JAPAN2013

FIVE MINUTE MISSION MOMENTS FOR VBS,SUNDAY SCHOOL AND CHURCH

Update from 2012 India Project

Northeast India has only recently lifted its restrictions on foreigners traveling within their borders. In August, 2013, for the first time ever, a group of E.C. lay people will be able to travel to Northeast India to visit our E.C.C.I. churches, seminary and children’s homes. The purpose of the trip will be to form relationships within our E.C. family and build a network of support and interaction between our seminary in Myerstown, PA and our seminary in Churachandpur, Manipur. Although the Indian people are very capable of building the wall we raised money for in 2012, our E.C. team will join with the Indian builders to weave a physical reminder of our bond in Christ and in denomination. Several members of the U.S. team will be privileged to share credited and non-credited courses with E.C.C.I. seminary students, and several hundred pounds of books from our Myerstown Seminary Library will be transported across the ocean to be added to the library in Churachandpur. Please remember to pray for our U.S. Team during the first two weeks of August, and for the ongoing alliance of support and friendship that will begin to form this summer.

This is the proposed wall to be constructed in August, 2013.

The 2012 VBS Project goal of $10,000 was met and exceeded.

2013 Mission Minded Kids VBS LessonsJapan

Objectives for Japan VBS Lessons:1.  To review 2012 India VBS Project2. To learn  basic facts about Japan3. To recognize the flag of Japan4. To be introduced to Rev. Nabuo and Keiko Abe, the leaders of the EC church in Japan5. To be introduced to our EC churches in Japan6. To remember that the people in Japan need Jesus7. To participate in raising funds to help the Japanese children at the day care at 

Sagamihara Grace Chapel 

Lesson Overview

Lesson 1:  Review 2012 India VBS Project                   Japan: Basic facts about the country and flag                   Introduce the day-care centerLesson 2:   Review day care project                    Learn why people in Japan need JesusLesson 3:   Review day care project                    Introduce Rev. Abe and KeikoLesson 4:   Kyodo Grace Church in Tokyo                    Sagamihara Grace ChapelLesson 5:   Kobuchi  House Church                    Fuchinobe Community Church

Materials needed for the week: Power Point slide show either downloaded from GMC website or on disc; the included picture of the flag or a real flag of Japan. Mount pictures and maps from all lessons on card stock paper for stability and set up equipment as needed to show power point pictures each day.

LESSON ONEJAPAN

Hello and welcome to Vacation Bible School Missions moments. If you attended VBS last year, you might remember that we were collecting money for a very special project. Does anyone remember what that project was? (Allow students to recall, or remind students about the India Wall project.) (Show power point picture of proposed India Wall and give the included update.)

This week we will be learning about a country that is about 6,700 miles from where we live. This country on the other side of the world is made up of many islands. Can anyone guess what country we will be looking at this week? (That’s right – Japan). (Show Visual 1: map of the world with USA & Japan highlighted)

This week we will be learning about what the Evangelical Congregational Church is doing in Japan. We will learn about the country and why these people need to hear about Jesus. All the offerings that are collected this week will go to help a day care center that is located in the Sagamihara Grace Chapel E. C. Church. A day care center in Japan is the same as a day care center in America. It is a safe place where children are taken care of while their parents are at work. (Show Visual 2: children at the day care center)

But first we need to learn more about this country of Japan (Show Visual 3: map of Japan). The country of Japan is in Asia and it is made up of mountainous islands. There are many volcanoes on these islands. Since the whole country of Japan is surrounded by water, they eat lots of fish and they grow lots of rice. Many other foods have to be brought into the country. If you put all the islands together, Japan would be about the size of the state of California here in the United States. The capital city of Japan is Tokyo. The city of Tokyo is very large and crowded. In fact, Tokyo is the largest city in the world. Just in the greater Tokyo area there are 35 million people. In the whole state of Pennsylvania there are only 13 million people. (Show Visual 4: picture of the city of Tokyo).

What language do you think the people of Japan speak? (That’s right – Japanese) When you say hello in Japan you would bow to whoever you are talking to. The word for hello or good afternoon is “konnichiwa” (as you say this bow before the students). Have the children repeat the word back to you. The money that they use in Japan is called the Yen.

Japan is called the “Land of the Rising Sun” and their flag is made to look like a sun. Let’s look at the flag (Show Visual 5: picture of flag, or a real flag of Japan). As you can see the flag has a white background to look like the sky and a red circle in the center to represent the sun.

Tomorrow we will learn more about this Asian country of Japan and why they need Jesus. Remember to bring in your offerings for the daycare center in Japan.

