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You are here: Home / Buddhist World / Church Planting Along a Japanese Travel Corridor

Church Planting Along a Japanese Travel Corridor

By Frank Johnson on September 6, 2020 0

Tsukuba Express Line
Photo courtesy of Justin Chase Canavan. Used by permission (personal corresopndence).

In 312 B.C., the Romans constructed the first of what was to become a sophisticated system of roads. As the Romans conquered areas, they would build roads to link newly captured cities with Rome, enabling their armies to quickly respond to threats.1

These roads were designed with speed of travel in mind, following a relatively straight line through the countryside. They were generally 10-12 feet wide, paved with hewn stone, and reinforced with banks of sand.2 Some are still in use today.3 Distances were marked with “mile markers” for every Roman mile (which were 1,000 5-foot paces, so slightly shorter than a modern mile).4

The Roman road system also included a network of way stations where government travelers could change horses/donkeys (generally every 10 miles) and state-run “hotels” where travelers could rest (generally every 20 miles).5

While the Romans built and maintained this system of roads to allow their armies to move quickly throughout the empire and to facilitate trade, the apostles and their teams took advantage of that road system to spread the gospel rapidly, planting churches in the population centers that formed alongside those roads.

The church has a history of using travel-related infrastructure (to which population centers naturally gravitate) for the rapid dissemination of the good news of Jesus’ love and for the planting of churches.

The Tsukuba Express Line
On August 24, 2005, a Japanese railway line was opened between Akihabara Station in Chiyoda, Tokyo and Tsukuba Station in Tsukuba, Ibaraki. The trains travel the 58.3 km line at speeds up to 130 km/hour, dramatically decreasing travel time between Tokyo and Japan’s science city of Tsukuba.6 In 2015, the Tsukuba Express line carried 431,060 passengers per day.7 The technology is so sophisticated that no conductors are needed on the trains – there is only one driver for the entire line.8

The Tsukuba Express Line runs through the most densely populated area on Earth and an area where the world’s second largest unreached people group resides in great numbers.

Tsukuba Express Line

Along the Tsukuba Express line, there are a total of twenty railway stations. Among those stations are the 6th and 14th busiest railway stations in the world.9

Kita-Senju Station.
Kita-Senju Station. Photo courtesy of 663highland. Used by permission.

Since the Tsukuba Express line serves commuters (between Tsukuba and the technology district of Akihabara) these stations along the line are natural population centers.

A Strategic Opportunity and an Audacious Vision
A highly-advanced system of travel with multiple “stations” that have grown into population centers. Sound familiar?

Just as the apostolic band made strategic use of the Roman system of roads, the Tsukuba Express line represents a strategic opportunity today. All that is required is a modern-day apostolic band — a group of believers sent to and raised up from within Japan to plant churches in these population centers, proclaim Jesus and His kingdom, disciple those who become Christ-followers, and train new believers to repeat this process.

Enter Assemblies of God missionaries Chris and Lindsey Carter, along with their children Wesley, Adelaide, and Hudson. Chris and Lindsey were both called to be missionaries at young ages — Lindsey at the age of seven and Chris at the age of seventeen. They met in college and married. They began their missions journey by living in Aberdeen Scotland, where Chris completed his Ph.D. in New Testament Studies at the University of Aberdeen. Subsequently, they were missionaries in the Philippines — at Asia Pacific Theological Seminary, teaching students from over 25 different nations.

The Carter Family
Photo courtesy of Chris and Lindsey Carter. Used by permission (personal correspondence)

While at Asia Pacific Theological Seminary, the Lord began to speak to Chris and Lindsey about Japan. During a trip to Osaka and Tokyo in May of 2009, the desperate need of the Japanese people became clear (less than one percent of the Japanese population is Christian and there are relatively few missionaries).

In 2014, Chris and Lindsey began pastoring Tsukuba International Christian Assembly (affectionately known as TICA), a vibrant bilingual congregation which had attracted multiple nationalities from Tsukuba, the “Science City” of Japan.

Tsukuba International Christian Assembly
Photo courtesy of Justin Chase Canavan. Used by permission (via personal correspondence).

In this video, Chris and Lindsey describe how the church uses music, science, and the English language to draw Japanese people into the congregation.

