July 2024 RCMI Newsletter

Japan Desperately Needs God -- The Gospel Must Be Preached More Quicklyin All of Japan!

Pray the Gospel Be Preached More Quickly Throughout Japan!

RCMI's Vision to Spread the Gospel in Japan: Revival Christian Church, Osaka, Japan -- 33 Years of Evangelism and Church Planting:

In 1984, Pastor Ruth Pong began serving in Revival Christian Church and Revival Chinese Ministries, and in 1991 she was called to preach the Gospel in Japan. In 1998 she became the first person ordained by Revival Christian Church as a pastor. She was the first missionary to be sent out from RCC (Hong Kong) and also has been its longest-serving overseas missionary.

The Church of Japan -- Facing an Aging Population

The Christian Church of Japan is losing young people. The "2030 Problem" has been highlighted by a Japanese Christian organization. They say that by 2030, fully two thirds of believers in most churches will be age 75 or older; and many churches will have to shut down. In fact, it's obvious to everyone that Japan is already in crisis with a disproportionately aged population.

Pastors everywhere in Japan are now facing this problem. The older the church members' average age, the harder it is to attract young people into the church. To find a young believer willing to offer himself or herself for full-time service to the Lord is increasingly rare. In the past 20 years, seminary entrants have mostly been 60-65 years old and retired already, not young people.

Rev. Pastor Yoko Maruyama, a Japanese pastor says, "Wake up! No matter how difficult it is, the Gospel must be preached with greater speed in Japan's difficult places!"

Japan Is Facing an Aging Population.

Pastor Ruth Pong's Newsletter

Revival Christian Church, Osaka, Japan

Greetings of peace to all members, coworkers, and pastors serving in the Lord's Family!

Time has flown -- six months of 2024 have passed already! I'm thinking about New Year's Noto Peninsula earthquake, also called New Year's Ishikawa Prefecture Strong Quake -- the earthquake on the Noto Peninsula of Japan's Ishikawa Prefecture which occurred at 4:10 p.m. on January 1, 2024, and the many strong aftershocks since. The original quake was intense -- 7.6 on the Richter Scale!

Noto Peninsula's Intensity-7.6 Earthquake

In Japan, New Year's celebrations are very important, and the recent string of disasters have shocked the nation. The latest sudden calamity occurred just when everyone was in high spirits -- they'd returned home to celebrate with their families and were just about to sit down together to a festive New Year's dinner. But this event cast a pall of gloom and sadness over all the celebrations. Who could imagine that what has always been a famous tourist spot would suddenly become a wasteland of rubble piles!! And the affected area was very large -- not only Ishikawa Prefecture, but neighboring Niigata Prefecture has severe damage and loss. Also, from January right up through June, severe occasional aftershocks have continued, making the arduous work of disaster relief even more difficult -- so that the only thing disaster victims can do is cry out to heaven!

A Noto Peninsula Scenic Spot Before the Earthquake

The situation reminds me of Luke 17:22-33, where Jesus mentions the stories of Noah and Lot as examples of what the world will be like at the Return of the Son of Man. And when Paul wrote to the Thessalonians he also reminded them to admonish one another to stay alert and aware.

God has truly used the sudden destruction of the Toto Earthquake to remind us to be prudent in the way we look at life and faith. Besides the things we can do in some small way to help with the earthquake, in our everyday lives -- in our daily walk with the Lord -- in sharing the Gospel, we need to redouble our efforts to serve the Lord and care about people's souls. May the shaking of this earthquake also "shake awake" people's hearts, causing them to return to the Savior, the Creator of heaven and earth! And may it shake God's children, causing them to return to the Truth!

"Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching" (2 Timothy 4:2). Especially in our 'different-strokes-for-different-folks' generation, full of confusion and compromise, we must hold firmly to the Truth and live it out. We must spread and teach the Gospel!

Revival Christian Church, Osaka, Japan

Mother's Day

In recent years, Revival Christian Church in Osaka, Japan, has been blessed to know some friends from Hong Kong, including some believers as well as unbelievers. Some attend worship every week or participate in ministry with us. However, due to Japan's immigration policy, like other Hong Kongers who have come to Japan desiring residency, none of them has been able to get settled, even though they are here under different statuses. Whatever the case, though, we continue to care for and nurture them in the love of Christ, to preach the Good News to those who don't yet know God, and to pray that God leads them in their daily lives.

Keyboard Class

Japanese Brothers and Sisters Helping Immigrants Learn Japanese

Monthly "Love Feast"

Recently we've started some keyboard classes, as well as classes conducted by brothers and sisters for non-Japanese to learn the language, etc. Our expectation is that through these activities we can more easily invite those who have not yet believed to participate with us, no matter what nationality they are. Please continue to pray for the work of the Gospel in this place! Thank you!

Let's pray with one heart for Japan's 'spiritual condition.' Pray for the church in Japan, that Christians' strength be renewed, that they will be light in the darkness!

Pray God will soften the hearts of the Japanese. May the Lord send His missionary resources from everywhere to the Japanese church and raise up the Japanese church to impart the Gospel and faith to more Japanese young people!

May the Lord raise up more intercessors to pray for Japan's pastors and preachers -- isolated, yet fighting for the Kingdom!

In Him,

Pastor Ruth

Revival Christian Church, Osaka, Japan