Pray For
- believers to reach out to neighbors and friends with Christ’s love
- new young leaders to be awakened to service in ministry and pursue training
- domestic church-planting efforts
- more individuals committed to world missions
- a developing openness in the current generation to hear about God despite cultural influences of materialism and individualism
PRESENT MINISTRIES
The Japan FMC became a general conference in 1961 and was reorganized in 1984. The general conference remains committed to church planting in Japan, where only 1 to 2% of people are Christians. They plan to plant churches in large cities, from which satellite units will be launched. A pastoral training program at both graduate and undergraduate levels is available at Osaka Theological Seminary. Osaka Christian College, a junior college with a strong witness, is located on the same campus.
ORIGINS
Paul Kakihara, a young man from Japan who attended Greenville College in Illinois, pioneered Free Methodist missions in Japan in 1895. He first evangelized on the island of Awaji, in Osaka Bay. There he joined forces with Teikichi Kawabe who was also preaching on the island. Mr. Kawabe became the leader in laying the foundation for the Japanese Free Methodist Church. The first North American missionaries arrived in 1903.
The work spread from the island to the great commercial center of Osaka. Mr. Kawabe founded Osaka First Church, at one time Free Methodism’s largest congregation. He began Bible classes that grew into Osaka Theological Seminary.
The church became a general conference in 1961, then reorganized in 1984.
Country Leader
Bishop Ichiro Baba
Japan General Conference
MISSIONARIES
Gene & Minori Hall
Gene and Minori Hall have been serving with the FMWM since August 2019. They make their home in Japan supporting the Free Methodist churches. Their primary role is leadership training in Southeast Asia, working to equip Christian leaders with the tools to lead well....
Kristen
As a U.S.-based partner for FMWM-Asia, Kristen travels to Asia to teach pastoral development modules as part of the Gethsemane Leadership Training team. She represents the Asia Area director supporting and developing the Free Methodist Church in Creative Access-BG in...
Chris & Yuko Wilkins
Chris and Yuko Wilkins have joined the Gethsemane Leadership Training team, emphasizing pastoral training without requiring traditional seminary. They mentor leaders who, in turn, mentor others. They are also involved in various ministries in Japan, including café...
Prayercast | Japan
Love Asia 3.5 – Ikumi
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Faithful Servants
Japan is often described as a missionary graveyard. The hard work and effort put into sharing the gospel often seems to bear little spiritual fruit and is discouraging. With Christians making up less than 1% of the population, churches are small, and many pastors and members are aging. Yet, as we spend time visiting the Free Methodist churches here in the Osaka area, we are hopeful. We are meeting many faithful and faith-filled brothers and sisters in Christ.
Here are a few of their stories giving evidence of God’s Spirit at work in Japan:
COUNTRY STATISTICS
General Conference
- Population: 127,008,488
- Evangelical Christians: 0.58%
- FM Work Opened: 1895
- FM Churches: 27
- FMC Membership: 571
- Bishop: Ichiro Baba
- Ecclesiastical Accountability: Free Methodist World Conference
Photo Credit: TUBS, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons