Japan
Evangelical
Association

Japan Update

Summer 2016 Number 71

Workers of JEA related relief organizations gathered together to help Kumamoto Harvest Church

Being called “Kirisuto-san”:
Re-visiting Christian identity in post-disaster Japan
Summary of the lecture presented atthe 4th Great East Japan Earthquake International Theological Symposium

InsideRe-visiting Christian identity
in post-disaster Japan 1-2

Testimony of transformation
3

Kumamoto update

4

Research: disaster and faith		5News and notes

6-7

Prayer/Editorial

8

Introduction
In this symposium we will grapple withthe concept of Christian identity. Since
March 2011, a significant number ofChristian workers have built trust relationships with sufferers in the Tohoku disasterarea. Their work continues to be appreciated—so much so that disaster victims
often call Christian workers “Kirisuto-san”
or “Mr./Ms. Christ,” a title rarely used forJapanese Christians.
Let me share a story about a pastor who
has repeatedly gone to the disaster area.
He visits suffering people one by one, asksthem about their needs, and later brings
them what they ask for. One day, during acustomary visit with an elderly lady, she
asked him, “What do you have today?”“Nothing, Ma’am” he answered, “but I’ll
try to bring what you need next time.”“I don’t need anything but your visit,”
she replied. “It gives me joy. You peopleare ‘Christ-bearers,’ aren’t you?” As she
spoke, he realized he had nothing to give
but Christ, just like Peter at the gate called“Beautiful” (Acts 3:2, 6). I believe we cangain some important insights from thisTakashi
YoshidaRepresentative,
Tohoku Help
President,
Kobe Reformed
Theological Seminary

episode, about what “being a Christian”
means, and what we as Christians are supposed to do in “bringing the gospel.”“Christian” in historical overview
The New Testament tells us that theGentiles began to call Jesus’ disciples“Christians” as a term of contempt and insult. The disciples, however, dared to takethe title positively as an honorable name (IPet 4:16). Ignatius’ Letter to the Romans(3:2) shows that the title “Christian” cameto be recognized by believers and theirleaders as an indicator of their identity,that is, ones “belonging to Christ,” “bearing
his name,” or even “living truly in accordance with his name.”[continued on p.2]

http://jeanet.org/

Perspective[continued from p.1]
The medieval legend of Christophoros, or Christopher,reminds us that a Christian should be one who “bears
Christ,” remembering that hebore the sufferings of people in
the world. During the Reformation, Calvininsisted that thetitle “Christian”
is not just aname or a sign, but a way of life to demonstrate the imageof Christ.
How can we, bearing the name of Christ, truly be his
witnesses and become “Kirisuto-sans,” especially in thecontext of the mission field?
“Christian” in terms of mission
The Lausanne Covenant (1974) has significantly influenced the concept of mission and church among evangelicals today. It argues that both evangelism and sociopolitical involvement are “necessary expressions of ourdoctrines of God and man, our love for our neighbor andour obedience to Jesus Christ.” Throughout the historyof Christianity, Christian churches and believers have responded almost instinctively to the needs of suffering andoppressed people.
The Bible gives us a theological foundation for the workof love. God often identifies himself with people who are
weak and suffering. In many so-called humane laws, werepeatedly find the phrase “for you were…” in passages
such as “Do not mistreat or oppress a foreigner, for you
were foreigners in Egypt” (Ex 22:20). This reminds us thatworks of mercy must be done with humbleness.
Jesus not only identified himself with “a small child”(Mk 9:37) and “the least one” (Mt 25:40) who is hungry,
thirsty, and sick, but also with the “miserably strickenman” in the parable of the Good Samaritan (Lk 10:25ff),
because he told the story from man’s perspective. The lifeof Jesus Christ was the gospel, the gospel of being.
Hence, it seems quite clear what the “necessary expressions of our doctrines of God and man… and our obedience to Jesus Christ” are supposed to be. Quoting again
from The Lausanne Covenant, “We need to break out of
our ecclesiastical ghettos and permeate non-Christiansociety. In the Church’s mission of sacrificial service,evangelism is primary… [A] church which preaches the
cross must itself be marked by the cross. It becomes a
stumbling block to evangelism when it betrays the gospel
or lacks a living faith in God, a genuine love for people, ora scrupulous honesty in all things including promotion andfinance.”2

