Newsletter 2023 12, 2024 1 English

 

2023 December, 2024 January Newsletter

　Shota Otsuka

Thank you for reading our newsletter! I look forward to seeing how God works in Japan this year! In this newsletter, you will read about the second half of Mission megumi (short-term mission team), discipleship training, theology course, JCCC spring camp, other group conference, and church youth camp! Thank you for reading and praying for me! 🙏

1. Mission megumi second half

Thank you for praying for mission megumi!

a.Campus activities

It was very cold on campus, but we thank God for leading the conversations with each person we met. I was so encouraged to go with each megumi team  member where they were building relationships and seeing their passion for sharing the gospel 🔥.

I was in charge of Nanzan University, where Australian students were able to make daily appointments to meet with Japanese students and share Christianity with them, focusing on relationship building! And those who were more interested were invited to Christmas parties and other events. Many students we met on campus attended the Christmas party, and we are grateful to have been able to give them a chance to hear about the idea of Christianity and to meet Christians!

Continue to the Christmas Party👇👇👇👇

b.Christmas Party

Every year, the Christmas party is the peak of the schedule, and we were able to have the Christmas party . There were about 40 participants . We had a delicious meal and one of the megumi team shared how they were changed by Christ, and we had small groups, but I felt we needed to be creative because it was difficult for non-Christians to say what they really felt in front  of strangers. I thought that each person who came felt something, but I heard that some groups were able to share, while others had difficulty at all. Furthermore, if students wanted to tell the megumi team what they felt, they had to do it in English, so I can understand why the small groups were difficult, because it would be even more difficult if they had to share my opinion in English. I hope that when we meet again, our understanding of Christ will deepen as we hear about Him, and that this will lead them to faith.

However, I thank God for the opportunity to hear what the Bible says and how Christ has impacted lives through this mission megumi team. I would like to continue to be involved in helping them deepen their understanding of the gospel.  I will continue to preach the gospel. and then I leave the results to God. Please continue to pray 🙏.

Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ. (Romans 10:17)

C.vision challenge day 

On this day, we shared the need for workers in Japan and challenged them to pray about becoming short-term missionaries in Japan.  I talked about how short-term missionaries have helped me to know the gospel by coming to Japan, and how they have helped me as a senior in the faith to know what it means to live by faith as a Christian. The staff members, Olivia and Enoch, who are currently serving with us in Japan will be returning to Australia this February, so we have asked megumi teams to pray for future workers in Nagoya.

🙏 Please pray that new workers in Japan will be raised from  those who have been on the short-term mission team.

D. Follow-up just before returning , Follow-up after returning

We invited the students we met through the megumi team and had a chance to meet them one last time. We also followed up with the students after the megumi team returned home. We made it possible for Japanese students to come so that they could connect with local staff so that the relationship would not be disconnected as soon as the short-term mission team returned home. Many of the students could not come in January due to testing, but some did!

2. apprentice training

A.caleb 

Enoch has been doing discipleship training with a student from the Philippines named Caleb since last year, but Enoch will be returning to his home country in February this year, so I will be taking over for him. I will be mixing English and Japanese from now on! Please pray that I will be able to help him walk as a disciple of Christ in a mixture of English and Japanese. I am going to challenge him to come to fellowship with non-Christians that he is currently involved with, to learn more about the heart of missions, and to go on a short-term overseas mission this year if the opportunity comes up. Please keep me in your prayers.

B. Chuki

He feels that he is beginning to realize that the idea of Christianity is completely different from the world's way of life. It seems that the words of the Bible, which he had as knowledge until now, are being reminded and working in his heart. I praise God that God has made him grow in priority to Him in his heart! He is not yet connected to a local church. He visited Fujigaoka Christ Church, which I attend, once in December and once in January!

CCC is only a temporary community for college students, so please pray that he will be connected to the church.

3. Theology Course

Once a year, a theology class is held by  CCC staff members who went to seminary. This year's theology course was on salvation theory. How can we define salvation? We also learned how each denomination views salvation, and since CCC attracts students from many different denominations, it was really helpful to know that there are many different understandings of salvation.

Personally, when I learned about sanctification, it made me think a lot about whether I am living by faith. 

Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?

(2 Corinthians 13:5) 

12Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.

14 Do everything without grumbling or arguing

 (Philippians 2:12-14)

As a christian, I want to be the one who offers myself and pursues holiness. I hope to be transformed into the image of God!

4. CCC Spring Camp

This year's Spring Camp will be held in Kobe for Christian college students from March 6 to 9. The purpose is "to be moved by the gospel and to grow a heart for missions in their own places. To achieve this, there will be a gospel message, outreach experience, stories of short-term missions that students have done, hear about campus evangelism experiences, and have the bible talk about how the Bible teaches about missions. This year I will be in charge of the camp program. Please pray that through this camp, students will understand that they can be involved in the work of missions and will be able to think about how they can be involved with others in their own places 🙏 It will also be an opportunity for them to learn to be involved in world missions, not just around themselves. Pray that students will be able to take on the challenge of overseas missions if the opportunity comes up this year 🙏

5.Young Leaders gathering (Lausanne Movement Conference)

I have been invited to a conference of the Lausanne Movement to be held in Saitama Prefecture from March 11 to 14. I attended a conference in Thailand last summer, but this time it will be held in Japan for Japanese people.

This time, it will be held in Japan for Japanese people. I decided to participate in order to connect with people of similar age groups and to cooperate with them in missionary work.

I will be a little tired since the CCC national camp is just over, but  please pray for me to have the opportunity to learn and build friendships with my brothers and sisters in Christ through this event 🙏.

6. Church Youth Camp 

I currently attend a church called Fujigaoka Christ Church, which belongs to a denomination called MB. The church youth camp is from March 27th to 30th for 4 days. I will be bringing one junior high school student and one high school student from my church. Please pray for the church youth to deepen their understanding of God. Also, I would appreciate your prayer that I can serve the youth of the church well as a teacher who helps them to become familiar with the Bible through church school 🙏.

Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. 

2 Timothy 4:2 

7. Financial Needs

Thank you for always supporting my ministry through prayer and financial support. My current financial need is for another 200 USD each month. If anyone has their hearts for giving to me, I would appreciate it if you would contact me. Please pray for this need to be filled 🙏.

Summary 👉Prayer requests

a.Please pray that the students we have met through mission megumi will continue to be connected to SI Nagoya and have the opportunity to know Christ!

b.As we are planning for CCC spring camp, please pray that we can create a camp where students can grow in their hearts about missions .

c.please Pray that I will serve the youth well as the body of the christ in the church and help them become more familiar with the Bible.

Thank you for reading this far! We will be back with our next newsletter at the end of March or April!