Japan Missionary's Recipe Book

By Jim Ruff

Step 1: Sift through a handful of teen-aged, young adult, and (the rare) mature adult prospects.

Step 2: Select an individual who loves the Lord Jesus Christ with all his heart, soul, and mind, and who loves his neighbor as himself.

Step 3: Strain the individual successfully through the sieve of a solid Bible education, being careful not to lose him to someone else in the process.

Step 4: Add a servant's heart that enables him to work with a missionary.

Step 5: Strengthen that heart with a mixture of willingness and determination to serve in a position unknown or misunderstood by nearly all of the surrounding population.

Step 6: At the same time, prepare the other ingredients (the rest of the people) for the building of the church for the changeover from missionary to pastoral ministry and leadership, and for proper support of the new pastor.

Step 7: Add character through unnumbered struggles, slow growth, cultural impediments, defections, and confrontations with unsaved relatives of believers, all leading to ulcers.

Step 8: Blend in the seemingly incompatible elements of evangelistic fervor, strong leadership, aptitude for teaching, and a compassionate pastor's heart.

Step 9: Sprinkle in the usual complement of family struggles, watching for the potential lumps from family and/or neighbors when unusual problems enter this Christian home.

And finally...

Step 10: Generously add prayer, fellowship, support, defense, help, and encouragement to the lives of the pastor, his family, and the people among whom he labors.

Some fine examples of the finished product closely related to ABWE include the following:

Pastor Otsuki, Higashi Nada Baptist Church, Kobe, Japan
Pastor Modyama, Kashii Baptist Church, Fukuoka, Japan
Pastor Masuda, Kagoshima Bible Baptist Church, Kagoshima, Japan
Pastor Minatozaki, Sasebo Roa (Deaf) Baptist Church, Sasebo, Japan
Pastor Namba, Hinata Bira Baptist Church, Kagoshima, Japan
Pastor Ajisaka, Sakanoue Baptist Church, Kagoshima, Japan

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