Hope for Japan

While everybody was together, we played a few games. During a trivia game, our guests got to learn more about Japanese culture and see some of the unique food options in Tokyo. It was interesting to see how many people still believed Japanese see the emperor as divine; which was true until the end of WWII. They also got to see the variety of toppings at Domino’s in Japan as well as a bizarre ice cream shop in the area we hope to plant our church. Next, with chopsticks, each table had to pass around a marshmallow, Cheerio, and an M & M. Finally, we gave them a completed hat origami with which they had to try to recreate with a new piece of origami paper. Surprisingly, many were skilled enough to do it!

   During our talk about our vision, we invited one of our potential Launch Team members to share her testimony of how she felt led to consider coming to Japan with us. Despite knowing the language or having visited, her story of wanting to serve God in places where people have not heard the Gospel was very powerful. We hope her words would touch those who came and inspire them to be willing to sacrifice for Christ, whether that means moving somewhere or not.

   We had the opportunity to share more deeply our vision for starting a church in Tokyo. Our vision is to:  be a diverse community in the greater Tokyo area that will be a spring of life and a source of hope, so that Japan will experience the Gospel and be transformed.

Our values to guide us to this goal are: GRACE- Grace, Relevant, Authentic, Community, and Evangelism. More than just words, we dream of them having deep stories behind them that remind us of our identity. In a shame-based culture, we hope to be people of grace that allows others to be authentic and open up about all that is happening in their lives. We want to be relevant by speaking to where people really are and touching their needs and questions. As a community, we will be a family that cares for each other, welcomes others, and provides a place for people to truly experience God’s love and hope. Through living these values out, we feel people will meet Jesus and lives will be changed by the Gospel.

We felt incredibly encouraged at the end of the night. While it took a look of effort to make it happen, it was totally worth it to connect with people and share deeply about our dream. Several indicated an interest to take a Vision Trip next year, as well as many others getting our newsletter and praying for us. We feel blessed to have such a community to support, join, and send us.