In this lesson, our guest speaker Naoto Funada tells us about his upcoming ministry to Japan and the great spiritual need there. Naoto also takes time to answer a few questions.
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thank you so much for inviting and thank you for praying for us um many of you must know that um my wife Arisa passed away um due to cancer this year in February and many of you have prayed for us um as Pastor Dave said um good friend of mine uh good memories with them at the master Seminary that was in 2017 and 18 and um I decided to transfer Seminary to one in Indiana Faith Church of Lafayette and its Seminary Faith Bible Seminary and that’s where I I graduated from last year uh last year in June I graduated and we were on deputation we were raising support as missionary to Japan but then we found out arisa’s cancer in September and the Lord took her back to his presence in February this year extremely sad um not that I expected or wished it to to happen but uh I still trust in the Lord’s good hand good purposes good plans and he will do something great um out of this so thank you for your prayers for that too well uh thank you for praying for Japan as well um maybe some of you know that Japan is known as the second largest unreached people group in the world and you know Japan is not a Muslim country Japan doesn’t have the severe persecution toward Christians missionaries can go in missionaries thousand tens of thousands of missionaries have gone to Japan in the past I don’t know many many many years hundreds of years but then well severe persecution happened uh long time ago maybe about 300 years ago or almost 400 years ago um and uh that time Christians were put to death um but nowadays missionaries can go in they can evangelize churches are not persecuted and yet Christian population stays about 1% of the whole population and that 1% includes like you know Catholic and uh like even Jehovah’s Witnesses and and um Mormons um because Japanese government you know statistically they they they don’t differentiate they they think these are all Christianity so that’s statistics says like One 1.5% of Christianity in Japan but if you look at the number for Evangelical Christians that is 0.2% of the Evangelical Christian church goers and who who is saved among these people right so that’s that’s Japan so when I grew up in Japan um I was raised in a Christian family and that is ex extremely rare of course and indeed in fact my my dad was a pastor back then um I went to a school elementary school where we we had about a thousand students only my brother and myself are probably the the two people among the 1,000 students who would go to the church on Sunday and I didn’t like it but that’s you know like pretty much statistically correct yeah so two people among um 1,000 is 0.2% so that’s the nation and if you go to Tokyo or Osaka or larger cities Nagoya you you will see more churches because you know these Church these places you know missionaries would uh tend to focus going and start planting churches to reach out to more you know bigger gener big bigger big bigger population but if you go to more rural areas of course you you see much less churches even in Tokyo there are churches but people generally don’t have any ideas like Christian churches like where is it you know they they just don’t know about it uh usually because they don’t usually have friends who are Christians so uh so today I titled this uh time as the uh um I forgot it like Japan the land of rising the Land of the Rising Sun Sun without the Risen Sun and uh that is because Japan right oh it’s not showing there Japan as you see you know in on the world map often times it’s placed in the um the far right that is you know where the sun um goes up right comes comes up Rises so people say that you know um or people have said that Japan is a land of Rising Sun but it’s without the reason Sun um if um I I didn’t prepare the the larger map map around Japan but it’s all orange uh orange means that uh according to this it’s engaged yet unreached so there are like red dots in this map that is unengaged and unreached so these places missionaries haven’t gone um Christianity Christianity h haven’t hasn’t been delivered uh so that that is unengaged and yet Japan is an Engaged country that means that you know missionaries have gone gospel the gospel work has has t taken place there but the people is unreached unreached means that uh it’s not self sustaining um or it’s not growing so that is Japan like all around Japan it’s it’s orange so yeah so it says population is 127 million people uh I believe this is about 2017 statistics so it’s like six years ago right now I believe it is 1.25 something million that is a million and a half decrease in the last six years uh that is because that is because uh Japanese population or I I’ll show you later the uh pyramid population pyramid is like heavily um highly aged society and there’s fewer population for younger Generations so um more people are dying than than being born that is Japan churches are less than 8,000 for for 127 million people Evangelical Christians this this is 0.5% more accurately I believe is 0.2% is an annual Evangelical growth rate is z z negative 0.4% that is even even small smaller getting smaller now one missionary for every 64,000 people and missionaries in Japan is decreasing also Evangelical churches uh one church for every 16,000 people of course as I said more Tokyo areas like um bigger cities they they have more churches than the other parts of parts of Japan but pastors over age 50 are uh 70% uh so even pastors are very um