After a week of walking for miles around the city, meeting with ministry leaders, and teaching a church planters conference, Sunday finally came. And I thought it would just be another day of the trip, simply spent visiting at a local church. But I was wrong. It was much more. In fact, it wrecked me.

When we arrived to the small space that Life Church is renting, it was a quintessential church plant. Young people, excited about what was in store, were welcoming us. The screen and lyrics were ready to go. And as the band strapped on their guitars, I was ready to just soak in another Japanese experience.

But then they began to sing.

The songs were songs that I knew. Songs that churches in America have done a million times. But hearing it in another language, surrounded by my Japanese brothers and sisters in Christ, was a powerful moment. I stood there fighting back tears as I realized that the Church truly is the only hope of the world. That what we do every Sunday at OneLife is so much bigger than just a gathering in Knoxville. It’s a piece of a huge family, a huge movement dedicated to making Jesus famous and changing lives everywhere.

If that moment wasn’t enough, as the sermon began I noticed a young, 17-year old boy sitting to my left absolutely engrossed in the sermon. I didn’t have a clue what was being said, but this young man was hanging on every word. For the first time in his life he was attending church as a Christian. Just that week he had given his life to Jesus and was given his first Bible. He is the first convert this new church of only 7-months has seen, and already he wants to multiply. As the service ended, he came to the pastor and eagerly motioned to the front door. His mother was there. She stopped by because she was worried about her son’s new religion. But the pastor assured her that she would only see positive changes in her son from this point forward, letting her know that Jesus is in control of his life now! The whole time, this young man was beaming with joy and an obvious burden for this mother to experience the same. And I believe she will.

In a city and nation with less than one percent Christians, this is a huge deal. To put it in perspective, it would be like having only 2,000 Christians in the entire city of Knoxville. We’ve had that many people visit OneLife in the past two years! What if that was the entire sum of believers in our city?! Celebrating the one would take on a whole new meaning.

As I return, that is my biggest takeaway. That we at OneLife are part of a massive, world-wide movement and shouldn’t take the life-change of one single person for granted. Because in some places, it would be the exception – not the rule – and to be part of a church that sees lives changed every single week is a gift. A gift I will cherish and hang on to every step of the way.

Welcome to Life Church!

Pastor Shindo preaching about the need to multiply and share your story.

Set up and tear down - The universal language of church plants!

Ladies praying together after the service.

When I left Knoxville on Monday, I had no idea what to expect about Japan. Would I love it here? Would I be able to understand what’s going on? What would I eat?! Would there be anything I could offer? Would there be anything similar in ministry to what I’m used to?

While I’m still trying to figure some of those out (definitely not the food – it’s been GREAT!), over the course of the last two days, the last question has been answered. There are definitely similarities in our ministry goal at OneLife Church and the goals of so many missionaries and pastors here.

While the cultural differences couldn’t be any greater – 35 million people, an average commute of 75 minutes one-way to work by train, a much stronger work ethic averaging 60 hours per week, living in high-rises, everyone is skinny and most are short (I feel like a giant) – the ministry needs and hurdles are similar.

First, religion is superstitious more than devotely practiced. Many Japanese go to temples or shrines to pray, but they often don’t understand why or what they are praying. The more devote worshippers often have a Japanese specific worship that combines Buddhism, Shintoism, and Confucianism into one, though thye don’t even realize it. This is similar in that many in East Tennessee think they are Christian, but their understanding of it is merely supersitious and cultural. In both places, they simply need to have a relationship with Jesus.

Second, the pastors here are trying desperately to get their people to live on mission. Just like we try so hard to get OneLifers to do more than attend on Sunday, but to have spiritual conversations throughout the week and look for opportunities to share Jesus, the Japanese pastors and church planters are doing the same. And the same reasons many Americans buck against this idea – fear, insecurity, stubborn rebellion – are the same reasons the Japanese fight against this idea, though probably at even greater degrees.

So at the end of the day, I am reminded that even though I am halfway around the world, the Gospel and its need to be shared in a grass roots, rapid reproduction kind of way are identical no matter where you go. The goal of seeing disciples make disciples who make disciples so that churches can reproduce churches that reproduce churches is no different! It was Jesus’ intent in the Great Commission, and it is my goal to be part of seeing that happen wherever OneLife gets involved.