The March 11, 2011 disaster, therefore, has taught us
not just how to do relief work, but the very essence of theChristian mission. Published the year before the 2011 disaster, The Cape Town Commitment challenges Christians
to be “the face of Jesus” (Pt.II:A:1) and to “embody thetransforming grace of God” (Pt.II:C:3) for the world.
Criticisms that evangelical churches now face may
be the backdrop for these challenges. Philip Yancey has
pointed out in his recent book, Vanishing Grace: WhateverHappened to the Good News?, that evangelicals bring a
sense of guilt rather than Good News. They view people
as targets for evangelism rather than human beings. They
tend to contact people with a sense of superiority and arrogance. They prefer talking to sincere listening. Yancey
claims these attitudes have developed out of a distorted
understanding of the gospel of Jesus. He urges Christians
to go back to the original meaning of the gospel.
When we sincerely come face to face with suffering
people, empathize with their pain, and listen to what they
have to say, we
often are struck
speechless by
the heavinessand seriousnessof their stories.
We d e p l o r e
the fact that
we cannot domuch beyond
praying. We crywith them, and try to walk alongside them. In doing so,
I believe the love of God and his profound grace shows
through us.
Conclusion
As Christians, we are called to dedicate ourselves to thekind of work Jesus did. Not only in the disaster area, butwherever we are, we are called to be with those who suffer
and to share their burdens so that happiness and joy will
be restored to them. In doing so, I believe we can lead a
relevant lifestyle in today’s world.

Testimony

The Great East Japan Earthquake andchurch transformationRev. Yukimasa Otomo
Associate/Youth Pastor, Shiogama Bible Baptist Church

Five years have passed since that tragic day. Our church
is centrally located in the disaster-stricken area, so fromright after the Great East Japan Earthquake up until now,
we have hosted many volunteers from both inside andoutside of Japan and worked together with them to support
victims of this disaster. Churches are called Christ’s body,and during these past five years, we have been Christ’s
hands and feetto local people
in the stricken
areas. As wehave served
i n t h i s w a y,people haveseen the loveof Christ. This
work has notbeen done justby our congregation, but by
a wide segment of Christ’s body, in other words, the holy
Christian church. A vast number of financial donations,
volunteers, and missionaries, and the prayers of many,
many churches have made this work possible. I would liketo express my deepest appreciation for their support andprayers.
As a result of this earthquake, Japanese churches havebeen both shaken and transformed. Since most evangelical churches in Japan were established as a result of thelove and effort of American missionaries after World War
II, Japanese churches have been greatly influenced bythem. Christian fundamentalism, born after conflict withliberal theology, was enormously influential on evangelical churches in Japan. The theology of separation, one ofthree priniciples of Christian fundamentalism, in its extreme form means not to have any positive relationships
with ordinary society or with churches holding different
theological positions. Evangelical churches in Japan seemto have inherited this attitude spontaneously. That is why,
for the more than 60 years before the Great East Japan
Earthquake, walls between denominations were so highthat there was little opportunity for mission networks tobe established among evangelical churches. Furthermore,
the idea of serving local communities through volunteer
activities to meet social needs was of no interest to conservative evangelicals.
However, as a result of this earthquake, many churches
that previously had been blocked by denominational walls
began to help each other. In Miyagi prefecture, one of thedevastated districts, a nondenominational mission network was founded after the earthquake. Ever since then,workers from various denominations have gathered oncea month at a regular location. The Bible tells us that weneed to be encouraged through the work of apostles (Acts.
11:23, 15:31-32, 16:40, 20:2) to continue mission outreach, so this network is used as a place of encouragement
to overcome continuing challenges in the devastated areas.
Through the Great East Japan Earthquake, churches
have learned the importance of serving local people. Before the earthquake we were interested only in the spiritualneeds of people and concentrated only on mission activities. However, the earthquake forced each church to learn
to serve the local people. As a result, churches in Tohoku
learned that works (James 2:18) are great tools of testimony for Jesus Christ. Shiogama Bible Baptist Church,which I belong to, is not an exception. After learning thislesson, our church founded a food bank, which will help
local people experiencing difficulties long term, even after
support for earthquake victims is no longer available.
This transformation of churches has transformed relationships between churches and local communities. Before
the earthquake, churches were out of touch with our local
communities, so we did not have any influence. However,once our church members “went therefore” (Matthew
28:19) to serve the community after the earthquake, thecommunity accepted and trusted us.
Let me share from my personal experience. After theearthquake, we helped clean a local Buddhist kindergarten,which had been damaged by the tsunami. As we continued
to work for them, the kindergarten principal liked me—a preacher!—and hired me as an English teacher. I also
became the director of the PTA of a neighboring elementary school as a result of a recommendation that stemmed
from our relief work. Now I am trusted in the community
in a way that had not existed before the earthquake, and it
helps a great deal in my mission work.
Ten people have been baptized in our church since theearthquake. They were deprived of so many things by thetsunami. Now they have eternal hope in Jesus Christ, andare full of joy. Please pray that people in Tohoku will follow their example and believe in Jesus Christ. Also praythat more people will come to work to Tohoku.

