Behind the Scenes

Catch the Impressions and insights from three leaders involved in All Japan 2018 Maranatha.

Ted Wilson, president of the Seventh-day Adventist Church

What is the significance of Japan being chosen for countrywide Total Member Involvement (TMI) meetings in 2018?

Our wonderful church members in Japan have seen a steady decline in active outreach and in evangelism over the years. There was a great need to reinvigorate the church with soul-winning and outreach activities. Japan Union administration gave outstanding direction, together with General Conference and Northern Asia-Pacific Division involvement, to TMI approaches to engage pastors and church members in a new emphasis for evangelism. This included the recent unprecedented 161 evangelistic meetings.

How were you personally involved in Japan?

Nancy, my wife, and I were involved with a local evangelistic site at the Amanuma Adventist Church in Tokyo next to the Tokyo Adventist Hospital. Nancy presented the health talk each evening, and I presented the biblical/prophetic messages from Revelation and other parts of the Bible. 

What moment stands out most for you?

The baptism of two individuals toward the end of our evangelistic meetings and how the Lord touched their hearts through many ways, including the influence of other Seventh-day Adventists on their lives and the direct preaching of the Word of God as they heard the truth presented at the meetings. There are about three or four more who will probably be baptized soon. 

Have we learned any valuable lessons from All Japan 2018? 

Members in Japan have come to see that public evangelism does work in a secular setting if you move ahead in prayer and faith. I believe that this is a great lesson for various developed and sophisticated countries around the world that are in need of a proactive TMI evangelistic approach, recognizing that every country will need to contextualize its approach.

Ron Clouzet, ministerial director of Northern Asia-Pacific Division

What was the strategy behind Japanese pastors traveling to the Philippines in 2017 to experience public evangelism?

The trip was meant to give them a taste of success because the local people in the Philippines are used to preparing people and are used to reaching out to others and having Bible studies with nonmembers. So most of the pastors who have ambitious programs during this All Japan 2018 project were actually from among those who went to Mindoro last year. Having gotten a taste of it, they were able to visualize much better what to do.

How were you specifically involved in All Japan 2018 during the month of May?

A number of Japanese Spanish-speaking people came back to Japan from South America—Peru, Brazil, Argentina, Columbia, etc. So the mission president on Okinawa had the vision of reaching out to Spanish-speaking Japanese here. As a result, my wife, Lisa, and I were involved in planting the first Spanish-speaking church on the Japanese island of Okinawa.

What would you consider true success, a home run, for All Japan 2018?

I would consider it a home run if we had a critical mass of churches and pastors who catch a new and sharp vision of the Adventist mission in their world, seeing themselves as catalysts to really make a difference in the community because they have something to offer. There’s a message we have to offer that no one else has.

Masumi Shimada, president of Japan Union Conference

What steps of preparation did your union take prior to All Japan 2018?

In 2017, Ron Clouzet conducted field schools in Japan. The main training location was Amanuma Adventist church. Many other churches watched and learned from observing the activities happening at the church. Through this field school we learned about revival, preparation for evangelistic series, how to conduct evangelistic series, and many other things.

What are some of the memorable All Japan 2018 highlights for you personally? 

Currently we only have about 60 pastors, mostly older pastors. Considering this, just the fact that Japanese churches conducted 161 simultaneous evangelistic series was very memorable for me. In the past 40 years, most churches in Japan did not hold any meetings lasting longer than a weekend seminar. In that context, having more than 90 churches hold consecutive evangelistic series lasting longer than 10 days was just amazing. As a result, the Holy Spirit worked wonders and worked many miracles in people’s lives.

How has All Japan 2018 affected the Adventist Church in Japan?

Through All Japan 2018 Maranatha, churches in Japan were able to reaffirm and firmly grasp the importance of evangelism and soul winning. It is true. Evangelism work in Japan is not easy but is not impossible. God loves the people here in Japan. We have hope of having new opportunities for evangelism here in Japan.

Are any future plans developing as a result of All Japan 2018?

Currently several churches are already planning to have another evangelistic series in autumn of this year. Japan Union Conference will also continue to plan and promote evangelistic series in 2019 and 2020. Many church members are being motivated to figure out how to have an even more effective evangelistic series in the future.