Japan
Evangelical
Association

Japan Update

Autumn 2020 Number 79

Beautifully colored autumn leaves in JapanThe blessing of meeting [together]

Encouraging one another to love and good works
Izumi
AkasakaPrincipal,
Japan Bible
Seminary

InsideThe blessing of meeting
togetherSunday "Zoom Church"
		

1&3

2&3

Online Bible Class for Kids 		

		

4&7

Delivering hope and wisdom from
Kyushu5

News and notes

6-7

Prayer/Editorial

8

Individuals and governments are notthe only ones who feel anxious when
faced with totally unexpected situations—churches do as well. We havebeen forced to make a multitude of decisions, from how to prepare for Sunday
worship to what to do about a wide variety of minor church activities. Whenthe government declares a state of emergency and requests self-restraint, wemust balance between our priorities as
God’s people and our responsibilities ascitizens. We continue in prayer daily as
we seek practical ways to love both God
and neighbor.
The Shinkaiyaku Seisho, Third Edition, renders Hebrews 10:25 as follows:
ある人々のように、いっしょに集まることをやめたりしないで、かえって励まし合い (Don’t stop meeting together
as is the manner of some people, rather,encourage each other). It seems thistranslation has been helpful to somechurches and caused tension in others.
Let’s look again at “meeting [together].”
The Shinkaiyaku 2017 renders Hebrews
10:25 in this way: ある人たちの習慣に倣って自分たちの集まりをやめたりせず、むしろ励まし合いましょう (Don’t
stop having meetings as is the habit ofsome people, rather, let’s encourage eachother).
If we back away from the technicaldetails of this discussion, it is clear weshould focus our attention on meeting
rather than together. We must not overlook the next statement: encourage eachother. If we broaden our attention a bit to
the larger context of Hebrews 10:19–25(ESV), we see three exhortations:• “draw near with a true heart in fullassurance of faith” (22)
• “hold fast to the confession of ourhope” (23), and• “consider how to stir up one another to love and good works” (24).
The two items in verse 25: “don’t stop

http://jeanet.org/(continue to page 3)

Perspective

Sunday "Zoom Church"- with no morning message!
How one Japanese congregation responded to
the COVID-19 pandemic
Gary Bauman, Asian Access
After over 20 years in the same location, from February 2, 2020, the members of Saikyo Hope Chapel in
Toda City, Saitama Prefecture, led by Pastor Yoshiya
Hari, found themselves renting one of two alternating local community centers each week because theirbuilding was being demolished.

being perfect. Pastor Hari began passing leadershipof the musical worship time around, telling members
they could lead in any way they wanted. They could
use a YouTube video, play guitar or piano, or just sing.

Loss of control
They struggled with the unfamiliar challenges of amobile congregation—preparing the meeting placeand setting up audio and video equipment every Sunday. Internet speed was a recurring problem. They
had been broadcasting their service through Facebook
Live each week, but now it was with an unreliable
Pocket Wi-Fi connection. Periodically they lost thesignal and Pastor Hari had to pause and restart his
message.
Recognition of needs
At the same time, the coronavirus was spreading.
A growing number of church members were staying
home to watch the livestream. By the end of March,
the church couldn’t even rent a community center.
They had lost the opportunity to meet physically,
but Pastor Hari knew the members of the congregation needed a way to share their difficulties and prayfor one another. So when they moved totally online on
March 29, they switched to the Zoom video chat platform. Now people could meet from home, see eachother’s faces, and talk to each other.
Experimentation with gatherings
The Zoom meeting was opened for informal conversation from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. but the congregation
soon found that a large Zoom gathering was not goodfor chatting. So the youth decided to have their own
meeting at 10 a.m. Online ministry for younger children was scheduled from 9:20 a.m. A church member
aerobics instructor initiated an online exercise classfrom 10 a.m. The church’s church planting teamtargeting the nearby Sakura Ward area began a preservice prayer meeting.
Development of leaders
When they started the fully online 11:00 a.m. service, at first the church used YouTube videos for theworship music. But then Pastor Hari thought, “We canuse this unique time for training leaders.” In the building, they had two main skilled worship leaders. But
now people weren’t so concerned about everything

