“Help is available if you come” to Toyohashi Church of the Evangelical Holiness Denomination of Brazil
Toyohashi Church of the Evangelical Holiness Denomination of Brazil is in Toyohashi, Aichi Prefecture, the city that holds the second-largest Brazilian population in Japan. The church serves as a gathering spot for the Brazilians living as “foreigners” in Japan and continues to search for ways to serve the local community.
Over a century ago, a large group of Japanese immigrants traveled overseas and settled in Brazil. At the same time, many missionaries were sent to Brazil to reach out to these immigrants. The Evangelical Holiness Denomination of Brazil was founded as a result of that process, and now 45 churches throughout Brazil, one in Peru, one in Macao, and four in Japan count themselves as part of the denomination. In the past 40 years, descendants of these immigrants have “returned” to Japan to make a living. Christian migrant workers gathered to worship, and that eventually grew into churches. These days, missionaries are sent from Brazil to Japan to support these churches. One of these missionaries is Adriano Kuroki, pastor of Toyohashi Church.
Growing up in Brazil, Adriano had a desire to serve the Lord but ran off to Aomori, Japan, at age 17 to distance himself from his worsening family environment. However, with zero knowledge of Japanese, it was difficult for him to continue his church life, and gradually he distanced himself from God as well. In time, Adriano returned to Brazil and completed two years of training at a mission organization. At age 25, he was ready to return to Japan to spread the gospel. This time, following the church’s advice that “study in the Japanese language is a must in order to serve in Japan,” Adriano completed three years of study at Tokyo Biblical Seminary and began pastoring at Toyohashi Church in 2017.
The Toyohashi Church holds worship services in Portuguese and Japanese, hosting around 60 people each week, with 25 being children. Most of the church members are migrant workers in their thirties with children. The church serves as a gathering spot for these families living as “foreigners.”
Toyohashi has a large population of foreigners not limited to Brazilians, and many of the local schools have a high percentage of non-Japanese students. In some schools, there are as many as 100 non-Japanese students out of 600 in the school, and sometimes 10 in a class of 35. With such a high percentage of multinational students, it is virtually impossible for teachers to closely support them all. A decade ago, a non-Japanese junior high student shared with Adriano his struggle at school due to his lack of familiarity with the Japanese language. Since then, Adriano has stepped into the field of education as a volunteer to help these children with their Japanese. “Seeing both the children and the teachers struggle, I realized schools were my mission field. There were so many lonely children.” Adriano now rents a space two days a week to help teenagers with their studies. Not only Brazilian, but also Filipino, Vietnamese, and even Japanese teenagers come seeking help.
The Toyohashi Church works to spread support in a wide range of areas. Twelve years ago, in the hope of reaching out to the local Japanese community, the church began to hold gospel music classes, which led to two people believing in Jesus. Adriano comments, “Japanese people need a lot of time to come to Jesus. It is a difficult decision to become a Christian in this community. But once they believe, they persevere.” For over two decades, the church has reached out to the homeless. Some church members are not fluent in Japanese but actively take part in cooking and passing out meals to the homeless. Before COVID-19, church members served as volunteers at nursing homes. There is an opportunity for every church member to serve the community.
Toyohashi Church is earnestly praying for a church building that will not only serve as a gathering space for believers but also for the community. Adriano shares, “We know what it is to live as a ‘foreigner.’ Therefore, we hope to become a home for other foreigners living in Japan and also for the Japanese.” The church hopes to have a shower room for the homeless, guest rooms for the outreach teams, a dorm for children who have left foster homes, and a cafeteria for local children in need. “We want this church to become a safe space for everyone and a place where help is available if you come.”
From Christian Shimbun, August 13, 2023
Translated by Hiromi Terukina