Over the past few years, the international believers who are part of TICA have been mobilized to reach their non-Christian Japanese neighbors. Their efforts have been successful as now about one-quarter of the church is Japanese. Through the strategy employed by the church-planting team, unbelievers are immersed into Christian community, the love of God is revealed to them, and they begin to understand the purpose of Jesus’ mission on earth.

Although the church in Tsukuba is successful, God has given a larger vision. And Chris and Lindsey, along with their growing team of church planters, are committed to giving their lives for the fulfillment of this vision: twenty churches — one for each of the twenty railway stations along the Tsukuba Express line. Two hundred full-time missionaries — ten for each church plant.

Listen to Chris and Lindsey describe the vision God has given them:

With their commitment to this audacious plan, Chris and Lindsey have embraced the words of William Carey, the father of modern-day Protestant missions, who said, “Expect great things from God. Attempt great things for God.”

And now you and I have an opportunity to join the Carters’ team and be part of the great things they are attempting for God.

How To Join The Carters’ Team
If you’ve read our pillar articles (which can be reached through the tabs at the top of the site if you are using a desktop or the three-bar/”hamburger” menu if you are using a mobile device), you know that our conviction is that all believers should be part of a team seeking to reach the unreached. Some will go, some will pray, some will provide financial support, some will provide logistical support.

Here are seven ways you can be a part of Chris and Lindsey’s team:

  • You can physically join the Carters by taking a short-term or long-term missions trip to Tsukuba. Opportunities include teaching English through weekly classes or Vacation Bible School/English Camp events, working with their Chi Alpha college ministry at the University of Tsukuba, music ministry, and much more. Learn more at the Carter’s website.
  • Make a donation for the purchase and remodel of the Tsukuba Express Discipleship Station, the building next door to Tsukuba International Christian Assembly which will provide housing, office, and ministry space for the church-planting team.
  • Spread the word about the Tsukuba church-planting project by adding a special frame to your Facebook profile picture. Three options are available: Option 1, Option 2, and Option 3.
  • Pray for the Carters and the rest of their church planting team. Visit their website, their Facebook ministry page, and the Tsukuba International Christian Assembly website to learn more about the Carters’ prayer needs.
  • Pray for Tsukuba
  • You can support the Carters financially by signing up to support them on a monthly basis or to contribute a one-time gift at their Give page.
  • If you are a pastor or missions leader in your church, we would encourage you to get in touch with Chris and Lindsey to see how they might be able to encourage your people for the cause of missions in Japan and also to find out how you can be of service to them. Contact them through their website.

COUNTRIES IN THIS ARTICLE: Japan
WORKERS IN THIS ARTICLE: Chris and Lindsey Carter

Related Resources

In Multiplying Churches in Japanese Soil, John Mehn asks why the Japanese people have remained largely unreached and why the Japanese church has never managed to take root as a truly indigenous church — despite great effort toward that aim.


1 Evan Andrews, “8 Ways Roads Helped Rome Rule the Ancient World,” History.com, accessed September 5, 2020, https://www.history.com/news/8-ways-roads-helped-rome-rule-the-ancient-world.

2Edwin M. Yamauchi, “On the Road With Paul,” Christianity Today, accessed September 5, 2020, https://www.christianitytoday.com/history/issues/issue-47/on-road-with-paul.html.

3 Ed Stetzer, “The Missionary Strategy of the Early Church,” New Churches, accessed September 5, 2020, https://newchurches.com/blogs/the-missionary-strategy-of-the-early-church/.

4Yamauchi, ibid.

5 Andrews, ibid.

6 “Useful Information”, Tsukuba Express, accessed September 5, 2020, https://www.mir.co.jp/en/useful/outline.html.

7 “Tsukuba Express”, Wikipedia, accessed September 5, 2020, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsukuba_Express.

8 “Useful Information”, ibid.

9 Master Blaster, “The 51 busiest train stations in the world – All but 6 located in Japan,” Japan Today, accessed September 5, 2020, https://japantoday.com/category/features/travel/the-51-busiest-train-stations-in-the-world-all-but-6-located-in-japan.