2

Delivery of content
Because of their struggles with Pocket Wi-Fi in thecommunity centers, Pastor Hari decided to record his
message each Friday. He realized he could do thatanywhere. He told me, “Before the coronavirus, themessage had to be in the church building. But if you
think about the Sermon on the Mount, it’s obviously
outside. Jesus said, ‘Look at the birds . . .’” So hedecided to record the message in a setting that would
fit the topic. He ended each message with discussion
questions, uploaded it to YouTube, and asked congregation members to watch it on Saturday or Sunday
before the 11:00 a.m. service.

2020/5/24
Pastor Hari preaches from Matthew 14:22-33
Jesus Walks on the Water(continue to page 3)

Perspective(continued from page 2)

Growth together
Now, at the time most congregations start listening to a message, Pastor Hari repeats the discussion
questions he asked in the video. Attendees are divided
into groups of three to five people and everyone issent into Zoom breakout rooms for 35 minutes. There
they discuss practical applications, share their current struggles, and pray for each other. Pastor Hari
also joins a group as a participant, which he says ischallenging, because it requires transparency: “I haveto share myself—my burdens, my failings, my marriage . . . where I have to change!”
Asian Access missionary Jeffery Sonnenberg, who
is involved in the church’s Sakura Ward church plant,

adds that this season has forced the church to ask “Whyis it important for us to gather?” He continues, “It’snot to listen to someone give a presentation . . . it’slearning to interact on a deeper level.”
Looking to the future
Pastor Hari would be the first to admit he doesn’t
have all the answers. Our conversation ended withhim saying, “This is an experiment. Talk to me again
in a few months!

(continued from page 1)

meeting” and “encourage each other” are subordinate
to the third point. “Being together” or “how we meet”
are not the main concerns of this passage. Rather, we
are advised to draw near to God, to confess our hope,and especially to stir up one another to love and goodworks. That is the purpose behind meeting and encouraging each other.
Furthermore, Hebrews 3:13 says, “encourage one
another daily”—which means we should do this not
only in our Sunday worship or special gatherings, but
day after day.
It is true that early Christians assembled “all together” or “in one place.” (Acts 1:15, 2:1, 44, 47 . . . ) But
even after they were scattered by difficulties and persecution, they “continued to speak the word of God”
(Acts 4:29, 31, 6:7, 8:4, 12:24 . . .). When we trace thefootsteps of Paul’s ministry, we find various ways thechurch gathered—in one location, in homes, in small
groups, and so on.
So as you can see, how we meet is a secondary matter. Let us focus on the purpose of meeting, not on thestyle of meeting. In our present situation, it is important that we meet in some way and encourage eachother “to consider how to stir up one another to loveand good works.”
I thank God that we are given plenty of tools nowadays. It is a blessing to gather in one place. It is encouraging to meet face to face and to join hands inministry. At the same time, it is a blessing to meetthrough the internet. I hear that in some cases thenumber of attendees at worship and prayer meetings
has increased. Non-Christian family members can join
the worship and some church members who had given
up attending prayer meetings because they were toobusy now turn up in digital prayer meetings. Let us
count the blessings of this unexpected time.
If our goal is not the meeting itself, but to encourage
one another to love and good works and to daily love
God and our neighbors in practical ways, there shouldbe even more tools to implement that.
There is no clear explanation in the book of Hebrews as to why some stopped meeting together, but
the dominant opinion is that they faced unexpecteddifficulties, such as persecution by the Roman Empire.
Did these Christians give in to the power that was trying to take away their faith and hope, or love and goodworks?
Let us not give in to difficulties, but as the book of
Hebrews says, let us “encourage one another.” In today’s society, we see not only foolish “self-restraint
police” ( 自粛警察 jishuku keisatsu)*, but concrete
examples of love and good deeds, such as charitablegiving and volunteer work. Christians, more than anyone, should want to take the initiative to be “salt andlight” in this world.
So let us consider the “post-coronavirus world.”
We will see drastic changes in society, economics,
politics, international affairs, and every other area.
Whatever we face, let us draw near to God with faith,confess our hope, and “stir up one another to love andgood works.” To that end, I pray that church “gatherings” will be used more and more for that purpose.
* Translator’s note: Those who take it upon themselves
to enforce rules or official requests, for example, threaten
people who aren’t wearing masks during the current COVID-19 pandemic.

