As part of the Okinawa big city evangelism this year, the Japan Union Conference (JUC) Personal Ministries Department and Publishing Ministries Department held a HisHands training and practice for about 40 people at Urasoe Church and Naha Church in Okinawa Mission from March 15 to 16, 2014.
Pastor Nam HoungWoo, Pioneer Mission Movement missionary, is newly in charge of these two churches this year. “I appreciate the Northern Asia-Pacific Division (NSD) and JUC for supporting this event, and may it spread the missionary spirit through out the churches,” said Pastor Nam.
Pastor Han SukHee, NSD HisHands coordinator, was invited as the speaker. “There is no failure when it comes to evangelistic activities telling about Jesus. Evangelism is fundamentally not an issue between success and failure, but an issue between obedience and disobedience. When we obey God’s command and go out to deliver the gospel, God already considers our obedience success. Let us go to the harvest field in season or out of season,” said Pastor Han.
In addition, Pastor Hiroshi Yamaji, JUC HisHands coordinator, gave a lecture on preparation and precautions for house visitation. Pastor Norihiko Hanada talked about seeking backsliders and nurturing new members, and Elder Yoshio Ikeda, literature evangelism director, was in charge of practicing booklets and tracts distribution.
On Sabbath, about 20 members gathered at Urasoe Church and got to experience house visitation. After the mission work, they shared wonderful and touching testimonies about meeting some people God had already prepared.
The meeting was continued at Naha Church on March 16. About 20 attendees were divided into two teams for literature evangelism and visiting long-term absentees. It was a precious opportunity to realize that literature evangelism is still essential to the gospel work in this day and continuous concern for long-term absentees and backsliders and visitations are necessary.