by Horioka Makiko, president Hokuriku Gakuin Junior and Senior High School
Youth Director, Ishikawa Subdistrict Youth League, Chubu District
The ministers in Ishikawa Subdistrict have been sending out “Gospel Email” for over two years, since July 2015. This is an attempt to deliver the Gospel by email every day.
Until now I think the most frequent style of church evangelism has been: “Please come to us. If you do that you can hear the Gospel.” So people who are able to go to church on Sunday morning will receive the Gospel; but can people be expected to understand the Gospel by themselves if they are unable to attend church? The leaders of the young adult groups considered this question and began an experiment: “Let’s try to take the Gospel to those who cannot attend church and nurture our own everyday life of faith as well.”
The Gospel Email is sent to young adults on the mailing list of those expressing a desire to receive it. Normally, it is sent each morning during the six-day period of Monday through Saturday. A message from the district ministers or from a speaker invited by the young adults’ training session is sent to each young adult’s smart phone or cell phone. The message is intended to be 1) short, 2) made for that one day, and 3) speaking the Gospel to the young people in that district. At this point, there are about 50 young adults receiving the email.
At present, “delivery” itself is most important, so the process has not reached the point of the sender and the receiver (a person who received the email) sharing their thoughts. There has been a period of give-and-take, but the number of contributors is limited. And if the content of the writing is long, preparation becomes complex, so the group is concentrating on “delivery.”
Essentially, there is joy in hearing the Gospel together with others, so we are hoping that in the future, even outside the tool of email, an opportunity will be created for young people to talk about the Gospel daily. A freshness of new ideas is needed to move beyond the mere tediousness of sending the email in order to continue and have the strength to deliver the Gospel. Nevertheless one day at a time, they are continuing to spread the gospel. (Tr. RT)
From Shinto no Tomo (Believers' Friend), November 2017 issue
信仰に養われて生きるために
堀岡満喜子
ほりおか まきこ/中部教区石川地区青年会担当教師、
北陸学院中学校・高等学校校長
* * *
石川地区の牧師たちは、2015年7月から2年以上にわたり「福音メール」を配信しています。
これまで教会の伝道は「ここまで足を運んでください。ここでなら 福音を聴くことができます」
福音メールはこれを受け取るという意志を示した青年たちのメーリングリストに送ります。月曜日から土曜日の週6日間、基本は朝。
ポイントは ①短く、②その日1日に向かって、③
現在は「届けること」に重点があり、発信する側と受け取る側、あるいは受け取った人同士が感想を分かち合うところには至っていま
本来、福音には交わりの中で聴く喜びもあるわけですから、将来的にはメールというツールの外でも、
課題はマンネリ化してきたことです。ただ送られてくる……という退屈さを超えて、