Overlooking the Obvious

You’re the missionary, you can teach an English class for outreach.” It wasn’t a question. It was an assumption. The idea was sound enough. As a native English speaker, I had a skill to offer, and there seemed enough of an interest in learning English to warrant teaching such a class. But surely I didn’t spend all that time learning the language and attempting to understand the culture, only to speak to the Japanese in English?

Of course, that is one part of what I do as a church planter. But is the language of my birth really the only outreach resource that I have at my disposal? It seems a bit of an easy way out, doesn’t it? Surely there is more I could offer?

But where do I begin to look for that thing that God has given me to build up His church here in Japan? Where do any of us begin? I believe that the place we begin is the most obvious—the person that God has made us. God has given each of us a particular set of interests, but how can we really know which of our interests, can be, or even should be, used as a tool for evangelism?

Omagari Ramen Club

When I first arrived here back in 2009, I was asked by Omagari Chapel’s “mother” church if I could look into ways of reaching men, because the various activities and events that had been organised in the past just didn’t seem to be working. I thought, “But men are so busy, they just don’t have the time. What is there that would interest men enough for them to create time?” Then one day, the answer came to me . . . at lunch.

I have an interest in eating. When I’m hungry, I like to eat. Ramen ticks all the boxes for me. It’s tasty, it’s cheap, and you can find a ramen shop anywhere. It got me thinking: How many guys out there love to eat as much as I do? It was probably a silly question to ask. I mean, really, one thing that often defines us as males is our enjoyment of eating.

So, from there, the Omagari Men’s Ramen Club was created. Beginning with male members of the various English classes, I simply organised a time and a place, and an invitation to “hang out” with me. Although only four or five attend each time, the Omagari Men’s Ramen Club has attracted about 20 different men since it began. This is friendship evangelism—it gives men a place to be themselves and a safe place to ask their questions. It also gives to those of us, who are believers, a place to exercise our faith in both word and deed.

But what about you?

Ask yourself these questions: What makes me happy? What do I like doing? How do I relax?

Why are these questions important? Because your interests are gifts from God, and your interests are where we begin to discover some great evangelistic tools. But before you use them as such, take a moment to rejoice in all that the Lord has brought into your life.

The next thing to remember is that we are not the only one with our set of interests. How many of us have joined a club, orchestra, exercise, or craft class to meet like-minded people that one day we could share our faith with? It is the same principle—using our interests to create opportunities for outreach. But why join a club if your church could run something similar as outreach, with you as the “instructor”? One of your interests may be your church’s next big outreach event. 

Photo by Dennis Tang