like older um I would say the average age of the pastor in Japan is about 60 years old so I will probably briefly share during my sermon as I first promised God that I would be a um full-time Minister uh when I was young I I thought that that time will come much later in my life partly because of that and so attendees per Church 35 it’s it’s not as big you know there are bigger churches in the cities um but if you if you see the what’s the word like means or the um you know average is like you know you you combine everything and divide by the you know number of the churches but if you if you see the the the real number for most churches it’s more like 20 people maybe 25 something like that and um yeah so that’s the Evangelical churches in Japan some uh challenges is the uh Buddhism and and Shintoism is they they are the main religions in Japan and people don’t have much faith in in those religions it’s more of a tradition and customs in Japan and people would say like 70% of people statistically you know Japan’s uh statistics says that 70% of people identifies themselves as oh we are Buddhist because my family is so and so and then another 70% would say oh we are Shinto so so that means like they practice both religions it’s it’s part of the culture and that’s how Japanese people uh long time ago in probably like 600s ad um they they wanted to maintain unity and so Buddhism had you know arrived from Korea and then Buddhism was was spreading in Japan in that time the um sort of like a prime minister type of person uh he found a way to to uh unite the Japanese traditional religion Shintoism and Buddhism so that they can coexist with unity so that’s that’s how Japanese people tend to think that uh we want to maintain Unity at least on the outside but in their hearts of course it’s it’s hard to do that so um Japanese people on on the outside often times they they look very polite and nice and yet inside you know they are thinking something else that that’s that’s one of the reasons that it’s it’s hard to bring the gospel to these people they might say oh nice oh good um Christianity cool if if they H happen to have an opportunity to hear the gospel but then inside oh no thank you you know I’m I’m not going to talk to this guy again right and so um and they they talk bad about yourself behind behind your back to to their closer friends oh let’s not talk to this guy and that’s that’s what happens in Japan Japanese culture very very often and it says only 50% of church members attend church regularly this may be because the Buddhist and Shinto religions have no weekly attendance ex expectations so you know even those Church go Wars um not very many of them are very consistent in just going to the church and and yet you know like on the church um Church um like list list of list of names list of people um you know they they they have their their names on it so that’s what you know that’s that’s that that’s counted toward the Christian Christian populations in Japan and many women uh women are the majority of the church goers and and of course um True True Believers also that is partly because Japan in the in the past 50 years as the economy was Rising men are extremely busy there’s that tendency still today but it’s changing so men are extremely busy and Men typically don’t find time for church in in in their lives and that’s why more more women would go to church on on Sunday and uh they they there there’s a saying in Japan um for for women for for wives like a proverb it says um it’s good to H have husbands healthy but not at home so they they enjoy their freedom while husbands are not home and and yet they they need husband’s income so they they want husband to be healthy so that’s like you know Japanese proverb that’s that you know shows like how you know husband wife relationship typically be in Japan um so um so wives tend to go to church more than the men and of course you know in the Bible we are commended that men has to take the lead right in churches and in home and uh that is you know sadly um not not not really the case in Japan um so um so here is the population pyramid as you can see I don’t think this will show but uh you can see that you know as as the ages go low um younger there’s like so so few Generations or so few people for younger Generations you see the most people are around like age 50 in Japan and also age 75ish that is the Baby Boomers and now as the as the age goes young uh much less people and they have to produce more children in the next you know next in the coming future and you can you can just expect what what that’s going to look like right so Japan um population decreased um yes last year by 800,000 and that is that is continuing in the next um you know many many decades um and Japan is not a country of immigrant you it is it is not a very friendly country for immigrants and that that is why you will see more like real Japanese people in Japan and it is hard for foreign people to be accustomed in in Japanese culture partly because of the language language is very difficult to learn um and um so that’s that’s the that’s Japan I would like to talk a little bit about myself and and Arisa and I can have a little time you know for a question and answers for you guys and so if you have any questions you might want to you know keep keep it in your mind um so I am Nao it’s hard for you to pronounce my name you you can say like now and toe now toe okay and uh there’s this famous Japanese anime called Naruto so many people would um you know who are familiar with that that that culture um Japanese culture and in Japanese animes uh they would