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Geographic Parameters
Our ministry is linked with a career commitment to a nation and therefore our ministry has geographic focus. In principle, other than scheduled home assignments or retooling, our geographic base of ministry is Japan.
Exceptions to this principle would include unexpected events like death or illness in the family, lack of financial means to remain in Japan, military confrontations, natural disasters, etc. Exceptions do not include moving from Japan for purposes of increased mission administrative responsibilities on a wider scale or for taking up a seminary teaching position in North America. However, such commitments on a short term basis are possible (e.g., modular teaching).
Ministry Parameters
Our church planting and strengthening ministry, though based in Japan, entails encouraging the Japanese church to develop fruitful church planting and strengthening ministry not only in Japan, but also in an Asian and perhaps a global setting. This entails a kind of international modeling of our church planting and strengthening ministry.
Our church planting and strengthening ministry places high value upon the necessity of developing leaders for churches. Both newly birthed churches and churches that are going through leadership transition need pastors and lay leaders. Leadership development expands the parameters of our ministry beyond church planting and strengthening to include theological education.
Implications
These geographic and ministerial parameters mean our ministry could take any of the following shapes:
- planting a church in Japan with or without a team, but in partnership with the national church
- partnering with Japanese pastors in their church planting endeavors
- pastoring a church on an interim basis in order to help it move toward its next stage of church planting
- mentoring others in their church planting in Japan or elsewhere
- training Japanese pastors and lay leaders for leading churches
- training Japanese and expatriates for church planting and strengthening ministry outside Japan
- teaching, writing, and researching about theology of church planting and strengthening
- recruiting expatriates for church planting and strengthening in Japan
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