3

ReportKumamoto Earthquake update
Dr. John Houlette, Three Stream Ministries
On April 14 and 16, a series of powerful earthquakes
reaching a magnitude of 7.0 shook Kumamoto and Oita
Prefectures in Kyushu, with the hardest hit areas being
Mashiki and Minami Aso. There was much devastationand loss of lives with68 confirmed deaths
as of May 14 according to the Mainichi
Newspaper. Ninety
percent of the 10,312
homes in Mashiki
were damaged notes
the July 28 morning
edition of the Asahi Newspaper. The Kyushu ChristianDisaster Relief Center (Kyukisai) reported that there were3,570 people living in 68 temporary shelters. In responseto this critical housing need, 88 temporary housing units
had been built and survivors were able to move in on June
14th. Over 3,000 units were to be completed by the fall,stated the June 10 edition of the Mainichi Newspaper.
Kyukisai, launched soon after the disaster, is committed to assisting in disaster relief and survivor care in fourways: 1. Meeting physical needs with relief goods. 2. Providing human support by connecting volunteers to manpower needs. 3. Giving financial support, and 4. Imparting
emotional and spiritual care. Paul Yokota is the representative for the organization, with Yoji Nakamura directing the
Kumamoto aspect of the work. These pastors are striving to meet the tremendous recovery needs by partneringwith many churches and organizations. Kyukisai has basecamps at Kiyama Christ Church, Harvest Church and Ueki
Christ Church. They benefited from the wisdom and experience of the Miyagi Mission Network and the 3.11 Iwate
Church Network, allowing them to organize quickly. They
have recently launched a new web site: http://kyusyuchristdrc.wix.com/kumamoto Volunteer opportunities canbe explored there.
The Disaster Response Chaplaincy Committee (DRCC)
partners with Kyukisai. The DRCC is under the umbrellaof the Disaster Response Christian Network (DRCnet) and
JEA. DRCC isstaffed by representatives of
CRASH Japan,
the Salvation
A r m y, S e i k e i
Seminary, DRCnet and Three
Stream Ministries/Asian Access. DRCC has

