Believing in Japan

More than 10 months have passed since the devastating earthquake and tsunami hit Japan. How is life in Japan now and how has it affected our church planting ministry in Tokyo? Read all about life after 3.11 in our latest newsletter. We are grateful for your ongoing prayers and support.

The other day we organized with Redeemer City to City a 'Gospel in the City' seminar to recruit more church planters for the movement in Tokyo. The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few... Read more here!

Four months after the massive earthquake that literally changed the landscape of Japan, life seems to be back to normal in Tokyo. However, under the surface everything is changed. The need to preserve electricity is a painful daily reminder that not only part of Japan is still in ruins, but also that the dream of security -of trust in the government, the economy, and engineering ability- is shattered. 3/11 continues to shake Japan. Our world, too, was shaken, but not our love for this people in need. Read about the spiritual and physical needs of the Japanese that we try to meet through the church planting movement in city center Tokyo in our latest newsletter (31 - 2011.07) .

Thank you for all of you who have not forgotten Japan and continue to pray for this nation, like these 55,000 friends!

Japan is probably off the radar of most news agencies. The resilience of of the Japanese people has been broadcast around the world and peoples minds have been at rest. They will survive... Thanks to the generous donations of many of you we have been able to help many people who actually struggle to survive after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. Last Saturday I took a volunteer team of young professionals to the hard hit city of Ishinomaki. Grace City Church Tokyo has been going to this place dozens of times, bringing relief aid, helping with cleaning, and bringing hope through musical performances. This time we were able to gather a team of a dozen young professionals most of whom went up north for the first time. (Ab)normal work hours in city center Tokyo do not permit for city professionals to participate in volunteer trips throughout the week. Some companies have organized trips for their employees in the weekend and so have recently many tour operators. Using our growing network in the city we figured we could tap into the current supply of city volunteers and thus bringing together relief and networking/building relationships for the gospel in Tokyo. We all have seen the shocking images on television and the internet of the devastation the tsunami brought. Waves of up to 100 feet have swept away complete villages and parts of cities. Ishinomaki has been hit hard by a tsunami of about 30 feet and about half of the city (population of 164.000) has been inundated. The quake lowered parts of the city by up to 4 feet, causing it to flood daily. Almost 3000 people died. Close to three months after this place was hit so hard I expected to see much more signs of recovery. But it is still like a war zone. You are surrounded by army vehicles that bring relief to the most hit areas. Television crews must not have been to Koganehama, a neigborhood of this city tucked away behind a hill where the relief work of Grace City is concentrated. In other parts everything has been swept away, but here many houses are still somehow standing. Most of them have been completely ruined, though. It feels as if a big monster has attacked this town ravaging the area, eating from the houses and crushing every car on its way. Talking with the people it seems like this has not been far from the truth. The monster was not a kingkong-like being, but the sea. A mother shared how she was thankful she could tell me her story. Even though other people went throught the same ordeal, she said she can no longer talk about it with her peers. "People do not want to remember what happened. They want to look forward, but I can't. I can't forget what happened. Every day is hard to get through, every day feels like an entire year. I do not know what to do." She continued telling how she had seen from her window how the tsunami was raging towards her house . She fled to the second floor and survived. However, her three children were playing at a friend's house and she was unable to find them. It took three agonizing days, thinking she had lost her children, before the news came they were safe. Another man shared in tears how five cars were pushed against and into his house, destroying the first floor. The debris and car wrecks scattered around his house testify to his account. Most of the people in this neigborhood live on the second floor of their damaged homes. Utilities have somewhat been restored, but the water is still very dirty and electricity is on and off. People have not toilets and the temporary given by the city are not sufficient, but it is something you do not talk about. Even though some supermarkets have been reopened somehow, people have no money to buy food. Most of these people were employed by fishing cooperatives or otherwise marine related businesses. There is nothing to go back to and they are dependant on help from the outside. I was completely shocked to see the needs still present today. People became frenzy when we started our fresh produce market. In groups of five (to avoid chaos) they were allowed to choose four pieces of vegetables and 1 fish. Most people obeyed this rule to ensure equal access to the limited goods we could bring. Some people heeded the warnings we had to give and just took whatever they could grab before we had to really remove them. I was overwhelmed by the hunger I saw in their eyes. This is not Africa but Japan... In partnership with another church we also made hot noodle meals for the people and opened a coffee corner allowing many of them to drink coffee for the first time in a long time. We treated them with muffins, cake and doughnuts we brought from Tokyo. Not because these were basic needs, but because people in our church community longed to convey to the people they are loved, that each and everyone of them is a valuable human being. Our volunteers gave everything and little was said on the 7 hour way home. Needless to say we will continue our relief efforts in collaboration with young city professionals. One of them, Hideyoshi, was not able to join us this time, but wants to come along next time. On Wednesday nights we do Bible study together. He is not a Christian but is interested in knowing more of what we believe through doing our CROSSROAD course. Two nights before the earthquake struck he was bombarding me with questions and we somehow ended up reading Revelations 21: "Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea." He stopped me right after this first verse, because he did not understand why it said so prominently there would no longer be any sea. I explained how the sea often symbolizes death and darkness, but it did not immediately make sense to him. In the week after the tsunami he wrote to me how he remembered our study and especially the discussion about the sea. "Now I understand what you were saying. The sea really can be a deathly monster."

