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Brothers and Sisters,
My name is Drew Glosson and I’m currently serving as a missionary in Japan, working
with Grace Christian Fellowship. It will be two years this summer since my coming to Japan. In justthis short time I have learned a lot and grown a lot. I have taken many steps towards becoming aman as I serve Christ here in Japan. Already I have faced many difficulties and endured severalhardships. You can learn more out what we are doing in Japan at japanmissionproject.org
I am writing to inform you of some very big steps that will soon take place here in Japan.The following document is meant to serve as an outline to show you the direction that myself andthose working with me are planning to take. Over the course of the next few years we will beworking alongside Warren and Eileen Christianson in Saku City training and preparing to plantchurches. I have been in Japan teaching, traveling, and serving in many different ways. I feel nowthat I have become accustomed to the culture, and have a good grasp on the language that I can
begin focusing fulltime on evangelism. The needs are so great right now in Japan that I don’t want
to see a single wasted opportunity go by. I will be joined in Saku by my wife to be and our friendsWilliam and Jo Ruck. Together we all have a strong desire to make the Gospel known to the peopleof Japan. We have spent the past few months meeting with pastors and missionaries here in Japan,gaining wisdom and insight towards the direction we should go. We have all been in prayer overthis decision for a long time and we all feel that God is calling us to do this.This summer I will be returning home with my new wife. During this time we hope toaccomplish three things. First, that my wife will be able to spend a good deal of time with myfamily and have a chance to learn and understand where I come from and what my culture is like.
The second thing we’d like to do it spend a lot of
time with churches talking, planning, anddiscussing
the future of the Japan Mission Project and what that looks like. We’d like to have a
network of churches behind us offering support, advice and counsel to us as we head back to Japanand begin planting churches. Thirdly, we like to try and meet with pastors who have plantedchurches or visit some local church plants and learn what we can from them. We understand thatthings might be a little different in Japan such as cultural differences, but we know that Christ andhis Church
exist for all people and all cultures. Therefore, we’d like to gain as much Godly insight
as we can while we are visiting. We will be in America from July 1
st
to Sept. 16
th
. This is roughly 3months time. During this time we hope to be able to accomplish all of these goals. Please be incontact with us and help us to start planning our time in America. We hope that you will find thisoutline very informative and if anyone has any questions not answered here, please feel free tocontact us anytime. Contact info can be found at www.japanmissionproject.orgGrace and Peace,Drew Glosson, JMP
Profile: Saku City, Nagano Prefecture JapanPreface
- I first came to Japan in the Spring of 2006. Before that time I had neverbeen outside the country and I had no idea what it would be like the see the world outside
of America. When I first visited Japan I wasn’t a Christian and I didn’t have my life
together, yet God in his great mercy revealed himself to me through the church in Japanand has since lead me to start a life in Japan. Living in Japan is a humbling experience as I
struggle to serve and share the gospel with the Japanese people. After living in Tokyo forsome time, serving with Grace Christian Fellowship, I began preparing for a lifetime of ministry here in Japan. I spent a significant amount of time during the summer of 2009fasting, praying
, and seeking Godly counsel as I sought the Lord’s
direction. Then, Ianswered the call to become a church planter.
The Decision
-Warren and Eileen Christianson have been serving as missionaries toJapan for almost 40 years, first coming to Japan in the 1970s. They have served in variousplaces in Japan, but they ultimately settled in Saku City, Nagano. After living in Japan fornearly 40 years, Warren and Eileen have done a lot for the Christian community inJapan. They have been serving in Japan under the direction of Lighthouse Christian
Church as the Kansai Christian Mission. This excerpt from their church website,Lighthouse Christian Church, highlights some of the work they have done:
Japan (Kansai Christian Mission) - We have become well acquainted with this missioneffort through the Home Stay program by Warren and Eileen Christianson who bringJapanese students to Oceanside to experience Christian home-life. Their goal is to have anestablished church with a native minister in Nagano. A ministerial student from OsakaBible Seminary has been a great help to them, preaching and leading the youth group. Aformer member of Lighthouse Christian Church of Oceanside spent three months in Naganohelping with this work. Warren and Eileen both teach English in the public school system tosupport themselves. In their lessons on American culture they are able to introduceChristianity to their students. Our contribution helps pay rent on a building used forcommunity outreach. Sunday worship services, summer camps, a coffee house, women'sluncheons and home Bible studies are among their many activities.
However, since the time this was written th
ings have changed quite a bit. Warren’s
health has deteriorated and they have no longer been able to maintain the work thatthey were once doing. They also found themselves in a place where they had littlehelp. The past few years they have been serving in Saku alone. After speaking with
Warren and Eileen off and on over the past few years and making a trip out to visitthem last summer, I decided to join with them in their efforts to evangelize Sakucity and the surrounding areas.
Building Christ's Church
- Upon choosing to join Warren and Eileen, Ibegan seeking the Lord for what he would have me do once I join them. Over time
it has become clear that there is a great need for a church in Saku, a largely un-churched region of Japan. Realizing the need for a church in Saku, I felt that God
was leading me to join in the work Warren and Eileen were doing, and I was
ultimately called to be a church planter in Saku, building off of the direction andresources of the Christiansons'. Church planting is a huge responsibility and notsomething that I can do on my own. Because of this, I asked William and Jo Ruck,
friends from Central Christian College of the Bible where I attended, to work withme, and after spending time in prayer they chose to come and work together. Also,after much more prayer I asked Megumi Okawa to marry me. She has been a great
companion and ministry partner with me during my time in Tokyo. She has alsotaught me a great deal about Japan and Christ. We became great friends whosefriendship blossomed into a Godly relationship. We are praying that together as acouple we can serve Christ in Saku. We are still looking for more willing hearts tocome and serve with us in Saku.
The Plan
- Megumi and I will be wed on June 26
th
and will then visitAmerica for about 3 months. During this time we hope to be able to travel and
spend time with churches that are willing to come alongside us in our efforts toshare the good news of Christ to the people of Japan. We will return to Japan in midto late September to start the process of moving and settling down in Saku. William
and Mary Jo will be joining us the following Spring when their contracts end withthe school they are currently teaching at. Once we move to Saku we will begin towork with the Christiansons, slowly taking over their work, allowing them to
transition into retirement, while also making sure we have been equipped to takeover their work by the time they leave their ministry in Saku. When both theChristiansons and those of us that will be filling their place in Saku, feel
comfortable with the Christiansons leaving, they will return to America. However,there is no set time for this. Beginning in September I will start to take some of the
work load off of Warren’s back with the idea that once both parties are comfortable
with the transition then the Christiansons will head back to America and we will bein Saku full time. During the time of transition, our intention is to establishourselves in Saku and to make a habit of being involved in the community.Currently there are a few scattered Christians throughout the region and we hope to
not only connect with them but to train and disciple them to help us build Christ’s
church in Saku. We want to connect and build relationships with the people of Sakuin such a way that we build strong friendships and are able to share the gospelthrough Bible studies and through helping others in need. The ultimate goal wouldbe to eventually train enough disciples to be able to establish a church in Saku andslowly evangelize the surrounding areas of Saku, all the while continuing to raise,train, and disciple more and more believers. There is still much preparation to bedone and many more questions to be answered. However, the groundwork has beenlaid and we are praying that God would continue to reveal his will for us in ourefforts to serve him here in Japan.
What we need from you
- As we prepare for this transition we recognizethat we still have much to learn about the process of church planting. We are
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