Our First Major Update

Thanks for the long wait. This is our first major update since we have arrived in Tokyo. We are excited to share how our first month went since we left the States.

First of all, we finally moved into our new residence two weeks ago. It is nice to finally have privacy and a “routine,” which we have not experienced in the past six months. We are starting to discover all the different parts of our new neighborhood, such as learning where to buy groceries. One advantage of living in Tokyo is that you can go shopping after midnight — most of the stores are still open. One disadvantage is that everything is very expensive (for example, 0.4 lbs of whole bean coffee is $9). However, we definitely feel called to be in this city, to bring the transformational message of God’s grace to our lost neighbors and friends. The small discomforts are nothing compared to the joy of being able to share the Gospel with the people of Tokyo.

When it comes to ministry, God has already accomplished so much through us already in just 4 weeks. We have:

1. Changed our church polity from a board-driven to an elder-driven system.
2. Added a new meeting on Sunday, which we call “Family Time,” before the main service. The purpose of this new meeting is to inform and educate people about what we will attempt to do and why we want to do these things in the next 10 years. In other words, we are vision-casting in order to unify our goals and priorities. This meeting will continue for another three months until we begin our biblical training school in April.
3. Added a new time for believers and first-time visitors to fellowship. We provide beverages and snacks to cater to these city people.
4. Met with all the key leaders in the church to assess our tangible and intangible assets (people, money, property, connections, etc.) so we can maximize our effectiveness.
5. Started a church-wide prayer meeting before the main service to pray for one another.
6. Met with key volunteers/servants and talked with them about the changes we will go through over the next months.
7. Been recruiting people we want to commit to disciple/mentor for the next two terms of our ministry.
8. Led two pre-marital counseling sessions per week.
9. Held baptism class for those who want to get baptized.
10. Wrote devotional material in Japanese.
11. Started our church Web site construction process.
12. Started to look for a new building to meet in.
13. Discussed the strategy for our ministry for the next 12 months.
14. Worked on new church publications.

A few other notable things have happened, but we will write about them in another post. As a whole, the church is excited about our presence and the new direction that we are proposing (which is a very good thing). We are also grateful to God that, since we have arrived, our church members are bringing new people to our services. Before our arrival, the average attendance was somewhere around 40 (which is still above average in Tokyo). Now we are enjoying somewhere around 60 people weekly since our arrival. We thank God for stirring the hearts of the members and motivating them to bring those who never heard or experienced the Gospel to our grace-driven community.

Please continue to be involved with our ministry. Here are some of the major projects we want to complete within the next three months. If you or your church can to increase the effectiveness of Gospel’s work in Tokyo by financially contributing, we would appreciate it, as our small community is already giving as much as it can at this time.

I will list our projects according to the priority/urgency:

1.       Church Web Site Construction. Cost:  $6,500

This is a two-month project. We are convinced that in order to reach the people in the city, we need to use the tool of technology in a way that it has not been used before in Tokyo. Our Web site will have two versions: a home PC version and mobile device version. It will provide info about our church and also distribute first–rate, original Christian resources in Japanese to those who may not live close to Tokyo. It will also be used as an evangelistic tool to introduce Christianity, Christ, Church, and the Gospel to non-believers in an attractive manner. Christians can also use the site to connect to others living in the city, enabling them to be held accountable and pray for one another. We really need to start this project as soon as possible, but we need the funds to hire someone full-time to make the project all it needs to be.

2.       Christian Resources from the US. Cost:  $4,500

We want to import books and media resources to increase the quality of training in our community. We are currently negotiating with New Growth Press to see if we can get discounted pricing on its resources. We want to make sure we are continually equipping our believers in order to help them to trust in God’s grace in a city where it is difficult to sense God’s presence.

3.       A new sign to promote our church in our neighborhood. Cost:  $600

Our church is currently not well-advertised. We had two new families over the last 4 weeks that almost missed the service because they could not locate our church. Now that we are officially moving forward as a growing community, we would like to be more visible.

4.       Simultaneous Translation Kit (Transmitter x1/Receivers x40) Cost: $4,500

We have been having multiple guests from the US who want to become members at our church. However, the current simultaneous translation kit we have are dated and are not functioning properly. Obviously, having a loud continuous hissing noise and poor reception bring great frustration to our first time visitors. As God is blessing us to become an inner city church that Tokyo needs, we must be able to accommodate believers who are not fluent in Japanese. If you know how to get professional translation kit at an affordable price or could donate used but still decent ones, that would be another way to help us out.

5.       New foldable tables for our fellowship meetings. Cost:  $1,500

We need 10 compact tables that can be easily stored, but these are not cheaply made. Each table costs $120 plus shipping. Acquiring these tables will not only increase the quality of believers’ fellowship, but they will also be used for welcoming new visitors and equipping believers during training classes.

Please also pray that God will provide competent co-workers with similar values and vision. We need people who understand city culture and love Japanese people the way Christ loves them.

Pray for Amy as she makes her adjustments. It can be lonely when she cannot share her thoughts clearly with others who may not understand English well. Pray that God will provide her with a close female friend who will serve the Lord with her. Also, her first Japanese conversational class begins on January 7. Pray that God will use her there to share the Gospel through her testimony.

Pray that God will continue to use His people to support our effort in Tokyo. Since we left the U.S., the value of the dollar hit 14-year low against Japanese Yen. That means the value of our support went down significantly since our arrival. That is very discouraging when you live in one of the most expensive cities in the world. Please pray that we will continue to rely on God’s provision and His grace and not lose our focus as we serve Him.

Thanks for your continuous prayer and support. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Serving the Lord together by His grace,

Kazu & Amy Kato