Kanagawa’s capital, Yokohama, is the second largest city in the nation and where the Protestant Church began. In 1859, the first Protestant missionaries arrived in Yokohama, and a prayer meeting was started in 1872. Nine students were led to faith and eleven people from this group became the charter members of the first Protestant church in Japan, organized on March 10, 1872.
- Population: 8,600,109
- City with only 1 church: 1
- Towns/villages with no church: 6
- Church/person: 1: 17,269
Dec 26: Christian social welfare facilities such as Yokohama Training Center for the Blind (started 114 years ago) with 35 in training now, Japan Minakami School in Yokohama, and orphanages Elizabeth Sanders Home with 100 residents and Shiroyama School with 55 students.
Dec 27: One of the six unchurched town and villages, Kiyokawa Village, covers a wide mountainous area. Even though it has no church, a Christian ministry called Tanzawa Home is located there. The other five towns have fairly easy access to churches in adjacent areas. Pray that these areas will also have churches within their borders.
Dec 28: Pro-Life Japan provides various services including abortion prevention, medical attention for the mother’s health, support at childbirth, ad adoption placement. April 23 is set aside as “Sanctity of Life Day” in many churches.
*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.