Please join me this week in praying for the people and churches of Japan that are trying to see this started in a nation where less than 1% know Jesus!

The world's busiest intersection - literally. Also home to the world's busiest Starbucks.

With 1300 in weekend attendance, Tokyo Baptist Church is one of the largest churches in the entire nation of Japan.

Our team sharing at the first session of a church planters conference at Tokyo Baptist Church.

Buddhist Temple

Shinto Shrine

Former VP for HR at GE and Lehman Brothers, now at DHL, talking to us about Japanese businessmen sharing Jesus in the workplace.

Here are some quick thoughts of our first day in Tokyo. Somehow I need to be quick because this jet lag is kicking my butt and the bed is calling my name! Here’s how the first day unfolded:

• The day started in one of the largest churches in Tokyo, the Musashino Evangelical Free Church. Because the country is so unchurched, that means a simple auditorium seating less than 100 houses this “large” church.
• We spent some time being trained by one of the missionaries here about Japanese culture and churches. There are two American missionaries who have lived in Tokyo for decades leading our time.
• After lunch, we visited the Tokyo Municipal Government Building, similar to the former Twin Towers in New York City. From the observation floor, we were able to see the entire city and prayed over its 35 million residents.
• Next we visited a place that was very beautiful on the outside, yet had a spirit of darkness emanating from within. It is the Yasukuni Shrine where the “spirits” of those who have died in Japan’s many wars – including WW2 – are believed to reside. More than 2 million “spirits” have been enshrined here. We witnessed numerous people praying to the “god” that lives in the shrine and paying respects to the dead spirits.
• Before dinner wrapped up the day, we met with the national leader of Japan’s Campus Crusade for Christ, who is also part of a church plant and part of CRASH Japan – a disaster relief organization in response to last year’s massive earthquake and tsunami. It was fascinating to hear the creative strategies they are using to reach people, particularly Japanese business men.

This first day served to be a reminder of the urgency of the Gospel. Being surrounded by millions of people who don’t know Jesus (less than 1% of the country is Christian) has jolted me out of complacency to remember the mission Jesus put each of us on – to make disciples who make disciples. That’s the only answer for a city so large and so lost as this, and it’s the only answer for the city I love so much – Knoxville!

With that being said, here are a few quick personal thoughts from my first day:

• The food is good! Nothing too crazy, and I used chopsticks for lunch and dinner. Who knew that was possible?!
• We probably walked 10 miles today. Everyone walks, rides bikes, or takes the train. Kind of like in Powell
• I’ve started getting to know a Japanese church planter who launched a church called Life Church in Tokyo last October. It’s been amazing to share in the similarities with a church plant on the other side of the world. Check out their website and then help them by liking them on Facebook!
• I was so tired this afternoon that I drank my first coffee drink at Starbucks. Some kind of frapuccino. Unfortunately, I really liked it. It was unfortunate because Starbucks ain’t in the budget!
• There are six other pastors on this trip from all over the US – Chicago, LA, San Francisco, Portland, and Austin, TX. They are all from church plants ranging from 2 to 10 years old. I love hearing what God is doing all over the US in these new churches!

That’s all for tonight! Goodnight from Tokyo.

Our group hearing about ministry to urban professionals.

People walking to the Yasukuni Shrine to pray to the "god" and the spirits of the war dead.

A small part of the city as seen from the observation floor.

A street corner in Tokyo.

At OneLife, we put a high emphasis on serving! You can see this every Sunday morning through our large volunteer ministry. However, we also have other opportunities for people to serve outside of OneLife. We want to love our community and strategically partner with other ministries to serve our city.

Angelic Ministries has been a partner for us for a little over a year now. So why should you serve at Angelic Ministries whether you currently serve on a volunteer team or not? Great question! We hear all the time about students, parents, and families wanting to go on a mission trip or go away somewhere to experience serving in a missions type of setting. Angelic Ministries gives all of us that chance right here in our own city of Knoxville! This will be a chance for you to come experience a side of Knoxville that you may not see very often. You will be able to serve the least of these and help a ministry who does it every week!

