Scripture reading: Acts 20:22-24
“And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there. I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me. However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me-the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace.”
The key to Christian discipleship lies not in how a disciple starts but how a disciple finishes.
Japan
Population: 127,333,002
Religion: Buddhist/Shinto 69.91%, New Religions 23.43%, Non Religious/other 4.27%, Christian 1.56%
Japan is the world’s most export-oriented economy despite a lack of natural resources and oil. It is an ancient civilisation, influenced by China and Korea, but having its own highly refined and detailed culture.
- The sincere, polite, hard-working Japanese are too busy to give heed to the gospel and have little concept of personal sin. Pray that economic shocks, political instability and fears for the future may shake many out of complacency.
- There is a resurgence of a nationalistic Shintoism which is hostile to anything un-Japanese.
- New religions and sects have grown faster than evangelical Christianity. Pray that those involved would be set free.
- Japanese Christians have made little impact on the centres of power [industrial, commercial and political] in the land.
- Churches in Japan experienced good growth between 1945 and 1960. Since then overall growth has been very slow. Pray for a decisive breakthrough.
- Bible training for Christian workers is provided by nearly 100 seminaries and Bible schools. The great hope for the Church’s future is the high quality of many of Japan’s pastors and church leaders. However, Christian workers in training are at an all-time low and many post-war pastors are retiring with no one to replace them.
- Student witness is strategic, but only a quarter of campuses have KGK groups [similar to UCCF]. The estimated number of all Christian students is 0.001 per cent. There are also 90,000 Chinese students in Japan, most from Mainland China.
- Japanese society is highly literate, with excellent publishing and distribution structures for high-quality Christian literature. Japanese writers are needed. Christian radio and TV are effective.
- Pray for the Japanese Church:
- Christians are a tiny minority in a society where consensus is important. Few families come to faith; individuals feel exposed.
- The lack of men in the churches. The drive for success and demands of employers make it hard for men to break free.
- Pray for lapsed Christians to be restored to the Church.
- Pray that the Japanese Church may demonstrate God’s love through increased social awareness.
OCF Frankston
President: Jason Song
Theme: Moving from Duty to Delight
Campus: Monash Peninsula
Attendance:
2007:8
2008:1
Description:
Our Campus consists mainly of local students with a small population of international students who are on short term courses in Frankston. We receive a huge influx of Japanese students however it has been hard to assimilate them as we have no active members in Frankston. Our team mainly consists of OCF members from various centers.
Praise God For:
- Being faithful to the team that served last year, that although most of them have stayed in their parent centers, their efforts in Frankston have given rise to new confidence and persistence in the way they’ve served.
Please Pray For:
- Someone to be convicted to take up the challenge of starting Frankston again.