Seeking a life that shines like a pearl

When Ayako Morioka was preparing to return to Japan from overseas, she participated in a coaching course for Christian women called “The Significant Woman.” She decided to bring it to Japan after it helped her discover what God wanted her to do at a major turning point in her life and because she felt that many other women would also benefit.

I met Ayako in what I have to describe as a God encounter at the Women in Ministry (WIM) retreat in Tochigi Prefecture in March. (I am so grateful for how JEMA exists to build up the body of Christ and sponsor retreats like this.) I was a little tired on the first day and decided I would lie down on my bed and rest a bit, even if that meant I might be a few minutes late for dinner. I knew that there would only be a few places left if I arrived late, so I was going to have to sit wherever there was an open chair.

When I entered the dining room, there was only one space left, in front of two Japanese women, Ayako and Momoko. I wanted them to feel comfortable and welcomed at this retreat held all in English. We went on to have all our meals together, and by the third and last day of the retreat, I found out that they were developing a course from overseas to empower Japanese women. Because I was so glad to hear about this, I decided to interview Ayako about The Significant Woman course.

Kari: What is The Significant Woman course?

Ayako: It is a life coaching program designed for Christian women based on the truths in God’s Word. It aims to help Christian women discover their uniqueness and realize who God created us to be. It teaches us how to deeply embrace our relationship and intimacy with God, through which we receive our purpose and direction in life. Women will be led to discover and create their own personal mission statement and be empowered to live it out. They will also be trained in practical skills such as prioritizing time, setting boundaries, proactively making decisions, and dealing with obstacles.

The contents fall under six principles summarized with the acronym PEARLS:

P: Pursue your uniqueness
E: Embrace the source
A: Activate your mission
R: Refocus your life
L: Live intentionally
S: Sustain for life

Through the steps of the course, women are encouraged to look back over their life experiences, reflect deeper, and understand more about themselves as they prepare for their future.

Participants learn together in a small group setting (either on Zoom or in person) of usually 5 to 12 women. This allows them to share life stories, testimonies, and discoveries. In this way, learning takes place in a highly relational environment and includes peer coaching within the group.

Kari: How have you seen God’s hand on this project?

Ayako: I think that launching the course during Covid was God’s divine plan. Women were stuck at home and longing for more out of life.

The course had been introduced to Japan by Campus Crusade for Christ in 2011. By 2020, the material had been translated into Japanese and was being shared within small circles of women. In 2021, we realized that there was a growing interest from women who had heard about the course by word of mouth. I was convinced that printing colored and attractive workbooks instead of using photocopies would make the course accessible to more women and would help things multiply. Once a snowball starts rolling, it will grow big and fast, and that is what we saw happen!

We are in the process of going over the Japanese to make it natural and easy to understand. Translating English into natural Japanese words and phrases without losing the essence of the original text and contextualizing things into Japanese culture is not an easy task. Even finalizing the translation for the name of the program from The Significant Woman to 真珠のように輝く人生を求めて (Seeking a Life that Shines Like a Pearl) took us several months.

Kari: How did you get introduced to The Significant Woman?

Ayako: I had decided to return to Japan from Singapore after living there for nine years, and I had just a glimpse of what I felt God was calling me to do in Japan. As I progressed through The Significant Woman, things became clear, and I knew what God was calling me to do. This personal experience made me realize that there are countless women who will benefit from this program.

Kari: How can a woman find out how to join a group in Japan?

Ayako: Please email pearls.japan@gmail.com

Right now, we are not offering the program at regular intervals. We plan to start new groups as we get enough applicants. We see if any trained facilitators are available to lead a group, and if so, we schedule and hold an introductory session so that women who are considering the program can hear more about it, including the purpose, schedule, and what commitment is required. After the introductory session, we start a group when there are enough members. The program usually runs for 10 sessions weekly, biweekly, or monthly, followed by a celebration at the end.

Kari: Are there any plans to make a counterpart program like this available for men?

Ayako: The Significance Project by CRU (formerly Campus Crusade for Christ) provides life coaching programs for men as well, Man of Impact. There are also courses for pre-believers that are in a user-friendly format and include evangelistic messages.

We are focused on completing and publishing The Significant Woman in Japanese by the end of March 2025. If God allows, we would like to continue working on Man of Impact.

Kari: How has the course been used in other contexts?

Ayako: CRU has used the material in other countries with final year students at university. It is excellent preparation for them as they prepare to graduate and enter the workforce.

In some countries, the evangelistic versions, Soaring (for women) and Quest (for men), have been used to reach out to people in the business world. One woman worked together with a human resource executive to offer it to all the women in her company. One man has used it with executives in the US. He found that many men realized that they did not have a compelling life mission. They said their life mission was to make money and realized that that was not meaningful. They began to search for deeper meaning, and many have come to Christ. I hope that this material can be used in this way in Japan also.

Final thoughts from the author

This course has already been translated into Chinese, Korean, and Spanish, as well as several European and middle Eastern languages. It’s great to learn that it is going to be available in Japanese soon.

After reading my own copy of The Significant Woman, I am really looking forward to joining a group soon. Please have a look at the website (thesignificantwoman.com) and then recommend this course to any women you know who would benefit. Together, we can raise up an army of women in Japan who know they are loved and significant so they can make a huge impact in this country.

Book photo by Ayako Morioka