JBF (Japan Baptist Fellowship)
An Asian proverb says, “None of us are as smart as all of us.” Many people arrive in Japan full of confidence and with great intentions, but it doesn’t take long before people feel their limitations. Japan Baptist Fellowship (JBF) is committed to and blessed with powerful partnerships that multiply the impact of all that we do.
JBF was formerly known as the Japan Conservative Baptist Mission. It was born to facilitate a partnership between World Venture from America, and Fellowship International from Canada. Now we have a host of international partners from Asia and Europe and hopefully one day from Africa, South America, and Australia as well. We’re grateful for the healthy partnership we have with the Japan Conservative Baptist Association.
The Japanese church association we gave birth to 50 years ago has both experienced, visionary leaders as well as young, innovative pastors. Our roots in the Tohoku region and a strong base in Kanto, give us opportunities to serve alongside Japanese partners in both rural and urban centers. It also has allowed us to participate in church planting and relief efforts taking place in Fukushima, Miyage, and Iwate in the wake of the triple disaster. These relationships enable us to seek parent churches with whom we can help establish daughter churches. This gives birth to churches with a Japanese ethos and support network as well the DNA for reproduction built-in.
The Japanese proverb “ten people, ten colors” (十人十色) is a reminder of how unique each person is. While the first proverb speaks of our unity, this speaks of our diversity. In its pursuit of transformed lives, JBF made a strategic shift in the last decade to celebrate each missionary’s unique gifts rather than work in a one-size-fits-all approach. We’ve restructured into three teams, and our missionaries are now released to serve in church multiplication, innovative ministries, and support ministries. These teams have become an incubator for synergy and mutual encouragement among like-minded missionaries. And the result has been a wave of new, progressive-minded missionaries using their gifts and talents to equip churches to reach Japanese people for Christ.
Some of the ministries we are pursing include: mobile evangelism platforms, gospel music and kids gospel choirs, a visual Bible translation for deaf Japanese people, and outreach to the Tokyo noise music scene. Each ministry has the goal of catalyzing the efforts of churches and church plants to reach Japanese people for Christ. Our support ministries team works in missionary children’s education, short-term missionary co-ordination as well as English teaching.
This focused team approach allows us to take into account each missionary’s gifts, passion, experience, and language aptitude. It also puts them alongside others to whom they can relate and learn from. While church planting will continue to be our focus, we anticipate that the diversity of our mission will continue to grow and allow us to be on the cutting edge of innovation in ministry in Japan.