We are back in Tokyo! Last week we finished (what unexpectedly became) our trip around the world in 36 days. It was wonderful to be reunited with our friends at Grace City Church Tokyo and celebrate Easter together. Easter is always special, but more than ever we rejoiced in knowing the hope of new life. Japan is mourning the thousands of victims and people still missing and trying to get back on its feet. While up north the endless see of debris is gradually being cleared, tens of thousands of temporary houses are being build, life in Tokyo is returning somewhat to normal. We can drink the tap water again. There is no longer an immediate radiation danger from the Fukushima nuclear power plant. The boys can travel to school by train without problems. We can buy most daily goods, although some products are still rationed. Stores and stations are only half lit to avoid sudden blackouts. A grim darkness covers the city at night, reminding of the tragedy that struck at 3/11. In the church community many still struggle with what happened. Some are able to put things behind them by working hard as ever. Other seem to have more trouble and long for a safe place to tell their story. Many feel guilty about struggling emotionally beacause the 'real' tragedy took place further north. In the middle of all this Grace City tries to be a beacon of hope. Several times a week trucks bring supplies to areas near Sendai, to the cities of Minami Sanriku and Ishinomaki which were devastated by the tsunami. We especially focus on those who are not reached in the shelter, the elderly people and families that live (together) in what is left of their homes, often because they fear possible diseases going around in the shelters. Grace City RELIEF, the new ministry that was born in response to the disaster, tries to bring the Gospel through acts of love to those in need. It is easy to feel proud of the response by our small church community. Maybe especially missioanries are at risk to suffer from a savior-syndrom. Not only are we as sinners prone to wanting to save ourselves, we like to do it by saving others. Usually this is s adire task in Japan, where the response to the Gospel is so little. Relief work makes the temptation much bigger to see ourselves as Rescuers.  The $150k aid we raised in the Netherlands makes me easily feel (too) good about myself. Think about what this can do to rescue people in need... Next week Grace City will stop all relief efforts for one week and rest. We will go on a church retreat and take time to process what happened in order to refocus on our vision for the church to love and serve this city and our vision to continue to help the people in the affected areas up north. It will be a time to acknowledge our weaknesses and failures; our need for the real Savior. We believe this will make us better servants for Him, to bring the good news of the true RESCUE to Tokyo and Japan. About every other ten minutes some Japanese celebraties tell me on television they 'believe in Japan'! We are believinginjapan, too, but know that just trying in our own power to overcome our difficulties will not ultimately bring hope and renewal. Therefore our belief in Japan rests in the hope we have in our risen Lord, who won victory over death and will make everything new!

