CRASH Japan: Looking Back and Moving Forward
The triple disaster transformed CRASH Japan almost overnight, but it is still undergoing changes to better position it to respond to future disasters
Five years ago
Immediately after the 3.11 triple disaster, a great outpouring of love for Japan was channeled through the vision of Jonathan Wilson and CRASH Japan. Missionaries, pastors, and volunteers from all over the world worked together to provide relief. CRASH Japan established connections with local churches throughout the disaster zones and set up bases of operation in five locations from which to send out material relief and volunteers. The work was intense, exciting, and urgent. The need was so great that small differences of opinion were set aside and big goals were set and met. On March 12, 2011, CRASH Japan began its rapid transformation from a small ministry of one local church to a large organization staffed primarily by people who had never imagined being involved in disaster relief. Jonathan Wilson often likened it to trying to build an airplane while already in the air!
What we learned
We learned that after the basic needs are met, most of the real work of recovering from a disaster is internal to and driven by the individuals in a community. CRASH Japan realized early on that emotional and spiritual care is central to doing meaningful relief work. We discovered a lot about how to care for survivors, pastors, our teams, volunteers, and ourselves. Even five years after the disaster, there is still a great need for this kind of emotional and spiritual care. CRASH Japan continues to work to meet this need through educational workshops and seminars.
Recent transitions
Recent transitions at CRASH Japan have been described as a handover from missionary to Japanese leadership. In March 2015, Jonathan Wilson resigned from leadership of CRASH Japan. At the same time, the child trauma care program, Operation SAFE, separated from CRASH Japan. Jonathan and Rie Wilson continue to lead Operation SAFE and have been active in Tibet in the past months.
The operation of CRASH Japan has been turned over to local unpaid staff. Pastor Toshio Nagai has taken the helm as a leader among peers. Finances are tight and operations have been scaled back, but those who remain at CRASH Japan have a strong desire to continue to serve the Japanese church and the Christian community in times of disaster as well as help these communities prepare for future disasters. To build a stable and trustworthy organization, the new leadership is aiming to grow from the ground up. To represent this time of new growth, the CRASH Japan logo color has been changed to green.
Ongoing disaster response
In response to the recent flooding in Jōsō city, Ibaraki, relationships built over the last five years of response work were evidenced in a new cooperative effort. CRASH Japan coordinated a collective response that included CRASH headquarters staff, the Salvation Army with its canteen car, pastors, and believers from churches in Ibaraki, Tokyo and Saitama, and individuals from the Disaster Chaplaincy program. This new era of cooperation gives us hope for the future of disaster response.
Looking to the future
CRASH Japan hopes to continue to serve the churches of Japan by providing a clearinghouse for information and volunteer exchange, educating all who are interested in the benefits of care programs, supporting the growth of a strong Disaster Chaplaincy program in Japan, encouraging churches and individuals to join together in preparation for future disasters, and being ready to deploy again in response to future disasters in Japan.