4facilitated an emotional care/active listening seminar in
July and will lead seminars on self-care, on August 16-18
at the second clergy retreat, in Amakusa. The first clergy
retreat was led by CRASH Japan in June. Chaplaincy
training will be launched at various locations throughout
Kyushu starting in August to equip church members in
disaster-related emotional and spiritual caregiving.
Kumamoto church leaders are resilient, but very tired.
Some are facing burnout. One pastor does not have permanent housing, so shuttles between living in a tent in a
shelter and living with volunteers in her church. In June,
heavy rains flooded the church parking lot as the riverbank
across the street from their facility partially sunk after theearthquake.
Another minister and his wife have a burden to minister to children in the epicenter even though their churchand parsonage
were destroyed.
While they areconcerned about
their own care,their chief concern was finding a regularmeeting placeso that they
could reach out
to the traumatized children.
There are many challenges to disaster relief ministryin Kumamoto. As mentioned above, rainstorms and typhoons could bring a second wave of traumatic stress.
Coordinating many international multicultural volunteer
teams takes energy and wisdom to ensure that they areadequately oriented, trained, and debriefed. Kyukisai staff
work in highly relational, labor-intensive environmentswith little time off.
Please pray for the ongoing relief work in Kumamoto:1. For pastors Yokota and Nakamura, as they lead thework of Kyukisai.
2. For Kyukisai staff, volunteers and local pastors to develop and practice good personal emotional and spiritual care habits.
3. For pastors as they balance church ministry with relief
work. For energy to preach and care for their flocks.
4. For churches to practice the bond of love in Christ.
5. For the region to be protected from heavy rains during
the typhoon season.

ReportResearch report on disaster and religious faith
December 20/27, 2015 issue of Christian Shimbun, translated by Atsuko Tateishi

In November 2015, an interim report outlined theresults of a research project on religious faith in Tohoku
following the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake. The
materials were presented during the November 24–26
National Conference of Asian Access Japan (formerly
JCGI Network) in Miyagi Prefecture.
Pastor Yukikazu Otomo of
Miyagi Mission Network (MMN)
began by sharing about theinitiation of the research project.
Otomo said that during the first
couple of years following theearthquake, MMN realized there
was an absence of researchmaterial about mission work
during the days following
disasters. At a general meeting of the Disaster Relief
Christian Network in Tokyo in September 2013, MMN
expressed its desire to create a research institute relating
to post-disaster mission. This prompted the launch in 2014of the Research Institute of Mission in Disaster Areas(RIMDA), co-founded by MMN, Wheaton College (USA),the Japan Evangelical Association (JEA), and Asian
Access Japan (A2J). It was decided that RIMDA would
embark on a research project relating to mission work in
the disaster area in collaboration with the Tokyo Christian
University (TCU).
In January 2015, the project, entitled “Research on the
Earthquake and Religious Faith” began as a collaborative
research venture between MMN, JEA, A2J, and Japan
Missions Research (JMR), a division of TCU’s Faith andCulture Center. A survey was conducted from June throughSeptember in 2015, which provided data for the November
2015 interim report. In the report, Mr. Hatsuo Shibata,a research fellow with JMR, noted four characteristics
of post-disaster mission work undertaken among MMN
members.
Shibata first observed that 22 churches had existed in
the area before the earthquake, but that following thedisaster, these were joined by a significant number of new
churches and mission bases. So far, 19 new churches and19 new mission bases have been established by Japanese
denominations andoverseas mission
organizations.
Second, he notedthat the types ofministry outreaches in
use have diversified
since the earthquake.
New ministry outreaches include house churches and other gatherings, cafeevangelism, community support and development, andsocial enterprises.

