This week we are praying for Akita prefecture.
People of Akita are known to be loyal to their prefecture, and are deeply influenced by temples and shrines. Traditions and customes are also important and these often keep people from becoming a Christian. Protestant evangelism started in this area in 1888, by two missionary couples from the American Disciples.
<Akita prefecture>
- Population: 1,173,722
- City with only 1 church: 1
- Towns/villages with no church: 49
- Churches/person: 1:19,562
March 22: Pray for the development and growth of the 60 Protestant churches in the prefecture. As you read the statistics for Akita, allow the Lord to give you a prayer burden for the many people represented by these numbers.
March 23: Pray that people will respond to the two weekly radio programs in areas where there are no churches.
March 24: Pray that today someone seeking God will find help at the CLC Akita Book Store. The store provides encouragement for Christians and a witness to non-Christians.
March 25: There are several Catholic schools in the prefecture. Pray that Protestant schools would also be started and be used to spread the gospel. There are eight Protestant kindergartens and five day-care centers with 1,148 children.
March 26: Tenno town with a populatio nof over 20,000 and no church, Kazuno city with 38,000 and only one church should be special prayer targets. Seboku-gun, with its four towns and villages, has only one church for oer 56,000. Yuri-gun with 29,000 has no church, and Yamamoto-gun has only one church for 50,000.
*All information and prayer requests taken from “Operation Japan -Prayer Guide- Third Edition” -Japan Evangelical Missionary Association, 2005. To purchase a copy of “Operation Japan” book or the Interactive CD version, go to: http://www.jema.org/joomla15/index.php?option=com_banners&task=click&bid=10.
Dear David and Tomo,
My name is Clay Williams. My wife Bonnie and I have arrived in Akita, Japan just one week ago (on March 21st), after receiving God’s call to accept an offer of employment as a professor at Akita International University. What a blessing it was to read this post! We will be endeavoring to start Bible studies and fellowship groups among both students and faculty at the university, but we’re under no delusions that we don’t have our work cut out for us. We sincerely appreciate that you are leading believers to pray for the people of this region.
We would like to ask if by chance you have any details about active churches in the Akita city region, and also the address of the CLC Akita Bookstore mentioned in your post. Such resources could prove to be invaluable to us!
Thank you, and God bless!
-Clay Williams
Clay,
I happened upon your comment on the Pray for Akita site. I wonder if you have found a church fellowship. Please, contact me if you get this note. I came to AIU in September and am in need of fellowship.
Marjo Mitsutomi