ReachGlobal (Evangelical Free Church of America)
ReachGlobal is the mission arm of the Evangelical Free Church of America (EFCA), which was founded in 1884 and arrived in Japan in 1949. Over these past 66 years we have helped establish the Evangelical Free Church of Japan and planted numerous churches throughout the country.
Today ReachGlobal has 16 full- or part-time staff working in Onagawa, Sapporo, Sendai, and Tokyo. Below are brief updates on each location.
Onagawa
ReachGlobal went into Onagawa first as learners as we prayer-walked asking God to show us how to love the locals. Onagawa had 80% of the town and 10% of the population washed away by the tsunami in 2011. After the disaster 70% of the residents were living in temporary housing.
Megumi Project is a social enterprise project offering young mothers of Onagawa a place of employment to create new products from used kimonos. Each lady receives training on how to sew. Every morning starts with a sharing time from biblical themes and praying for each other. See the Megumi Project web site: megumiproject.com and the article in the Winter 2016 issue of Japan Harvest.
ReachGlobal was invited by city officials to open a community space called Kizuna Friends in the newly-built promenade in front of the new train station in Onagawa. As this town moves toward rebuilding we have the privilege of being part of the community.
Sapporo: COEN Life
In Sapporo, we purpose to multiply communities with a passion for Christ and compassion for people.
Our Lead Team of five is made up of three EFCA ReachGlobal missionaries and two paid local believers. We use three platforms to accomplish our purpose—a café (Café COEN), an English school (COEN English), and the church (COEN Bible Community). We connect with unpaid staff, customers, English students, and Bible-community friends, introducing them to Christ when they are ready.
The Bible community worships on Sundays and we have Bible studies during the week. Approximately 20% of the 120+ people we now see weekly are choosing to spend time in God’s Word.
We use a business model operating a café and English school because they:
- align with the gifts of those called to this ministry,
- meet people’s needs,
- provide open doors to build relationships, and
- give opportunities to show our faith.
For further information visit COENLife.com. For the cafe and English school sites, visit CafeCOEN.com.
Sendai
At the Sendai Izumi Evangelical Church our mission is to proclaim the Good News to the city of Sendai and northward into the growing town of Tomiya which will become a city in 2016. We are committed to multiplication through discipleship of believers (2 Tim. 2:2), and to serve the community through outreach English classes and community center outreach. We also took part in earthquake relief and tsunami victim ministry.
It has been a joy to see how seekers have come to believe in Jesus through seeker Bible studies. It is an even greater joy to watch them grow in their faith, to serve God, and to share the gospel with their family and friends.
Tokyo
Our long-term vision in Tokyo is to see God raise up numerous ministry teams that multiply healthy, transformational churches in Central Tokyo. The first step in our vision is to plant a church in the Waseda area of Tokyo that makes disciples for Christ and partners with other Christians to transform the community. We are also in the planning stages of a coffee house initiative. The coffee house will be a self-sustaining business to establish a Christian presence in the community and an open door for building relationships.