Third, a large number of people have shown an interestin Christianity, or have become believers. Thirty churches
and ministries responded to the survey, and among those
responses, 90 people have been baptized. Including all
who have confessed faith in Jesus or have shown aninterest in pursuing Christian faith, over 500 new people
have come to be associated with a Christian church orministry.
Fourth, MMN has held monthly meetings as aninterdenominational network since October 2011,
significantly contributing to information sharing, mutual
encouragement, and collaboration.
Shibata reported on two questions included in the survey.
One question asked, “Do you think the earthquake haschanged how local
people in Miyagi
Prefecture perceive
Christianity?” Most
respondents said
either “changed
significantly” or“changed to someextent.” Fulleranswers included:• Christianity and the Christian church have become afamiliar presence in the community through relief work.
• A trust relationship has been built between thecommunity and the church.
• A number of people have opened their heart to the
Scriptures and enjoy attending church meetings andevents.
• Local people are thankful for Christian volunteers andhave taken to calling them “Kirisuto-san” (Mr./Ms.
Christ).
• A number of local people have expressed that there has
been a change in their way of life and/or thinking by
seeing how Christians around them live.
Another question asked: “How has the earthquake led
you to change, clarify, and/or deepen your views?” Alarge number of ministers and laypeople answered that
their view of church and mission had changed. Some
indicated that area Christians have come to appreciate thecooperative missional effort among the local churches.
Shibata said the research results suggest a significant
shift among local churches in Miyagi Prefecture—fromministering more or less exclusively as evangelistic bodies
to ministering as organizations that also meet tangible
needs of the community. He noted three key factors thatthe results seem to suggest have allowed for such a shift
to take place: 1) holistic church and mission, 2) a good
relationship with the community, and 3) an effective local
mission network.

5NEWS and NOTES
Celebration of Love with Franklin Grahamdraws 38,000 over three days
A partnership of Greater Tokyo area churches, various Christian organizations, and the Billy Graham
Evangelistic Association held the Celebration of Love
with Franklin Graham on November 20–22 at the Nippon Budokan in Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo. It attracted 38,880
participants to four programs held over three days and1,480 people made faith decisions. The program on thelast day was broadcast online, and 51,220 people from44 countries around the world watched, and 3,254 people made faith decisions. English, Chinese, and Korean
speakers were seen at the Budokan, as well as substantial number of Filipinos and Brazilians, symbolizing
the global nature of missions. More than 450 churches
participated. Various Japanese and international musicians performed a wide range of music, from hymns
and gospel, to contemporary Christian music. Franklin
Graham clearly shared the core message of the Bible.
This was the largest-scale evangelistic event in the
Greater Tokyo area since the Billy Graham Festival in1994 at the Tokyo Dome. Twenty years have passed
since then, and churches in Japan have been confronted
with many challenges, such as passing on the legacyof faith to the next generation, how to deal with an aging society, and how to partner in missions. Those who
saw this as a new opportunity for partnership in missions came together, formed the Mission 2015 committee, and prepared for this evangelistic event.
The program on the first day was kicked off by Japanese artists Night de Light, a four-member band from
Hokkaido, Saluki=, a rock duo based in Tokyo, and
New Wings, a gospel choir from Fukuoka. After thesegroups had warmed up the crowd, Christian music’s
internationally known Hillsong from Australia took thestage, and the entire audience at the Budokan rose to
their feet. Michael W. Smith, who has been a leading
figure in contemporary Christian music, led the audience in medley of worship songs. Smith had come to
Japan even though his father was in critical condition,and he returned to the States immediately after finishing his part on the stage the first day. From the second
day onwards,
Stu G, a memberof the Michael
W. Smith Bandand former
member of theChristian band
Delirious?, led
the worship inplace of Smith.
On the second
Many responded to the callday, the morning program started off with a marimba
performance by Ms. Tomoko and Reiko Shiohama.
Choir members filled the entire back of the stage andgave a resounding performance of the Hallelujah Cho-rus. Mr. Trey Hillman, who used to be manager of the
Nippon Ham Fighters came to support the event andshared an encouraging message. When well-known
Swedish gospel singer Lena Maria sang in Japanese,
the audience erupted into applause. During the evening
program, Gospel Hula and hip-hop dancers filled thestage and gave powerful performances.
On the final day, a
1,300-member gospel
music choir sang powerfully in English, Korean and Japanese.
Dennis Agajanian andthe Tommy Coomes
Band performed in every program, and theirperformances included
Japanese popular songs Dr. Franklin Graham calling people
and worship songs sung in Japanese.
Franklin Graham’s messages emphasized the problem of sin that separates man from God and the love of
a forgiving God. He referred to Bible passages on thesalvation of the prodigal son, Zacchaeus the tax collector, and Bartholomew the blind beggar.
On the last day, Franklin Graham shared that his
wife’s aunt had recently passed away and that Michael
W. Smith’s father also had passed away during the Celebration. He then asked the audience, “If your life were
to be taken away tonight, would your soul be secure in
God’s presence?” He followed up by speaking about
eternal life and the value of the soul. He urged people
to repent from their sins and believe, saying: “Everyone
has sinned and must be judged by God. The only way
to salvation from your sins is through Jesus Christ.”
During the benediction, Celebration of Love chairperson Rev. Nobumichi Murakami prayed: “This is not
the end, but the beginning. It is the beginning of a newlife for those who made faith decisions. It is also thebeginning of new future missions for those churches
who participated. Lord, please have mercy on the nation of Japan.”
Looking back on the Celebration of Love, generalmanager Rev. Toshinori Ishida said, “It turned out tobe a fine event, attracting almost 40,000 people. Of
those, some 1,400 made faith decisions. We regret that
we could not keep records of some people, as there
were not enough counselors for those who came to thefront of the stage and made faith decisions. Nonetheless, what’s important is for churches to follow up withthose who made faith decisions, and for those who
made decisions to remain and abide in the church.”
He also thanked the volunteers who served in the
Celebration, saying, “People of all ages, from theyoung to those in their 80s, came to serve as volunteers. Even the senior volunteers helped pack up andcarry items. Looking to the future, Ishida mentioned,