Today is 4/11 and we have lived the strangest month of our lives. I am sure I have claimed this many times before, but the rollercoaster we embarked on after the M9.0 3/11 Tohoku Kanto earthquake has been unchallenged so far. After we survived the earthquake – an experience we will never forget, vehemently shaken on the 51st floor, strangers staying overnight because of a city in disarray while separated from our boys for 24 hours – we decided to leave as planned three days later for the US, for a trip to New York and Michigan. We were torn, because we wanted to stay and help with the relief efforts of Grace City Church Tokyo. However, upon arrival we received message from the Dutch embassy urging all citizens to leave Tokyo due to the threat from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. God provide a way out for our family even though our hearts stayed behind. All we could do was raise funds for the relief work and encourage the church community from a distance. By the way, despite the challenge of staying on top of things on three continents at the same time, traveling 2000 miles with 7 in a small van, our time in the US was greatly blessed. The gospel coach training at Redeemer, the meetings with Redeemer staff about faith & work, youth & kids ministries, short term missions, listening to Tim Keller, attending lecture series and more were very inspiring. Meetings with wonderful friends in New York, Newport, and Grand Rapids were a warm oasis of encouragement. It was a blessing to worship and spend time sharing about church planting and relief work in Japan with our brothers and sisters at Riverside CRC. We loved speaking and teaching at Kuyper College. We planned to fly back to Japan on March 31st, but our mission assessed the risk for our children as too high and they wanted us to spend some time in the Netherlands (NL). So here we are, torn apart, overwhelmed by the radio and newspaper coverage of our family in limbo, waiting for permission to return to Japan while raising more funds and working long distance for Grace City. Today we received a conditional green light to return next Monday, April 18. We look forward to being reunited with our friends and the community in Tokyo. It will be the start of a new chapter, for Japan, and for Grace City as it seeks to serve the city with the Gospel and bring relief to those affected through the new GraceCityRELIEF ministry. When asked to make a logo for GraceCityRELIEF, Geert explained the following: The logo in the colors of emergency and rescue, darkness (black) and hope (yellow), is a variation of the Grace City logo. In this case, however, the circle refers not only to the city, but to the sun, symbol of a whole nation, Japan. The lower half is darker yellow, an image of the earth burning. Creation is in pain and in need of hope and rescue. The upper part is bright yellow, the color of hope. It is reflection of the belief in restoration of creation when God himself will be the sun (Revelation 21:23). A subtle yellow cross is added to the bolded RELIEF. This expresses that even though Grace City executes the relief work it is the Gospel of Christ that empowers the church community to do so. The cross is the only thing that can truly make sense of hope through suffering. Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. … And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “… ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” (Revelation 21: 1-5)      

Our family was reunited 24 hours after the massive quake hit the east coast of Japan. We are very grateful to have our boys back safe with us. As a family we are trying to process everything by talking  about it together. About every hour we are shaken by another after shock, but they get less and less intens. Everybody worries about the nuclear reactors north of here and rumours about another big quake continue to go around. Public transportation is more or less back to normal in Tokyo, but supermarkets are empty. There is no rice or bread, and fresh produce is scarce.  Please continue to pray for Japan. The number of casualties continues to rise and the scope of the devastation becomes more clear. We are grateful for knowing God who suffered in order to bring about life and renewal. May his Kingdom come! And may we know how to serve the people in need.

Thank you all for praying. We are alright, although our two boys cannot get home from school (25 miles from here) because public transportation is down and they have to stay there overnight. It was terrifying, especially since we live on the 51st floor of a high rise apartment tower. We have experienced many earthquakes, but never anything like this.   We appreciate your prayers for Japan. Hopefully we have had the worst of the earthquakes (although the aftershocks continue all the time), but I think the worst news will come over the next few days when the scope of the disaster becomes clear.

Church Planting Around the Globe from Redeemer City to City.

Ever since we returned from the Netherlands to Japan about a month ago, life has been like a roller coaster ride. The Japanese call it a jet coaster and maybe that catches better emotions of this one month with its consecutive of ups and downs . Although we love Japan and the Japanese, there have been days I wished it was easier to live here. Little things can easily annoy you when getting adjusted again to life on the mission field. Mostly these irritations can fullybe attributed to the worshippong of idols like comfort and belonging in my life. By the way, yesterday was definitely a high with the baptism of Tsutomu and Yuuji at Grace City. As missionary you would like to let the world know that this is all because of us... but it is not. If God would not be at work in our community, things very well might have worked out different for these two guys. But God is gracious. Not only is it humbling to see how He uses seemingly insignificant encounters in the journey of seekers to bring them to faith in Jesus. Also he uses a whole community of people to impacte the lives of those seeking him. I was moved to see Tsutomu and Yuuji kneel down to receive the sign of God's promise of his grace, of forgiveness, acceptance and love for them. It triggered memories about the first time we met and welcomed them in the community. About studying the Bible together, talking at Starbucks about life's ups and downs. Despite the occasional downs, we do have a great job! Let the jet coaster ride continue!