(Translated by Tomoko Kato)

3

Feature

Online Bible Class for Kids
Mitsuru Ishikura, OneHope Japan

How it began
The coronavirus
pandemic hasforced businesses,
schools, andchurches alike tomake greater use of online tools. Not all churches
in Japan, however, have a member or two who arefamiliar with such resources. Many churches seemat a loss and have been feeling helpless. Children's
programs have often received reduced priority.
OneHope has been offering free children's resources,
including manga and digital tools, for many years.
As of July 2020, our Bible App for Kids had been
downloaded over 45 million times all around theworld. Now we have been given the desire to help
local churches in terms of technology. So it was time
for us to launch a free Sunday School program on
YouTube. Thus began the Online Bible Class for Kids.*
Program content
Like any educational
offering on YouTube, there
is a program navigator.
I navigate users througheach lesson as Mikkun, the class teacher. We firstwatch a Bible story—an official Bible App for Kids
video. Then we ask three multiple choice questions
based on the story. Following those, we memorizea Scripture verse with the help of an animation that
gradually hides more and more of the verse.
The next part is called “Think about it!” Each childis challenged to place themselves in the Bible story
and think about what is happening in this situation.
These are open-ended questions with no “correct
answer,” and so each child is encouraged to come up
with a response in theirown words.
If a respondent checks“yes” to the question“Can we share youranswer in the next
episode?,” we shareit so that children canlearn from each other.
Local church support
We collect children's
answers to the Bible questions via Google Forms.
We have developed a system to forward the relevant

4

answers to their Sunday School teachers by email,because we value the connection between children
and their church.
At a number of churches, Sunday School teachersand children watch an episode at a set time, and thenconnect on an online conferencing platform such as
LINE, Skype, or Zoom, to discuss the answers to the
Bible questions together.
It is not our intention to replace Sunday School
programs at local churches. We hope that our YouTube
program will motivate children to go back to church
as soon as their Sunday School reopens.
When many churches began to cancel their Sunday
School gatherings, we quickly produced the first
episode for release on April 5. We announced theprogram on our official Facebook page and received
10 to 20 times more feedback than on our otherposts. This convinced us of the great need for such a
program. Also, a number of Japanese children living
overseas appreciate our program as a Bible learning
tool in their native language.
We have received comments from some students
watching our program who have never been to church.
This gives us hope that the program will serve as afrontline evangelism tool.
Theological sensitivity
OneHope is aninterdenominationalorganization. As thisprogram is geared
toward children, we
take care that the broad
spectrum of churches we serve are comfortable withthe theological content in the episodes.
Since the episodes are limited to “one-way
broadcasting,” we avoid touching on controversial
issues and are careful with our word choices.
The Online Bible Class for Kids is intended to be a
program for general use by many different churches.
We hope each church will provide additional
instruction on points of doctrine appropriate to theircontext.
The primary target audience is preschoolers to juniorhigh students. We try to craft the Bible questions insuch a way that they are relevant to all age groups—
not too difficult for younger children, while not too
easy or boring for older ones.
(continue to page 7)

