Hamamatsu, this month’s CDGO highlight city, is yet another one of the 20 cities designated by government ordinance. With a population over 700,000, this is yet another strategic city that is desperately in need of the Gospel.
The need for the Gospel is evident if you simply search for “church” in Japanese. When I looked online, Google showed 10 churches which included several Catholic churches, a Lutheran church, and some protestant churches. Out of the 10 churches, there was only 1 Baptist church that came up. Remember, 10 churches for a city slightly smaller than Charlotte, NC would in itself be a staggering number, but there is only ONE baptist church!
Hamamatsu is a unique city to reach in that about 5% of the population are Brazilian immigrants. There are even three Portuguese speaking schools in the city. These Brazilian-Japanese immigrants are people of Japanese decent who’s ancestors moved to Brazil and are now moving back to Japan.
What might not be well-known is that Honda Motors was founded in the city of Hamamatsu. Honda, which is now a globally recognized manufacturing company, began in this city. If Honda can start here and have a global impact, how much more the Gospel of Jesus Christ?
Will you pray that the Lord will send laborers to Hamamatsu?