The Christian subculture challenge

A few years ago when I met with a Japanese Christian leader to catch up on each other’s lives, we discussed the challenges of the spread of the gospel in this nation and dreamed a bit about how to build upon the many partnerships that have been developing between Christian groups here in Japan. During our conversation, he surprised me with an unexpected comment:

How one Japanese congregation responded to the COVID-19 pandemic 

WHEN I TALKED TO PASTOR YOSHIYA (JOSHUA) HARI, THE NATIONAL DIRECTOR FOR ASIAN ACCESS JAPAN, his church had already been dealing with its own crisis before the coronavirus came. After over 20 years in the same location, in 2019 the congregation of Saikyo Hope Chapel was told they had to vacate the building they were leasing because it would be demolished. Finding a similar facility for the same price proved to be extremely difficult, so from February 2, 2020, they found themselves alternately renting one of two local community centers for services each Sunday.

1. Pray for healthy balance in the use of time

The cross-cultural missionary finds it takes longer to do everything. There’s never the sense that, “It’s 6 p.m., and my work day is done.” Unfinished tasks constantly loom. Too often, the urgent crowds out the important...

By Barbara Bauman

"She must be very frustrated with her children," I thought. I had noticed a young non-Christian mother near the door at a parenting seminar I was leading at a local preschool. Her distressed face said more than a thousand words, so I was disappointed when she got up to leave before the end of the seminar. She would not hear the points I was going to share later about disciplining children in love and communicating positively with them.

By the time I had finished my presentation and answered the final questions of the day, I was exhausted and ready to go home. The muggy August heat of this western Tokyo suburb had drained all my energy. Then Junko*, the event organizer, came up to me and said, “You know that mother who left early? Her name is Sayuri. On the way out the door she told me she just learned she’s pregnant with twins. The idea of caring for two more children in addition to the two preschool-aged daughters she already has is too overwhelming. She and her husband are close to deciding to have an abortion. Will you pray with me that God will change her mind?”