Praise the Lord, it’s church-planting time! From our Sunday school teachers who taught us to those who gave us on-the-field training here in Japan, we are thankful for every person God has used to invest in us, leading up to this major milestone in our ministry and lives, as we have now officially moved to our city of Kisarazu in the Chiba prefecture to plant the Kisarazu Kibō (“Hope”) Baptist Church, our very first church plant on the mission field. Thank you for investing in our ministry through your faithful prayers and giving that this city might have a Gospel-preaching church. We are excited to see what God will do here in this exciting new chapter of our lives!
After leading our final service at the Immanuel Seisho (“Bible”) Baptist Church of Nayoro, Hokkaido, we safely flew out that same Sunday afternoon to spend a full day in Kisarazu to complete our moving procedures with the city hall and to drop off our belongings in our new home from our six months in Hokkaido. We praise the Lord that we were also able to fully secure our rental hall for our upcoming Grand Opening Christmas Services, scheduled for December 3, 23, and 24. Those will be our first big evangelistic services, and we covet your prayers as we continue our preparations to begin our outreach here! On that same day, we flew back to the city of Minō in the Osaka prefecture, where our journey in Japan all began, to gather the rest of our larger belongings that the Morgan family, a fellow missionary family to Japan, had graciously stored in their attic for us during our time interim pastoring in Hokkaido. We are thankful for their kindness and hospitality, as they housed us for our entire week in Osaka and allowed us to enjoy sweet fellowship with their family during our time there. On October 4, I was given the honor of preaching at the Senri Newtown Baptist Church, where we spent our first two years in Japan training as we served there. The altar was full, and we praise God for His continued work in that miraculous ministry. During our time in Osaka, we had the privilege of visiting two older gentlemen we love dearly who are currently physically unable to attend church, as well as helping with the setup for a wedding of two of our closest friends there. On October 10, our moving company loaded their truck with our larger belongings. We finished loading what was left into our car, and we began our seven-hour drive to Kisarazu on October 11. Though it was a busy week in Osaka, we are thankful for all the encouragement God gave us as we launched out to a city, where we know no one, to begin a church from zero.
On our way to Kisarazu, we made a stop in the city of Gamagori in the Aichi prefecture to visit our friends at the Gamagori Baptist Church. My wife was given the honor of sharing a testimony of our time in Hokkaido, and I was given the honor of preaching their midweek service. At the end of the service, a young man in attendance decided to begin sharing his faith on social media, which is a big step of faith in Japan, where people are easily ostracized for such an action. Please pray that God will use him mightily and that he would grow to be a bold witness for Christ! On October 12, we safely arrived and officially settled into our new home in Kisarazu. We spent our first weekend with the closest Independent, fundamental Baptist church to our location, the Bōsō Megumi (“Grace”) Baptist Church of Oami Shirasato, a church that has been without a pastor for four years in a city over an hour away. It was an honor to preach for their faithful group of believers who are still gathered there, and it was a privilege to help trim their grass later that week. We began passing out tracts right away on October 20, and we held our first soft opening services on October 22. Though it is just my wife and I now, we pray and trust that God will fill the seats as He builds His church!
When God gave us this beautiful home, we wanted it to be used of God from the beginning, and He has already begun answering that prayer by allowing us to house our first overnight guest on October 14, our third night here! Our home and church office are only 20 minutes away from Japan’s main international airport. If we can be a blessing to you in any way, please do not hesitate to reach out to us, as this building belongs to Him
Danielle’s Journey
On the first day of this month, we got on an airplane with our suitcases, for the last time in the foreseeable future, to fly to Kisarazu, and on the next day, we officially became residents there. We then flew to Osaka to gather our belongings that the Morgan family had graciously stored for us. It was so good to see everyone in that church again! We then began our drive to Kisarazu , with a stop in Gamagori to visit the church there. I was given the privilege of sharing a bilingual testimony there of what God had done in Hokkaido. We arrived in Kisarazu shortly before the moving truck arrived with all our furniture. It was exciting to set up the house and truly make it ours. Just two days later, we had our first guest stay in our guest room. It was so exciting to see God use so quickly the home we had given to Him! We then visited a church in Northern Chiba and quickly began preparing for our soft opening services. We went soul winning and set up the church office as an auditorium. I have been able to speak with several people in our area who are excited about our new church and the Christmas services that we will be holding. Please pray especially for two people I have spoken to who have expressed the most interest thus far. We would also love to see our new neighbors attend the church services as well. We truly appreciate your continued prayers for our ministry here.
Your friends and co-labourers to Japan,
Go & Danielle Oishi
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- Sunset in Kisarazu
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- Our church-office auditorium
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- Our church-office auditorium
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- Fellowshipping with the Morgans
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- First soul-winning day
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- Soft opening service
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- Our church office
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- Awaiting our first visitor
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- Preparing soul-winning maps
