こんにちは！(Konnichiwa!)
We love Japan and we want people here to know how much they’re loved by Jesus.
We’re working with Soma Tokyo Church and Plant Japan to share the good news of the gospel and build up the church in Japan and we’d love to invite you to partner with us!
The need in Japan
Of the more than 124 million people living in Japan, only 1% are Christian, putting them on the list of the top 10 largest unreached people groups in the world (recently, it’s been cited they are #2).
There are approximately 8,000 Protestant churches in Japan, compared to over 200,000 in the U.S. 70% of churches in Japan report that they have less than 30 attendees.
With so few Christians and Christian churches, it's estimated that 95% of Japanese people will never have a meaningful interaction with a Christian in their lifetime, let alone hear the good news of the gospel.
Though most Japanese people cite both Buddhism AND Shintoism as their "religion", it's a well agreed upon fact that Japan is a highly secular nation and the majority of people are functional atheists or agnostics (anywhere from 50-85% of the population). Japanese people don’t believe in anything beyond their present, physical reality. For many, daily reality in Japan means crushing work hours, a stagnant economy and prevailing social isolation.
Japan is in desperate need of hope.
We’ve joined Soma Tokyo Church, a community seeking to embody the love of Jesus in Japan. James is serving on staff and we’re both excited to come alongside the leadership team at Soma on their mission to bring the good news of the gospel to Japan.
As a member of the Acts 29 Network, Soma Tokyo is rooted in a larger family of churches we’ve been part of for a number of years. Our local community is also a part of Soma Churches, a worldwide network of missional communities with a passion for sharing the gospel in a local context. We’re grateful to have been invited into the work God is doing in Tokyo through their community!
We are also working with Plant Japan, a nonprofit led by our friend Kimberly Carlson. Kimberly has been building relationships in Japan for nearly 15 years and started Plant Japan with the goal of funding and supporting church planters in the country. Hannah is leading the communications and marketing effort and James is a consultant on the team.
Sharing the hope of the Gospel in Japan
Our goal is to gather a team who will support us and the church in Japan through giving and praying on a recurring basis.
We have a few goals for 2025:
Settle in. We have a lot to learn and we’re expecting there will be a season focused on adjusting to life in Tokyo and our new roles at Soma Tokyo Church and Plant Japan.
Improve our language skills. James is fairly conversational in Japanese and Hannah has a good foundation, but we’re both far from fluent! Half of our weekly schedule in 2025 will be focused on improving our language skills.
Deepen our existing relationships. We’ve met wonderful friends at Soma Tokyo and through Plant Japan. We are looking forward to becoming a more integrated part of those communities.
Build our team. We will continue to raise funds and build our team of prayer and financial partners so we can support the church in Japan!
We’ve been given a great gift in the knowledge of who Jesus is and the life that he offers. His generosity towards us compells us to share what we’ve been given with the people of Japan.
We can’t do this alone and we’re extremely grateful to anyone who comes alongside us.
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort. He comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any kind of affliction, through the comfort we ourselves receive from God.”
2 Corinthians 1:3-4