One cannot separate the history of prayer meetings from that of the Japanese Protestant Church, which began at the late 19th century. Many churches owe their beginnings to prayer meetings that continued for several days, and many churches held public prayer meetings on Sundays as well as their worship services. Recently, however, as people have spread to various areas and congregations are aging, ……

by Tamada Makoto, pastor Nagano Oomachi Church Local Committee Member of The Japan Christian Council of Evangelism Among The Blind As the son and grandson of pastors, I had no desire to be a pastor and tried my best to run away from the call. However, I now serve as a pastor. And having observed the lives of my father and grandfather, I consider ministering to the blind my life work. I was……

The present council is called the “Mission Schools Council,” abbreviated as “MSC.” As the name suggests, it is based on the key words “mission” and “school” and is a council that supports missionaries and about 40 Kyodan-related schools. Last year it mainly carried out the activities listed below. 1. Sending students to a SMJ (Special Ministry to the Japanese) discovery camp in New York, USA ……

. The Kumamoto-Oita Earthquake: Challenges for Kyushu District Ten months have passed since the Kumamoto-Oita Earthquakes. (On Thursday, April 14, 2016 a destructive earthquake occurred.) The situation remains serious, but we in Kyushu District clearly feel the Lord’s hand amid the hardships. Our two main challenges are continuing support for disaster survivors in the region and providing aid t……

by Kato Makoto, executive secretary for Ecumenical Ministries   Sponsored by the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan (PCT), the International Forum on the Mission of the Church in Taiwan Today was held Feb. 14 -17 at the Presbyterian Bible College in Hsinchu. In addition to the 42 participants from overseas, there were about 150 other participants from around Taiwan. The Kyodan was represente……

There is still no one in the general secretary’s office. Following the resignation of former General Secretary Nagasaki Tetsuo at the end of his term, which coincided with the 40th (2016) Kyodan General Assembly, no one has been selected yet to fill the position. Moderator Ishibashi Hideo gave a formal apology to the assembly for being unable to select a replacement and then proposed that Executiv……

On July 26, 2016, a knife attack incident took place in Sagamihara City in Kanagawa Prefecture at a residential care facility for persons with disabilities operated by the prefecture. An intruder with a knife entered the facility and attacked sleeping residents, one after another. Within a day it was confirmed that the perpetrator, who killed 19 people and injured 26, was a former employee. Of all……

by Nitta Kyohei, pastor of Inawashiro, Aizubange, Kawageta and Aizuhongo churches   It is striking that for many churches, the sharing of joys and burdens is not the ordinary reality. Since April 2015, the Rev. Takahashi Makoto and I have been responsible for sharing the pastoral care of four churches: Aizubange Church, Aizuhongo Church, Inawashiro Church, and Kawageta Church. We altern……

by Tachibana Mitsuyo, pastor Yonezawa Church   From the year 2003, Kaminoyama and Yonezawa churches in Ou District’s Yamagata Subdistrict have been supported through the Cooperative Mission Solidarity Fund by being served as "yoked churches." This is a way of supporting small-scale churches, moving from the idea of one church supporting one pastor to joint support by the subdistrict and……

Church World Service Japan coordinated an event with 130 attendees on Nov. 30, 2016 at Waseda Hoshien’s Scott Hall in Tokyo entitled “The Message of LARA for Today, 70th Anniversary of LARA Forum.” “LARA" stands for “Licensed Agencies for Relief in Asia” and was a program approved by President Harry Truman to facilitate the provision of “LARA goods,” such as clothes, shoes, and food to the Japanes……