Let’s Start with the WHY: Spiritual need and challenges/barriers in Japan
Only 0.58% Japanese people believe in Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior. The Japanese are the 2nd largest unreached people group with a high suicide rate even though they are materially rich as a nation! There are cultural (external) barriers and spiritual (internal/heart) barriers that we are up against which affect all of us living here.
Buddhism and Shintoism dominate Japanese culture and traditions so much that it is considered UN-JAPANESE to opt out. Conformity is the norm here! In many cases, choosing to NOT participate in traditional celebrations or rituals – regardless of personal religious or irreligious commitments – means betraying one’s own “Japanese-ness.” Therefore, it is understandable that anything that has to do with Christianity is perceived as foreign, strange, or even a betrayal of Japanese identity in some cases.
There is a Japanese saying that goes “genkan no shiki ga takai,” which means that the first step to the entrance is too high. This is how Japanese people feel about physically entering a church building.
While negative perceptions of religious cults still abound, it is common for Japanese people to feel that entering a church building is only for morally good people at best or for mentally weak people who believe in strange things at worst. They would think: “Only religious stuff happens in there – nothing that normal people would do.”
The HOW of our Strategic Involvement: the A-B-C’s of our Evangelistic (English) Ministry
How shall we even begin to reach the Japanese people with all these barriers? The answer may surprise you: English classes! There are many legitimate English school businesses here that offer “English Conversation Classes” because there is a growing need to improve speaking skills due to lack of opportunities in the Japanese educational system.
Our goal is to connect Japanese people in the local community to the church community by offering English classes. We openly explain our lesson format which always includes a Bible Study/Bible Time portion as value added for the lessons they pay for. To make the opportunity more appealing, we charge as low as half of what other schools offer.
While these English-as-second-language classes are usually offered for FREE in the States, we have found that Japanese people will come to a class regularly only if they pay for it. Why? Payment means that they can expect quality lessons. Free lessons tend to be perceived as inferior. Payment also communicates commitment and showing honor on the part of the students to invest themselves in a class where they will join a group led by the teacher (the “sensei.”) It is in these classes where first contacts are made and trust relationships are formed. We openly talk about the Bible and students listen and sometimes ask questions.
We teach adults. We also teach children. Though teaching children, we able to connect their parents by inviting them to special church events where there are opportunities to know about Jesus. As our team leader Dan Iverson likes to say: “Japanese non-Christian pay us to teach them the Bible!” That is true. Making good relationships to build trust is an important step in breaking barriers to connect to know the One, True God. This work that Anthony does is called “Evangelistic English Ministry” wherein the good news about Jesus is made known in an open and respectful manner.
As I prayerfully thought about ways to communicate our strategic involvement, I came up with a slogan:
The A-B-C’s of our Evangelistic (English) Ministry:
A – Attract
B – Break Barriers
C – Connect
This ministry is a form of service to the Lord (first) and our neighbors in the community (second) to:
(A) Attract non-Christians to meet BOTH their English language need AND ultimate Spiritual needs that can only come through Jesus as we read the Bible together;
(B) Break Cultural and Spiritual Barriers of the heart; and
(C) Connect people to the church where they may encounter Christ who alone can save us from eternal death