Church Planter

Japan is a beautiful country made up of 124 million people, with 38 million living in the greater Tokyo area. While mainly known for its big cities, futuristic technology and cosplay culture, Japan is also an island country with lush forests and picturesque lakes and rivers. The Japanese culture is closely intertwined with Shinto, the ancient Japanese religion, and Buddhism, which was introduced from Korea in the 6th century. Only about 0.3% of the Japanese population are evangelical Christians, making the Japanese people the second largest unreached people group in the world. Our team’s vision is for God to transform Tokyo through an ever-increasing presence and influence of people who treasure Jesus above all else. The Japanese people are lonely, tired and overworked, seeking success in their careers even at the cost of their emotional and physical health. We aim to introduce them to Jesus so they might believe in Him, know Him, and be transformed by Him. Our team’s mission is to multiply churches by developing, empowering and releasing disciplemakers. Thus far, we’ve accomplished this by starting various evangelistic ministries and planting a network of four “small churches” that meet in homes across the city, and we are always open to new ways the Lord leads us in ministry.A church planter would join in this work by participating in one of our churches and learning under the leader of our church planting ministry. Because this is a long term position, the church planter would commit to full-time language learning for the first two years and then gradually transition into a season of full-time church-planting ministry. The role of church planter on the Tokyo City Team can take many different shapes, with some team members focusing on campus outreach and evangelism, some focusing on existing church plants, and some planning new church plants. While a church planter could become a pastor, it is more likely he or she would focus on evangelism, discipleship, and leadership development to raise up Japanese people as church leaders. We hope to train this church planter not to fit into a predetermined mold, but rather to use their unique gifts and strengths to make disciples among the Japanese people.