I finally finished John Piper’s “Let the Nations Be Glad.” It is an excellent look into the theology of missions, examining why it is important for Christians to be involved in missions, and what precisely the goal of missions is. Rather than give you a book review I’d like to talk a little bit about one chapter which deals with some issues that I think relate particularly to doing missions in Japan. In a chapter titled: “The Supremacy of God Among ‘All Nations,'” Piper argues that God’s command for missions is not that the Church try to save as many people as possible, but to save people from every people group on the earth. This sounds simple, but the strategic ramifications of how the church should prioritize missions is immense.
Take Japan for example. If God’s instruction were simply to save as many people as possible, we might easily be tempted to give up on Japan and stop sending missionaries there for two reasons. First Japan has proven to be very resistant to the message of the Gospel. Christian missionaries have been freely working in Japan for 60 years, and still less than a percent of the population is saved. Second, Japan is one of the most expensive countries to minister in. For every missionary sent to Japan you might be able to send two or three to a country with a lower cost of living, or perhaps support a dozen local ministers in third world countries. From our perspective we may be tempted to think that Japan has not proven to show enough return to warrant the investment the Church has been putting into it. However I strongly believe that this is not the way God sees things.
Piper argues that the great commission (“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations…“) and many other scriptures in the New Testament (Rev. 5:9 to name one) make it clear that God’s intent is not that the Church try to reach as many non-believers as possible, but that it strive to recruit worshipers from every people group, that is every tribe, language, people and nation. This means that even though God is may be doing great works in one nation, and saving many people that doesn’t mean that the church should neglect other nations and peoples who may be more difficult or expensive to reach. God is not concerned merely with the quantity of worshipers, but also with the variety. He is most glorified when people from every culture come to recognize Him as being supremely worthy of praise and worship, and forsake their own religions and gods to worship Him alone. Furthermore His resources are unlimited, if we give financially to support a missionary going to one country, we trust that God will provide where we cannot for a different missionary going to another country.
The aim of missions then is to start an indigineous church among every people group in the world, which is large enough in number, and mature enough spiritually to evangelize the rest of their people without outside help. This seems to have been what Paul had in mind when he said ” from Jerusalem and all the way around to Illyricum I have fulfilled the ministry of the gospel of Christ; and thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named,” Paul fullifilled the ministry of the gospel from Jerusalem to Illyricum. This was a rather large geographic area, and certainly Paul did not mean that he had preached to every single person or even in every city in that area. Rather he had started churches in strategic cities throughout the area so that the gospel was now going out without him. He felt his calling then was to go to more unreached peoples who had yet to have a chance to hear the gospel. Everyone from Jerusalem to Illyricum would soon have a chance to hear the gospel, but there were places that would not until someone went to take the gospel there. Japan is certainly such a place. There are over 1,700 cities towns and villages in Japan that do not yet have a single Christian church. There is still much work to be done before the ministry of the gospel is fulfilled in Japan, though Lord willing God will use Tomo and I, and many of you to be a part of fulfilling it by planting new churches in Japan and calling more Japanese to praise and worship God.
It is with great anticipation that Tomo and I continue to raise support to go to Japan, we pray that the Lord will lead you to join us in our ministry in sending us with prayers and financial gifts, in this way you are counted as fellow workers in this ministry.
3 John 8
Therefore we ought to support people like these, that we may be fellow workers for the truth.