A Retired Navy Man for the American Congregation – June 23
A retired navy man, John Phillis has decided to come to Yokota to work with the Military congregation. He has an access to the base so that he can invite and reach out to people on base.
He is currently with an organization in Denver CO called Military Outreach. He is from Albuquerque NM. He will be staying upstairs of the church building for three months from the mid July to the mid September. It is not the best living condition, but we will do our best to make it better. We will provide everything for him to live comfortably. We will get the doors locked so that he can have privacy.
A Missionary Couple from Greenville TX – June 23
If the Lord willing, in November Mark and Linda Franklin will come to Japan in order to work with the two congregations: Yokota Church Christ and Tachikawa Church of Christ which are not far from each other. It takes about 20 minutes by car. They plan to live somewhere between the two churches. Mark have lived in Japan for 10 years altogether for business. He is 68 years old. Now he will be retired in September and would like to work for the Lord in Japan. He speaks Japanese very well and his language skills are very amazing to me. I believe this is something the Lord has given him as a spiritual gift. Linda is a third generation Japanese-American. She is super friendly and is capable to reaching out to people easily.
They do not know how long they can stay in Japan, but desire to work for the Lord and bring people to Christ as hard as they can and as long as the Lord allows them to stay. I am looking forward to working with them. I pray the Lord will give me wisdom to discern what is good for the churches as we work together for glory of the Lord. I also pray the Lord will give us abundant fruit we can bear in the harvest. I will keep you posted.
A Class on Western Civilization and Another Class on American History – June 23
The husband of a Yokota member is very interested in history in general although he has indicated to me that he is not interested in Christianity and any kind of religion at all. This is a very typical attitude toward Christianity. I told him that I would like to teach a class on Western Civilization. He and his wife have taken it together since January. In part we discussed the beginning of Christianity and its influences on the western civilization. We observed and discussed an ugly part of Christian History. He is very intelligent, so he has thought about Christianity during the class periods, but it takes a long time for him to sink in.
I teach twice a month if my schedule works. In July we will finish this class. So I proposed, “How about American history?” Since he works as a civilian on American base at Tama, he is much more interested in American history than any other history. This is the subject I would like to study in depth too. I only took American History I and II in Southeast Missouri State University in the US. I also read a lot on the Restoration Movement. That is all I have, so I need to read and study more. Anyway I would start this class maybe in October.
Our Mission Statement – June 27
We need to make our mission and purpose clear to you. I have revised our mission statements below. Since we will have a new missionary couple added to the body, I think this is a good timing for us to make sure that we understand why we exist. We need to stay focused on the mission the Lord has given us.
Yokota Church of Christ Mission Statement
We the Yokota Church of Christ exist as Christ’s body in the world
- in order to make known the wisdom of God (Ephesians 3:10)
- in order to bear the fruit of the Holy Spirit by trusting the God in Trinity (Galatians 5:22)
- in order to love God and seek God’s kingdom and his righteousness in daily life and prayer (Matthew 6:33).
- in order to teach people the gospel of Christ with His love and baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:18-20).
- in order to spiritually grow by accepting one another, forgiving one another, loving one another in Christ’s love (Ephesians 4:32).
My Classes in JSE Will be over in July – June 27
This semester in Japan School of Evangelism I have taught two classes: Introduction to the Bible and New Testament Backgrounds. I have revised both of them and added new more information. As I teach these classes, I have realized that I have to dig in more and more to know about the subjects in order to teach more effectively.