Interview

Delivering hope and wisdom from Kyushu
Masanobu Ichiki, Kyushu Christ Disaster Relief Center
The 2016 Kumamoto Earthquake prompted churches
in the Kyushu region to launch the Kyushu Christ
Disaster Relief Center (KCDRC), which obtained
NPO status in November 2017. In June 2020, Japan
Update conducted an online interview with Masanobu
Ichiki, General Secretary of KCDRC, to see how thisministry has been adjusting its strategies to deal withthe compound disasters of both earthquakes and thecoronavirus pandemic.
JU: KCDRC was quick tointegrate pandemic response
measures into their disaster relief
work. Tell us how that cameabout.
Masanobu Ichiki (MI): When
KCDRC was launched, we
focused on Kumamoto, where
the 2016 earthquakes hit most
severely. We have since helped people throughout
Kyushu from time to time when large rainfall has
caused substantial damage. In 2019, we worked in
Fukushima Prefecture for a while following heavy
rains there. We have always made it a point to extend
help to places where help was slow in coming.
When the COVID-19 pandemic began to affecteveryone early this year, we had to cancel our
fellowship gatherings in temporary and newly
developed housing areas. We immediately sensed that
we needed to pursue some sort of alternative in theface of such a large scale phenomenon.
JU: What did you decide to do specifically?
MI: We implemented a few initiatives. First, in May
we hosted an online family life seminar. This featured
Pastor and Mrs. Masuda of Grace Community Church
in Sapporo. Second, we organized a tutoring programfor children who were staying at home. For this,we partneredwith KGK, an
I n t e r Va r s i t y connected
initiative inJapan. Third,a l s o i n M a y,
we offeredan online
fellowship timewith Dennis
Sarfate, Christian pitcher for the Softbank Hawks,
our local professional baseball team. The event
primarily targeted children. Fourth, on April 30 welive-streamed Christian artist performances, including[well-known gospel singer] Misa Kamiyama.
In addition, in May and June we donated over
10,000 face masks to residents in temporary andnewly developed housing as well as to care andmedical facilities.
JU: What kind of feedback have you received so far?
MI: The family life seminar was well attended
by more than 50 people, and it was good to shareabout issues and challenges among the attendees.
We received a number of positive comments on thetutoring program. Children were craving conversation
with someone and a tutor was just what they needed.
Some parents were pleasantly surprised to see theirchildren getting highly motivated for study.
JU: What challenges are you facing? Is there a way
for our readers to help?
MI: COVID-19 initiatives are different from usualdisaster relief work. It is hard to present the results of
our work in any measurable way or in a visual format.
Perhaps because of that, donations have not been as
much as we had expected. From this experience, wehave learned the importance of ongoing preparedness.
Whenever a disaster hits, we should be ready torespond.
While we certainly appreciate donations, we ask
for prayer as the most significant way to help. You
may also support us by subscribing to our YouTube
channel*. In addition to Dennis Sarfate's video
message and the live Christian artist performances, wehave added a video interview with Ken Shigematsu,
best-selling Christian author and pastor from Canada,
speaking about life and God's wisdom in the newnormal.
JU: Do you plan to continue the COVID-19
initiatives?
MI: The interview with Ken Shigematsu concluded
our series of pandemic activities. We have resumed
fellowship gatherings in the temporary and newly
developed housing areas. We do plan to continue
adding videos to our YouTube channel, to offer, forexample, tips for spending time in an evacuation
facility during the pandemic. We will be monitoring
the situation and will respond as needed.
* https://www.youtube.com/channel/
UCoNy2FdCE1GU5QUxBnPIT1w

5

News and Notes
70 years of evangelism through literature ―The Word of Life Press Ministries story Part 1
Rebuilding postwar Japan with the Gospel
The challenge in a country with one of the world’s
highest literacy rates
Sounds of reconstruction filled the air as an outpouring of missionaries set foot in postwar Japan. Theirgoal was to bring revival to broken spirits, and they
began by building churches throughout Japan. In addition, these missionaries organized various mission
associations in hopes of using various forms of media
to reach as many people as possible. One thing thatcaught their attention was Japan’s remarkably high literacy rate, which led to the establishment of literature
ministries.

