ELKHART, Ind. (Mennonite Mission Network) – Giggles from the living room drew a large smile on Angela (Wenger) Yamanaka’s face. Yamanaka, a co-pastor at Asahikawa Gospel Church in Japan, admitted that she once doubted such a scene of her children with playmates from the neighborhood would ever happen.
“We are in the northern part [of Asahikawa, Hokkaido, Japan] and the winter is really, really long, like five months of everything being white,” Yamanaka said. Reflecting on the days remembering when she and her co-pastor husband, Tomoki Yamanaka, began raising their children seven years ago, she said, “I would think, ‘How am I going to get out with my young children?’ But I don’t think about it anymore because there are so many people in the church who come to us now. The neighborhood children come to our house and play.”
The filling of their home mirrors the growth of their church.
For eight years, when the Yamanakas began serving in Japan through Mennonite Mission Network, they became co-pastors of the Asahikawa Gospel Church, a Holiness (Wesleyan) church in Asahikawa, Hokkaido, Japan. As mission associates with Mennonite Mission Network, the Yamanakas’ ministry includes evangelism, preaching, and Bible teaching. Their focus on children and youth ministries through English classes has fueled the church’s growth.
Many of the children that attend are from the church’s Saturday children’s program. Some of the children have drawn their parents to church.
“I know a lot of the people,” said Tomoki Yamanaka, who grew up in the town. “But when we began, only 25 or so adult church members came to the worship service and we had just one Sunday school student. We focused on children’s ministry first and now we have grown.”
The church now averages about 40 adults and 15 children representing diverse age groups.
Download full-resolution image.“We both do the ministry together,” said Angela Yamanaka, adding that she works more with young mothers and their children. “Our four children, Taira, Yoshiki, Mirai and Kiera, are now ages 7, 5, 4 and 1. There are a lot of natural opportunities to reach out to children and families to spend time together and share the gospel. We’re still planting seeds in a lot of ways.”
English courses are offered for 1 year-olds on through to high-schoolers. An annual English recital is held where children share what they’ve learned in class. The connection leads to building relationships with their parents, which opens doors to discipleship.
Of Japan’s 128 million people, Christians are estimated at 1 percent. Buddhism and Shinto are the main religions.
“We live an isolated existence as Christian churches,” Tomoki Yamanaka said. “There’s a big gap in the understanding of Christianity among everyday people.”
The Yamanakas have focused on modeling Jesus by building relationships and meeting the practical needs of people.
“Our church is getting to be more community-centered and we’re joining with our neighbors,” Tomoki Yamanaka said. “That’s our excitement – that we can reach out to more people. That’s our starting point.”
Holiday celebrations that draw families together become opportunities for discipleship. For example, the new year is a huge event where many Japanese families go to shrines to pray. The church holds a New Year’s service and many of the members bring relatives who are not Christian. And, of course, children are always welcome.
“Life is busy with full-time ministry and full-time parenting, but we are very much enjoying serving God here in this church as a family,” Angela Yamanaka said.
###
For immediate release
Mennonite Mission Network, the mission agency of Mennonite Church USA, leads, mobilizes and equips the church to participate in holistic witness to Jesus Christ in a broken world. Media may contact news@mennonitemission.net.