Summaries translated from selected Christian Shimbun articles - December 2015 to March 20166

News and Notes“Unfortunately, Michael W. Smith had to urgently return home, but he offered to come back to Japan for
more events. We are hoping to plan some follow-up
events.”

Education in the significance of life and sexuality
Part one of a two-part seminar series entitled The
Significance of Life and Sexuality: Educating Children
in Your Region, School and Church was held Jan 10–
11 at Shiawase-no-mura (Village of Happiness), Kobe.
A regional pre-gathering leading up to the upcoming
Sixth Japan Congress on Evangelism (Sept 27–30),
this seminar series is designed to give Christians a biblical foundation in the significance of life and sexuality
and enable them to discuss this topic in their region,school, and church as well as their home.
The news media publicizes many problems: the rising teen suicide rate, the increase in sexual intercourse
among younger people, the spread of STDs among
youth, the record number of HIV patients in their 20’s,
etc. So how should Christians react to these serious issues?
Three speakers offered their perspectives: Ikuko
Nagahara, midwife at Manna Maternity Center,warned: “Too few adults can comfortably discuss thetrue significance of life and sexuality…. Christians
should not close their eyes to this problem; they needto take a stand.” Kiyoshi Mizutani, former representative of ProLife Japan andcurrently an
associate pastor at Kasugai
Bible Church,mentioned:“Sunday school
teaching tends
to give the imFrom left: Rev. Oshima, Ms. Nagahara,pression that
Rev. Fujita, Rev. Mizutani
sex is sinful.
Instead, we should teach that fundamentally, sex is a
blessing from God.” Keiko Fujita, representative of Japan Creative Ministry and also an associate evangelist
at Tsukuba Fukuin Church, shared about the humanneed for love in order to live and grow. The two-day
program was filled with various reports, demonstrations, and time for discussion.
6th East Asia Youth Christian Camp held in
China for the first time. Three countries unite inprayer for peace and evangelism
The 6th East Asia Youth Christian Camp took placein Hong Kong January 5–8 under the theme of reconciliation, peace and evangelism. Next generation Christians gathered from Japan, China, and Korea to sharein fellowship and worship and to learn about eachother’s culture, history, and current situation. Started

