By Lindsey Williams
Writing Specialist
How far would you go to get to know a neighbor? Anthony Britt traveled to the other side of the world to become acquainted with the families right in his local community.
Britt, Missions and Outreach Pastor at First Church, Madison, has his heart set on understanding the culture and context of the Japanese families who transferred to the nearby Nissan plant in Madison County. The women of these families were the start of First Madison’s current ESL ministry.
“I was convicted with the question of, ‘If we’re willing to go internationally, what are we doing with the people locally?’” Britt stated. “It has been on my heart that God brought these particular people to our area. How can we reach them? How can we minister to them and have a heart for them? So I felt really drawn to this trip to learn about the culture and how we can minister to those in our community.”
Sept. 15 – 24, a team of eight mission-minded ministers and laypeople joined the Japan Vision Journey. Throughout the year, the Missions Mobilization Department of the Mississippi Baptist Convention Board (MBCB) leads multiple Vision Journeys across the world. The goal of Vision Journeys is to develop long-term, Gospel-forwarding partnerships between local churches and missionaries, as well as to deepen appreciation and understanding of cross-cultural differences.
In a little over a week, the Vision Journey team visited Tokyo, Nagoya, and Yokohama. With Japan’s borders only recently opening to the U.S. after strict COVID-19 restrictions, many IMB teams are still fairly new. The Vision Journey team met with multiple missionaries, including a journeyman from Mississippi who shared the harrowing statistic that only 0.5% of Japanese people are Christian — 99.5% of the people are lost.
University ministry is one of the most effective tactics that the Vision Journey explored in Tokyo. Chad McCord, Director of Missions Mobilization, stated, “In Japanese culture, when men become adults and get a professional job, work becomes their god. University ministry is that time in their life where they still have more time to consider the Gospel, and they seem to be more open to something different.”
In Nagoya, where Toyota is headquartered, missionaries have already developed a partnership with First Church, Tupelo, because of the Toyota plant stationed just outside of Tupelo. When Toyota sends executive or administrative workers to the plant, their families have the opportunity to get involved with First Tupelo’s ESL ministry. When those who have professed faith return home to Nagoya, the missionaries there prepare to connect them to a local church.
Similarly, Yokohama holds the headquarters of Nissan and is the hometown of the families in First Madison’s ESL ministry. Britt was excited to form a partnership with the missionary in Yokohama and to return home with an even deeper compassion for the Japanese families.
Obeying the Call in a Broken World
Chris Moore, Pastor of Students at First Church, New Albany, went on the trip in preparation for his transition to Administrative Pastor next year, a role which will encompass a missions focus.
“We have not had an intentional partnership overseas,” said Moore. “We have a couple within the states, but we have been looking to partner with somebody through praying, giving, and going internationally. We were excited to find that partnership on this trip.”
Twenty-five years ago, a church member of First New Albany passed away in a tragic accident while on a mission trip. “The tragedy made missions very, very difficult for our congregation,” Moore shared. “Although we have had great missional efforts here and there, it has not yet been something that our church has grabbed ahold of as a congregational focus.”
In an observation deck above the city in motion, the team met with a missionary who explained his desire for the people and the church plant they are working to form in a specific area. What resonated with Moore the most was how the church plant, struggling to find a building, met on top of a hill the night before — over 90 people showing up just to pray.
“Their intentionality in bringing everything before the Lord and their strong desire to be involved in this specific part of the city really spoke to me,” said Moore.
During a street evangelism exercise called, “Five Minute English,” in which the team stood in an outdoor mall and invited passersby to practice their English, Moore connected with the local people for the first time. “As I talked with people and tried to turn conversations to the Gospel, it was like the Lord was saying to me, ‘This is where First Baptist needs to be involved.’
“The responsibility for the Gospel to go from New Albany to the nations is vitally important in the health of our church because it’s part of the Great Commission. If we’re not focusing on trying to do what we can to fulfill the Great Commission, then we are failing as a church. We may have great programs, we may have great attendance, we may have great giving, but if we don’t have great going, then we are missing the mark.”
“To the Ends of the Earth”
First Church, Summit, has a desire to partner with missionaries on every continent in the world. So far, the church has partnerships in North America, South America, Africa, and Europe. Chris Weaver, Associate Pastor, has searched several years for the right long-term partnership in Asia.
As the team arrived in Japan and met with the missionaries, Weaver believed the Lord led him to the person and partnership he had been looking for all these years.
“Within about five minutes of talking to this missionary, I knew as he stated his vision for their area that this was the direction we should be going in,” Weaver recalled. “I actually told him, ‘I need to get your information right away. You’re the guy.’ He tried to tell me I needed to pray about it first, but I said, ‘We have been praying for about three or four years! I think we found our direction.’
“Our strategy at our church is that we would be partnered through prayer, through giving, and through sending people,” said Weaver. “Once we send our people, that is what really captures their hearts to come back and pray more and give more into those partnerships. If you see the Lord moving in people’s lives on a mission trip, you’re probably going to come back and share that experience with people in the church, which is going to impact them. Over years of people going and helping and serving, the Lord just continues to build the strength of those partnerships and to unite us here in Summit.”
Trusting God to Make a Way
Two team members not only traveled to Japan to represent their church in Hattiesburg, but also to prayerfully consider the mission field for their family. T and S* have served in a variety of ministry roles at their church, which they have been members of for three and a half years. T, a Senior Network Engineer in the medical field, and S, managing her own photography business, attended the International Mission Board (IMB) Conference at First Church, Madison, on Feb. 1.
“We started seriously praying about missions and what seemed like God’s call for our family since February,” said S. “We have been praying about missions in general for several years, but this year has felt more specific to Him leading us to consider going as a family.”
At the IMB conference, T and S connected with several missionaries who suggested the couple make a trip to a place the Lord has put on their hearts and see if God confirmed that for their family. To T and S, however, the great advice seemed impossible to execute. Unaware of any trip to Japan, and without the finances or childcare options to do so, the couple trusted the Lord would find a way if it was His plan.
“A few months later,” S recalled, “we got an email about the Vision Journey. We didn’t expect to go because of those same issues before, but I prayed, ‘Lord, if you want us there, we will be there. But I will not stress over it.’ Within two days, everything fell into place, and the way was made for us to go.
“In addition to our personal goal of clarity and confirmation, we also had a goal of being an extension of our church and coming home to advocate for partnering in missions in Japan. We have definitely felt well-equipped to tell a better story of the lostness in those areas and the hope of what God is doing.”
S expressed their hope in the days to come, “God answered our prayers about ‘how’ we could live in Japan — regarding our kids, the language barrier, the distance from family and communication with them. On the trip, the Lord guided us through spiritual warfare and, while it was not easy, it gave us a testimony and a reminder in the future that God is always with us. We are still praying and processing how and when we will go, but we are trusting that just like this Vision Journey, He will make a way and make it obvious in His perfect timing.”
“If there are individuals or couples looking to go and serve with the IMB,” McCord commented, “we would love for them to join these trips and see if God is calling them to serve there. Every IMB team is going to look different in its functions and focus. But Vision Journeys are a great way to see where you might fit into that work and what it looks like to raise a family on the mission field.”
*Names withheld for possible security risks in the future
Comments are closed.