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.
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
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.
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.
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
Resources For Ministry In Japan
Multiplying Churches In Japanese Soil by John Mehn. Since the beginning of missionary efforts in Japan in the sixteenth century, the Japanese church has never managed to take root as a truly indigenous church-despite great effort toward that aim. Why? What factors have contributed to the Japanese remaining largely unreached? Mehn examines the current state of affairs and then, with some careful analysis and case study, delves into effective models and leadership for planting churches in Japan that not only grow, but are also equipped to reproduce and multiply.
Overcoming Barriers to Evangelization in Japan by David J. Lu. This book follows Paul’s teaching and deems the Japanese people as worshiping “an unknown god” (Acts 17:22-31), and tries to emphasize common grace at each turn. It will tell you how to engage in conversation with non-Christians while providing an insider’s view of Japan’s rich cultural heritage. Its main purpose is to obtain conversion among the die-hard Buddhists, Shintoists, and traditionalists. When that is done, God’s kingdom will be enriched in a manner similar to the time when Saul of Tarsus became Paul the apostle.
Jesus For Japan: Bridging the Cultural Gap to Christianity, by Mariana Nesbitt. Christian growth in Japan has been slow. This book fills a cultural gap. It is a collection of insights from Japanese literature, the arts, and religion that will help solve the problem of making our ministry less foreign to the Japanese heart and mind. No other work to date has attempted to include this much information in one book, focusing on and using Japanese opinions, research and theology.
Japanese Redemptive Analogies:: Bridging the Cultural Gap to Christianity, by Mariana Nesbitt. Ever wished for a Redemptive Analogy for Japan like Peace Child, the redemptive analogy that sparked off a great turning to Christ in Irian Jaya? God has blessed Japanese culture with plenty of redemptive analogies that we can use. The riches of Japanese culture and literary genius has produced novels, theatre, poetry, stories and history that we can mine for nuggets of gold! We can use many of these to teach the Christ of substitution, sacrifice and redemption.
The Japanese and Christianity: Why Is Christianity Not Widely Believed in Japan? by Samuel Lee. Since the mid-sixteenth century, Christianity has been notably active in Japan, and yet Japan remains one of the least- evangelized nations in the world. The Japanese and Christianity is an attempt to work out an appropriate response to the question, “What are the main reasons why Christianity has not yet succeeded in Japan?” It investigates various factors, i.e. the societal, cultural, historical, missiological and political dimensions of Christianity in Japan, in searching for possible answers.
To Japan and Back: A Missionary Journey of Despair, Hope, and Joy by JT Stoll. Joey Stoll had no clue what he was getting into when he went to rural Japan as a long-term missionary. He left full of excitement and arrived in a world very different from what he expected. Compiled in short chapters written as stories, devotions, and journal entries, this is one missionary’s strange journey to the Land of the Rising Sun and an equally strange journey of returning to his own culture.
Belong, Experience, Believe: Pentecostal Mission Strategies for Japan by Noriyuki Miyake. Why don’t Japanese people become Christians? Miyake brings a pastor’s heart and a researcher’s mind to a question that has been asked many times in Christian mission. After reviewing Japanese social and religious life and evaluating the history of mission strategies so far, he highlights two key ways that Japanese people relate to religion: first, they look for a sense of belonging to a community, and second they receive religious truth through first-hand experience rather than through abstract doctrine. From this basis he develops a new strategy for churches to reach out into Japanese community.
Shintō: the Gospel’s Gate by Brian T. McGregor. Christianity has been present in Japan since the mid-1500s and yet it is still not widely followed in Japan. Could it be because we insist on explaining the Gospel in terms of guilt-innocence instead of shame-honor? Shintō: the Gospel’s Gate develops two major redemptive analogies; introduces an indigenous name for the Creator God; the Shintō concept of sin; and solves a 3,400 year old biblical mystery.
Sowing the Gospel in Japanese Soil: Understanding Japanese Religious Beliefs by John Wm. Mehn. How do we sow the Christian gospel in Japanese soil so that it thrives with multiplying disciples and healthy churches? To be effective in sowing the gospel we must know our seed and the soil. This book is written in two parts, the first explores the soil of Japan and the second focuses on sowing the gospel in Japan. Each chapter will attempt to answer several key questions in the quest to penetrate the beliefs and worldview of the Japanese.
Sowing in Tears, Reaping in Joy: The Life Story of Florence Miller, Missionary to Japan by Florence J. Miller. Florence Miller was faced with the challenge of being one of the first North American Baptist missionaries to Japan, blazing a trail for those who would follow. From 1951 to her retirement in 1989, she sought to sow the seed of God’s Word in the lives of people who had been steeped for centuries in Buddhist and Shintoist traditions. She is credited with planting several churches in Japan, frequently encountering situations that took her far beyond her comfort zone.
Operation Japan Prayer Guide – 5th Edition by Don Wright. The Operation Japan prayer guide will help you to understand the needs of Japan, while providing the information you need to effectively pray for the country and its people. It draws on multiple sources to provide detailed statistics on every prefecture, along with specific prayer needs and concerns, and includes up-to-date information on each prefecture in Japan, a system for praying through the nation in one year, and key prayer targets and issues.
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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