One piece of writing can change a person’s life
“I was 17 years old, walking down the streets of
Copenhagen, when someone handed me something.
Realizing it was a Christian tract, I immediately threw
it down to the street. But then I noticed that the person
who had handed me the tract was silently watching mewith tears in his eyes. The reality that someone would
cry for me filled my heart. I went back and pickedup the tract I had thrown away. I believe what Japanneeds the most now is this kind of experience.” (FromHistory of Word of Life Press Ministries, 1982)
T. J. Bach, general Secretary for The Evangelical
Alliance Mission (TEAM), visited Japan in Spring1950 to attend its annual convention. He passionately
questioned the crowd, “What are your plans for literature ministries in this country with the world’s highest
literacy rate?” On the spot, Bach appointed six young
missionaries asliterature evangelism committee members.
Among them
was Canadian missionary Kenneth
M c Ve t y w h o
had just begun
service in Japan
with his wife Olive. From that time on, literature ministry became McVety’s lifework.
The literature evangelism committee began theirministry by printing tracts. However, shortly after
beginning their ministry, the committee chairman had

6

to move to Hida City in Gifu. McVety was asked totemporarily take the post, only to end up serving aschairman for the following 44 years.
With McVety in charge, Word of Life Press Ministries (WLPM) was established in Nakano, Tokyo on
October 14, 1950. It was named by Alliance missionary Mabel Francis from the phrase found in Philippians 2:15–16: “Then you will shine among them likestars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life”(NIV). WLPM was built upon four main principles:(1) biblical faith according to the gospel, (2) nondenominational, (3) vision in evangelizing, and (4)obedience to God’s will.
Kaoru Kohama and Minosuke Tanno were two original members of WLPM. Kohama, who also served as
an interpreter for McVety, became chief editor for Inochi no Kate (“Bread of Life”) while also serving as an
excellent translator. He translated Oswald Smith’s The
Only Way into Japanese as WLPM’s small, but first,
publication.
Cart remodeled and named “Fukuin-sha” (GospelCar) to sell evangelical literature
The Fukuinsha (Gospel
Car), a bicycledrawn covered
cart loaded with
Christian literature became an
important means
for WLPM tointroduce andsell its publications to people in
the early days. Books and literature were scarce after
the war, and many people curiously gathered aroundthe Fukuin-sha, pulled by a white man. Unlike many
missionary groups that financially depended upon
funds from their sending countries, WLPM decided
to sell Christian books and pamphlets and use theprofit to fund the work of evangelism. WLPM’s drive
to publish useful Christian books that reach deep into
the heart and nourish people’s faith has remained unchanged over these past 70 years.
Christian Shimbun, May 10, 2020
Translated and summarized by Hiromi Kiuchi

News and Notes
Excited about a new beginning
Megumi Takahashi
has been appointed
as the new principalof Kansai Bible Institute (KBI). Earlier,she had served as astaff member at theInstitute. Later she
became a missionary to Kalimantan, Indonesia, where
she served from 2000 to 2017, mainly at ATI [AbdiTuhan Injili] Theological Seminary.
“When I was first approached regarding this position, I was surprised. I wasn’t sure I was suitable forthe role, but when Masakazu Fukuno (Chief Director of KBI) mentioned ‘a new KBI,’ my heart leapt,”
recalls Takahashi. “You only get to live this life once,
and it’s not often you get offered such an opportunity
as this. So if God was leading me in that direction, I
was willing to take up the offer,” she continues.
This year 14 new students enrolled at KBI. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the enrollment
ceremony suddenly had to take place online on April
21, and classes commenced the following day. “It wasa great help to us that one of our students had experience working in IT [information technology], ” says
Takahashi. She wants to “turn the negative into a positive” and use it as a starting point in her KBI ministry.

“I believe this current situation will help our students in their future ministries,” says Takahashi. “Dueto the pandemic, Christians have been scattered instead of meeting in church buildings. What was once
well organized has now been turned upside down. I
believe God is at work through this. I feel God is leading us to reconsider the essence of true worship.”Takahashi has had a long connection with KBI.
When the campus was located in Nishinomiya, herfather was the principal and the family lived on the
grounds. At that time, she recalls, she wanted to getaway from the school, but here she is again after allthese years.
“Since we have been created in God’s image, we are
the key to carrying out God’s work in this world as his
representatives” says Takahashi. “The goal of evangelism is the completion of God’s Kingdom. This is also
the mission for Bible colleges. KBI will consider how
we can fulfill this role.”
While in Indonesia, Takahashi learnt that even if weare walking along a trackless path—lacking worldly
possessions or even water, we can still smile. For
Takahashi, inconvenient and dangerous situations
could be “exciting” adventures. “No matter what may
happen, it will work out somehow” she says. KBI has
welcomed a determined principal who is excited about
new things ahead.
Christian Shimbun, May 3, 2020
Translated and summarized by Grace Koshino(continued from page 4)