in 2010, up until now the event had been held in Tokyoand Korea, but this year for the first time it was held
in China, attracting many people from this Chinesespeaking region.
Throughout the conference, those who gatheredlearned about prayer, Bible reading, discipleship, reconciliation, and how to keep peace by understanding
the past. On the last day they shared communion.
On the third day of the conference, a special event,Hong Kong Night, was organized by Asian Outreach,
which is celebrating its 50th anniversary. Nine mission organizations
that send missionaries to Japanbacked the eventand led the people
to pray for Japan.
Attendees from
Praying together for East Asia
Japan spoke of
their experience at the conference with statements suchas, “I was able to think about my own country,” “Thenegative feelings I have held against other countries
have changed,” and “My faith has been strengthened
and I was able to consider my calling.”
Each of the countries presented prayer points andprayed for the other countries. Some of the main prayer
points included:
Korea
For the unity of North and South Korea. For the
churches and society to turn their eyes towards
peace. For the church to be restored to its originalform. For young Christians to follow God and be an
example of what a true Christian should be.
China
For unity. For the Korean church. For revival in Japan.
Japan
For churches to pray for those in power in the government, and for Japan not to repeat the mistakesof the past through a military regime. For unreached regions. For the elderly and youth. For Japan to reach out not only to the Japanese, but also
to foreigners living in Japan. For recovery from the
3.11 earthquake and for churches and pastors in theearthquake-struck regions. For churches to repentof cult-like tendencies and isolation.

Summaries translated from selected Christian Shimbun articles - December 2015 to March 20167

Please pray for Japan
1. That Christians in Japan re-discover their identity as “Kirisutosan” – followers of Christ who serve those who were weak andsuffering. In doing so, churches would restore their relevanceto people and local community.
2. That churches in Japan will continue to serve and minister tothe people and communities in the disaster-stricken areas with
Christ’s love.
3. That God will use the Sixth Japan Congress on Evangelism(JCE6), Sept. 27–30 in Kobe. That it will advance the Kingdom of God in Japan and pave the way for a greater sense ofunity in mission and creative collaboration among churches
and mission organizations in Japan.

Japan Update
Summer 2016 - Number 71
English Newsletter of theJapan Evangelical Association (JEA)
Chairman :Takao Nakadai
General Secretary : Kenichi Shinagawa

3. That through the preparations for JCE6, younger leaders will
be connected, encouraged, and equipped to reach out to thenext generation.

Japan Update is pub­lished biannuallyby the JEA. Through Japan Update, the
JEA seeks to communicate how God is
at work in Japan and to foster prayer
and collaborative work for the advancement of God’s kingdom in Japan. Views
expressed by in­di­vi­dual auth­ors do notneces­sarily reflect offi­cial JEA posi­tions.
Japanese names appear in Wes­tern order(sur­name last).

JEA related schedulePer­m is­s ion to reprint is gran­t ed, butplease give cre­dit and send one copy of
any pub­li­ca­tion con­tain­ing reprin­ted material to the edi­tor.

DATE		

EVENT

PLACE

Sept. 27-30

6th Japan Congress on Evangelism Kobe

Sept. 30-Oct. 1 Global Japanese Christian Forum

Kobe

Oct. 3-7

WEA Mission Cosultation

PanamaNov. 21		JEA Associate Member Gathering Tokyo

Nov. 25		

Religious Liberty Seminar

Tokyo

Editorial
On my first day as the general secretary of
JEA, I woke up in a sleeping bag at Sendai
Baptist Seminary and went around the tsunamistruck coastal communities to deliver relief
supplies to people. It was a very difficult time but taught me many
invaluable lessons on how to manage disaster situations and also to
be a better follower of Christ.
Five years later, we faced the Kumamoto earthquake disaster and
we are re-learning our lessons. Hopefully, this issue communicatessome of the important lessons we have learned in this process.
Please continue to pray for Japan!
Kenichi Shinagawa, Editor in Chief

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Kenichi Shinagawa
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Atsuko Tateishi
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