“Welkom thuis!” and “okaerinasai!” were familiar sounds these last couple of months. It means welcome home in Dutch and in Japanese. So you can guess the reason for the silence during the summer: we went on home assignment in the Netherlands. In a group oriented culture like Japan these greetings when you temporarily move out and later come back to your community are very important. You go through this ritual every day when you leave the apartment building and the concierge exchanges polite greetings with you. But this summer it was different: we left our Japanese home (apartment, neighbors, church, friends, etc.) for 3 months behind to catch up with a second place we consider home, our family, friends, church and mission in Holland. By the way, Grace City Church is turning into a real church rapidly. We are so thankful that this body of Christ is growing. - read more

We are about to leave for our home assignment this week. After every two years on the field we need to go back to the Netherlands to report, mobilize, and raise funds. Our kids are excited. Thom and Berend have many good memories and vididly imagine everything they want to do--if it was up to them we would visit every amusement park in our little kingdom. Julie has no home land memories, but the idea of going to the place where grandma and grandpa are is appealing to her. Fleur & Lucile will have their debut. They have got Dutch passports for several months now, but have not yet set foot on Dutch soil. They are doign very well by the way! We will terribly miss all of our dear Japanese friends. But we do look forward to having many opportunities to share about what God is doing in Tokyo. The first two years of the new church planting project in city center Tokyo felt like only several months, but much has happened. One of the most exciting happenings was the recent baptism of Sayaka. We pray all the sowing of the past years may bear much more fruit. If everything works out we do hope to visit the US, too, but not until sometime after New Year, to tell you all in person about the work in this city.

Today was a special day at Grace City Church Tokyo. Sayaka recenlty believed and was baptized today! Thank you for your prayers for her, our church community and the church planting team.

The sensation in your tummy, is it unpleasant or does it feel nice? It is hard to tell, but you know one thing, this is what you have been waiting for. Just some thoughts that came up when we came across a drawing from our boys; it was a design for their own amusement park. The roller coaster ride which we just described, does not just represent our longing for getting away for a day with our family, but also paints an appropriate picture of our life in the last few months. Read more about it in our latest newsletter. Thank you for your prayers and support!

From March 27 through April 5th a short term team with 11 people from St. Helen's Bishopsgate Church in London will join Grace City Church Tokyo for a long week of outreach to the community of central Tokyo. Please pray for this team and the events they will participate in.

Have you ever wondered what we are doing here in the largest city in the world, Tokyo, and why? Have you ever wondered what our connection with Redeemer PC New York is? This will show you all in less than 3 minutes: Redeemer City to City, Gospel, City, Movement 

Life can be like a roller coaster. Fun but intense. We had quite some intense months. You can read about it in our latest newsletter. We also invite you to have a look for the latest information about wat is going on at Grace City Church Tokyo. Also check out the interview with Tim Keller (Redeemer Presbyterian Church New York) about Why Toky0?

Below are some recent pictures of Fleur and Lucile. Last week at their first check-up they seemed to be growing well, both weighing about 3900 grams. We can by now tell who is who, although there are days we wonder we have to help each other know for sure. Thank you so much for your prayers for our family and especially the twins. We continue to be amazed at God's (double!) grace, also for Grace (City Church Tokyo). The church plant is steadily moving forward with an increasing number of people visiting the (tryout) worship services, attending evangelistic Bible studies, and bringing others along. Your continuing prayers are valued, especially for many to be granted faith. Anyway, enjoy the pictures! [caption id="attachment_402" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Lucile and Fleur discovering each other. It is incredible how much connected they seem to be."][/caption] [caption id="attachment_403" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Lucile. Both are increasingly enjoying to discover what is around them. They respond to our voices and laughter with little sounds and big smiles."][/caption] [caption id="attachment_401" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Lucile (left) and Fleur (right) crying together. Also cute, we think..."][/caption] [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Fleur & Lucile back at their place of birth, St. Luke's International Hospital in Tokyo for their first medical check-up. Both seem to be healthy and growing."][/caption] [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Girls like shopping. Fleur and Lucile went on their first trip to the supermarket in their 'twin taxi'."][/caption]

Please have a look for the latest information about wat is going on at Grace City Church Tokyo. Also check out the interview with Tim Keller (Redeemer Presbyterian Church New York) about Why Toky0?