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About Frank Johnson

Frank is a 1985 graduate of Bethany College in Scotts Valley, California (B.S. Ministerial Studies) and a licensed minister with the Northern California and Nevada District Council of the Assemblies of God. Frank has been an internet strategist for over 15 years, applying principles of digital media strategy to spread the gospel. In addition, he is the author of Find A Job Through A Temporary Service, “Bringing in the Outcast” (under pen name, John Norman) in Issue 43 (January 1, 1988) of Discipleship Journal, and numerous articles in the Santa Cruz Sentinel.

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Lord Jesus,

This day, we cast our souls upon Your sacrifice as our only hope for purpose, meaning, and fulfillment here on earth and for life in the age to come.

This day, we swear allegiance to You, our King.

This day, we pray that You would set our hearts aflame for Your cause and for the over 2 billion people in this world who have yet to hear Your name.

We long for the day that we will stand before Your throne, surrounded by the most diverse community ever formed — from every tribe, every tongue, every people, and every nation — those whom You have purchased with Your blood — as we cry out together "Worthy is the Lamb!"

Until that day, we commit ourselves to loving our brothers and sisters in Christ — no matter what their people group, no matter what their language, no matter what their race, no matter where they are from — and to living in community with them — that the world may know that the Father loves them and that He sent You to save them.

This day, we devote our lives — our time, our money, our passion, our mind, our strength, our everything — to see Your gospel proclaimed in every corner of this world.

And we thank You for the astounding privilege of playing a small part in carrying Your name to the nations!

Pray For Tsukuba, Japan

Tsukuba Express Line
Tsukuba International Christian Assembly is responding to God's call to plant 20 churches along the the Tsukuba Express Line (a train line with 20 stops from Tsukuba to Tokyo). Click to learn more.

TEAM TICA

Team TICA is the church-planting team dedicated to the development and growth of Tsukuba International Christian Assembly in Tsukuba, Japan. These are members of Team TICA who have been profiled on Hesed.com:

     Chris and Lindsey Carter
     Justin Chase Canavan
     Josh and Erin McCoin

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Helpful Resources

Scroll through each of the panels below to discover books and products specifically curated for those with an interest in bringing the news of Jesus' love to the people of Japan.

 
Christianity and Japan
Christianity and Japan
 
  • Multiplying Churches In Japanese Soil, by John Mehn
  • Overcoming Barriers to Evangelization in Japan, by David J. Lu
  • Jesus For Japan: Bridging the Cultural Gap to Christianity, by Mariana Nesbitt
  • The Japanese and Christianity: Why Is Christianity Not Widely Believed in Japan? by Samuel Lee
  • To Japan and Back: A Missionary Journey of Despair, Hope, and Joy, by JT Stoll
  • Belong, Experience, Believe: Pentecostal Mission Strategies for Japan, by Noriyuki Miyake
  • Shintō: the Gospel's Gate, by Brian T. McGregor
  • Sowing the Gospel in Japanese Soil: Understanding Japanese Religious Beliefs, by John Wm. Mehn
  • Sowing in Tears, Reaping in Joy: The Life Story of Florence MNiller, Missionary to Japan, by Florence J. Miller
  • Sharing Jesus Effectively in the Buddhist World, edited by David Lim, Steve Spaulding, and Paul De. Neui
  • Operation Japan Prayer Guide - 5th Edition, by Don Wright
 
 
Language Learning: Japanese
language learning: japanese
 
  • 1-on-1 Lessons with Professional Japanese Teachers, from iTalki
  • Lonely Planet Japanese Phrasebook & Dictionary, by Yoshi Abe and Keiko Hagiwara
  • Lonely Planet Japanese Phrasebook and CD (Audiobook)
  • Lonely Planet Fast Talk Japanese, by Yoshi Abe and Keiko Hagiwara
  • First Words - Japanese (Board Book), by Lonely Planet Kids
  • Learning Japanese Hiragana and Katakana: A Workbook for Self-Study, by Kenneth G. Henshall
  • The Kodansha Kanji Learner's Dictionary, edited by Jack Halpern
  • 2000 Most Common Japanese Words in Context, by Lingo Mastery
  • Learn Japanese with Rocket Japanese Level 1
 
 
Japanese History, Anthropology, Etc.
japan: history, anthropology, etc.
 
