My First Day in Japan
In 2016, I went to a place called Tsukuba, Japan to serve as an Associate Pastor at a local international church TICA, serving in youth ministry, college student (Chi Alpha) ministry, and media ministry. My first day in Japan in 2016, my Missionary Mentor Chris Carter picked me up from Narita Airport in Chiba, Japan, and we started talking about this viral, famous music video called PPAP (Pen Pineapple Apple Pen). (See the video on Youtube here).
A Thanksgiving Celebration Feast in Japan?
Then, we started talking about an upcoming church outreach event Pastor Chris called, “a Thanksgiving Celebration Feast.” Wait! A Thanksgiving Appreciation Feast in Japan? How does that make sense? Well, I’m glad you asked. According to people in our church, most Japanese people have never eaten turkey. Further, since TICA is an international church where culture is often celebrated, Pastor Chris thought making a bunch of turkeys would be a great way to connect with the community. Even more, since Tsukuba is a university city, it would be even more of a draw because, when free food is mentioned to college students, ears tend to perk up.
Next, Pastor Chris and I started joking around about making a parody music video of “PPAP.” One lyric led to another and then another, and, so, by the time we got to the church, we made up most of the lyrics to what we called “Pan Potato Turkey Pan.” See Video Below.
The Results
After we made the parody music video, we shared the video everywhere all across social media. Then, our worship Pastor shared it on his social media, and he is a professor at a local university. Next, his students started asking about the Thanksgiving event just so they could see the performer of the parody music video–Pastor Chris!
All in all, at the event, we filled our building with tons of people who do not know Jesus. In fact, we could barely fit everyone in. God used this crazy idea to create an opportunity for us to connect with more Japanese people, and for more Japanese people to hear about the love of Jesus and His Gospel!
Even more, this is a crazy story because, in Japan, the average church only has around 15 regular attendees who are usually fairly elderly. Therefore, for us to have 110 people from all ages come to this event, and hear about Jesus, it was an incredible thing! We are so thankful for this opportunity, and we are constantly praying that God would open up more doors of opportunity such as in this story so that Japanese can hear about Jesus! Will you pray with us?
Learn More About the Carters in Japan
Reaching the Never Reached of Japan with the Gospel.
Church Planting // Youth Ministry // Chi Alpha College Student Ministry // Media Ministry
WHAT I DO
LOVE
THE BEST WAY TO SPREAD GOD’S LOVE IS TO SHOW GOD’S LOVE. THEREFORE, THROUGH MY POSITION AS AN ASSOCIATE PASTOR AT MY CHURCH IN TSUKUBA, JAPAN, I GET INVOLVED IN THE COMMUNITY AND ACTIVELY SHOW THE LOVE OF CHRIST TO EVERYONE WITH WHOM I COME INTO CONTACT.
REACH
THROUGH A CHURCH PLANTING TEAM EFFORT, I REACH PEOPLE IN JAPAN WITH THE GOSPEL THROUGH SPECIALIZED OUTREACH AND TRAINING EVENTS.
LEARN MORE ABOUT MY CHURCH PLATNING TEAM’S VISION HERE.
CREATE
HOW TO HELP
GIVE MONTHLY
- Work & Ministry Expenses
- Housing and insurance
- Food and clothing
JOIN ME IN JAPAN
My team and I are looking for people to come and be a part of our team! We are serving in a country that is less than 1% Christian, yet has very few missionaries. There are so many opportunities that we need all the help we can get! Please prayerfully consider coming for a short term or long term missions trip to Tsukuba, Japan.