TOKYO – A Buddhist priest learned about Jesus through Japanese comics. A worker from the Olympic village heard what is worth more than gold. A Christian woman struggling to find a church learned about ones she can attend. An athletic trainer ran to tell his friend how he could be rid of sin. A 93-year-old woman welcomed prayer from missionaries and Japanese Christians. As athletes soared over high-jump bars, balanced on beams, freestyled to gold medals and climbed to new heights, … [Read more...]
New strategies emerge as Japanese churches face future without pastors
Japan’s population is aging. Almost 30% of its population is 65 years old and older. This statistic is affecting church planting, church health and church growth. International Mission Board missionaries and Japanese Christians must answer the question, “Who will lead the next generation of believers?” Scott Bradford, a missionary in Tokyo, said the average age of local pastors is between 60 and 70 years old. Many pastors are in their 80s and don’t feel they can retire because there is … [Read more...]
Japanese hunger for hope on the horizon
TOKYO, Japan (IMB) – More people died by suicide in Japan in October of 2020 than died from COVID-19 in the previous months of 2020. In 2020, Japan reported 16.7 suicides per 100,000 inhabitants. Concrete walls enclose home-like prisons where Japanese men and women suffer in silence. Already small apartments became prison cells because of COVID’s sentence of solitary confinement, with the hope of parole like an ever-setting sun on the horizon. Pandemics have no due process and exacerbate … [Read more...]
Christians count the cost and carry their cross
Adam*, a national believer, knew death was coming. He told Jonathan, an International Mission Board worker, he would be killed. His days were numbered, and though he didn’t know the number of days, he knew what God had called him to do. Six months before his death, Adam was in a difficult place in his spiritual life. In one of their Bible studies, Jonathan and Adam read in Luke 14:25-34 how Christians are called to count the cost and carry their crosses. “No one builds a tower without … [Read more...]
IMB joins Japanese Christians for Olympics outreach
TOKYO, Japan (IMB) – Every four years, athletes and spectators descend on the cities hosting the Olympic games. Historically, volunteer teams from U.S. churches have also journeyed to the Olympics and played active roles in both the Summer and Winter Olympics ministry strategies of IMB missionaries and national partners. IMB missionaries in Tokyo, Japan, developed evangelism and outreach plans utilizing both volunteers and Japanese churches and believers. These plans required adapting, … [Read more...]
IMB introduces Church Connections
RICHMOND, Va. (IMB) – What would happen if the more than 47,000 churches in the Southern Baptist Convention were directly connected to International Mission Board missionaries and actively engaged in fulfilling the Great Commission? IMB leadership estimates that almost 50% of Southern Baptist churches have no known connection to an IMB missionary. Church Connections was recently introduced to remedy this gap in relationships and directly connect IMB missionaries to Southern Baptist … [Read more...]
Baptists in Panama continue history of donations to LMCO
PANAMA (IMB) – La Unión Femenil Bautista Misionera Helen Stuart donated $1,180.88 to the 2020 Lottie Moon Christmas Offering® (LMCO). The group is a part of the Baptist Convention of Panama’s Woman’s Missionary Union and has faithfully donated to the International Mission Board (IMB) for many years. Dr. Paul Chitwood, president of the IMB, expressed his gratitude to Panamanian Baptists. “This gift, and the many years of sacrificial giving to the IMB from our brothers and sisters in … [Read more...]
Timing proves critical to sharing gospel with refugees
GREECE (IMB) – Time is never a guarantee when Christians meet a refugee in Greece. They may have years, months, weeks or just hours to share the hope that is found in Jesus. This is why International Mission Board missionaries and ministry partners who serve in Athens, Greece, developed an eight-hour, eight-day and eight-week ministry strategy to share the gospel and disciple refugees based on the time available. “You never know how long you are going to have with someone,” Derrick … [Read more...]
IMB’s Nehemiah Teams launches gap-year program
RICHMOND, Va. – Taking a gap year is an appealing option for many recent graduates, and studies show growing numbers of students are choosing to pursue other interests before starting college. Significant influences in students taking gap years include the desire to travel, experience new cultures, take a break from school, gain life experience and volunteer. The International Mission Board’s Nehemiah Teams program is providing an opportunity for students to take a gap year to serve on … [Read more...]
IMB family ministers among Italy’s refugee population
MILAN, Italy – The piazzas are empty. The selfie-snapping, sneaker-wearing tourists who normally frequent Milan’s historical squares are no longer visiting Italy due to COVID-19 restrictions. And, like the majority of the world, lockdowns keep citizens indoors. Many refugees from Sub-Saharan Africa who live in Italy make their living by selling souvenirs to tourists. The tourism industry plummeted due to lockdowns and ongoing COVID-19 restrictions, and this took away the ability for many … [Read more...]
IMB partners with 140 international Baptist conventions in fulfilling Great Commission
RICHMOND, Va. (IMB) – The International Mission Board’s 175 years of ministry among the nations resulted in the formation of 140 Baptist conventions and unions in 73 countries. These conventions and unions are reaching their own people and are sending their own missionaries to spread the gospel. These Baptists come from a myriad of countries spanning the globe, from the Southeast Asian nations of Indonesia and the Philippines to Spanish-speaking countries of Ecuador and Cuba. The IMB … [Read more...]
Uruguayan Baptist Convention commits to support Lottie Moon Christmas Offering
URUGUAY (IMB) – The Uruguayan Baptist Convention donated $1,500 to the 2020 Lottie Moon Christmas Offering® (LMCO) for International Missions. The Uruguayan Baptist Convention is comprised of 70 congregations, 35 preaching points and 4,899 Christians. This is not the first year Uruguayan Baptists have committed to giving to the LMCO. In 2018, a Uruguayan Christian told IMB missionary Tim Kunkel that her church wanted to donate to the LMCO. She handed Kunkel an envelope with $500. “You … [Read more...]