Why Japan?
Although we have limited experience of missionary work in other countries we had not considered the needs of Japan as a mission field until we approached Overseas Missionary Fellowship in the United Kingdom with a desire to serve with them in the work of church planting overseas.
On investigating more, we were both surprised and moved that , despite being world leaders in technology and economics, most Japanese people still live in real spiritual darkness.It became clear to us that their need for the good news of God’s love, mercy and power to save is desperate and urgent, and we became convinced that God was calling us to serve Him amongst them.
Life in Japan
Although Japan enjoys religious freedom, less than 1% of the 127 million Japanese are evangelical Christians. Affluence, superstition, adherence to Japanese religious traditions, bondage to ancestor worship and misconceptions of Christianity are all major barriers to the spread of the gospel.
Many people who make a commitment to Christ struggle to maintain their faith back in a Japanese setting. We desire to see God moving in a new way in Japan and for a great harvest to be reaped. OMF has already seen over 50 churches started, over 30 with Japanese pastors, and some led by OMF Missionaries.
It is not the healthy who need a doctor….
We look forward to the opportunity to bring the message of new life through Jesus to the Japanese, and hope to do that by involvement in evangelism, church planting and the discipleship of young believers.
Martin will also support the work of the OMF Team who are involved in this work by fulfilling the role of Medical Advisor (’team doctor’) to the OMF Japan team of over 100 adults and 90 children. Sam will initially continue home-schooling and seek to develop friendships with local families and find a role amongst women and children in the local church.