Refocusing Our Ministry

Since we were appointed by WorldVenture in January 2018, we have changed and grown so much. This month, we felt God was urging us to share some of the ways He has led us to refocus our ministry both here in the States and in Japan. 

Refocusing Our Ministry:

Our Call:

Earlier in our Partnership Development process, we were unfocused. We had a clear call to the country of Japan but no specific purpose of ministry. Recently, we feel that God has clarified our ministry call although details are still unknown beyond our first term of training.

We believe that God is readying a great movement in Japan but that leadership for this movement must come from within the next generation of Japanese believers, not foreigners like ourselves. Instead, God is calling us to seek out and invest in a few future leaders who will ultimately spread the good news of Jesus Christ to their own people in a uniquely Japanese way. We look forward to witnessing how God will use new leaders to strengthen the Japanese church, and the Japanese church to carry His truth and love to other cultures in that region.

If you're interested to hear more, click here for our new Personal Ministry Profile.

Our Approach:

It took several months to adjust to the title and new identity of becoming "missionaries" back in 2018. Now God is reminding us that although we have come a long way, we have barely scratched the surface of all He will do in us and through us. In short, we have a lot to learn. God warns us that humility needs to be at the center of our approach and anything we do that is good must come through the Holy Spirit and not from our own intelligence, experience, or works. As we gain confidence, may it be confidence in the Lord and not in our own abilities.

Our Team:

Our team consists of our home sending church, Lighthouse Christian Church (in Bellevue, WA), our missionary sending organization, WorldVenture (headquartered in Denver, CO), our field team, Japan Baptist Fellowship (headquartered in Higashi-Kurume) and you, our partners. We always knew we would need to rely on our partners for prayer and financial support but God is reminding us just how important these relationships are to us.

Recently, we lost a few of our partners. We expected people might struggle financially with COVID-19 and need to withdraw support but this was different. We won't go into detail about the circumstances but God has made sure that we learned from this experience just how much we value your support. Every single person who says, "Yes, I support you," or "Yes, please add me to your newsletter." Every penny that is humbly given is such a blessing and strong statement of support. When we feel like wavering, it's you we think of. You started as partners in ministry and have become family. Thank you for your love and support. And please know how much we value your opinions about our ministry. After all, it is your ministry, too.

We would love to hear from you, whether it be to share your prayer requests or to schedule a Zoom meeting so we can catch up and share more details of our plans with you. Please know that we think of you and pray for you often.

Thanks and blessings,

The Walkers

Jeff, Malia, Mason & Kaili