grow up to be leaders for Christ in Japan.