1 day old Fleur and Lucile             Can you tell who is who? Left is Lucile and right is Fleur... or the was it the other way around? Fortunately they are tagged "baby I' and 'baby II'. They are both doing well, by the way. If everything continues to go well, all will come home on Friday!

Our twins were born safely Sunday afternoon!  Our Creator entrusted us with two beautiful little girls, Fleur and Lucile. Thank you very much for all your prayers. We are overwhelmed by Gods (double!) grace.

Fleur Elizabeth 29 November, 2009 - 3:11 pm 2608 gram (5,75 lb.)

 Lucile Hanna 29 November, 2009 - 3:19 pm 2700 gram (5,95 lb.)

Blessings and greetings from Tokyo!

Geert & Eline Thom, Berend, Julie, Fleur, Lucile

  Double blessing! Geert, Lucile, Fleur, Eline

Fleur

Lucile

"Is Japan on the verge of a shift in the spiritual climate that will profoundly impact the culture of Japan? If so, Grace City Church Tokyo will be in a strategic location, poised to gather influential young professionals and artists into the Church of Jesus Christ," read the opening sentences of the article about our church plant in the Japan Harvest, a magazine for the missionary community in Japan. Click here for the whole article. We also just posted another newsletter about new winds blowing through Tokyo.

J-pop, J-English, or J-whatever. In this context J usually means Japanized or Japanese style. J-pop is popular music that has a distinctive Japaneezy (very soft, sweet/high pitched voices) sound to it. J-English is English that is pronounced with the sounds available in Japanese - 'English' for instance, would be pronounced as 'ingurishu'). When thinking about what titel to put to this new entry I was not thinking, however, about the Japanese version of the city, but about Jericho and Jerusalem. This month both cities seem to be vying for my attention. Jericho is in this case symbol of a stronghold of idol worship, where Jerusalem symbolized the recreation and restoration of the city. To start with Jericho, at last week's community groups we studied Joshua 5:13-6:5 about Joshua meeting the commander of the Lord's army who tells him how the Israelites should conquer Jericho. I always read this story with the idea that we will overcome life's challenges by obeying God's commands in the way the Israelites obeyed the rituals through which they were to conquer Jericho. However, in studying this particular passage I was confronted with a less convenient truth. My Jericho is perhaps more a stronghold in my own heart rather than any outward challenge. Jericho was a symbol of pagan idol worship. The name of the city itself probably referred to their worship of the moon (god). After crossing the Jordan, God seems to make clear that he is faithful to his promise and he requires the men to be circumsized as a sign of the renewal of the covenantal relationship. But as his chosen people they need to respond to his grace (second chance to enter the promised land under the covenant) with radically rejecting idol worship of which the first city to conquer, Jericho, is a symbolic stronghold. Do I respond to his grace in the same way? I certainly have a tendency to build stronger walls around my idols of the heart. I rather make sure I sacrifice to the god of recognition rather than trusting in God's recongnition of me in Christ. And there are so many more of those idols that I rather protect than expose. Why are we so afraid to give them up and surrender to the only God who will actually provide what we look for in our idols? At least I know how much I therefore need to be exposed again and again to the Gospel that will set me free. Interesting, the Bible study pointed out that, actually the Lord himself (6:2) will conquer Jericho for the Israelites. So conquering Jericho was not accomplished by the Israelites, nor will my salvation by my rituals. Thank God! That brings me to Jerusalem. Gods intervention in our story will end in the new Jerusalem. This month is art month at Grace City Curch Tokyo and we have organized several events around this theme. At the  art forum the other week Makoto Fujimura, Yu Shibuya, and myself spoke about art, the Gospel and the city. It was very interesting with three totally different people sharing about the need for restoration forwhich art can be a great catalyst. As contemporary nihonga artist (traditional Japanese painting style) Fujimura focused on visual art reflecting on the two cities that come together in Gods restoration of creation in the new Jerusalem. Shibuya focused on the power of words in creating, both by God and in his image by us humans, and words will be vital in recreation. I shared about the need of renewal of the soul of the city, which is expressed both through the history of a city and the beliefs (what do they worship) of its people. To be continued at our next art event (ART workshop). Anyway, Jerusalem was mentioned many time, also at the last tryout worship when Rev. Fukuda spoke about art and the Gospel. In facing our Jerichos it is a great encouragement to see Jerusalem on the horizon. Our struggles with our weaknesses are not in vain. They are part of God's redemptive story, preparing us for inhabiting the new Jerusalem. If only we could take along all those Japanese whomwe have come to get to know (as well as those we would desperately like to get to know). Despite an insatiable desire to share about Jericho and Jerusalem it is sometimes to hard to connect with Japanese. Sometimes I really want to go up to the roof of our 58 story building and cry out a message of grace to this people. But I still have my sanity. God will conquer this stronghold. The people of Jericho who undoubteldy must have had a ball seeing this people just walk around their city day after day. The Israelites obeyed God though being almost ridiculously weak. But isn't that how God conquered sin and death, by being weak to the point of being laughed at? So we continue being laughed at or not. This Saturday we will walk through Tokyo praying, overwhelmed by our wekaness to make a difference in this megacity. But responding to the promise that the new Jerusalem will bring restoration and renewal, even and already in Tokyo. That same day we will also sit down to study the Bible with about a dozen of people who are seriously seeking. And the next day we will have another great opportunity to celebrate the arts when Titanmoon (a indie rockband from Texas) will lead worship  at a worship special. We value your prayers for many new people to come and meet Christ. On a very different note and for those interested, it is only about 4 more weeks before the twins will be due. We are very much looking forward to getting to know these two little people. We appreciate your prayers for preparing for upcoming J-birth. Not in Jericho nor in Jerusalem, but in definitely in Japan.