consider myself as Naruto and that’s that’s okay with me too but uh I’m nuto um and I was born in Los Angeles and I W I grew up in in Japan for 20 years from age one and so uh I was you know raised in a Christian Japanese Christian family and uh I I consider myself as like you know I I grew up in Japan I’m I’m a Japanese person but I’m too Americanized now and uh and and yet I I have a citizenship in the States because I was born in the States but I’m not really an American you know person so I’m like have like fake American and fake Japanese kind of but uh I will have to learn relearn about Japanese culture when when we return when I return and uh that seems to be very challenging according to my friends missionaries uh advice to me I have two closer Japanese missionaries sent by American you know churches uh to Japan and I I talk to each of them and they have told me that n when you go back to Japan you got to be really slow you you can’t offend Japanese people very easily just by saying like oh you know I I love Jesus Jesus is the best what’s what’s wrong with that right but then according to this person a missionary to in Japan who is who is Japanese he says that if you present the gospel as the best for for everybody people are offended because they they feel that their religions their belief is looked down and so I can’t say that oh you know you got to believe in Jesus you know Jesus is the best he said that he for him to learn that took him a year so he said that I I already saved you an year of experience so um and as I said you know Japanese people don’t communicate that feeling so it is hard but um so I I I I must relearn the culture probably making many mistakes probably offend people and that that is of course you know okay to some extent the gospel message is not friendly to every every person and I still need to present the gospel and I will offend people with the gospel gospel can be offensive to many people right to those who do not receive them to to those who are hostile to to the message of the gospel and that is okay but I I want to avoid unnecessary um offense that that I might cause to to other people so I need to learn you know the the way of Japanese ways of Japanese um I’ve been here in the states for 20 years almost uh since 21 so I am 40 years now 40 years old now and uh I was born in Los Angeles I grew up in Japan for 20 years and I became Christian when I was 18 in Japan as I grew up always my my parents have told me the gospel as I I was young and I knew that the basic message of the gospel God exists who is a creator of the universe and because of my sin human sins we don’t have the living relationship with the Creator so at the end of the life you know those who didn’t have relationship with the Creator God will have to face um sufferings in for eternity in hell and those who accepted Christ’s forgiveness will enjoy relationship with with God in heaven I I knew that message as I grew up that is extremely rare for a Japanese person to know and as I grew up you know I I was exposed to um evolutionism Theory and you know basically Japanese people think that it’s it’s the fact not Theory because they don’t believe in Creator God they are taught in in in the schools uh that you know people human beings have evolved from you know these these animals like monkeys right so um I was exposed to that but I didn’t have faith enough Faith to believe in that Evolution Theory because of course you know that theory fails in many many many senses and um I you know to this day still I can’t I I don’t have faith to believe in evolution Theory I it makes much more sense to believe in Creator God who created everything with wisdom and love and he has a way for us to to build relationship with him so um I always believed that and yet it it was hard for me to live in in the Japanese culture um going to school where all my friends don’t go to church on Sunday um Sunday was a a suffering day for me in the in the morning whereas like you know my my friends good friends were you know hanging out with friends or you know watching T TV what you know doing TV games video games um and I I wanted to do that um so I didn’t like going to church and I when I was in high school no no Junior High Middle School I excused myself because I had to study to enter this high school that my parents wanted me to go um high school examination is very huge in Japan basically um which whichever high school you go to will mostly determine the the the kinds of universities that you you could go so uh high school examination is very um is very big big deal in Japan and uh I had to I I said I had to study for a high school ex exam so um entrance exam and so I stopped going to church church with them when I was in the ninth grade nth yeah 10 through 12 is the high school years in Japan and um so that’s that’s how I stopped going to church but but I believed in myself that you know there’s truth in Christianity and I would eventually have to come back to Christianity and believe in God you know Believe In Christ follow Christ so that I will be saved that was me um and I was a straight kid in in my high school years and uh and yet God you know in His Grace by his grace he kindly brought me back to himself after my high school years I decided that you know now is a good chance there’s a good opportunity to to you know start going to church again and as soon as I started going to the church I realized that yeah every that I was being taught like I I could believe in that and I would I want to follow that so that’s how I became a Christian at age 18 I came to the United States when I was at 21 