Hope for Japan

In 1640, Saint Vincent de Paul, a French Catholic priest, made a prediction of the future of the church. He stated, “Jesus said his church would last until the end of time, but he never mentioned the word Europe. The church of the future will be the church of Africa, of South America, of China and Japan.”

Philip Jenkins, author of “The Next Christendom,” commented how this “prophecy” is now verifiable, as the significant growth of the church is found in Latin American, Africa, and Asia. Last year, more people were baptized in the Philippines that Italy, Spain, and France combined.

The sad qualifying statement made was that this prediction has come true with the exception of Japan, which has struggled. Such a statement is accurate, but can lead to two responses. One is despair and defeat that God is at work in many other places, but not here. Or, it can be the approach we choose to take, in that history is not finished. The story is not complete. We have yet to know or see what God might have in store for Japan, as well as the rest of the world in our generation and those that come after us.

Our prayer is that we might see this predication ring true!