Reaching Students for Christ he akonga ki nga akonga hei ara whakawhiti mo te Karaiti

In the Land of the Rising Sun

Miyuki Asada came to New Zealand from Japan in 2001 for a year of study.  She joined Hamilton Overseas Christian Fellowship at the University of Waikato, and through that year God began to prepare her to work with students back in Japan.  Today she works with the IFES movement in Japan (KGK). She tells us how the Lord worked through her year in New Zealand, and fellowship with TSCF:

It was during the clubs day that I found the OCF table. I was in the second year of uni in Japan and just arrived in NZ for an exchange program. Though my main purpose (at least officially) was to study, I hoped to be involved in a Christian fellowship, hopefully with IFES ministry because I had previously been involved in an IFES ministry in Japan (KGK). I asked a lot of questions to the guy at the OCF table and found out that it was a part of TSCF, which is affiliated to IFES. So I started going to Hamilton OCF until I left NZ.

It's hard to summarise my stay in NZ, but one thing I can tell is that it changed my relationship with Jesus. I used to think the Christian life is hard to live, but during the stay in NZ I learned to enjoy what He has given to me, what He has done in me and to enjoy Him Himself.

It was also in NZ that I committed my life to full-time ministry. After months of escaping the call, I ended up coming to NZ. But the Lord was there. I surrendered, and was filled with the peace and joy of knowing that God will take care of everything. As I spent time with TSCF, I came to feel that I might be called to student ministry, especially with IFES. I was amazed that God led me to Hamilton OCF where I learned and appreciated the core value that TSCF and KGK (and other IFES ministries) shared. It took years until I become a staff worker, but I believe the time and experience was necessary, and I'd like to praise the Lord for keeping this hope alive and making it come true.

As I started working as a staff worker with KGK, I noticed the work includes a lot of commitments and is very time consuming. I work in the Kanto region, which is the largest region. It is in the centre of Japan on the East Coast and incorporates the capital city of Tokyo. It is divided into fourteen blocks of which I look after three. My main ministry is to visit the Bible study groups in universities and tertiary colleges, some of which have more than 20 members, and some only two. I try to visit them equally. I also look after the ‘block activities,’ each block meets together once a month to pray and encourage one another, they may also visit nearby universities to encourage the students there.

I also look after one of the committees in the Kanto region, called World Mission Committee, where students organise events to encourage other students to learn and pray for world missions. Other work includes writing articles and visiting churches. Staff workers have two staff meetings and one prayer meeting each month for cooperation and team building.

The biggest difference between KGK and TSCF is probably the number of universities and tertiary colleges in Japan. There are at least 40 universities where Bible study groups are active in the Kanto region only, and many more universities and colleges where we have contacts with Christian students. I visit more than 25 universities and colleges. It takes at least one hour to get to the closest universities, and about three hours to go to the furthest one.  Another difference is the religious background that is deeply rooted in Japanese society. Though the students today have more freedom from cultural bondage, the Buddhism and Shinto approach to “the supernatural existence” is still deep in Japanese people's minds. This makes it easier for the students to be inclined to post-modern culture, so in that sense they are similar to students in NZ. Students are busy with study, part-time jobs, church and KGK. More and more students are from difficult families, leading to mental health problems. Therefore the need for spiritual and mental care is demanding.

One of the challenges that students in Japan are facing is that they tend to stay in their ‘comfort zone’. This year, taking this into consideration, the executive committee in the Kanto region, which consists of students and a staff worker, started encouraging the students into evangelism. They organised evangelistic seminars studying the Bible and sharing testimonies. That is helping students to share the gospel with their friends at universities and colleges.

Miyuki Asada