JBS NEWS INTERNATIONALJBS NEWS INTERNATIONAL
Rise for the Great Commission

April 2018 Vol.15

God's Word - Living Hope for All
Greetings from Japan Bible Society“Then the LORD will be king over all the earth;
everyone will worship him as God and know him
Zechariah 14: 9 (GNT)by the same name. ”

Rev. Makoto Watabe

JBS General SecretaryIam grateful that we cansend this issue of JBS
News International to ourinternational friends and supporters
this year.
Despite the present age
where economies and politics of theworld constantly change, God has
been unchangingly protecting ourministry so that we can continue
delivering the Bible into many
people’s hands.
We n e e d t o t a r g e t o u r
outreach activities in order to best
accommodate the needs of thispostmodern era. Various attempts
and efforts are required for thispurpose. By exchanging informationand ideas with our internationalcounterparts, we can inspire eachother in order to draw people’s
attention to God’s Word whichshines as the light of the world at
any time and place.
From 2018, I will be serving
as the Moderator of the National
Christian Council (NCCJ) in Japan,
along with my service here at JBS.
It is my prayer that the name ofthe Lord will be praised in Japaneven more with your prayers andsupports.

New committee members (Moderator,Vice-moderator, General Secretary,Secretary) were elected at NCC 40thGeneral Assembly

The 5th UBS Asia Affinity Alliance Meeting
Rev. Makoto Watabe leadingmorning devotion

In April 2017, Asia Affinity Alliance (AAA)
Meeting was held in Singapore. 13 General
Secretaries and 7 UBS staff from 13 Asia Pacificcountries, including our General Secretary Watabe,reported their activities and discussed challenges they

Sharing challenges and best practices in Asia region

are facing today.
The participants also joined the event
commemorating the 180th anniversary of the Bible
Society of Singapore.

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NCCJ visits CCC/TSPM

At Langzhong Church

The National Christian Council in Japan
started its relationship with China ChristianCouncil (CCC) and the Three-Self Patriotic
Movement (TSPM) when the churches started
reopening their doors after the Cultural Revolution.
NCCJ sent its first delegation in 1983. The firstdelegation from China visited Japan the following
year and so the reciprocal visits to renew and reaffirm
friendship began.

The fifth delegation (8 members including Rev. Watabe,
vice-moderator and Emi Beland, chair of Chinacommittee) from Japan visited Shanghai, Chengdu,Langzhong, Chongqing and Beijing in May, 2017 andmet with CCC/TSPM as well as brothers and sisters
at local churches and theological seminaries. Since
NCCJ’s last visit, new curriculum was implemented
such as piano lessons and Chinazation of theology.
Christians (Protestant) now number more than 45
million.

UBS Roundtable Exchange 2017The UBS Roundtable Exchange 2017 washeld in Sydney, Australia. General Secretary
Watabe and JBS staff, Jun Kajihama, joined
this conference where 240 participants gathered from
100 Bible Societies.
Each day of the week, the attendees discussed
the agendas on Philadelphia Promise: Translation andLiteracy, Diaspora, Migrant and Refugees, Churches
under Pressure, Church Relations and Digital BibleEngagement. Specialists on each agenda were invited
to facilitate the discussions.
Resource Mobilization Group Meeting of thesupporting Bible Societies preceded the Roundtable
Exchange. Participants discussed issues such as how to
support the Bible Societies with difficulties. In 2018,

Roundtable “discussion” Exchange

JBS will support the Bible Societies in Portugal, Cuba,Mongolia, Guatemala, and Ecuador.
During the conference, participants also joined
the Hillsong Conference. This conference held byHillsong Church, a megachurch in Australia, attracts
tens of thousands of participants every year. At
the Conference, the Bible Society Australia whichcelebrated its 200th anniversary last year was honored.

Hillsong Conference at Qudos
Bank Arena, Sydney

Jun Kajihama
leading morning
devotion during
RMG meeting

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Creation Care and the Gospel Conferencein East Asia

AParticipants from Japans part of the activities in East Asia related
to the ongoing Lausanne/WEA Global
Campaign for Creation Care and the Gospel,
East Asia Conference took place in Hsinchu City,
Taiwan in July 2017.

