Now we start praying for the prefectures in Kanto area. Kanto area includes the whole Tokyo metropolitan area, and it has 31% of the population.
<Kanto Area>
- Towns & villages with no churches: 152
- Churches/person: 1:15,648
- Average attendance per church: 45
May 10: There are now 2,600 churches in the seven prefectures of Kanto. This is 23 less than 6 years ago. Adding the growing population, this means that there was on church per 15,139 in 1999, but now there is only one church for every 15,648. The number of baptisms and children in Sunday School continues to all in the Kanto area. Pray that each church will be revived and filled with His Spirit.
May 11: Pray for the ten cities which have only one church each. Pray for the 152 towns and villages which presently have no churches, and especially for the 19 with populations of over 20,000. There are millions of Japanese in the Kanto area who are living in utter darkness, facing eternal death. Pray that His Word will become a lamp unto millions of feet and a light unto their paths.
<Birth Rates>
Japan’s birthrate has fallen to a new record low of 1,29 during 2004. “The falling birth rate threatens to leave Japan with a labor shortage in decades to come as well as eat away at the country’s tax base. The national pension system, which relies on current workers to support the elderly, will also be strained as the birthrate declines.” (Associated Press, 2004-6-11) Pray that churches in Japan will see this problem as a an opportunity to show God’s love and salvation.
*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.