and that same year at the end of the year of 2004 um I went to a Japanese Christian Conference and there Isaiah 6 was preached I don’t remember too much about the content of the preaching but I’m I’m preaching from Isaiah 6 today because through that message I I felt God’s calling um for for my my life to bring the gospel to Japan and make disciples of Jesus Christ in Japan I as I was listening to the message I couldn’t stop crying and I prayed to God God you know give my I’ll give my life to you send me here am I send me to these Japanese people and yet as I said I thought that time like that that I would become a full-time minister in Japan would come much later in my in my life typically you know you see Japanese people Japanese pastors at for for age like you know at least about about 40 and then all the way up to you know 80 or something right and so you know I would probably um I thought I would probably gain some experience in in in Society in the society and then eventually I will come back to to to do ministry um that was my prayer to God but then um when I was about 30 I took a class world world missions class called perspectives maybe some of you know that and I my eyes were open to the knes of world missions and I prayed to God and talked to my pastor I wanted to be become a missionary and um at that time I I didn’t quite remember my my promise to God that I made when I was 21 that I would become a minister in Japan eventually but then you know after I took that missions class I I you know I I wanted to become a missionary to to anywhere that God would send me to so I started seeking a a way to to become a Min missionary to you know whatever country that that God will show me to my my pastor back then was a former missionary to Thailand and so uh he spent 18 years in Thailand and you know he encouraged me to I I was a College Dropout so he encouraged me to you know go back to college first and then I’m like oh I hated you know college education you know I don’t have to go back to college for to in order to become missionary right like you know the Bible doesn’t say that you have to go to college you have to finish college to to become a missionary so I I I refus that you know his his uh um suggestion and and I was seeking like you know an easier way to become or or to to learn about the Bible and and become a missionary and soon after that I met Arisa uh she um was like almost complete opposite uh she already graduated Ed from the master’s program at the Masters College Masters University she did biblical counseling she was a certified biblical counselor and she was already a missionary to Japan um she she is the second generation missionary to Japan her parents are National Japanese missionaries sent by American churches and she was a missionary she was Raising support and I was blown away I was very very impressed by you know her theology as the Master’s grad it is extremely rare to find that kind of theology um for for Japanese people to hold um many people are opposed to that uh theology in Japan uh because they they tend to think that you know that’s that’s too much um you know like judgmental um it’s not too friendly toward other people um is is what they what they typically think um so I I was impressed by by by her um background and Theology and we started talking about Theology and our passion to bring the gospel to to Japan as well as any any country and soon after that you know by by the Lord’s Grace uh we we got married um by you know partly because of her parents great faith in in me too um I was a College Dropout I didn’t want to go back to college and and I wanted to become a missionary and by looking at my Facebook and YouTube Pages um her parents said a said a go to her so by God’s grace we we we married and um right before marriage you know as I was you know saying that you know I wanted to become a missionary to Japan I no not not not to Japan but missionary and I wanted to learn the Bible but not in a yeah like Seminary setting like you know not not that rigorous um and she was saying to me one day she said to me hey are you afraid of going back to school and I was like that is it I I didn’t notice that until then but uh I I didn’t go back to school because I don’t I didn’t want to fail again I was a College Dropout I felt like you know I didn’t even complete the college education well you know there are reasons for that too but um but but that was my my reasoning that I didn’t realize and she pointed that out as a Biblical counselor I guess and she was like if you want to become a missionary to tell God’s you know Salvation in God Christ and and you know tell people about God’s power don’t you think it’s important that you conquer your fear first and I’m like that’s it exactly right and so I decided to go back to to college to finish college so I chose the Mass’s College to to finish my bachelor’s and then I went straight into the mass Seminary where I saw I met Pastor David and Emma and uh that was that was like just surprising to me I had no desire I had no intention before to to go not not only to back to college but but to think about uh The Graduate School as like just Unthinkable not only to me but those who who knew me back then so to to this day the Japanese church I I belonged to back then I I am visiting tooski and I tooski is my son 5 years old um we are traveling together and uh so we are visiting La this time time after spending some time here um so these people the Japanese people know know me from from the past and they are surprised like you know they are praising God for his power to that changed me that I I now