Current challenges
It took 15 hours to produce the first episode, which
was 10 minutes long. We have since gotten used to the
production process, and yet, we spend 20 to 25 hours
each week to produce each 20 to 25 minute episode.
Our staff members share the workload with the help of
a team of volunteers. We hope to continue the weekly
delivery of a Sunday School class episode for thosekids who are looking forward to it and need it.
Occasionally, we have unexpected technical trouble,
which delays the production process to such an extent
that it seems like we will not be able to publish thenext episode before the Sunday class. Time and timeagain, God has brought about a solution in response to
our desperate prayers.

We have encouraged children in a number of episodes to trust in God, and not to rely on their own
strength. That is precisely the primary message I needto hear as well.
Looking to the future
We would like to keep on publishing weekly episodes, as long as there is need. We do not want ministry to the next generation to stop, just because we are
not able to physically gather together. Our mission at
OneHope is to provide local churches with ongoingsupport.
* こども聖書クラスオンライン https://www.
youtube.com/channel/UCuZkiqPoeAn-PvAkrJX4cRQ

7

Please pray for Japan
1. Christian churches and Japanese society are still affected by
the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) all over Japan andthroughout the world. Keep praying that Japanese churches
will stand firm in strong faith and that God will protect all thecountries affected by the infection.
2. Pray that the Holy Spirit will work through foreigner-friendly
ministries in Japan so that Japanese churches and ethnic
churches in Japan might be united in the bond of love.
3. Pray that more “Kingdom-minded” collaborations will happen among different ethnic churches in Japan and Japanesechurches. There are many opportunities including ministry tochildren of mixed marriages, etc.
4. Pray that God will raise up the next generation of Christ-centered, gospel-driven leaders among young Christians in Japan.

JEA related schedule
DATE		

EVENT

PLACE

Sep. 29-30

Tokyo Mission Forum for JCE7

OnlineOct. 27		

Disaster Response Forum

OnlineNov. 4					

Ethnic Ministries Network
Japan

OnlineNov. 17-18

AEA General Assembly

OnlineDec. 14		JEA Board Meeting

OnlineEditorial

Since the outbreak of the coronavirus(COVID-19), our JEA churches and denominations have been affected in many
ways. The 35th JEA General Assembly was
postponed and became a document-based
meeting. Many JEA meetings including the board meetings, areheld by ZOOM. Many JEA churches are still closed and have
online worship services, Sunday school classes, and prayer meetings. Japanese churches are spiritually suffering together withchurches worldwide. However, I believe this is the time for us tolearn how God loves us and how gracious He is. We are learning
many lessons and experiencing God’s presence in the pandemic.
Takahito Iwagami, Editor in Chief

http://jeanet.org/

Japan Update
Autumn 2020 - Number 79
English Newsletter of theJapan Evangelical Association (JEA)
Chairman :Toshinori Ishida
General Secretary : Takahito Iwagami
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).
Per­m is­s ion to reprint is gran­t ed, butplease give cre­dit and send one copy of
any pub­li­ca­tion con­tain­ing reprin­ted material to the edi­tor.

Japan Update Staff
Editor in Chief
Takahito Iwagami
Asst. Editor
Atsuko Tateishi
Translation Editor
Gary Bauman
Translation Staff             Tomoko Kato		       Grace Koshino
Nobue Tachiki                                        Hiromi Kiuchi
Editorial Office:  
c/o JEA, OCC Building   2-1 Kanda Surugadai  
Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 101-0062, Japan
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