"When will you start your new church?" people ask us frequently. When we give our standard answer, "we already started in the fall of last year", often the next question is: "Oh, so how many people attend your worship service?" "Uhhmm, we do not yet hold regular worship services..." By now we have gotten used to the confused expression that usually appears. Traditionally Japanese church plants start before anything else with worship services. There is something sacred to even just the church planter and his family gathering faithfully for worship every Sunday, a pastor's wife explained to me recently. Painstakingly they gather more worshippers until like the average church it is mature with about 30 members. Because of this tradition Japanese Christians have a strong sense that a church is not a church without a Sunday worship service. And I agree, that the gathering on Sunday is the central gathering of communcal worship. But is not necessarily the starting point. Especially not in a context where people consider the church 'finished' when it has worship services, levaing little momentum for an evangelistic spirit in every aspect of teh church planting ministry. Last July, when the Dutch short term mission team joined us for two weeks, we had our first so-called tryout worship service. It was a memorable moment, the first worship service of GraceCityChurchTokyo. It made us long to gather for worship every week - and we will gather for more tryout worship services this fall. But it also made us better realize - which is the reason we hold them - what we need to do before launching public worship services that will have Christians and non-Christians experience the transformign power of the Gospel. To start with we will need to find our own worship style. A taste of music that connects with the central Tokyo young professional. And we need a worship team that can develop that style to make it effective in communicating both the need for the Gospel and the Gospel itself. We look forward to Roger and Abi Lowther joining our church planting team this fall to help us develop this crucial ministry (your prayers for sufficient support is appreciated). They have a heart for using arts in mission. And so does Grace Tokyo. In a recent interview, Rev. Makoto Fukuda explained: "I think the arts are very important to do ministries in our church because the arts have a role of showing profoundly the beauty/truth of God, love/grace of Christ, and recreation by Gospel." October will be art month in our church plant to underscore the importance we place on reaching the art community with the Gospel and collaborate on making Tokyo an even greater city for God. Artist provide us with a unique window on how the Kingdom of God can break through in our city. As part of this special month dedicated to developing our faith&arts ministry as part of our church planting vision, we are planning an art forum. Several artsist will give short presentation on the interaction between art, the city and the (city) church. Also they will give recommendations for our ministry. Contributions are planned by artsist Makoto Fujimura, renowned for his combination of abstract expressionism with the traditional Japanese art of Nihonga. Fujimura started the International Arts Movement (IAM) and was a member of the influential National Council of the Arts from. And we are also in talks with scenario writer Yu Shibuya, who wrote Jitensha (Bycicle), the short movie that has just been accepted into the 66th Venice Film Festival in the Corto Cortissimo International Short Competition. By the way, there is so much more happening these next few months, such as dicipleship/leadership training. We will start another CROSSROAD seeker Bible study series, and a follow-up on the previous one. We will have a stress management seminar as the start of our counseling ministry, and of course several events surrounding Christmas. It is our prayer that by that time we will have sufficient momentum in gathering a new community of believers and seekers that we can formally launch the church -  and start public worship service in the new year. We hope to give birth to a new church. Therefore, we can explain this in-between phase best as prenatal church planting. The church has been conceived but not yet born. I am sorry for this analogy, but it is so natural for us to think in these images being confronted with a belly growing bigger and bigger. The twins seem to be doing well. They are lively and we all enjoy the prospect of these two little beings being added to our family. But for now it is best for us to take great care so they can continue to develop before they enter this world. Likewise we will put every effort (as far as the twins allow us in the next few months) to take great 'prenatal' care of what God has entrusted us in GraceCityChurchTokyo.  

