Two Perspectives of God's Growth in Asia
As City to City says goodbye to former Vice President of Asia Pacific and Latin America Operations Jay Kyle, church planters from Asia are reflecting on what his tireless work meant to them. As many in the region will profess, Jay had a notable passion for growing gospel movements in Asia, working tirelessly to equip indigenous leaders to carry the word of God forward to their cities.
Today, City to City shares updates about two networks in the Asia Pacific to honor Jay’s memory and celebrate all that God has done there and continues to do.
KUALA LUMPUR, malaysia
First, Louisa Chan of the Gospel City Network, an affiliate of City to City Asia Pacific, shares how God is moving in the capital city of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur:
“Kuala Lumpur is a vibrant, multicultural city filled with up to 9 million people who live in the encompassing Klang Valley area. Even though only about 3.5% of these people are evangelical Christians, God is certainly at work in Kuala Lumpur: in its churches, its individuals, and its parachurch organizations. There is a hunger for the gospel’s truth, and we see more and more seminars, podcasts, and annual conferences being offered by various church networks.
“Gospel City Network has seen very encouraging enrollment in courses about the gospel and online conferences even during the pandemic. A recent five-week course on biblical counseling was sold out within a week; we even had to bring in additional facilitators to cater to more applicants. In fact, 76% of attendees signed up on the spot during an introductory webinar about the course.
“Kuala Lumpur has also experienced a growing interest in sharing the gospel with the country’s Mandarin speakers. Mandarin is the language for wider communication among the different ethnicities of Chinese citizens here, including the Cantonese, the Hakka, and the Hokkien. To reach Mandarin speakers, Gospel City Network offered our first Mandarin Preaching Conference, which saw about 50 pastors and ministry leaders attend over the course of two days. After hearing their positive feedback, we decided to plan a follow-up workshop or conference. In addition, the gospel is attracting a younger group of prospective church leaders who are interested to explore gospel theology.
“But Gospel City Network is not alone in seeding the word of God and garnering a great response. The Klang Valley Bible Conference has seen many join their annual expository preaching seminars and Bible expositions, and have featured renowned scholars such as Bryan Chapell and D.A. Carson. More local non-profit and parachurch organizations are providing quality, gospel-centered education in the form of webinars, certificate courses, and podcasts.
“The pandemic has not dampened the hunger for the word of God. We hope to bring it to our city’s people expanding our presence both online and offline, offering the gospel in multiple languages so that a faithful approach to studying the Bible is available to all who want it.”
To read more from Gospel City Network, visit them here.
CHIBA, JAPAN
Next, Asako Hirohashi, Director of Translation for City to City Japan, shares how church plants continue to serve Japan thanks to God’s goodness:
My husband and I have lived in Chiba, Japan, for the past 25 years. During that time, we have seen the growth of the city firsthand. Chiba, which is located in the center of Chiba Prefecture just east of Tokyo, now has a population about 970,000 residents and continues to grow as a diverse metropolis. It plays a major role in the Tokyo metropolitan area; many of its people commute to workplaces and schools in the nation’s capital. Numbers of foreign residents are also increasing.
What is more surprising than the growth of the city, however, is the growth of its Christian churches. In a nation whose Christians only make up around 1% of the population, this growth is both needed and exciting. My husband and I are part of the Presbyterian Church in Japan, and out of the fourteen churches of our presbytery, nine have been planted in the past 25 years. A few of them even produced their own daughter churches and congregations. Surviving as a new church plant for 20 years is a remarkable accomplishment in virtually any location, but it is especially so here in Japan, where small church plants tend to dissolve or become assimilated into a larger congregation due to a lack of finances or staff support.
Personally, it gives me hope that each church has created its own contextualized way to continue worshipping in a fellowship, even during a global pandemic. For example, my congregation started online worship services after the introduction of COVID-19 in 2020—and while we now have in-person services again, we could not have reached many of the people who joined us online from other cities and countries. This was a bit of a surprise outcome to a challenging situation.
City to City Japan has also seen blessings of growth. For example, a Japanese pastor who participated in our Japan Intensive training for prospective church planters in 2020 has just started a new church in the center of Chiba. Even now, he continues to train with us and sharpen other planters. CTC Japan has also commissioned six new coaches for ministry leaders, and continues to plan for future of its Intensive program.
In the midst of our busy and confusing lives in ministry, church leaders here tend to lose sight of long-term growth and gospel movement. But our current opportunity to stop and reflect what God has done here in the past 25 years has made me realize that God is surely at work whether times seem good or bad. What may seem like a challenging situation, like bringing the gospel to such a large part of Japan’s population, remains in God’s hands as something He can work out for His good.
To read more from City to City Japan, visit them here.
To learn more about City to City Asia Pacific, visit them here.