About 100 participants including General
Secretary Watabe discussed the future prospects ofenvironmental issues and discovered from the Word ofGod what our calling and responsibility were for caring
for God’s creation.

The First UBS East Asia Affinity Alliance
Meeting in Mongolia
Mongolia

Republic of Korea

TaiwanJapanHong Kong

T(Right) Rev. Bayarmagnai Bayardalai, MUBS Executive
Directorhe Mongolian Union Bible Society
joined the United Bible Societies
in 2016. To commemorate, GeneralSecretaries from five North East Asian countries- Mongolia, Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong andJapan gathered to meet at the 1st East Asia
Affinity Alliance Meeting held in Ulaanbaatar.
The attendees from North East Asian Bible
Societies promised to support and strengthen ties
with the Mongolian Union Bible Society.
(From left) General Secretary from Taiwan, Korea, Japan,Rev. Arun Sok Nhep (UBS-GMT) and Hong Kong34

JBS NEWS INTERNATIONAL

The Week of Celebration for500th Anniversary of the Reformation

In September 2017, JBS dedicated a week tomark 500 years since Reformation by holding
various events, such as a memorial lectureby professor Hans-Martin Barth from Germany, abanquet attended by ecumenical leaders and guests, anexhibition of the Bible and its history and a classicalmusic charity concert.

Leaders from the National Christian Council
in Japan, Japan Evangelical Association, and Japan
Pentecostal Council were also among the attendees. We
prayed together for the unity of churches in a spirit ofoneness to overcome denominational differences.

Church leaders from NCCJ, JEA and JPC

Professor Hans-Martin BarthScan here to view the lecture

The Simon Choir, their Inspirational Activities

JBS held a charity concert at the Tokyo Opera
City Concert Hall in Shinjuku, Tokyo on
September 22, 2017. Around 900 people
enjoyed the concert performed by the Simon Choir. The
concert caught attention of the Ambassador of Gabon,
which later led to their cooperation with Gabon’s

cultural programs.
The Choir performed without charge at theCarnegie Hall in New York in March, 2017. They will
be performing at the United Nations Headquarters thisAugust, by the invitation of the Secretary-General of theUN who saw their performance at the Carnegie Hall.

Makoto Hoshino, the conductor

JBS NEWS INTERNATIONALUBS CRC members
received in audience
by Pope FrancisOn October 5th, 7 Church RelationshipCommittee members of the United Bible
Societies were received in audience by PopeFrancis in Vatican. At the meeting, it was confirmedthat the Catholic Church and the UBS will continue tocollaborate together.
General Secretary Watabe presented the JapaneseInterconfessional Bible to the Pope, in demonstration ofthe firm ties between the Catholics and the Protestants
in Japan. The Interconfessional translaion is a commontranslation between the two churches.
The Pope expressed his wish to visit Japan if theopportunity arises.
Japanese Interconfessional Bible was presented as a giftWittenberg 2017 Congress

Ge n e r a l S e c r e t a r y a n d M r s . Wa t a b e
attended the Wittenberg 2017 Congresscommemorating the 500th Anniversaryof the Reformation, held in Berlin and Wittenberg,
Germany in October 2017.
500 international attendees invited from aroundthe world participated in 3-day sessions that focused on
the past, present and future of the Reformation. On thefinal day of the Congress, the participants gathered atthe Castle Church in Wittenberg to recite the FINISH*

Dr. James O. Davis, the co-founder of Billion SoulNetworkDeclaration together.
One of the co-hosts was Billion Soul Network,a ministry with a worldwide network, founded by Dr.
James O. Davis who was listed as one of the “Top Ten
Christian Influencers in the World” in 2010.
*FINISH is an acronym for Find, Intercede, Network, Invest,
Send and Harvest, the strategic steps necessary for completing
the Great Commission.

Attendees of the Wittenberg 2017 Congress in Castle Church56JBS NEWS INTERNATIONALThe Annual US National Prayer Breakfast

General Secretary Watabe joined the 66th
annual US National Prayer Breakfast inWashington D.C. on February 8th. This
tradition started when Dwight Eisenhower wasthe President. It started from a prayer meeting in theCapitol for Congressmen and Senators with faith.

