January 7, 2002
Texas Baptists urged to tell Japanese
students about Christ while in U.S.
___By Jenny Rogers
___International Mission Board
___TOKYO--The last thing Japanese exchange student Akihide Wada remembers his parents saying before he left for College Station, Texas, was, "Akihide, do not become a Christian."
___"I will never do that!" he replied.
___Akihide didn't think of it again until one evening as he studied alone in the cafeteria at Texas A&M University--purposely arriving early to avoid other people. Culture shock had been hard. Language barriers were even harder.
___So when a Mexican student named Lulu asked to sit with him, he was surprised.
AKAHIDE WADA (right) visits with Japanese Christian Tsuyoshi Nomura, TV/video producer at the Baptist Media Center in Tokyo. Both are members of Tokyo Baptist Church. (Larry Miller/IMB)
___"She shared with me about her life and family," Akihide recalls. "And then she said, 'I'm a Christian.' I thought, 'Uh, oh. She must be a bad person.' I remembered everything I'd heard about Christianity's history, like wars. But her attitude was so good. She was so patient and kind."
___Lulu began to meet Akihide regularly in the cafeteria, and each time she brought a few more friends--Christian friends. When they invited him to Bible study, he agreed to go once "out of obligation."
___Once turned into twice, then three times, and Akihide eventually became a regular, asking all kinds of questions, some in a "mean spirit," he admits. And even more amazing were the patient answers, which began to satisfy his deepest hunger.
___"Suddenly the pieces of the puzzle fit together," Akihide said. "In the moment, I just understood. I had to accept Christ. If not now, I will never do it in my life."
___And with that, Akihide Wada became one of Japan's few Christians. Christians are so few in Japan that they number just under 1 percent of the population.
___Southern Baptist missionaries have served in Japan for more than 100 years, but the response has been slow. Attitudes from a strong Buddhist and Shinto background permeate everything Japanese, from thought to relationships to cultural norms.
___Change happens in Japan as gradually as the mountain streams erode new channels in the valleys below.
___But missionaries have discovered an important loophole in the norm. When Japanese leave Japan and its cultural influence, they become open to change, and they are more likely than ever to become Christians.
___Now a group of cutting-edge Baptist workers is reaching out to travelers like Akihide through the Internationalized and Overseas Japanese team, or IOJ for short.
___"In the year 2000, a record 17 million Japanese went abroad for vacation, schooling or business opportunities. Of that number, 5 million visited the United States," explained Larry Miller, IOJ team leader and Southern Baptist missionary in Tokyo with his wife, Kean. "Our goal is simple--to lead them to Christ and train them to become a bridge to the lostness of Japan."
___The openness of internationalized Japanese is a boon to both missionaries in Japan and Baptists around the world who follow Christ's command to "go and tell," he said.
___And if you're in North America, where nearly 10,000 Japanese students study annually, you don't have far to go to do the telling.
___"IOJ is seeking partners in ministry," Miller said. "We are looking for individuals, churches, BSU workers, any who would be willing to open their hearts to Japanese college students and businessmen and their families to show them the love of Christ."
___Meeting Japanese in the United States can be as easy as calling a local university and asking about international students, he said.
___Japanese factories are another wide-open door. Japanese mega-corporations like Sony, Honda and Toyota are scattered all across the United States, regularly employing hundreds of Japanese businessmen and women. Sometimes these families settle down with a green card, but they also travel seasonally or temporarily.
___Projects that appeal to Japanese abroad are simple and easy to start--free English classes, American cooking classes and assistance in daily living.
___"In recent days, many churches are looking for places where they can send members to do missions," Miller noted. "I want to say 'Look, folks, there are Japanese living in your neighborhood. Go win them and send them back to Japan to evangelize their nation.' You have the potential of changing Japan just by opening your hearts to these visiting Japanese."
___At Tokyo Baptist Church, Mrs. Miller frequently meets Japanese who have shed traditional stereotypes after visiting the United States.
___The Japanese are "a very traditional people," she said. "None of the young people would probably say they have a religion, but they still do a Shinto wedding and Buddhist funeral ... . Then they go overseas and realize there are other ways of doing things. The experience opens them. God's really at work in that segment. We would love for every Japanese person who goes to the United States to have a witness by a Christian person."
___As Southern Baptists minister to Japanese on the homefront, IOJ is preparing a "returnees" network for Japanese returning to Japan. Through the network, new Japanese believers or seekers can meet Japanese Christians who have experienced similar situations and feelings.
___Concrete follow-up helps Japanese not "fall through the cracks or succumb to the traps of returnees--blending right back into Buddhist and Shinto culture, caving from enormous pressure from friends and family, and being blindsided by Japanese churches that are drastically different from their American counterparts.
___Through the IOJ website, returnees also can find a church, Bible study locations, as well as a host of available tracts, Bibles and discipleship materials in Japanese.
___Ministry like this makes a definite difference, Akihide said.
___"My life has changed dramatically," he said. "It changed my entire way of thinking, and I led six more students to Christ. It was like a revival happened."
___Even Akihide's parents accepted his decision, which he credits to God answering fervent prayer. Akihide became involved in outreach to Japanese before returning to Tokyo, and he still burns with a passion to reach students and returnees.
___The Millers and Akihide hope Texas Baptists will seize this opportunity to minister to Japanese while they can.
___"In the 17 years Larry and I have worked in Japan, we have never seen such an outpouring of God's Spirit on the Japanese people," Mrs. Miller said. "Internationalized and overseas Japanese are much more ... committed to share their faith once they have known the joy of a relationship with Christ. It is a thrill to be part of a ministry where God is at work, to regularly see people accept him as Savior and grow to be a witness for him to others."
___For more information, contact Larry and Kean Miller at bmcdir@bmcpro.com and visit the IOJ web site at www.ioj.ne.jp
___
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