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TOKYO—By the time disaster relief volunteers from Southern Baptists of Texas Convention churches arrived in Japan in June, Tokyo Baptist Church had already laid the groundwork with nearly three months of ministry to the northeast Japan towns of Ishinomaki and Kamaishi.
The Southern Baptist church, with a membership that is about half native Japanese and half transplants to Japan, was planning for ministry in hard-hit areas only hours after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami and the subsequent nuclear disaster that has tested the resolve of the Japanese people.
All told, Tokyo Baptist volunteers, along with SBTC disaster relief volunteers and Baptist Global Relief, have delivered tons of supplies and spent thousands of man-hours preparing and implementing clean up in the devastated areas. More important, at least three people have prayed to receive Christ as savior.
After the tragedy, the church rallied to develop a system through which it would channel its ministry efforts to the Tohoku Region of northeast Japan, said Joel Cuellar, the church’s pastor of evangelism and missions. But because of rescue and recovery efforts, it would be about two weeks before the government allowed volunteers into the affected areas. Japanese Defense Forces had to first search for the missing and dead and clear roadways before allowing civilians to assist in the recovery.
That delay allowed Tokyo Baptist to create its Northeast Japan Team to “share their God-given abilities and experiences” in developing short- and long-term recovery plans, Pastor Dennis Folds wrote.
Cuellar, the team’s project leader, said the church wanted to ensure their efforts were feasible before sending crews, especially international ones. He said the people of northeast Japan, heavily influenced by Buddhist tradition, can be standoffish with foreigners.
With such a large area in which to provide support, Cuellar said it was by God’s direction that the cities of Ishinomaki and Kamaishi and their surrounding communities were selected as the church’s focus.
Tokyo Baptist member Yoko Dorsey, who is Japanese, was on the first church team to enter the area. The extent of the damage—physical and emotional—was unbearable, she said. There were still unrecovered bodies in some areas. Dorsey drove the SBTC team through one neighborhood of Ishinomaki and recounted seeing bodies and body parts lying amid rubble.
When Tokyo Baptist decided a representative from the church was needed to live in the area of Ishinomaki, Dorsey accepted the call. Her own testimony, which included personal loss and her salvation experience, gave her understanding and empathy for the survivors.
Cuellar said the team was moved to place a field coordinator in the area because of John 1:14: “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.”
In a missions update to the church, Cuellar wrote, “Our desire, just as the Son of God and our Lord and Savior did, is to make our dwelling among the people … to be with them … to come alongside them. We do this in a Christ-like attitude, by being servants.”
When the second SBTC team arrived June 20, Tokyo Baptist had already made 13 trips to Ishinomaki and two to Kamaishi and Dorsey had at least 100 ministry contacts. Each contact, Cuellar explained, represents an individual or family with whom a Tokyo Baptist ministry team member has met. They have developed relationships in an effort to meet their needs and, Cuellar said, “earn the privilege of sharing the gospel.”
Residents in need of manual labor have taken advantage of the crews sent by Tokyo Baptist. SBTC volunteers were the first internationals to work with Tokyo Baptist. Cuellar said he put out the call for a team through Baptist Global Response as a test run for future work. The SBTC volunteers, who came from across Texas, proved effective and Cuellar said the church would most likely continue using international teams in their ministry efforts.
Cuellar likened the work in Tohoku Region to that of the first-century church: Christian practices, including acts of mercy and kindness, were antithetical to those of Greek and Roman society. Centuries later in Japan, Cuellar said their work “opens the opportunities to share the gospel. In Ishinomaki we are following the model to serve. As the Lord opens opportunities we can meet spiritual needs.
“One thing I do know,” Cuellar said. “Right now, we have this window of opportunity for evangelism. Let us not miss this chance of making an eternal impact on the people of Tohoku. And it is very possible, as we allow the Holy Spirit of God to move, that thousands and thousands will believe in Christ.”
Financial support for the ongoing Baptist work in northeast Japan can be made through: Baptist Global Response at baptistglobalresponse.com. Click on the projects tab and select “Japan God-sized impact” to donate.