Wow! We have been so busy with the Dutch team from our home church in Leiden, but it was great! Thank you for your prayers for this invasion of grace. Perhaps the Dutch on their blog is hard to understand for most of you, but the pictures will tell you the story, too. http://leidengelooftinjapan.wordpress.com/

June is mercy ministry month in Grace City Church Tokyo. As we seek the prosperity/peace of the whole city (Jer. 29:7) we desire to see a greater Tokyo by also reaching out to those in need. Tokyo knows relatively few homeless people and ministering to them is challenging, because the government dislikes churches meddling in their policies to invisibly solve this 'social problem'. As new church plant we are considering how we can help strategically and effectively. However there are many other areas of need, often stages before becoming socially ostracized. One area of need is the so-called hakenmondai. The problem of non-regular workers being laid off en masse in the current economic slow down. It seems this may not be a problem of city center Tokyo, which in Japan is the symbol of succesful salaried workers, the Japanese dream. However, around New Year suddenly a little village of tents appeared in Hibiya Park, right between the government district and the fianncial district. This hakenmura (literally village for non-regular workers) provided housing for hundreds of people who were deprived of housing or food after they were suddenly laid off. Ironically this village was right in front of the department for labor and welfare... What can we do as church? There are hardly any Christian organizations reaching out. The few churches brave enough to do so happen to be led by pastors from Korea and even Myanmar. Will our church be able to make a difference? Other areas we are thinking of that relate directly to our target group is counseling. There is still a taboe on counseling as you will not talk about your deepest emotions and weaknesses. Talking to a professional counselor over the past few weeks confirmed the vast need in this area and the potential as church to really serve the city through a professional counseling ministry. As a first step we are preparing to hold stress management or communication seminars with a follow up project. Talking to our launch team about mercy ministry we stressed two things. First of all it is important that the motivation for a mercy ministry must begin at the grass roots. Tim Keller writes in the Church Planting Manual: "Mercy is a command of God, yet it cannot be simply a response to a demand. It must arise out of hearts made generous and gracious by an understanding and experience of God's mercy. It is the hearts of the congregation that must be melted until they ask, "Where is my neighbor?" " And that directly connects with the second aspect of mercy ministry. What is our motivation? It feels great to help someone. At our next prayer walk we will all bring food packages to give out when we walk the underground catacombes of Tokyo station. Handing those out to homeless people will certainly make us feel good, having a sense of starting a concrete mercy ministry, however small. Yet, when our hearts will be motivated by how it will make us feel, we are self-righteouss and it will not last nor be effective. The right motivation is in the Gospel. We show mercy (diakonia), because we received and were healed through diakonia by Christ! So the start of Grace's mercy ministry will focus on the Gospel as the only power that can transform our hearts ánd the city! We may need a little extra mercy, too :), having  a group of ten young Dutch young professionals come to Tokyo from July 8-22. This short term mission team from our home church in the Netherlands will come to see the vision and help us make new contacts (see prayer requests). Several events will see a fusion of Dutch and Japanese culture as exactly this year 400 years of Holland-Japan relations are celebrated. We value your prayers for this venture. We trust we will have a great time with lots of fun, but also honestly pray this will affect the group to be ambassadors for urban mission in Japan back home. Many more workers (and supporters!) are needed to show God's MERCY in Christ for the (young urban) Japanese. Lord have MERCY!