There will be multiple types of opportunities to get involved this weekend. Angelic Ministries can use our help cleaning up their space, organizing their food, and of course serving food to the homeless. Maybe you can’t make it Saturday, but would love to help us provide food. We have multiple food and drink needs such as lasagna’s, bread, fruit, and drinks that we would love for you to partner with us on. So serve with us! If you would like to come help and have not signed up or want to help provide food, simply send an email to volunteer@onelifeknox.com. We look forward to seeing you there.

I received this incredible story in my email this week. It is a unique view of the Generosity Challenge, one that we can all learn from!

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As I sat in the auditorium a few weeks ago and you introduced the “Generosity Challenge”, I sat prepared for you to give the rally cry in hopes to get people to step up the giving. I even know some behind the scenes of the church and know that typically giving declines going into summer. So I was ready. Again, being from a church background I knew what was coming. Or so I thought.

As I climbed in our late model vehicle after the first service and headed to be waited on hand and foot at a comfortable booth in one of my several favorite restaurants I was taken aback. In all honesty, I hadn’t said much to this point. Then my wife took the words completely out of my mouth when she asked, “Can you believe the Generosity Challenge is just to get people to pay tithes? I mean just their 10%?!” It’s exactly what I was thinking! Still reeling, I couldn’t believe it. Here I was prepared for some capital campaign type of fund raising but it was simple and to the point. For the first time, I heard of a church offering a 90-day money back guarantee which I thought was cool!

You see for me, I grew up poor. My mother instilled in me the fundamentals of giving. Accompanied with that foundation, I am by nature a giver. Giving for me has never been an issue. In fact, in one of my careers, I remember getting a cash advance on my check so I could pay tithes that week. But then I read the Stories of Generosity – Part 1 about the single dad that was struggling to pay $32.00 in his tithes. Then he did! What an incredible story! But as I read that story again and again and again, God just began to wrestle with me. Wrestle is probably putting it nicely. In fact, it was more like a kick straight to the crotch.

I don’t consider myself rich by any means but given the statistics that you shared at Powell High School, I know that I am part of the 1% of the richest people in the world. Not only do I have one vehicle, I have two; running water; electricity; and, for the most part, everything that is convenient in this world. That very day of the Generosity Challenge it worked out where I would receive some bonus reimbursements from work and my wife would get her first paycheck from her new job (she was laid off from her previous job) so we dropped a check in the bucket for $700.00. Without being conceded, it didn’t even hurt. I mean $700 is $700 but as a business man with multiple companies/entrepreneurships, it’s money that I haven’t even thought about. I want to be super spiritual and say that’s cause I love God and know that the first 10% is his and it’s my commandment to do. But not quite.

Like I said, God gave me a swift kick in the pants when you published that story as I began to read it again and again. I was reminded about the widow in Luke 21:1-4 and when Jesus said “she put in everything”. Then I began to wrestle with the idea, “Who do I relate to most in this story?” Sadly, it isn’t the widow. I don’t know if it’s the desire to have the faith that the widow has but I know that I relate to the rich that dropped in gold, silver, and other fine things more than I do the widow. I no longer want to do that.

As I sat at the lunch that day with my wife, I dismissed the Generosity Challenge because I was already doing “my part” and paying my tithes. Actually I rounded up each week so that was extra (at least that’s what I always told myself). If I could be honest with you, I am jealous of that dad’s faith. Don’t get me wrong, I pay my tithes and I know that God provides, but like that dad I want to take this challenge head on. I don’t want to do it just to test God but I want to trust God like he did. I also want to invest in the local church, my local church, OneLife Church. I want to invest in the lives that have been radically changed, the marriages that have been restored, the addictions that have been shattered, and the relationships that have been seeded. For the next 90 days, I want to give like I have never given before – above and beyond my normal tithe. In addition to my personal tithes, starting this Sunday, OneLife Church will receive a large portion of the gross on my companies/entrepreneurships in hopes that OneLife can continue to help people discover God and equip their one life to make a difference!

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Join in the Generosity Challenge today! Click here for more: onelifeknox.com/generosity