Sharing your Faith with your Japanese Neighbour
Discover how to share Christ's love with Japanese visitors in your community! This practical guide offers cultural insights, friendship-building strategies, and faith-sharing approaches for connecting with one of the world's least-reached people groups. Transform casual encounters into meaningful relationships that could impact Japan's 124 million souls.
In 1982 when I was teaching English in Tokyo, I met Mr S who had recently returned home from Australia. He had been powerfully impacted while studying there by the love of some Christians and soon became one of the most zealous Christians I’ve ever known. Though now retired from his work as an international lawyer he’s still actively reaching out with the gospel among the millions in Tokyo and beyond.
Perhaps you will meet another ‘Mr S’ or “Ms S’? Someone from Japan staying in your country for a short while. Did you know that the Japanese are one of the least reached people groups in the world? Only around 1% of the 124 million population profess to be Christian. Even if you have no sense of a call to go to Japan, God can use you right where you are. This revised and updated book gives lots of help on how.
Who is this for?
- You’re interested in Japan and keen to meet Japanese people.
- A Japanese person or family lives close to you. You’ve had a few words with them but wonder how you can go further and show them something of the love of Christ.
- You know someone from Japan and are wondering how to make your relationship with them closer, tell them the Good News of Jesus and invite them to a church event.
- There’s a Japanese Christian, seeker or new believer in your church. You’d like to help them grow in their faith but are not sure how.
Wherever you are, you’ll find “Sharing your Faith with your Japanese Neighbour” well worth reading. The previous book has already helped believers engage with Japanese visitors and has helped equip Christians to bridge the gap between cultures The contributors have all worked as missionaries in Japan or are Japanese Christians, and as one of those involved in the process of updating it, I know how much work has gone into this.
What's inside?
Although this book is short (only 100 pages) it’s packed with information, short stories, inspiration and resources, helping to prepare you to develop a relationship with the Japanese people you meet. From this you will become more effective in sharing your faith with them. There are three sections to the book:
Chapter 1 aims at giving a deeper understanding of Japanese people and their culture through an overview of their history, their religious beliefs and attitudes and their encounters with Christianity – and more. For most people much of this will be new.
Chapter 2 is about becoming a friend. When overseas, Japanese people are usually keen to meet the locals, but they find it hard to take the initiative in building relationships. Almost always we need to make the first (and maybe the second) move. This chapter gives guidelines on how to go about making friends and points out some of the different customs to be aware of. It offers some practical tips about what to do together, how to help them with English and everyday life in a different culture. It also highlights some areas where potential misunderstanding can happen.
Chapter 3 is about witnessing to Japanese people (you might be tempted to go straight here and skip chapters 1 and 2 but it’d be best to resist that urge). In many ways there are differences from how you witness to a fellow westerner, although the gospel core, of course, never changes. Firstly, there are doctrinal matters; for example, the idea of a Creator God is not part of the Japanese worldview. Perhaps more important is how to talk with your Japanese friend so that, as far as possible, you avoid misunderstandings or causing unnecessary offence. This chapter mentions aspects of Christianity that often appeal to Japanese people and gives a few suggestions as to where to start if a friend would like to read the Bible with you. There are brief answers to some common questions that Japanese people might ask you such as, “Will I lose my identity as a Japanese person if I trust Jesus?” There’s some very practical advice about how to help someone after they come to faith in Christ. Finally, if our Japanese friend return to Japan as a new Christian they will face particular challenges, and these are highlighted with ways to help at the end of the chapter.
At the back of the book there are several pages of further resources, useful contacts and summaries of key points about understanding our Japanese neighbours and reaching out to them with the gospel. On the very last page is a reminder that in all our interactions with Japanese people the greatest thing is love.
If you have any interest in Japanese people and a desire to share Christ’s love with them, you’ll want to get hold of a copy of this very useful little book. Why not also tell a friend about it? Or a church leader? Or even buy them a copy?!
