"Multiplying Churches in Japanese Soil" by John Mehn

February 20, 2025

Notes

Introduction

  • "So, despite its exemplary development as a nation, the Japanese are the epitome of a people unresponsive to the gospel." [20]
  • "The Great Commission to his disciples was the clear mandate to "make disciples of all nations #matthew/28/19 . The means of evangelism and the multiplication of disciples is accomplished through the church, since the church is central to the mission of God" [21]
  • Since the primary task of God's mission is the church, the establishment of new churches is critical to fulfilling that mission
    • We can see this in Acts through Paul's mission to plant, multiply, and facilitate new churches
  • "Japan needs many more churches, especially in unchurched areas. Only multiplying new communities of believers saturating the country will accomplish that strategic task of displaying the missionary nature of the church in every community." [22]
    • The task cannot be completed until there are indigenous churches in "every nook and cranny of Japan" [22]
  • God has given growth to the church in Japan, though many believers are anxiously waiting and trusting in the hope of a greater breakthrough #1corinthians/3/5-15
  • Questions to be asking are:
    • Where are God and the Spirit working in Japan?
    • Where can we learn how to do ministry better? Where are the effective model churches?
    • How can we revisit and rediscover the strengths of the Japanese church?
    • What are the most effective means of evangelizing and discipling Japanese?

Chapter 1: Gospel Penetration in Japanese Soil

  • Only about 0.22% of the 128 million Japanese population attend a Protestant church every Sunday (even this number may be inflated)
  • 24 cities still do not have a single church, over 1800 rural areas linger without a church as well
  • Church Information Service (CIS) calculated that there is roughly one Protestant church per 16,000 Japanese
    • The average size of a church is 34 people, with many having less than that
  • 72% of the pastors of these churches are >60 years old
  • "In the present climate, we cannot proceed with the status quo as it means the church in Japan would continue to decline. A few years ago, Parrish estimated that at the current rate, for Japan to reach a target of one church per one thousand people, an astronomical figure of nearly 2,800 years would be needed." [35]
  • We don't just need brand new churches, but multiplication from existing ones
  • John advocates for smaller, lay churches that can reproduce early in their life cycle to meet the necessary production rate
  • Churches can make use of the research performed by convenience stores (as they have invested lots of money into doing so) in order to find the most optimal places for church planting

Difficulty in Contextualizing the Gospel in Japan

  • Christianity seen as foreign
    • Despite extensive missionary efforts, it has not deeply taken root
    • Japanese churches struggle to become truly Japanese
    • The church is often compared to a “potted plant” rather than a deeply rooted institution
  • Multi-religious identity
    • Most Japanese follow Shinto and Buddhism but also incorporate elements of Daoism, Confucianism, and folk religion
    • Shinto: Indigenous animistic faith, emphasizing kami (spirits) and purification
    • Buddhism: Arrived via China/Korea, became distinctly Japanese with various sects
    • Folk Religion: Blends religious elements to meet daily spiritual needs
      • Everyday Japanese are less interested in organized religion but are very spiritual, finding fulfillment in the practical outworking of folk religious practices
  • Key religious themes
    • Ancestor worship: Considered the core religious practice
    • Purification and avoiding pollution: A key concern in daily life
    • Fortune-seeking & protection: Amulets, divination, and rituals for blessings
    • Seasonal and life-stage rituals: Festivals, birth, marriage, and funeral customs
  • Religion and National Identity
    • State Shinto and Emperor Worship reinforced cultural uniqueness
    • Nihonkyō (Japanese national religion) links religious traditions with identity
    • Post-war nihonjinron emphasizes Japan’s cultural uniqueness
  • Christianity struggles to adapt
    • Unlike Buddhism, it has not been “Japanized”
    • Still viewed as a Western or foreign belief system
    • There is not enough contextualization present in the church
  • Pauline Model for Contextualization (1 Corinthians 9:16-23) #1corinthians/9/16-23
    • Gospel is unchangeable: Must remain central
    • Personal adaptation: “I became like...” – Adapting methods to reach people
    • Effective ministry: Goal is to win as many as possible
    • Balance: Adapt to culture but avoid altering core doctrine
  • Key Theological Considerations for Japan
    • God’s immanence vs. transcendence: Aligning with Shinto spirituality
    • God’s sovereignty vs. fate/karma: Addressing fatalistic worldview
    • Suffering & misfortune: Theodicy in the Japanese context
    • Death & afterlife: Beyond Western personal eschatology
    • Spiritual realm: Powers, demons, angels – resonates with folk beliefs
    • Divine guidance vs. divination: Addressing traditional fortune-seeking
    • Nature & creation theology: Aligning with Japan’s deep nature reverence
  • Danger of syncretism:
    • Risk of blending Christianity with folk beliefs, as seen in Kakure Kirishitan (Hidden Christians), who practiced Christianity in secret
    • Contextualization must uphold biblical truth while engaging cultural expressions
  • Japanese religion is pragmatic
    • Genze Riyaku (現世利益) – Religion should provide "this-worldly benefits" (health, success, well-being)
    • Christianity is often viewed as too intellectual or too abstract
  • Effective engagement must include
    • Practical discipleship: Faith in action, meeting tangible needs
    • Spiritual experience: Not just logic but heart transformation
    • Avoiding the prosperity gospel: Offering real transformation, not just material benefits
  • Christianity in Japan requires holistic engagement
    • Root in Scripture while understanding Japanese worldview
    • Avoid Westernized approaches that feel foreign
    • Encourage an indigenous movement where faith naturally integrates into Japanese life