LESSON TWOJAPAN

Welcome back to Vacation Bible School. Do you remember which country we are learning about this week? That’s right – Japan (Show Lesson One/Visual 3 – the map of Japan)

Does anyone remember what the offerings from this week will go toward? All the offerings that are collected this week will go toward helping to improve the day care center at Sagamihara (Sah-gah-mih-hah-rah) Grace Chapel. The day care is called Kohitsuji (Koe-it-sue-jee) Day Care program. Our money will go to help put in bathrooms for the children and a ramp from the outside. (Show Lesson Two/ Visual 1: Children in the Day Care)

The day care program at Sagamihara is a way to introduce boys and girls to Jesus and let them know how much Jesus loves them. It is a safe place where the children can go when their parents are working or doing other things. They know the children will be well cared for. The center is open on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. The children play and learn about Jesus. Once a month the moms of the children attend a Bible Study to learn about the Bible and about how to be good parents. These moms do not know Jesus either.

It takes a long time for Japanese people to understand Jesus’ great love for them. Why is it so important to know about Jesus and his love? (Give children an opportunity to answer.) God wants all the people in the entire world to know that Jesus is God’s Son and He was sent to earth to save all people from their sins. He was perfect and never sinned but he loves all the people of the world so much that He died on the cross to make a way for us to go to Heaven. Through the power of God, Jesus rose from the dead and now He lives in Heaven. He wants all people to be part of his family, but in Japan most of the people, over 99%, don’t know about Jesus. There are two main religions in Japan, Buddhism and Shinto. These two religions have many gods (Show Lesson 2/Visual 2: pictures of temples) and they do not believe that Jesus is the One True God, who came to earth to save them from their sins. Many Japanese will go to the temples and shrines out of habit, but most Japanese would say they are not religious at all. Rev. Abe started the Day Care at his church because he is trying to teach the little children and their mothers so that they can learn to follow Jesus early in their lives.

The Bible says, “Jesus said to them, I am the way, the truth and the life and no one can come to God except through me.” (Show Lesson 2/Visual 3: Bible verse, and read it together out loud.)

The day care program is one way the Japanese Christians try to show Jesus’ love and teach others that He is the True way to life.

“Jesus said, I am the way, the

truth and the life, no man comes to

God except through me.”

John 14:6

LESSON THREEJAPAN

Welcome back to Vacation Bible School. What country we are learning about this week? That’s right – Japan (Show Lesson 1/Visual 3: map of Japan) What are the monies that are collected from our offerings going for? That’s right – to help make the day care center a better place for the children. (Show Lesson 3/Visual 1: Story time at the Day Care)

Tell the following story about Rev. Abe, changing necessary pronouns, or ask a guest to pretend he is Rev. Abe and tell the story in first person. (Show Lesson 3/Visual 2: Rev Abe and Keiko)

Hello, my name is Rev. Nobuo Abe (No-boo-oh Ah-bay) and this is my wife Keiko (Kay-koe). Let me tell you a story about myself. I am the pastor and the field superintendent of the Evangelical Congregational work in Japan. I did not grow up in a Christian home, so as a child, I did not know about Jesus’ love for me or that He is the Savior of the world. I did not learn about Jesus and the Bible until I was in college. The first time I heard about God and Jesus was during a conversation about God creating the world and I found this very hard to believe because most people in Japan believe in Evolution. They think that all the earth and the animals came into being by themselves and I thought that God making the earth and all that is in it, sounded foolish. So I decided to start to study this so I could understand better and debate that creation was not true. But as I started to study I found out that Evolution was just a theory and not known as truth. I was completely shocked and embarrassed so I decided not to talk to Christians about this.

After a year and half one of my Christian friends invited me to go to a church with him. I tried to think about excuses to get out of going but I didn’t have any so I went with an open mind. I enjoyed going to that church very much. Everyone was welcoming and I liked what the Bible said. I thought if I just read the Bible I will become a better person. But the more I read the Bible the more I realized I did not obey what was written in it. I discovered that the God of the Bible loved and forgave me even when I didn’t obey his teachings. You see in Japan, most of the people do not even think about religion or they believe in many gods. They might think that anything that has more power than a human being, be it a rock or a tree, could be a god. These gods are feared by the people who believe in them because they think they can curse humans. There is no idea of a loving God.

During the Christmas season I decided to ask Jesus into my life. I wanted to walk with this loving, forgiving God. Matthew 11:28 says “Come to me all you who are weary… I will give you rest”. I finally knew what those words meant. The Bible had changed my life. I knew that God loved me and He promised to be with me. Later, I attended a summer camp. I heard a message about the many, many people who need to know about Jesus. At that camp God asked me to be a pastor after graduating from the University. I worked at a company to earn money to go to seminary so I could study to be a pastor. It took 5 years to get through seminary because I worked as a chaplain at a church’s English school. God prepared me and provided a way for me to study in seminary. Now I am a pastor and the leader of the E.C. work in Japan. I give God all the praise for what He has done in my life.

