This past Friday was Valentine’s Day. We held a special Valentine’s Day event at the church to create another opportunity to invite people to church and share the Gospel. Some of you may remember that I (James) have been volunteering at a local high school since December. We hadn’t seen anything come from it for a […]
Valentine Event (2/18/2020) Read More »
On Sunday nights, we are going through a series on our Identity in Christ. The Bible says if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature. But that doesn’t prevent us from thinking things about ourselves that aren’t true. To illustrate, I used a cockroach (it’s a toy), and a lion (both pictured above).
Yesterday (Monday) was a day called Setsubun in Japan. Though not technically a holiday, it is widely celebrated. For Setsubun, a member of the family puts on a mask and pretends to be a demon. The other family members throw some kind of bean or nut (peanuts are used in Niigata) at the person wearing
Setsubun (2/4/2020) Read More »
“Have you read a Bible before?” – “No.” “Have you heard of Moses?”’ – “No.” I was sitting at supper with a young man I had recently met, and the conversation turned toward the Gospel. I progressed through the Gospel story beginning with creation and sin then continuing to Jesus. His answers to the questions
February 2020 Prayer letter Read More »
One book on culture described Japan as a “coconut” culture. People might seem very hard and stiff on the outside (like a coconut), but once you get past that hardened exterior, the inside is soft. We are finding this to be very true. Recently, we have been trying language exchanges to try to meet new people.
Language Exchange ((1/28/2020) Read More »
If we’ve learned anything over this past year, it has been that people are more likely to come to church through a personal invitation. Don’t get us wrong, we have still been aggressively involved about inviting people to church through different platforms, but as we entered 2020, we are especially focusing on personal connections. This
A broken world (1/21/2020) Read More »
Last Thursday, Rosie started back in language school. We have jumped back in full force! Beginning this past Sunday, we also started a second service at the church plant in downtown Niigata. Bro Hill has allowed me to preach this service and we have started a new series called “The Bible and My ____”. Each
4 services (1/14/2020) Read More »
Although last month (especially the last half) was extremely busy, we were able to get a little R and R this past weekend. We went to Nagano city where the 1998 Winter Olympics were held. During our stay, we were greatly encouraged by our visit to Nagano Baptist Church. This church has sent out missionaries
The new year brings many new things, including an overdue family photo update in the header our email updates! Much happened over the last month, so please be sure to visit the updates page on our website for all the details. In December, the Lord opened the door at a local high school for helping
Happy New Year! – January 2020 Prayer Letter Read More »
June 8-24, 2020 The first week will be at the OG Camp in Trenton, GA for missions training and orientation. After Camp, fly to Japan and experience the land of the rising sun and some of its amazing cities! In Niigata, Japan learn from and assist a team of missionaries who are working on reaching
