This week we are praying for Yamagata prefecture!
Yamagata is a mountainous prefecture with cold winter and hot summer. And they are famous for cherries and pears! mmm… People are conservative and possess deep compassion and a firm sense of obligation, which make for strong faith when a person becomes a Christian. However, deep-rooted village culture makes a strong pressure against the Christians.
- Population: 1,225,990
- City with no church: 1
- Towns/villages with no church: 26
- Churches/person: 1:16,794
March 28: Pray that the 4,503 believers in Yamagata will lead their families to Jesus.
March 29: With no access to Christian TV or bookstores, pray that the 75 churches will creatiely evangelize the prefecture. There are two weekly radio broadcasts.
March 30: House of Prayer Toriumi Chapel, built by the Sakata Christ Church; Conservative Baptist Miko Memorial at Yonezawa; Ohira Hotel and Narisawa Pension, both at Zao Hot Springs.
March 31: There are two Christian schools in the prefecture with a total of about 1,000 students. The large majority of the students are pre-Christians. Pray for a spiritual movement that would touch each student.
April 1: There are several ministries for the mentally disabled, and one 50-bed facility for the elderly. Pray that the family members will be impressed by the love of Christ shown in these ministries.
April 2: Obanazawa is the only city in Tohoku area that still lacks a church. Shion Christ Church in nearby Murayama city has had an outreach in Obanazawa, but a church has not yet been established here.
April 3: Higashi Tagawa-gun, Nishi Tagawa-gun, and Akumi-gun have 12 towns and villages and 130,000 people with no churches. Mogami-gun with seven towns and villages and over 50,000 people has only one church.
*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.