finished my Seminary education it’s like Unthinkable um but so that’s how God United me in Arisa and Arisa you know postponed her desire to go back to Japan as a missionary because her her desire was to to go back to Japan to join her parents Ministry their parents are Church Planters and they have their um their you know church that that that they planted about 30 years ago um so they she wanted to join their Ministry and now she met me and we got married so she wanted me to gain more education and and you know practical Ministry EXP experiences so that I might uh go back to to her church and join her church because it’s it’s extremely rare to find the similar you know theology um that that church could would would hold in Japan so um that that became my my goal I wanted to study more about the Bible and I wanted to gain more training here in the states especially counseling so that I will be able to to minister to Japanese people better when I go back and I wanted to become a a pastor at her church at her parents church and that is still my goal um that is still my desire so um Arisa you know she encouraged me so much that I was able to go through all this education and and I was able to graduate that is of course God’s grace but God used Thea mightily and isisa wanted to because she her life was changed by God’s word um she she was also an a stay kid when she was in high school and maybe after she she graduated high school too but uh she her life was changed by biblical counseling she received biblical counseling at age 15 at Faith Church where I belong to now um so after that her life was changed she wanted to become a Biblical counselor so that you know she could use the word of God to minister to Japanese people especially Japanese ladies so became a certified biblical counselor and she became a missionary National missionary to Japan and she wanted to you know use God’s word and uh she she had you know good training here she was able to translate uh Paul’s trip Paul trips instruments in the redeemer’s hand and that book has been published in Japan in probably like 2017 and it’s it’s helped and still helping uh many many Christians people there um so that’s that’s that’s our you know direction that that’s our goal that was our goal and I finally finished Seminary education last year and we were raising support God was blessing that that Journey the support raising Journey until we found out that she had cancer in September and uh we stopped we paused that you know support raising and um focused on her her healing and and yet um you know surprisingly the Lord brought her back to himself in in February I it’s hard for me to imagine you know doing Ministry at her parents church in Japan without her beside me it it hurts I just moved out from my my house two days ago and I had to you know organize everything I I had to ship things to Japan uh you know that hurt but what what a blessing that we have that in in the gospel gospel promises because Japanese people they don’t know it they don’t have hope [ __ ] Japan has many earthquakes right and tens of thousands of people have lost their life lives in in the um I think 2011 um earthquake on March 11th probably like 25,000 people have lost their lives and I’ve seen pictures of the the families who lost their you know close close ones and they are devastated in the picture some some praying to to something but they don’t know this God they don’t know the gospel they don’t have hope but even though arisa’s passing was shocking is still shocking I’m given the gospel in Jesus Christ and I have hope for Eternal future and arisa’s passing was so gracious even you know God has given us about 6 months to to develop our love right and uh we knew that the time was coming we were able to prepare well for that and her you know last um last days were very peaceful so I I praise God for that and I thank you for your prayers many people have prayed for us and uh God’s calling to my life is still the same I am called to go back to Japan I have a goal to you know join her parents church in Japan and I want to start my Ministry there base my Ministry there not to stay in that church but to to grow that church and uh we want to multiply I want to multiply so that more people will have um opportunities to to encounter the Gospel of Jesus Christ I don’t know how God will use this experience or our situation but we’ll we’ll see God will do something great okay so um for the next um you know 15 minutes or so I have time for for you to you know ask questions and I can answer some you have a question for me yeah oh yeah my my uh current plans I just started traveling yesterday so you know moved out from my my house rent that I rented um two days ago these are like extremely busy time you know just moving out uh by you know mainly by myself is is a huge task and preparing for a 37 day trip for myself and for my son is a huge task and um you know preparing to to present and to Preach Today Was huge task for me so um but God sustained that I just left we just left yesterday and uh we will stay in the east coast until the 12th and then we will go to Los Angeles in San Diego and and stay there for another 12 days and then we will fly to Orlando and I have some some church appointments there and then after that we’re going to go back to Indie and um will stay for another two weeks until my commissioning service happens and then on the um November 20th uh a Monday the day after my commissioning service we are going to fly to Japan so that’s our um SK schedule that’s our plans and uh we will first you know toiki has a younger son not younger brother and