Challenges of Spiritual Resistance and Warfare

  • The Japanese have not responded to the gospel due to spiritual resistance and warfare

    • The main barrier is not just cultural or practical, but spiritual
    • Evangelism, discipling, and church planting are spiritual tasks requiring spiritual empowerment
    • The Christian struggle is against
      • The flesh (human sinfulness)
      • The world (sinful systems)
      • The devil and evil forces (spiritual opposition)
    • Biblical foundation for spiritual warfare
      • Evangelism is to turn people from darkness to light #acts/26/18
      • Ephesians 6:10-12 describes battle against spiritual forces #ephesians/6/10-12
      • The armor of God equips believers to stand firm

  • Biblical Worldview and Spiritual Reality

    • Modernism and naturalism deny the supernatural, including God and spiritual beings
    • Christianity acknowledges a supernatural world, including:
      • God – The all-powerful Creator
      • Angels – God's servants
      • Satan & demons – Opponents of God’s kingdom
    • Many Western Christians neglect the "excluded middle" (Hiebert)
      • The unseen world of spirits and supernatural forces that are at battle for the souls of humans

  • Resistance to the Gospel

    • Human sin and rebellion
      • Man is fallen by nature and choice
      • Romans 1 describes how sin distorts truth and leads to idolatry #romans/1
      • Idolatry in Japan reflects this rebellion
    • Satan’s active opposition
      • Blinds unbelievers #2corinthians/4/4
      • Steals God’s word from hearts #luke/8/12
      • Hinders the gospel and oppresses people #john/12/31 #john/14/30 #john/16/11 #1john/5/19
      • Demonic influence and possession are real #galatians/4/3 #colossians/2/8
    • Spiritual warfare debates
      • Concerns about excesses in the spiritual warfare movement #1john/4/1-3
      • Some teachings on territorial spirits and binding demons may introduce animistic beliefs
      • The Lausanne Movement (1993) warned against these errors

  • Key Implications of Spiritual Warfare

    • God is sovereign
      • Satan is not in control #ephesians/1/9-10
      • God is infinitely more powerful than him #ephesians/1/19-20
    • Jesus has ultimate authority #matthew/28/18
    • The Cross disarmed spiritual powers #colossians/2/15 #hebrews/2/14
    • Believers have no need to fear spiritual forces #1john/4/4
    • Spiritual warfare is a corporate battle - the church stands and fights together #ephesians/6/10-18

  • Japan’s Spiritual Environment

    • Idolatry is everywhere, reflecting deep spiritual darkness
    • Japanese beliefs in spirits
      • Ghosts (obake), wandering spirits (yurei), dead ancestors (hotoke), fate, and impersonal forces
      • These expose Japanese people to Satan’s deception
    • Idolatry in Japan resembles that condemned by Old Testament prophets
    • Experiences of spiritual darkness
      • Obon festival (welcoming spirits of ancestors)
      • Temples, shrines, fortune-telling, occult practices
      • Hard to discern the exact nature of spiritual warfare, but it is real

  • The Armor of God #ephesians/6/13-17

    • Defensive armor: Truth, gospel, righteousness, faith, salvation #colossians/1/13 #colossians/2/15
    • Offensive weapon: The Word of God
      • Used to demolish strongholds #2corinthians/10/3-5

  • The Weapon of Prayer

    • Spiritual warfare in Ephesians 6 is in the context of prayer
    • Paul requested prayer for boldness in sharing the gospel #ephesians/6/18-20
    • Prayer advances the kingdom into enemy territory
    • Rather than praying against spirits, biblical prayer should focus on
      • God opening the eyes of unbelievers #2corinthians/4/4
      • Leading people to repentance
      • Breaking the power of idolatry