LESSON FOURJAPAN

Welcome to day four of Vacation Bible School. What country have we been studying this week? (That’s right – Japan) (Show Lesson 1/Visual 3: map of Japan) And what are the monies that we are collecting going for? (The day care center at Sagamihara, to help put in new bathrooms and a ramp.) (Show Lesson 4/Visual 1: Day Care Picnic)

Today we are going to learn about some of the Evangelical Congregational churches that are in Japan. There are only four of them so it won’t be too hard to remember them. We will look at just two of them today.

The first church is Sagamihara Grace Chapel. This is the church that Rev. Nobuo Abe pastors. Remember we met him yesterday? (Show Lesson 4/Visual 2: Sagamihara Church) What does this church look like? (Let children answer – A house) If you think it looks like a house that is because it is a house. It is called a house church because Rev. Nobuo and Keiko live upstairs, that is their home, and in the downstairs is where they have church and the day care. Buildings in Japan are very expensive so this way they save money by living above the church. This house church is in a neighborhood near a train station so the people ride the train and then walk from the station to the church. There are about 50 people that come to this church.

The second church we are going to look at is in Tokyo, it is called Kyodo Grace. (Kyo-dough) (Show Lesson 4/Visual 3: Kyodo Church and Pastor). This church is not a house church. It meets in a building that costs over $1 million dollars. This church also has about 50 people coming to it. Rev. Ken Sudo (Sue-dough) is the pastor of this church and they have a choir and a stained glass window in this church in the middle of Tokyo. (Show Lesson 4/Visual 4: Worship Service at Kyodo Grace). They worship the One True Living God just like we do in our church. The only difference is that if you went into this church you would not understand anything because their service is all in Japanese.

We should pray for Rev. Abe and Rev. Sudo and their families as they try to introduce many more people to Jesus. End in prayer for the work in Japan and for Rev. Abe and Rev. Sudo.

Rev. Nobuo and Keiko Abe pastor at Sagamihara Grace Chapel.

Sagamihara Grace Chapel

       

Kyodo Grace E. C. Church Rev. Ken Sudo pastors at Kyodo Grace Church.

A Worship Service at Kyodo Grace Church.

LESSON FIVEJAPAN

Welcome to our last day of Vacation Bible School. As you know we have been studying about Japan. Let’s do a little review. Japan is a land made up of many islands. It is called the “Land of the Rising Sun”. We are collecting money for what project? (The Day Care Center at Sagamihara Grace Chapel; to put in new bathrooms and a ramp.) Here is another picture of the children. (Show Lesson 5/Visual 1: Children with Bubbles) Can someone tell me who the leader of the EC church is in Japan? (Rev. Nobuo Abe) Yesterday we looked at two of our Japanese E.C. churches. Today we will look at the other two churches.

The third church that is working in Japan is the Kobuchi (Koe-boo-chi) House Church. (Show Lesson 5/Visual 2: Kobuchi House Church). This church is in a neighborhood of 20,000 people and there are no other churches in this area. Does anyone remember what a house church is? (A house church is a church that meets in a house. The pastor lives upstairs and the church meets on the bottom floor.) This church was started by Mr. & Mrs. Arita (the couple standing in the picture). He is a retired engineer and he was so concerned about his neighbors knowing about Jesus that he built this house with his own money. There are three floors in their house. Mr. & Mrs. Arita live on the top two floors and the church meets in the bottom floor. There are about 15 people that come to this church to learn about Jesus.

The last E.C. church in Japan is the newest Church. It was only planted in 2010. This church is really close to a train station in the Fuchinobe (Foo-chee-no-bee) area of Tokyo. (Show Lesson 5/Visual 3: Fucinobe Community Church). This church meets in a different kind of a building. It meets in a room in a clinic. Does anyone know what a clinic is? (It is like a doctor’s office.) This church is pastored by Rev. Tomoyuki & Jessica Abe. Tomo is Rev. Nobuo Abe’s son and Jessica, his wife, is from France. Rev. Tomo and Jessica are trying to share Jesus with many of the young adults that live in this area. The building is close to the train station and a couple of universities. (Show Lesson 5/Visual 4: Train Station and Worship Service). There are about 25 people that are coming to this church. Tomo and Jessica have Bible studies for teenagers and sometime Jessica teaches French cooking lessons to neighbors. They use all of the gifts God has given them to share Jesus with the people of Japan.

Finish your time together by praying for the four E.C. churches in Japan and their pastors and families. Pray that many Japanese men, women, boys, and girls will learn about Jesus and his love.

Fuchinobe Community Church

Rev. Tomoyuki Abe pastor of the Fuchinobe Community Church.

Fuchinobe

Train

Station