2. What is our ministry and how will we carry it out?

Introduction

The purpose of this document is to set forth what we believe is our calling and responsibility as missionaries to Japan, and how we intend to carry out this calling. We recognize that in the midst of ministry it can sometimes become easy to lose sight of what God has called us to, and that there is a danger that we may exchange obedience for pragmatism, or to allow priorities to become unbalanced. The danger in this is that we may find ourselves following our own wisdom, and operating in our own power, working apart from God’s direction and the power of His Spirit. The first purpose of this document is that we might be reminded of the principles and calling that God has laid before us in His Word, in the hopes that we might find the strength to resist these temptations when we encounter them.

A second purpose is to inform ministry partners of the things that we believe concerning God’s calling for us, in the hopes that they may better understand our decision-making process and priorities in ministry. It is not our intention to impose this same philosophy upon anyone else, but merely to convey beforehand what they can expect from working with us.

What is our ministry, and how will we carry it out?

We aim to be obedient to Christ’s Great Commission by going to Japan, making disciples, baptizing them and teaching them to obey Christ.
We believe we are called to evangelism, to seeking the growth of believers spiritual maturity, to equip Japanese believers and the church in Japan, that they may be empowered through the Spirit to reach their nation and the world for Christ. (Mat. 28:18-20)

We believe that a necessary and natural step in this process is the planting of churches which will disciple new believers, evangelize the surrounding community, and send its members to other places in Japan to further Christ’s work.
To this end our ministries will always have the aim of either planting new churches, or strengthening existing ones. (Matt. 16:13-19, Acts 14:23, 15:36, 15:40-41)

We believe that the power to change lives lies not in our own knowledge or skill, but only in God, through the working of His Spirit and the proclamation of His Word.
Thus we commit to submitting to the scriptures and allowing them to govern our ministry practices, and to faithfully teaching and proclaiming God’s Word and to prayer, trusting in the work of the Holy Spirit to bear fruit. (Acts 1:6-8, 1 Cor. 1:18-25, 3:5-7, 2 Cor.4:7-11, 2 Tim. 4:1-2, John 17:17, John 6:44, Rom. 10:13-14, Luke 22:32)

We are committed to the sanctification of believers, to encourage their spiritual growth in the church through the preaching of the Bible and personal discipleship.
We believe that spiritual maturity and sanctification comes by the Spirit through God’s word and prayer. As such we recognize the necessity of conveying the truths contained in God’s word to believers and teaching them to apply those truths to their life. We commit to doing this through faithful Biblical preaching within the church, and through personal discipleship relationships with new believers. (Eph. 4:11-16, Col. 1:28, Php. 2:22, Mat. 4:19-20)

We are committed to conveying the truth of the Gospel, for the salvation of the lost and the sanctification of the saved, in the following ways.

Preaching and proclaiming God’s word with care to ensure that to the best of our ability it’s truth is presented in a way that can be understood by the Japanese worldview.
This revelation of Christ to the Japanese requires careful study of Japanese values and culture, to the aim of presenting the truth of the Gospel in a way that is comprehensible and free of unnecessary cultural stumbling blocks. (Acts 17:22-24, 1 Cor. 9:20-22)
Being a living example of holiness, love and good works.
We believe that God calls us to demonstrate the truth of the Gospel by publicly living a new life in Christ through the power of the Spirit. We consider the verbal proclamation and explanation of the Gospel combined with practical demonstrations of obedience to the Gospel to be necessary tools to leading people to Christ. (Rom. 6:1-4, 12:16-18, John 13:35, 1 John 3:10, 1 Pet. 2:11-12, 1 Tim. 4:12)
Modeling Christian community and fellowship.
Whenever possible we seek to work in cooperation with other believers, and to model the sort of community and brotherly love commanded by Christ to His people. We believe that such a visible demonstration of the Gospel is necessary to conveying its power and truth to the Japanese. (1 Cor. 12:12-14, Acts 2:42-47)

How we determine ministry direction

Submission to scripture as our first and final authority in determining ministry methods and direction.
We recognize God’s Word as being a true and infallible revelation of His Will, and as believers who are submitted to His authority we must also submit our self to His commands and direction as revealed in His Word. We commit ourselves to careful study of God’s Word, humbly seeking to understand it to the best of our ability. (Mar. 12:24, Acts 4:19-20, 5:29, 2 Tim. 3:16, 2 Pet. 1:19-21, Ps. 19:7-11)

Commitment to prayer to God and discussion with spiritually mature believers to confirm ministry decisions.
We recognize that God’s Word, not our understanding of it, is our highest authority and that our own hearts and intellect are fallible, and thus that our own personal search of the scriptures and conclusions based on them may also be fallible. To guard against mistakes and errors we commit to prayer to God, trusting His Spirit to offer some confirmation or correction as we seek His Word. We further commit to consulting spiritually mature believers in areas that are particularly difficult, and to open and honest discussion with ministry partners that may hold to differing interpretations of scripture. (Pro. 1:5, 12:15, Col. 1:9-12, Eph. 1:15-23 Acts 13:3)

Resolving Conflicts

Submission to the authority of God’s Word

We recognize God as our highest authority, and commit to obeying His Word above any other authority. At the same time we recognize that there is a range of beliefs shared among true Christians, and that some portions of God’s Word are difficult to rightly interpret. Nonetheless there are some essentials of the Christian faith which we cannot compromise, particularly areas pertaining to Salvation and the trustworthiness of God’s word. (Acts 17:11, 2 Pet. 1:19-21, Mar. 12:24, Acts 4:19-20, 5:29, 2 Tim. 3:16, 2 Pet. 1:19-21, Ps. 19:7-11)

Commitment to unity whenever possible.

We recognize that God’s call for unity is unambiguously revealed in His word, and that such unity is a powerful and necessary testimony of the Spirit’s work, which God uses to draw people to Himself. We understand that in order to minister alongside other believers as God commands, it may be necessary to choose between unity and adherence to our understanding of God’s Word. Thus we recognize that in non-essentials of the faith, it is sometimes necessary to refrain from insisting to an adherence to our personal doctrinal views in order to maintain unity. We commit to seeking the scriptures, to prayer, and soliciting godly counsel when these issues arise. (John 13:34-35, 17:21-23, Eph. 4:1-7, 1 Cor. 1:10)

Humility to seek the counsel and advice of ministry partners in areas where there is not a consensus of direction.

We recognize that as fallible humans we will encounter areas of disagreement with partners in ministry. In such cases we commit seeking to resolve such differences in love and humility, and to put the needs of others before our own. We further commit to seeking to resolve these differences through mutual prayer, study of God’s Word, and loving debate among our ministry partners. (Acts 15:6-7)