  • Praying for a Breakthrough in Japan

    • Historical spiritual breakthroughs have led to mass conversions in other nations
    • J. Edwin Orr: “When God is ready to do something new, he always sets his people to praying.”
    • Examples of church growth through prayer:
      • Mongolia: 4 Christians (1989) → 50,000 today
      • Korea: 2% Christian → 29% Christian in 50 years
    • Prayer points for Japan:
      • Workers to be sent #matthew/9/38 – Japan lacks pastors and missionaries
      • Spiritual blindness to be removed #2corinthians/4/4
      • Repentance from idolatry and ancestor worship
      • Boldness for Japanese believers #ephesians/6/19
      • Guidance from God instead of divination #jeremiah/33/3
      • Continued religious freedom from government restrictions
      • Questioning of Shintoism and Emperor worship
      • Multiple church planting movements
      • Renewal and revival of Christians and churches

  • Summary

    • Japan is spiritually resistant to the gospel
    • The church is small and faces deep spiritual opposition
    • The task of church planting in Japan is a spiritual battle
    • Believers must depend on the Holy Spirit, remain alert, and pray faithfully
    • Two major external barriers to gospel response:
      • Inadequate contextualization
      • Spiritual resistance and warfare

Chapter 2: The Church in Japanese Soil

  • The lack of health within churches prevents growth
    • There appears to be a lack of faithful application of essential Biblical principles
  1. Shift Church Leadership
    • Go from clergy-centric to broad-based leadership, mobilizing all members of the church
    • "Sensei syndrome": Older generations of Japanese churches mimic a fiefdom, similar to Roman Catholic churches, where the church doesn't exist without the presence of a bishop/priest
      • Many members lack the desire of leadership and become passive
    • Empowering leadership was found to be the weakest factor in a research conducted by National Church Development (NCD)
  2. Develop the Church as the People of God
    • "The biblical concept of the church as a gathered community can be lost in a schedule of meetings and events in church buildings. The Japanese church needs to powerfully demonstrate itself as a relational group with a spiritual consciousness (Dyer 2013, 116–117), more like a warm family than a static organization." [62]
      • It should be more of life together than organization and meetings #acts/2/42-47
        • Healthy small groups
        • Deep, caring relationships within the community
  3. Engage Local Communities
    • Make services more accessible to new-comers and non-believers
    • Use neutral spaces to reach people who may not want to attend church services
    • Penetrate local communities and seek to contextualize the gospel to adapt to them
  4. Produce Holistic Disciples
    • Avoid antinomianism and legalism
    • The Japanese have so many barriers to entry into the faith including, but not limited to, the feeling of failure that they have not done enough or the immense social pressure
      • 80% of those baptized "disappear within a decade" [69]
    • Demonstrate discipleship as a lifestyle, not just knowledge
    • Cultivate theological foundations
    • Develop disciples through mentorship and coaching
    • Encourage individual growth
  5. Partner with Others in Unity
    • Long-standing organization division continues between:
      1. Several pre-war mainline denominations forced to merge by the Japanese government’s Religious Bodies Law into the large Kyōdan denomination
      2. Evangelicals often represented by the Japan Evangelical Association (JEA) formed in 1968 and re-formed in 1986
      3. Charismatics often represented by the Nippon Revival Association (NRA) organized in 1996
      4. The Japan Pentecostal Council established in 1998. Three groups have their own newspaper or magazine and three of them have formal membership based on their denominational affiliation
    • However, the desire is not just to get along but to display the whole people of God in a community #ephesians/4/3
    • Reconciliation and forgiveness, which is not often biblically practiced in Japan, need to be validated by leaders, churches, and groups.
  6. Recover the Church’s Mission
    • Socially, the church becomes an ingrown clique
      • Mitani describes the church as nakayoshi kurabu (best buddy club), which is a key reason why the church cannot exceed 1 percent of the population
    • The church exists for those not yet its members
      • The local church is not a club or society but the people of God as a spiritual community and family continually adopting new people into the faith
    • The church needs more change and engagement
    • Shift from defensive to offensive
    • The culture of Japan tends to seek harmony and stability, which is in sharp contrast to the biblical nature of the church [80]
  • In summary:
    • The church is declining and barely maintaining itself
    • We should not despair and simply shift the blame to the culture and spiritual climate of Japan
    • We must humbly admit the necessity of personal and corporate renewal of the church
    • We must again affirm that the church is not called to simply react to culture but rather be an agent of cultural change
    • We must assure that the church is healthy, growing, reproducing, and multiplying to fulfill Christ’s Great Commission in Japan
    • We all must ask what priorities and commitments are needed to bring revival and reformation to the existing church
    • We must be hopeful and trust God for our shared goal
    • Doug Birdsall, former executive chair of the Lausanne Movement asserted, “There is no country in the world where the church has sown the gospel so generously, yet reaped so sparingly” [82]