For 14 years she shared the gospel, but with little response. But following a family crisis, Mrs. M and her family began to seek for true comfort and to learn of Christ: following an extensive instruction class with the pastor, they made profession and received baptism last November. This is but one of many examples of faithfulness and perseverance in the long-haul by which the church in Japan testifies to the need to wait upon the Lord to produce his fruit in his season. 

Last September, my family had the privilege of visiting three missionary families in Numazu, Yamagata, and Sendai, Japan. What did I learn during the two weeks of observing and participating in (as much as possible) Japanese culture and church life? (Besides of course that broiled eel, miso soup, and green tea make a dandy of a breakfast, or that riding a shinkansen – bullet train – is smoother than the spreading of soft butter on a croissant?).

Many distinctive practices and presuppositions stood out to me as a gaikokugin (foreigner), but I will limit myself to sharing two “take-away” lessons I learned from our brothers and sisters in Christ in Japan.

Firstly, I learned the great importance the Japanese church assigns to baptism. Or I should say, they seem to uphold the biblical teaching regarding this sacrament in a way that the American church might well stand to consider. Instead of using the idiom of “have you asked Jesus into your heart?” (assumption: faith is a private concern), Japanese believers ask “when were you baptized?” (assumption: personal belief is not separated from the public joining of Christ’s body).

In fact, one missionary related how many Christians from Buddhist families are not allowed to be buried with their relatives, and that in such cases it is at baptism when ostracism from one’s family is initiated (cf. Luke 14:26). Thus baptism is viewed as much more than an individualized affair: it signals the new allegiance and identity of the believer both to those inside and outside the church. The tight connection between “repent and be baptized” (Acts 2:38) is recognized by Japanese Christians in a way that perhaps evangelicals in America (and I include myself here) have not apprehended as deeply as we should.

Secondly, I learned it is important for believers to be patient in seeing fruit from their witness. The first known Christian missionary to Japan Francis Xavier wrote, “The Japanese would first ask me many questions and see what I knew. Above all, they would want to see whether my life corresponded with my teaching.” Understanding that the gospel call involves a lifelong rather than momentary commitment, many Japanese will watch their Christian neighbors for years, even decades, before asking “for a reason for the hope within” (1 Pet 3:15).

One of the missionaries shared the story about their neighbor Mrs. M (who lives with a serious medical condition). The wife of our missionary had gone to her house twice a week for many years to help her by washing her hair, cleaning out closets, and hanging laundry. For 14 years she shared the gospel, but with little response. But following a family crisis, Mrs. M and her family began to seek for true comfort and to learn of Christ: following an extensive instruction class with the pastor, they made profession and received baptism last November. This is but one of many examples of faithfulness and perseverance in the long-haul by which the church in Japan testifies to the need to wait upon the Lord to produce his fruit in his season.

The Japanese church, as the church in all places, has areas where it needs to grow and mature in the Lord. But here I thought it would be beneficial to share some reflections on where we can learn from their strengths and imitate them in our own life and witness as the Reformed church in America, as we are a small expression of that expansive and glorious body of Christ which knows no earthly boundaries.

(Editor’s Note:  Ken recommends the reading of Silence by Shusaku Endo, a book of which New York times book reviewer Irving Howe says:  “Silence I regard as a masterpiece, a lucid and elegant drama.” )

Ken Montgomery is the Associate Pastor at Redeemer Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Dayton, Ohio.  He holds a BA (Philosophy/English) from Covenant College and an MDiv from Westminster Seminary California.

@2012 The Aquila Report – all rights reserved.