Sunshine Sakura (photo of the week)
back in 2016, probably at Nakamura Park in Nagoya
back in 2016, probably at Nakamura Park in Nagoya
My Pagoda (photo of the week)
My March Missions Update
Hi everyone,
I hope you’re surviving (even enjoying!) the winter wherever you are. In this part of Japan we’re already starting to see signs of Spring. It won’t be long!
In February we had a couple of significant events in our English ministry at my church in Nagoya:
On the 16th, we held a reunion for the former students of my adult English classes. We had a good turnout (as you can see from the photo), and lots of good conversation. The purpose of this event was not just for the students to catch up with each other, but to keep them connected to our church even though they’re not currently coming here for English classes. Please keep praying for our former students, that our church can effectively share God’s love with them in the months and years to come, and that God would draw them to Himself.
The other big event of the past month was just yesterday — my final kids English lesson. I’m thankful for four years with this particular class and eight years total with this ministry (this being our third four-year kids class). Please pray that these kids and their families will continue to connect with our church through our outreach events and summer camp, and that they will come to know Jesus personally.
Next week, I’m scheduled to travel to Tokyo, Saitama and Yokohama for meetings and mission-related business. Please pray for a safe and productive trip. Pray, too, for the Immanuel churches, leaders, pastors and families that will be going through transitions, which will begin after next week’s annual conference.
As always, thank you for partnering with me through your prayers and giving!
– Robin
Making Dango (photo of the week)
Happy Trails (photo of the week)
Oh Dear (photo of the week)
Old Town Japan (photo of the week)
Looking Up (February Prayer Letter)
Hi everyone,
I hope your new year is off to a great start. Things are certainly “looking up” here…
The picture above is some concept art I’ve been working on for the Manga Project. Pieces are starting to fall into place for this project, and I hope to have some more detailed information for you next month, along with sample art from other potential contributors.
Meanwhile, our church had a groundbreaking ceremony on January 21, and the construction phase of our rebuilding project is under way, with the new building scheduled to be finished in August.
And on a personal note, Yoko and I have set our wedding date for April 30 in Nagoya!
Your ongoing prayers for all of the above would certainly be appreciated! Also, please pray for these upcoming dates:
- 2/13 — Leading worship at the Nagoya Church prayer meeting.
- 2/16 — Class reunion and coffee time with former English students.
- 2/28 — My final kids English class.
- 3/5-7 — The Immanuel Church national conference.
By the way, I’ve been doing some extra blogging lately: New posts include some manga ministry related writing that might help you understand the why behind this new project. There’s also a short video update you can use in your church if you’d like to remind your congregation who they’re supporting. And I’ve been getting back into the habit of posting a Photo of the Week actually weekly.
You can heck it all out here: japanlog.co/blog
As always, thank you for being on our team through your prayers, giving and encouragement!
– Robin
From Above (photo of the week)
Why Digital?
In a previous blog post, I talked about what manga is and why I think it’s a great tool for 21st century missions in Japan. Today I want to talk about the another side of this ministry vision: digital.
It should come as no surprise that Japan is one of the most “wired” nations in the world. Almost every is online, and much of that is mobile, especially among the young. It’s more and more common to see people reading manga on their smartphones, too.
Here are some statistics I dug up recently:
Devices — University Students:
99.3% have a smartphone (100% use 6-7 days/week).
90% have a computer (31% use 6-7 days/week).
87.5% say their smartphone is their main internet access device.
(Source)
Overall Internet Usage:
115,111,595 Internet Users in Japan (2016*)
Share of Japan Population: 91.1 % (penetration)
Total Population : 126,323,715
Share of World Internet Users: 3.4 %
Internet Users in the World: 3,424,971,237
(Source)
Social Network Usage:
Social network usage by % of population (2017):
Twitter 35.55% (45 million active users)
Facebook 22.12% (28 million active users)
Instagram: 15.8% (20 million active users)
— Twitter still top in Japan, one of its strongest markets.
— Twitter most diverse user base.
— Instagram growing rapidly; could overtake FB.
— Females in 20-30s biggest Instagram users.
— 75% over 30 on Facebook.
(Source: Source)
LINE:
– #1 messaging app in Japan
– 75 million monthly active users (2018) in Japan
– Found on over 90% of all smartphones in Japan
(Sources: statista / humblebunny)
So, why digital?
In the 21st century, if you want to get the good news of Jesus out to as many people as possible, it seems obvious to me that digital is the way to go. Yes, we need more churches actively reaching out to their communities. Yes, we need more Christians to share their faith with friends. But an online outreach, effectively done, can (in a non-confrontational way) get the Gospel out to people who might might not have any Christian friends or a church in their neighbourhood. In the developed world, it should be at least a part of our missions strategy. That’s why I want to make it part of mine.