May God’s Pillar of Cloud and Fire Guide Japan’s Holy Work

We thank the Lord Jesus for His care and protection as the churches in Japan have entered into the post-pandemic period, gradually resuming and promoting various holy work. In April and May, the local churches held their Spring Spiritual Convocations with great fervor; we believe the Lord must have guided these convocations.

Presently, churches in Japan are strongly promoting family services. Although we lacked experience in the initial stage, we learned much in the process of promoting and holding family services, which increased our experience and knowledge. Currently, regular family services are held in the following locations:

Tokyo Church has one family gathering at the Daisen location and is actively seeking a suitable chapel to purchase.
Sumida Church has six family service locations. Sumida Church recently acquired a piece of land and is raising funds for the construction of a chapel.
Yokohama Church has five family service locations, and the Tsurumi group is considering the establishment of a prayer house.
Chiba Church has four family service groups.
Kawaguchi Church has three family service groups.
Kansai Prayer House has three family service groups.

Family services strengthen the believers’ faith; they also make it more convenient to invite truth seeking friends to join our services and to share the truth with them. This is one of the more effective methods of spreading the gospel in Japan’s special environment. As family services continue to expand, there is a growing demand for church holy workers, including service leaders, pianists, interpreters, and others. Some churches are facing a shortage of workers, so they are actively training church workers for various holy works.

In recent years, the churches in Japan have placed a greater emphasis on evangelism. Japan has a developed economy and its people enjoy an abundant material life. A few religious groups have pursued personal gain through unethical means, involving money and politics, which has led to shocking scandals being occasionally reported in the media. This has caused many Japanese people to be hesitant to believe in any religion. Therefore, the True Jesus Church in Japan has also faced challenges in spreading the gospel. However, we believe that no matter how difficult the circumstances, the Lord Jesus will open the door for the gospel. Japanese brothers and sisters need to rise to the occasion, working together in one accord in order to work with the Lord.

Currently, most churches hold monthly Sabbath evangelical services and occasional gospel tea gatherings. They also organize other activities to interact with truth seeking friends. However, there is room for improvement in organizing outdoor evangelism or personal outreach. In recent years, native Japanese have come to believe in our church every year, which is indeed a joyful matter and we can feel that the Lord is working with us.

For the next five years, the Japan Coordination Board has set a goal for each existing church to branch out to a second church or prayer house and to eventually establish the Japan General Assembly. Although it will require overcoming challenges and weathering storms along the way to strive towards our goal, we hope that God will walk with us. May His guidance be like the pillars of cloud and fire; may He help us to be strong and have courage, so that we do not fear the lions and the wolves. In addition, we earnestly ask our fellow brethren worldwide to continuously intercede for the development of the holy work in Japan, so that the church will keep striving and raising the banner of Christ Jesus on one hill after another (Psalm 60:4-5).

Ordination of the First Class of Theological Training Students in Japan

The church in Japan was established in 1946, when ministers who had converted to Christianity in Taiwan, returned to Japan. Although seventy-five years have passed since then, the training of holy workers has been insufficient due to post-war reconstruction, time constraints, physical distance, and the overall environment, leading to the harvest being plentiful but the workers few. We had workers who had received theological training in Taiwan, but they have left the full-time ministry.

Hence, the Japan Coordination Board established its theological training program in 2019. Soon after that, the pandemic hit Japan, which resulted in all classes being held online. Thanks to the guidance of the Lord, four years have passed since then, and on June 18, 2023, the Japan Coordination Board held the graduation and ordination ceremony for its first theological student cohort, consisting of two individuals, at Chiba Church.

It is our hope that through the establishment of the Japan Coordination Board’s theological program, more missionary workers can be cultivated to join the ministry. We ask the Lord to open the doors for evangelism and to expand the borders of the gospel.