Holistic discipleship for everyday impact

Light Project is a ministry in Japan aimed at training and equipping Christians about how to connect their faith with their daily work. One of our Faith & Work course participants once admitted candidly that Sundays were the only time he had God in his heart. He added, “Monday through Friday, I have been working without even thinking about him. I wasn’t even aware of my unawareness!”

He is definitely not alone in experiencing this disconnect between his Christian faith and his daily work. In a country known for its demanding and intense work culture, coupled with the lack of Christian colleagues in the workplace, many Japanese Christians separate their faith from their work. Many are also increasingly questioning the value and meaning of work.

From crisis to calling

As a Japanese Christian with an international career in sales and marketing of more than 30 years, Light Project’s founder, Tomoko Sacks, could relate very well to the above. Born and raised in Japan as a non-religious person in a place rooted in Buddhism and Shintoism, she worked hard to climb the corporate ladder and to pursue money, power, and fame. While working in the United States, she hit a low point in her life when a conflict with her boss forced her to quit after only a year. With her identity intrinsically tied to her work, losing her job meant losing her sense of self and not knowing what she was living for. This crisis became her turning point, as God used her life circumstances and a dream of being with Jesus as depicted in Psalm 23:2–3 to draw her towards him. She felt that she did not need anything else if she were with him, not even the things she had pursued before. As someone who used to be self-sufficient and did not think that she needed God, Tomoko was humbled and overwhelmed by God’s love. She was eventually led to accept Jesus as her personal Lord and Saviour.

A new job and an opportunity to return to Japan then opened up, which Tomoko later realised was God’s plan and calling. Captivated by God, she set up a team in her church and initiated an evangelistic programme. Subsequently, God led her to be involved in church planting activities. Through these various events in her life, God was growing and moulding Tomoko as a Christian and realigning her priorities. God also gave her the opportunity to learn about faith and work integration and how to live as a Christian in the marketplace. Realising how essential and how scarce such training was in Japan, Tomoko founded Light Project (lightproject.jp) in 2017 to offer Faith & Work courses in Japan and to partner with churches.

Light Project today

Currently, Light Project’s Faith & Work courses are conducted over Zoom in Japanese so that more people can have the opportunity to attend, regardless of their location. The basic course (also known as Faith & Work Season One) is a nine-week course offered three times a year in January, May, and September. Based on a curriculum tailored specifically to the Japanese context and using reference materials such as Timothy Keller’s book Every Good Endeavour, the course covers topics such as God’s purpose for work, the effects of sin on work, how work exposes our internal idols, practising the Sabbath, living as God’s ambassadors, and participating in God’s renewal of creation through his redemptive work. After completing the basic course, participants can do the 10-week application course (also known as Faith & Work Season Two) where they will have the opportunity to discuss in greater depth how they can apply the ideas to their daily work.

In addition to Faith & Work courses, Light Project also hosts industry and job-specific online cohorts so that course graduates can have the opportunity to meet and have fellowship with other Christians working in the same industry or job. For example, participants of the social welfare cohort meet every month to share their joys and struggles of working in healthcare and social work and to discern and explore together how they can participate in God’s redemptive work for their industry. To complement the online courses and meetings, in-person events are also organised several times a year for a time of deeper fellowship, learning, and mutual encouragement.

Partnerships

Since faith and work integration is relatively new in Japan, Light Project recognises the value and importance of having more printed and online resources. Hence, we partner with pastors and Faith & Work subject-matter experts to develop and make available Faith & Work resources in Japanese. This includes blog series, books, and video courses, covering topics such as the Sabbath, calling, work struggles, faith, and art. In 2025, we were heartened to have over 80 participants, including non-Christians, sign up for our self-paced “Find Your Calling” online video course. We think this video course can also be used for evangelism. We also published the Japanese version of Joanna Meyer’s Women, Work, and Calling in print, digital, and audiobook formats.

Over the past eight years, Light Project has trained more than 340 participants from over 180 churches. This could not have been possible without the support and partnership of the Japanese churches and denominations, seminaries, and other Christian organisations that recommended Light Project to their members. Many of these partners have also warmly welcomed and invited Light Project to their premises to speak about Faith & Work and to conduct seminars and workshops for their members.

Eternal impact

Light Project’s greatest encouragement is witnessing the growth of our course graduates in their understanding about faith and work and how they are putting that understanding into practice at their workplaces. One course graduate learnt that man has received from God the cultural mandate of developing, cultivating, and stewarding the earth’s resources and that work is not a curse from God but part of God’s original calling for man. Another graduate who used to view her colleague as a rival learnt how to serve and support him instead. Another learnt that work is an act of worship unto the Lord. Initially, she did not enjoy her job and felt that she was not suited for it. But through the course, she discovered how God had led her to the job, and she started to love and pray for the people she came into contact with. Instead of simply working in order to make a living, she now works to glorify God and, as a result, has experienced renewed fulfilment and purpose for her life.

Our course graduates also shared other stories of transformation and Christian maturity, such as recognising their tendency to work in order to prove their worth and to obtain the approval of others. They also shared that they are learning to be secure in their identity as a child of God. While going against the status quo at the workplace may be challenging, course graduates have also been praying and meditating upon God’s Word more, seeking God’s wisdom and guidance on how to use their influence at work to make positive changes at their workplaces and how to partner with God in his redemptive work of the company, industry, and even Japan.

“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven” (Matt. 5:14–16 ESV). As more Christians in Japan learn to integrate their faith with their work and as they work diligently and purposefully in their everyday jobs, may their light shine so brightly in their workplaces that more people may be drawn to God and that his name be glorified through work!

photo submitted by authors