Items for Prayer for Japan and our ministry.
1. A key Rengo National Mission Department meeting will be held June 11, 12 in Nara. Pray for God to grant vision, faith, wisdom and joy. 2. A team from California joined by veteran Ritsuko Narita from Bethlehem Minneapolis will form another team to serve in Ishinomaki to help disaster victims. June 16-27th. Elaine will be joining the group from 21st-26th to target women’s ministry with Linda Bengtson. Pray for travel, safety, prepared hearts, and…
JAPAN was privileged to have Dr. Dan Maxton pastor of LifeBridge church in San Diego visit us last month. He ministered at Field Council along with Roger Inouye (from Wisconsin). The rest of the time Dan met with Rengo pastors and stayed at the Mehn guest house. Some highlights were meeting with members of the Rengo National Mission Department, where we discussed assessment processes for church planters including a new tool translated into Japanese on…
1. Thank God for his strength, wisdom, endurance, faith, and orchestrated surprises during “non-stop” April. Again a full schedule of classes, key meetings, events, and projects. Keep praying! 2. John & Elaine are off to Yamagata prefecture on May 24-29th to spend time with Mr. and Mrs. N in her parent’s home. We have been sharing the gospel with them locally for several years. As we have built this relationship, pray for natural opportunities to…
Items for Prayer April 2013 1. Ask for God’s blessing as Roger Inoye and Dan Maxton come to Japan in March and April to visit Rengo churches and pastors. Pastor Dan Maxton from LifeBridge church in San Diego will stay with us April 5-13. 2. Ask God to bless our April 3-5 Field Council with his presence love and vision. 3. Thanks for praying for John’s ministry of training small group leaders. John will launch…
The Unreached of the Unreached The Japanese are the second largest unreached people group in the world. Over 1,500 towns and villages (and 36 cities) in Japan still do not have churches. Because of this burden, a rural church planting seminar was held in early March in Sendai City attended by 25 missionaries and Japanese from all over Japan. John represented CPI by presented two seminars on the Heart of the Leader and Effective Models…
Recently one of our partnering churches asked us to send some comments on the theme for their mission meetings. That theme was The Heart of Missions. We thought many of you would be helped by this. We shared that there are several ways to approach this topic: 1. A Big God has a Big Heart for Missions – God knows the fallen nature and the mess people and the world is. Even though we did…
Just returned from Tohoku yesterday. Several memorable items stand out Telling two homeowners that we have some funds for materials to rebuild their homes. Reviewing 2 years of God’s faithfulness to my ministry partners Dean and Mr. Abe. Meeting a man who described how he saw his mother die right in front of him. Praying for peace and blessing with so many disaster victims. Tomorrow we are participating in a 24-hour prayer day for the…
PARTNERSHIP March 2013 – Ministry Updates and Prayer JOHN John departs for Tohoku tomorrow. The Church Planting Institute (CPI) is endorsing a seminar March 4-5 in Sendai. This could be the largest seminar on Rural Church Planting with 24 workers gathering! There are still 1,500 towns and villages and 36 cities in Japan still without churches. Please pray that more churches will be started in these towns and villages! At the seminar, John will be…
People of Hope February 2013 – Updates for Prayer At the Ishinomaki church one woman came up me after the sermon and said, “Sensei, I suffer from depression.” I was a bit shocked by her directness but said in at least six unique ways that “Jesus loves you.” She began to smile and tears ran down her cheek. There is much power in the Name of Jesus and in His Gospel! DISASTER AREA IN JANUARY…
1. Ask God for good weather and good opportunities as John takes a trip to Ishinomaki from January 4-13 with a member of Bethel Moline IL. We hope to begin introducing Bible studies to our many contacts. 2. Ask God for wisdom at key CPI meetings in January as we set the pace for the year, prepare for the national conference in November, and beyond. 3. Continue to pray for effectiveness as Elaine expands here…