  • Understanding Japan Through the Eyes of Christian Faith, by Samuel Lee
  • A Christian in the Land of the Gods: Journey of Faith in Japan, by Joanna Reed Shelton
  • Christianity Made in Japan: A Study of Indigenous Movements, by Mark R. Mullins
  • American Missionaries, Christian Oyatoi, and Japan, 1859-73, by Hamish Ion
  • A Concise History of Japan (Cambridge Concise Histories), by Brett L. Walker
  • Ancient Japan: A Captivating Guide to the Ancient History of Japan, Their Ancient Civilization, and Japanese Culture, by Captivating History
  • The Japanese Mind: Understanding Contemporary Japanese Culture, by Roger J. Davies
  • The Cambridge Companion to Modern Japanese Culture, edited by Yoshio Sugimoto
  • Japanese Culture: The Religious and Philosophical Foundations, by Roger J. Davies
  • The Chrysanthemum and the Sword, by Ruth Benedict
 
 
Christianity and Japan
maps, posters, and flags of japan
 
  • National Geographic: Japan Classic Wall Map (25 x 29 inches)
  • Tokyo City Grid Map Art Print Wall Poster 11" x 14"
  • Japan Vintage Style Political Map Cool Wall Decor Art Print Poster 24" x 36"
  • Japan Watercolor Map Wall Art Poster, Available in 5" x 7", 8" x 10", and 11" x 14" sizes
  • Mount Fuji Honshu Island Japan in Autumn Photo Photograph Cool Wall Decor Art Print Poster 36" x 24"
  • Japan Nylon Flags
  • Japan Mounted Flags
 
 
Japan Fun
japan fun!
 
  • Cafepress 11-ounce Cherry Blossom Time Japan Mug
  • 14-ounce Starbucks Japan Limited Mug (part of Starbucks "You Are Here Collection")
  • Japanese Cherry Blossom Mt. Fuji Coasters with Holder Set
  • Japanese Bamboo Trees Sun and Mountains Mouse Pad
  • The Great Wave by Hokusai Japanese Art Mouse Pad
  • 5-piece Aluminum Alloy Japan Flag Window Decal Sticker Set
  • Chrome-Plated Japan Flag Key Chain, 3" x 1.25"
 

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Our Daily Declaration

Lord Jesus,

This day, we cast our souls upon Your sacrifice as our only hope for purpose, meaning, and fulfillment here on earth and for life in the age to come.

This day, we swear allegiance to You, our King.

This day, we pray that You would set our hearts aflame for Your cause and for the over 2 billion people in this world who have yet to hear Your name.

We long for the day that we will stand before Your throne, surrounded by the most diverse community ever formed — from every tribe, every tongue, every people, and every nation — those whom You have purchased with Your blood — as we cry out together “Worthy is the Lamb!”

Until that day, we commit ourselves to loving our brothers and sisters in Christ — no matter what their people group, no matter what their language, no matter what their race, no matter where they are from — and to living in community with them — that the world may know that the Father loves them and that He sent You to save them.

This day, we devote our lives — our time, our money, our passion, our mind, our strength, our everything — to see Your gospel proclaimed in ever corner of this world.

And we thank You for the astounding privilege of playing a small part in carrying Your name to the nations!

Pray for the Tsukuba Express Church Planting Team

Tsukuba Express Line

  1. Please pray for the areas surrounding these twenty rail stations: Akihabara, Shin-Okachimachi, Asakusa, Minami-Senju, Kita-Senju, Aoi, Rokucho, Yashio, Misato-chuo, Minami-Nagareyama, Nagareyama-centralpark, Nagareyama-otakanomori, Kashiwanoha-campus, Kashiwa-Tanaka, Moriya, Miraidaira, Midorino, Bampaku-kinenkoen, Kenkyu-gakuen, and Tsukuba
  2. Pray that God would raise up church planters and send forth laborers into the harvest fields surrounding these stations (Luke 10:2-4).
  3. Pray that God would help these church planters identify persons of peace in the areas surrounding these stations (Luke 10:5-8).
  4. Pray that God would enable these church planters to speak the word of God with boldness in these areas (Luke 10:9b).
  5. Pray that the proclamation of God’s word in the areas surrounding these stations would be accompanied by demonstrations of God’s compassion and power (Luke 10:9a).