We first came to Japan under the Presbyterian Church in a joint appointment with the United Methodist Church in 1982. Tim served as the pastor of a small rural church on the northern island of Hokkaido until 1986, when we moved to our present location here in Tsukuba Science City just north of Tokyo. We run a community center in this new, developing city with a variety of ministries for both the Japanese community and the growing international community. And we also serve the Japanese churches of the United Church of Christ in Japan (which includes both the Presbyterian Church USA and the United Methodist Church along with several other denominations) in the Ibaraki sub- district and throughout the Kanto area.
First, a little bit about the Tsukuba Christian Center and the community we work in. Tsukuba Science City is a planned city build during the last 25 years by the Japanese government centering around a major university and numerous scientific research centers. There are over 50 government run research centers and many more run by private companies, making Tsukuba the science and technology center of Japan. Already, over 5000 foreigners from all over the world live and work in Tsukuba, so there are many needs among the foreign community that we try to address. Most of this work is done in English, as most of the people from overseas speak English. When we work with people from Korea and China, however, we usually use Japanese, as researchers coming here generally must be fluent in either English or Japanese.
For the English speaking community, we hold regular English language worship services and Bible studies. We usually have about 30 to 60 people from all over the world (we have had people at one time or another from about 50 different countries!) at the worship service, and about 4 to 12 at the Tuesday evening Bible study. A number of these are people from Africa, Central and South America, Southern Asia and the Pacific Islands who are studying for several months at JICA (Japan International Cooperative Agency), a government run institution that invites about 500 people from developing countries each year to study in Japan. We help such people with a variety of problems, and bring them the good news of God's love through joint activities as well as individual counseling. One big project we have working on for the whole international community is to help get an international school functioning in Tsukuba. Tim heads up the committee for that, and the fledgling Tsukuba International School is now into its fifth year and is finally being officially recognized and backed by the city.
Our basic calling to Japan, of course, is to work with Japanese Christians to help in winning their own people to Christ. We do this in a variety of ways including giving sermons and occasional seminars in local churches (Tim is sometimes asked to give presentations on the cults, particularly the Moonies, the Mormons, and the Jehovah's Witnesses, which are very active in Japan).
We are able to make many contacts in the local community, such as the cooking class Juji holds in the Center for Japanese housewives and her involvement in the local Japanese school where our children used to attend (They are now at the Christian Academy in Tokyo). As part of our work among the International community, Juji serves as a liaison between the local Japanese schools and foreigners with children in the schools. As Juji has had to spend so much time in the hospital with her own health problems, she has also developed an important hospital ministry, often counseling other patients and giving them the kind of understanding and support that only a fellow patient can.
Tim also teaches English classes at Tsukuba University and at a couple of research institutes, and while no direct evangelism takes place in such settings as that, students are invited to come to church. A number of such contacts as these are now active in the church here or elsewhere. We also put out a monthly English language newspaper of news about Tsukuba, and Tim's book (in Japanese) on the gospel message hidden in Japanese (Chinese) characters came out in 1994 and was in bookstores all over Japan.
Another very important part of our work - especially being in the science city - is bringing together the worlds of Christian faith and modern science. We work closely with a ministry in the U.S. founded by a Christian astronomer, Dr. Hugh Ross, in trying to advance the gospel by presenting the overwhelming evidence of divine design in the universe. "Reasons To Believe", headquartered in Pasadena, Ca., is dedicated to answering the doubts of skeptics while strengthening the faith of believers through the world of science. We are heading up an effort to put these materials in Japanese and reach particularly Japanese with a scientific background through this particular tool. Already, two such pamphlets have been printed and the translation of the main book, "The Creator and The Cosmos", is due to be finished in 1997. If any of you are interested in finding out more about Reasons To Believe, they can be contacted at P.O Box 5978 Pasadena, Ca. 91117 or (818) 335-1480.
Another project Tim has helped get off the ground is the Japanese branch of the Make-A-Wish Foundation ,an organization dedicated to giving children with life- treatening diseases and their families a ray of hope and happiness by granting them a wish. Tim serves on the Board of Directors and handles communications with the international organization.
