Please see www.rjcnetwork.org for the latest on the Reaching Japanese for Christ activities.

Japan's Heat

Japan News: The average temperature in Japan between June and August was the highest since records began in 1898, breaking the previous record set in 1994 and exceeding the average between 1971 and 2000 by 1.64 degrees C (about 3 degrees F).

May the Holy Spirit give a great heat within the Japanese churches, that they might be on fire for Him.

Global 30

One very interesting development these days is an emphasis by the Japan government to increase the number of international students in Japan, doubling the number from 150,000 to 300,000 by 2020.

This should provide a great opportunity for Japanese returnees to reach out to these new students coming to Japan.

Reaching Japanese for Christ

Many things have happened within RJC since I started this blog. Here are a few:

1. Conference multiplication: This fall we had our first Midwest RJC Conference. We are now planning for the fourth Southern California Conference and the second (third?) Northern Cal Conference. The Ninth International RJC Conference will take place, Feb 18-20.
2. RJC Academy: We are thankful for the basic course Japan 101 which has been of help to a number of people.
3. The RJC Emails continue to be helpful to about 1,000 people.

We have much for which to thank the Lord!
www.rjcnetwork.org

Japanese Americans- A Powerful Potential

Yesterday at the Asian American church we attend in the afternoon I again glimpsed at the potential. The person came up to me and asked about our recent trip to Japan. He expressed his interest in going to Japan again with his young family.

I asked him about his Japanese roots and he said that his father's side connects with Kumamoto and his mother's with Niigata. His interest in going to Japan stems from his Christian faith and Japanese heritage, but didn't seem to connect with at interest in either Kumamoto or Niigata.

So I started my usual sermon, challenging him to 1) become familiar with his family roots; 2) pray for the towns where his parents came from; and 3) try to visit those areas in his trip to Japan.

Sadly, many Japanese Americans have even less interest in their roots than my friend has. But what a potential! There are over 1,200,000 Japanese Americans. That means there are at least 1,200 Christians among this group, probably two or three times more than that. Just think what a powerful force it would be if Japanese Christian Americans would 1) become familiar with their family roots; 2) pray for the towns, and churches in that area, from which their ancestors came; and 3) try to visit those areas to express Christian interest.

Here is the challenge. Whenever you meet a Japanese American Christian, use my three point sermon to turn their eyes and hearts back home.

Don

RJC is about networking

Last weekend I was in Los Angeles for a planning meeting with RJC Southern California. That was on Friday, September 28. Then on Sunday I visited two different Japanese church in the area. In all these meetings I was impressed again of how reaching Japanese for Christ is a team task, a network of many people sharing Jesus and love. Here are a few examples:
1. A Korean American young man who attended one year at Waseda University in Tokyo to learn Japanese. Now he is back in Los Angeles attending a Japanese church in the afternoon, burdened for Japanese. He plans to return to Japan to share Jesus through English teaching.

2. A Japanese who came to L.A. for college, met Jesus through the Korean Campus Crusade for Christ ministry on her campus. Now she is on staff with KCCC reaching out to Japanese students in Southern California.

3. A Japanese student who has recently become a Christian in a Japanese church here. He has never attended a church in Japan.

All around the USA and Canada good people are reaching out to Japanese students, business people and their families, and short-term visitors. And together we participate in God's Kingdom work.

Japanese and American Church Culture

At our recent trip to Japan I heard Pastor Katsuhiko Seino of Tsuchiura talking about the problems that new Christians have when they return to Japan. He shared an extremely important insight. He said that we must remember and teach that the basic Japanese and Western church cultures are different!

1. At times we hear North Americans say that most Japanese churches are dead and not healthy.

2. However, the truth is that there are sick North American churches as well as Japanese churches.

3. The main issue is that there is a basic difference in church cultures, which take the characteristics of the broader culture.

4. I don't remember all the differences, but here are some of them.
1) North American culture (and church culture) tends to be horizontal; Japanese is vertical.
2) NA is informal; Japanese tends to be formal.
First names or honorific titles
3) Those who experience large active churches come back to smaller churches with fewer activities.
4) Western learning tends to be by discussion, but in Japan lectures are the accepted method.
5) The Western method of debate and speaking the "truth" no matter what is different from the Japanese desire for group consensus.

5. It is important to prepare the Japanese as he/she returns. Perhaps they will remember the general cultural differences, but if they have never experienced Japanese church life, they will expect a Western church culture.

Lets toss away the idea that the Japanese church is dead. It is alive and well! Lets remember to prepare people as they return to Japan.

What do you think?