Editor’s note: The House Church in China Podcast tells the stories of the modern Chinese house church. In season four, we hear the story of two non-Christian Chinese who turned to Jesus and left their homes to be a part of reaching all nations with the good news. Today, we are proud to publish an excerpt from the last episode of Season 4. Daisy and Mike’s mission is to reach Japan by influencing the next generation. Will this unique strategy work?
Reaching Japan – Through Chinese Children
Daisy and Mike are not like many traditional missionaries. They are moving to Japan to plant a Chinese-speaking congregation for Chinese expats living in the area. They are also not like other immigrant pastors, seeking to minister to only their own people in a foreign land. Their goal is cross-cultural, muti-generational missions that will eventually bring revival to the Japanese church.
Here’s Mike’s take: “The mainstream culture is very strong in Japan. Children will inevitably be influenced by the mainstream culture and can enter society at large. In such settings, our strategy can work.”
Our strategy is to build a healthy church among Chinese and the second generation.
For this strategy to work, they are not planning to just serve on the mission field for five to ten years. They are preparing to be in Japan for generations.
“Our strategy is to build a healthy church among Chinese and the second generation,” said Daisy. “Because of the second generation, our ministry will be bilingual.That’s our mission strategy.”
To do this, they need the help of the next generation.
That’s why, when Mike and Daisy began holding worship services in Chinese last summer, they also started a bilingual kids ministry, so that the Chinese kids can invite their friends and classmates to church. This may be the church’s biggest asset, but perhaps also its biggest challenge. How does a missionary family send their kids into a foreign culture and still make sure they keep their faith?
“Because of the gospel, our first identity is not Chinese; our first identity is Christian. In many Chinese churches in Japan there is a tendency to strengthen Chinese identity and to gather people in order to preserve it. In our church we seek to break that idea. It’s not your primary identity; your primary identity belongs to heaven—you are a Christian,” said Lily.
She continues: “This matters for parenting too. Some parents pressure their children to “remember you are Chinese” and to remember the history and animosity between China and Japan. That creates heavy pressure. But you cannot prevent children from growing up inside Japanese culture, which can lead to confusion if their identity is framed primarily in ethnic or historical terms. We want the gospel to define their identity.”
A Missionary Graveyard
To pass on this gospel identity to their kids will be no small task, particularly in a third-culture setting where multiple languages are involved. Sometimes that could be as practical as teaching their kids to decide when and when not to play baseball, or how to prioritize their church over academic achievements. On one hand, the kids need to fit into the Japanese culture to reach others. On the other hand, they will have to resist some of the most common Japanese practices. Finding the perfect balance will not only affect their kids’ faith, but also the effectiveness of their mission.
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Because of the gospel, our first identity is not Chinese; our first identity is Christian.
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Another major question Mike and Daisy face is how to infiltrate and influence the Japanese culture and pass this gospel identity to them. Japan has historically been referred to as “the missionary graveyard.” The people are known for their reserve, and they are willing to suppress individuality for the sake of the collective.
“For the sake of the group, people are willing to sacrifice—freedom, preferences, even emotions,” said Mike. “It’s a shame-oriented culture, very sensitive to others’ eyes and expectations.”
Cultural Identity and Faith
In such a context, religion is not just about individual beliefs, but it is a deep part of the people’s cultural identity. For example, Daisy shared that ancestor worship is an extremely important tradition for the Japanese people. Every family has a shrine to their ancestors. Not that all people believe in the afterlife, but ancestor worship is a strong indication that you are part of the family, both in this life and in the next.
“They may say they are seeking good fortune, but they don’t connect it to religion—it’s ‘culture.’ I think that’s different,” said Daisy. “Even if you call it culture, it’s religious. So we choose to abstain from these activities. Behind the “culture” there is spiritual bondage.
This is why it’s hard to talk about “religion” with Japanese friends. When you frame it as religion, they say, “That’s just culture.””
Japan is very good at receiving global influences selectively… They choose what to accept and politely decline the rest. The politeness can make it hard to realize you’ve been declined.
For an individual to embrace Christ and abandon this ancestor worship, it is akin to abandoning the Japanese identity altogether. Therefore, despite technological progress and decades of economic integration with the West, Japanese culture is still very much closed off to Christianity.
Here’s how Daisy describes that dynamic: “Japan is very good at receiving global influences selectively—appreciating what’s good—while preserving its center. They choose what to accept and politely decline the rest. The politeness can make it hard to realize you’ve been declined.”
Daisy and Mike are pseudonyms for a Chinese Christian couple who are serving God in missions.
Pray for Daisy and Mike to be able to reach the core of Japanese culture with the freedom and joy of the gospel.