uh um we are going to you know re reunite as a family um we need to settle in in Japan but we we’re gonna you know of course I’m going to be involved in Christmas ministry as well and uh that’s going to be a joyful time and uh you know my my my hope is that uh for the time being you toshiki and Subaru the younger son of mine uh they will be going to international school but my My Hope Is that um you know God will provide a mom for them who can um homeschool them and teach them Japanese as well um toiki cannot speak Japanese yet so um that that I hope will happen later um so you could pray for you know God’s God’s provision of wife to to me as well um so that’s my my schle ialex yeah yeah of course you know um one thing is God’s faithfulness that but uh you know as I said even in this suffering I am I am so blessed that you know her her life counted for eternity and that her passing was very you know smooth and gracious and God has been still so good to me I am supported by so many friends brothers and sisters I I’m receiving so so much prayer so I’m seeing God’s faithfulness you know this and I will probably continue to find that in the coming weeks coming months coming years and I hope to praise God for that I I see that also in my support raising too there’s only so much that I can do without a wife but but God still brings my mission supporters and my percentage at this moment is about 94% of my monthly goal God is God is faithful Cal question the Japanese government has engaged try to encourage population I think they recognized I honly think the world needs to learn from this know many eiz are yours the government is and apparently people AR responding it I in in my um um how do I say like belief how I see this situation is that Japanese government the Japanese government has done terrible uh leading for the past um three decades at least um you know people started talking about that population decrease and and the the um highly aging so Society at least two decades ago and the Japanese government started talking about it and yet they didn’t do much now the Japanese prime minister this this past year I think he said that now is the last chance for J Japan to to um you know kind of kind of maintain um maintain its its Society um you know now now is the last chance and what what are they doing now not so much um without without the government’s like extraordinary help people in Japan they they have reasons that they are not making children most mostly because of the economy economy uh reason that um you know Japanese people well Japan uh and enjoyed the economic growth in the 7s and and 80s and Japanese uh GDP was number two after the United States for for many years but now I think the Japanese Japan’s GDP uh fell to to number four in in the in the world and of course it’s it’s going to be um decreasing and that and and there’s there’s more you know calculation to for um you know GDP and the uh what’s it called I don’t know like individual GDP or something like that and uh so so if you look at only the number of GDP then then Japan’s still like fourth in the world or so but but then the like real real something GDP I think is like so so much um in not not not not really not good and the Japanese people uh they they feel like they are surviving many many people feel that they are surviving and uh they some people even think or say that having children is almost like a hard hobby um almost like a very expensive hobby that that you can you can do um because they they they they can’t think of making children and sustaining life so that’s that’s the reason that you know Japanese people um are not making children uh they they are not even um marrying because they don’t think especially like women women want me men to you know bring more income and and men are not making much uh in many cases so so their um marriage rate is is of course decreasing and with that of course um population is decreasing too yeah on that shows the wisdom of our in that such imp onety Ecom sounds realiz that yes yes yes spiritual blindness and of course the the government’s um yeah like lack of lack practical help um you know um Theologian uh Wayne gudam uh he has has written in his uh Systematic Theology book that uh you know God commanded people to multiply and uh in order for one woman and one man to to multiply themselves you you will at least you you need at least PE two people to produce to to multiply right like and um you know so in order for us to to be obedient to that call like you know men and women you know a man when and a woman when we you know get married um at least two people two children are needed but uh um I I don’t I I I don’t totally agree with that but that’s that’s that’s how he reasons but I think for the society to to to maintain the the population is usually like at at like you know they they need 2.2 uh people to to maintain is a general idea but uh yeah yeah Japanese um rate is much less than that yes uh we I’m I’m hoping to start it um they have been exposed to it but there’s just not not people who can do it uh her her parents have received the biblical counseling as well so they they are for it they they want to they want to do it but um they are not trained to do it um so you know Arisa and I wanted to to develop a Biblical counseling Ministry in in our local church um these days for the last um decade or so more uh especially there there are you know um especially American uh Christian believers who want to bring biblical counseling Ministry to Japan so that it’s going to develop in Japan so what they typically do is to hold a seminar a few day seminar uh