New pastors appointed for two Japanese churches in Bangkok
Bangkok, Thailand places second in the world, after Los Angeles, US, for its number of Japanese expatriates. There are two Japanese churches in the city, and both needed pastors for a long time. Their prayers were finally answered amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, breathing new life into the Japanese ministry in Thailand.
Bangkok Japanese Christ Church
One stop north of the busy Siam Station, Bangkok Japanese Christ Church (BJCC)’s chapel is on floor 12A of a building marked with a cross. BJCC, was established in 1964 and belongs to the Church of Christ in Thailand. They recently welcomed Masaru Nielsen-Bushimata as their new pastor. Prior to Thailand, Nielsen-Bushimata served at Nagaoka Covenant Christ Church in Japan. He had a desire to serve overseas, and his wife, Amy, had a vision to help financially challenged women in other countries. In 2018, the couple went on a vision trip to Thailand and found out that BJCC’s pastor had just announced his resignation. The other Japanese church in Bangkok, Thai Bible Evangelical Church (TBEC), was also pastor-less. “I was planning to become a missionary and serve at an NGO, but to hear that two churches were in need of a pastor made me think about what I could do here,” says Nielsen-Bushimata.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the two Japanese churches had to wait to recruit new pastors and continued to hold their services online. Nielsen-Bushimata joined other pastors in preaching online to aid BJCC. In May 2020, Nielsen-Bushimata’s assignment as pastor became official, but the city was still in lockdown. So because he wasn’t allowed to enter Thailand until July 2021, his installation ceremony was held online. Finally in November 2021, regular Sunday in-person gatherings were permitted again and church members began to return.
Thai Bible Evangelical Church
In central eastern Bangkok, near Phrom Phong station, TBEC shares a floor of a multi-story complex with a Korean Church. TBEC holds Sunday services in the afternoon. This church began in 2002 with believers gathering at one of their homes. And since most of the members are expatriates, many leave the country within a few years, and new members join. Some have opted to stay following marriage, whereas others have left the country due to the pandemic but continue to join the services via Zoom.
The pastor of TBEC, Pastor Maji Niino, served for a long time at Shanghai Japanese Christian Fellowship and returned to Japan in 2017. He worked as joint pastor at Yokohama Tsuzuki New Town Chapel while caring for his father. With a desire to serve overseas in Asia again, Niino visited Bangkok in February 2020 and found out that the two Japanese churches were in need of pastors, and how TBEC had had no pastor since 2018. Like Nielsen-Bushimata, Niino first aided the church by preaching online. In April 2022, Niino made arrangements for his father to be taken care of at a residential home, obtained his visa, and got ready to leave for Thailand. Unexpectedly, his mother-in-law passed away in July that same year, followed by his father three days later, and Niino had to rearrange his plans, finally arriving in Thailand in September.
“This church was without a pastor for a long time, and many members have since left Thailand,” says Niino. “We are preparing to reach out to Japanese expatriates living in Bangkok and resume the fellowship that was lost in the pandemic.”
Niino’s inauguration ceremony took place in November 2022, led by Nielsen-Bushimata from BJCC. The two pastors regularly stay in touch with each other and hope to work together for the salvation of Japanese in Thailand. The two strongly encourage Japanese pastors to consider serving at Japanese churches overseas. “Most pastors serving overseas return to Japan in seven to ten years, and it is a challenge for the churches to recruit new pastors,” says Niino.
From Christian Shimbun, January 29, 2023
Translated by Hiromi Terukina