Don Wright (RJC Founder, Editor of Operation Japan Prayer, Former Missionary to Japan)
Here is what our director, Dennis Peters shared in our RJC email report:
What a fabulous October we have enjoyed.
The Multisite Conference, while not without its hiccups, was such a huge blessing. October 19 in Seattle (October 20 in Japan) we had a special service with our main Speaker, Pastor Yonai (who actually flew to Seattle from Tokyo), with the Japan sites, Osaka and Tokyo.
Then, on Saturday, October 20 in the USA Washington D.C., Atlanta, Detroit, Chicago, Nashville, Dallas, San Antonio, Los Angeles, Portland and Seattle held conferences where people from all over the USA and Canada gathered together, not just to hear Yonai Sensei, but to share, learn and worship together.
We have heard so much about the networking opportunities and the excitement from each location. On top of that, we had a “Joint Sharing Time,” where all 10 sites were able to share a little about what is going on at their location. It was POWERFUL! 600 people from all over the USA and Japan gathered in 12 different locations sharing their passion for reaching Japanese for Christ! WOW! WOW! WOW!
Here are some of my personal reflections coming out of the multi-site event.
- Japanese students and families in the business world are all over the US and Canada. The more concentrated areas are more easily identified. But the multi-site and mini-conference format allows us to help connect people and ministries more broadly. And the concept can easily help in other countries of the world.
- RJC can be of help in Japan. Up to this point we have focused on the US and Canada, but RJC conferences can provide the opportunity for Christian leaders to connect and learn concerning returnee ministries from one another primarily in English.
- A direct internet connection is essential. On Friday evening the broadcast from Seattle to Japan was through a wi-fi connection which was not good. (Even then, in spite of the technical difficulties, the event allowed healthy networking.)
- It is important to work harder to gain cooperation with the leaders of Japanese churches in the various locations. They are so important to the effectiveness of RJC and JCFN.
The Kingdom of God, centered around the common vision of reaching Japanese in the US and Canada, and changing Japan and then the world needs RJC and JCFN. The multi-site conference can be an important tool. There is too much to do. We can’t sit on the couch, and we can’t do it alone!
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