Mr. Douglas Coe, who played a key role infounding the Prayer Breakfast, contributed to the peacebuilding in the Middle East. Mr. Coe passed away lastyear but his legacy continues. President Trump offered
his condolences and stated that the Christian “faith iscentral to American life and liberty”.

3,800 people from 140 countries filled the hall
© Official White House Photo

The gathering began in 1953

The Museum of the Bible in Washington D.C.

Prior to the National Prayer Breakfast, the guests
were invited to tour the White House, theCapitol and the Museum of the Bible.
The Museum of the Bible which newly opened inNovember 2017 is a four-story facility where the visitors
can learn about the Bible from all angles. Other thanexhibits, visitors can enjoy theatres, guided tours andattractions.
A special art exhibition highlighting the work ofMakoto Fujimura is on display through the end of April.
He is a Japanese Christian artist whose work has beenused for the cover of one of JBS’ Bibles.

1,150 items from the museum's permanent collections are on display

JBS NEWS INTERNATIONAL

The 2nd JBS Video Clip Competition Award 2017We held the 2nd J BS Video ClipCompetition Award at AVACO Studio inWaseda, Tokyo. There were 55 entries
for the Award. We screened 17 nominated films andawarded the works selected by the judges. Younggenerations were involved actively in this competition.
For the 3rd Competition, we are calling forentries from March to October 2018.

Encouragement Award, “From Beginning to Eternity”

Candidates and audiences together watched nominated films

Photo session with Outstanding Performance Award winners

The 50th Korea National Prayer Breakfast

The 50th Korea National Prayer Breakfast
was held in Seoul on March 8th, 2018. ThisPrayer Breakfast with 50 years of historyis almost as old as the American National Prayer
Breakfast which has been held for 66 years.
The 50th anniversary was compared to the yearof Jubilee, the year of liberation and freedom. Devotedprayers were offered for unification of North and SouthKorea, which was one of the focused issues of prayers
at the Prayer Breakfast.
The Korean President Mun Jae-in, the first lady
Kim Jung-sook and nearly 5,000 attendees participated,making the event the biggest Prayer Breakfast in thePresident Moon Jae-in and the first lady
Kim Jung-sook ©Korea Christian Today

world and in history.
On March 9th, another prayer meeting withforeign visitors was held in the chapel of the Parliament
House. Representatives from the US, Switzerland,
Germany and Japan gave speeches.
On the last day in Korea, General Secretary
Watabe attended the Sunday Service at Yoido FullGospel Church, the world’s biggest church with morethan 700,000 members.
JBS has been hosting meetings every year toforward communication between Korean and Japanesechurch leaders.

Praying for the world peace©Korea Christian Today

Sunday service at Yoido Full Gospel Church, Seoul

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8JBS NEWS INTERNATIONAL

The International Bible Championship Jerusalem
in Prague 2018
JBS has hosted Bible QuizChampionships 10 times so far in cities
all over Japan since 2014. In June 2018,
we will hold our last Championship inMatsuyama, Ehime Prefecture. This
will lead to the national Bible QuizChampionship in Tokyo to be held on
August 11 this year.
The International Bible
Championship Jerusalem will be heldin Prague on May 13, 2018. JBS iscooperating with this event and hopes
to bring the event to Japan in thenear future. Stay tuned for updates.
Delegations from your Bible Societies
are most welcome.

Scene from 2014, Prague(Second from right)
Karel Sedlacek, Directorof International Bible
Championship Jerusalem
Prague 2018

Toilets - Japanese Style Hospitality
When traveling, we often have troubles
using toilets different from home. Japanesetoilets are well-known for being clean andfunctional. It has been so for the past 30 years,
ever since the shower toilet appeared on TVin 1982. The automatic washing toilet is now
widely spread and up to 80% of the Japanesehouseholds are equipped with one. New andupdated versions have been developed andused in various places, such as airports,
department stores and luxury hotels. Please try
the various functions if you have a chance tovisit Japan.

Offering natural scenery, heated seats, automatic odor-neutralizers and lids that rise when you approach

Japan Bible Society

Since 1875
5-1 Ginza 4-Chome, Chuo-ku, Tokyo, Japan 104-0061
Public Relation Dept. Phone: +81(0) 3-3567-1988 Fax: +81(0) 3-3562-7227
21 April 2017e-mail: info@bible.or.jp http://www.bible.or.jp