Let's visit Tokyo with Doug Venn to see how telephones are a tool for reaching the hearts of lonely people in the world's largest city!
“I’m here in Tokyo, one of the world’s largest cities, and I’m surrounded by new friends and potential friends. But even though I’m surrounded by people, it’s really hard to connect heart to heart. They’re isolated, lonely, even though we’re surrounded by people. So let’s go check out an Urban Center of Influence that’s making a difference to the lonely hearts.”
“I’m here with my friend, Pastor Kobayashi, and he’s the Sabbath School and Personal Ministries director for the Japan Union Conference. Pastor Kobayashi, it’s so good to be here with you. Can you tell us about how long has the Christian Telephone Friend ministry been going?”
“This ministry was started in 1997 so it’s been around for about 20 years.”
As I continued talking with my friend, he shared with me that in Tokyo there are a lot of lonely people who need help. They shut themselves in their homes and disconnect from society. It is a defense mechanism to cope with the overwhelming amount of people. Despite being in such a large city, they find a way to isolate themselves.
The church in Japan started a ministry called the Christian Telephone Friend to reach these isolated people and serve their needs. A team of volunteers goes through extensive training to be effective listeners. Church members distribute cards and posts ads throughout the city, and people have been contacting them!
This creative Urban Center of Influence in Tokyo has allowed the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Japan to minister to countless lives.
Tokyo isn’t the only city where people feel alone, and in cities around the world, many have managed to isolate themselves--not just from others, but also from God.
This type of outreach can be replicated in other places, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. For anyone who wants to disciple and minister to those who don’t know God yet, how can you use this model in your own city?
“Thank you for joining me in Tokyo, the world’s largest city. I hope that you were inspired by the story of this urban center of influence, Christian Telephone Friends, on how they are able to meet needs in the community and then be able to step by step be able to make disciples just like Jesus did. Join me in praying for this city, as well as all the other cities in the world as we uplift Jesus as we continue our mission to the cities.”