and that’s happening also in this year in November um my my senior pastor at my church Pastor buers Steve buers he is also going to to to teach that and so I’m excited that you know my my senior pastor is going to Japan for the first time so they typically hold a few day seminar so that you know more pastors and and Believers are exposed to the idea of biblical counseling but what can you do after the you know first you know few few days seminar in in terms of biblical counseling right and [Music] some may maybe like two seminaries or something in Japan um is more for biblical counseling and they have biblical counseling classes uh where they they try to you know um to to help men do do biblical counseling uh um and yet without the Practical Ministry going on in a local church it’s not going to be rooted in Japan and it’s not gonna um it’s not gonna produce produce the uh the outcome so what we really need is the local church based uh biblical counseling Ministry uh and and once it’s going you know it’s started and once it’s going well then then people will see the results of it and that will spread more and so that’s that’s what we want to do one good thing is that um my my counseling skill is limited um but of course I’m I I I know you know Faith Church biblical counseling and I’m I’m I’m I’m decently trained um I I was pursuing a certification by acbc last year as we were on deputation um but things happened and and I I put a pause on it I have a desire to to um restart that process um online virtually in Japan but uh that’s going to happen in in the near future um one good thing is that there’s another missionary from my church Faith Church to Japan and he was the first First Missionary from Faith Church to Japan he his name is Isaac and he is 30 years old and uh he’s single he is now in the phase of um acbc certification and he wants to have that certification um and he wants to use that um skills to to do biblical Counseling in Japan he’s is a very smart guy and he after spending three years in Japan he can converse in Japanese like almost no problem um you know his writing and reading is like so it’s okay but uh his his conversation skills are really good and so um he is going back to Japan for a longer term missionary as as a Miss longer term missionary and he is now looking at joining my church as he is going back hopefully in January and he and I can start the you know um developing biblical counseling Ministry thank you thank you thank okay Japanese people’s typical belief about life and afterlife is I think uh mostly atheistic um they they are superstitious interestingly so they they consider themselves as atheist like you know they they say that oh you know there’s no God you know no definite meaning in life you know you got to enjoy life as you are living and enjoy the moment because after after death nothing will happen but they are pretty superstitious that they they pray to the unknown God and uh um so they there’s a saying that uh when you are in suffering you tend to you know rely on God uh is is Japanese say saying and uh that’s that’s what we we find people would do so that’s why that’s part of why people consider uh religious people as weak people because they are in suffering religious people are very religious because they they need God because they are weak is Japanese typical mindset so not only toward you know Christians but for more like devout Buddhists or um devout shintoist they they might think that oh you know we got to be careful because you know these people are you know kind of weak and and so that’s well I think you know for Shintoism and Buddhism uh they they they are more kind because you know that’s Japanese tradition and there’s Beauty in it so so they they are more okay but but for Christians like you know if we have the Solid Faith in Christianity people tend to think that oh they need God of course we do right but uh but they they don’t don’t think they they need God so that’s the typical mindset for afterlife nothing happens or typical Buddhism um um belief is that of course you know there’s another life Afterlife and uh some people would would think that might happen but you know they they don’t have strong faith in that so yeah yeah some some people think that you know according to what you do in this life your afterlife will be affected um you might become another human being on this Earth or maybe you are going to be a a bug in the next life if you do well and and rely on Buddha then you will go to like heaven is place where you you still need to train to to to um be out of yourself is is the Buddhist really belief I’m am I able to openly evangelize yes I am MH Street evangelize yes um I I I am given some musical gift so I would like to use that gift maybe on the street to you know bring music and uh you know to to the strangers and uh hopefully um I can connect with non-believers in that way too and uh of course music is not the goal the gospel is the goal but uh I I would like to to do gospel PR presentation so that’s that’s not prohibited okay it’s time for us so let’s pray and uh let’s close this time dear heavenly father thank you so much for your grace your kindness and your faithfulness um thank you for so much for many uh brothers and sisters who have prayed for us and because of your kindness and because of these people’s support I am standing here and I am going to Japan and so we ask that uh you’re going to continue this mission to reach out to Japanese people who are mostly unsaved and uh Your Glory will shine in that Nation uh in people’s lives and in people’s salvation and this we ask in Jesus name amen