Read our latest newsletter for news on natural (!) church growth for the new church plant in city center Tokyo.

Are we, being Dutch missionaries, engaging in 'Dutch evangelism'? I guess when that is defined by our passport and occupation, we are. But the other day an American missionary friend told us that Dutch evangelism refers to having a big family. True or not (googling 'Dutch evangelism' wasn't really much of a help), our new church plant does rejoice in recent natural church growth - i.e. through growing Christian families. Our church family itself is growing, too. Not explosive, but very natural through networking with commited Christians. We have held a series of events, such as the recent piano concert - which by the way was a great succes with over 50 people attending inclusing more than 20 non-christians -  and the upcoming TOKYO 09 SUMMER PARTY. Such networking events are a stage for meeting the friends and co-workers of Japanese Christians living or working in central Tokyo. Gradually our network of contacts is expanding, like a fishnet that is dragged throught sea. As a result we have several people who are interested in reading the Bible for the first time. End of May we start CROSSROAD, a series of 5 meetings introducing seekers to the Gospel. It is really exciting to see people move forward in their quest for the truth. We cannot give one Japanese faith, but we believe the Holy Spirit can. Especially when it comes to the salvation of the rich  man, Jesus himself says that "with man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God." (Marc 10:27) Isn't that a great comfort when evangelizing among the young Tokyo professionals! That is not Dutch evangelism, but Kingdom Evangelism. By the way, if Dutch evangelism would, according to that American missionary (who himself has 9 children!), indeed refer to having a big family, we are blessed to support church growth in that way, too. Yes, we are expecting! And we are very excited ... because our extra blessing seems to be a double blessing as we saw two little hearts beating on the ultrasound. Yes, we are expecting twins! What a surprise. Dutch evangelsim? No, sheer GRACE!

Living in the world's largest metropolitan area it is perhaps a little odd to write global 'village' above this entry. However, the fact that you are reading testifies to the fact that even though we may be thousands of miles apart, we are part of a community that transcends geographical borders. Anyway, enough reflection on the internet. There is enough out there if you want a philosophical perspective on how the net has changed our global community. What I am really trying to convey is that it is exciting to be part of a new church planting effort (in city center Tokyo) that is not just a network community in this urban giant, but that has connections with people all over the world. The support for GraceCityChurchTokyo literally comes from the far ends of our globe, (even though we are committed to reaching Japanese through a Japanese church) the staff and launch team is international/multicultural. And now we may even rejoice in offering events that reflect this global network - something that resonates with our target group of internationally highly mobile young professionals working in finance, politics, media, and arts. May 8th, Yukiko Tanaka, a Japanese professional classical pianist, will give a concert hosted by GraceCityChurchTokyo. As her name suggests, she is indeed Japanese, but she was musically educated in the US and is currently based in New York. What is so special about all this? First of all she is a wonderful classical musician that boasts not in her great musical accomlishments, but in the transforming power of the gospel of grace in her life. That makes her music even more beautiful to the ear and to the soul; the beauty of the gospel and its effect on culture and music becomes tangible in her performances. It is an incredible privilege that we can host a concert like this in the early stages of the church. Music is one of the most effective ways to connect with the Japanese heart and its longing for beauty and peace. Being able to invite people to an event like this in front of the skyline of Marunouchi, the financial heart of Tokyo (and Japan), is sheer grace. There is another connection with the title. You can be of help to reach Tokyoites. We know Tokyo is a hub in our global village network. Young professionals in London's City or Manhattan's Midtown have connections with peers in Tokyo's Marunouchi. We have been introduced to Japanese friends of our friends in cities all over the world. We know there are so much more out there, waiting for you to connect them with Grace. Will you help us by introducing your contacts? May 8th is a great opportunity! You can give or send interested Tokyoites the flyer below. Thanks! flyer piano concert

No, this is not scientific jargon, but a new word that is a combination of the Japanese verb ‘nomimasu’ (to drink) and the English word ‘communication’.  Nominication refers to the common practice of going out to drink with your colleagues after work. It is not considered an option, rather an obligation to your boss and coworkers. Hierarchy is very important in the workplace and employees do not have the liberty to speak their minds.