Todd and Jayne Fong

Tokyo: Influencing Japan and Beyond

When it comes to ministry, one of our sources of influence was Pastor Tim Keller's book, “Center Church". In it, Keller speaks of the idea that the city as an entity holds the key to reaching the world with the gospel. Cities are where people from different walks of life live side-by-side, forcing them to be open to new ideas and new cultures. It is in this environment with its heterogeneous, global nature that people whose hearts and minds have been closed to the gospel can hear it with fresh ears.

But as cities are transitional spaces, with people moving in and out constantly and travelling between major cities to work or live, those who respond to the gospel can also take the gospel message with them when they leave. In later life stages, this often means returning to the rural areas, but this time, with the message of Jesus Christ to bring to their families and communities. And so the people come to the city for the gospel and go out again taking the gospel with them.

Frankly, we didn't choose Tokyo when we first considered Japan. But God worked on our hearts about the potential of serving here and today, there's nowhere else we'd rather be. We are plugged in with an excellent church and leadership who truly have a vision for reaching this great city for Christ.

Tokyo is a city of 13 million people and the Tokyo Metropolitan area is home to 34 million, the entire population of the state of California. Only a tiny fraction of these people are followers of Christ. The opportunity to serve is everywhere so maintaining focus is the key to success.

Our Focus and Vision

The focus of our ministry is on children (20 and under) and young families. Children ages 4-14 are statistically more likely to respond to the gospel message than any other age group. If you reflect on your own life, perhaps you first experienced the gospel message when you were in this age range. We believe by reaching children, we create opportunities for sharing the gospel with their parents as well.

Though our approaches may vary depending on the situation, one method we are committed to is using a summer program like VBS in the US to share the gospel with children in an engaging way. By running the program in English with native English speaking helpers, we are also able to teach some English, a practical application that many Japanese parents appreciate.

We have aligned ourselves with an excellent church, Nerima Biblical Church in northwest Tokyo. Our pastors, Seiji and Kathy Oyama have a similar vision as our in reaching their community of young families with the gospel, and we have been working alongside them since we arrived in 2014. With them, we will host a large VBS-type program starting in 2016 targeted for 300 or more children from preschool to 6th grade, perhaps the largest event of this type in Japan. We also support other ministries of the church such as youth group, a photography club, and an English club for local university students. Jayne also provides much needed special education support for the Christian Academy in Japan (CAJ) where many missionaries and ministry workers along with Japanese nationals and other internationals send their children for a K-12 education.

Give online here or if you prefer to give by check, make the check out to “JEMS” and write our name on the memo line. Mail the check to P.O. Box 86047, Los Angeles, CA 90086-0047.

If you have any questions please call the JEMS office at 213-613-0022 or contact Todd and Jayne.