About a month and a half ago, we as YWAM Tokyo sat down to discuss different visions each of us as staff had to see the Kingdom of God come to Japan! It was exciting to see the room come alive as each of us began to share our passions! Through these talks and prayer, several different ministries were birthed within our base to pursue, and we have divided up into groups to see them come to pass!
The four main ministries in action currently are:
- Café
- Arts
- University
- Prayer Room
Cafe - There has been a long standing vision to establish a cafe here in Tokyo that can provide an intimate environment to minister to people while also offering quality products. Tokyo, being the most populated city in the world, offers many options of everything: beauty salons, ramen shops, convenient stores, and... cafes. The Japanese seem to love cafes, and we believe that a cafe would provide an incredible ministry context allowing people to relax while we love on them, develop relationship, and share the Gospel! Currently, the staff are looking for small ways to offer coffee, hot cocoa, and treats to people as an outreach, but until we obtain a space of our own, it will be difficult to fully pursue this vision.
Arts - We also as a base hope to see the arts used as a medium for ministry. There was a time in the history before Japan became a truly Buddhist nation, and Christianity even had somewhat of a presence, but it was through the use of the arts that Buddhism spread and gained popularity here in Japan, eventually leading to the power that was able to make the nation hostile towards Christians until after World War II. The Japanese have such a love for beauty, which has been attacked and perverted by many things, but we know that God, the creator of the universe, the most creative being alive, has things He wants to show to the Japanese, and by His Spirit that dwells in us we can release them to this nation!
University - University ministry has been something we have been active in for the past few years, but in this season, we are specifically targeting one university in particular: Rikkyo University. There is a rich, Christian roots in this university, beginning with the founder, Bishop Channing Moore Williams, who started the school to teach English and Bible studies even when Christian missionary activities were still prohibited in Japan! To read more on the background, click here! Also, here is a blog post written by one of our leaders at YWAM Tokyo about Rikkyo as well! We hope to tap into this well of Christian heritage here in Japan and see people released to change this country!
Prayer Room - While a few of us are focusing on this ministry in particular, we as a base are spending time every week in the prayer room ministering to the Lord! Jesus said the first commandment was to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind, and we believe it is vitally important to accomplish this before trying to fulfill the great commission. We believe that doing the former will lead to the latter! We gather as a base three days a week to spend time worshipping, praying, or meditating on Scripture in order to draw close to the Lord and love on Him, and four afternoons of the week are optional times for those not devoted specifically to the Prayer Room ministry to stay with us in the prayer room as we continue this precious work.
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