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Hello all!

Thank you once again for continuing to stand with us in prayer. Our
banner this season shows autumn leaves, and soon we will indeed see that
change. However now in mid-October, we=E2=80=99re still seeing many sunny=
 days!

This time we return our focus to the northern block of churches, and I
want to introduce to you an exciting new church planting development
coming out of Nagahama Church.

Simon

News and Prayer Points

This month we welcome three short-term workers, Peter, Fabian and Elina!
Peter and Fabian are both from Switzerland and will be with us for three
months; Elina is from the UK and will be in Japan for six months. Pray
that they would quickly settle and be used by God here.

Kusatsu Church are starting a mother child group from October. WEC
missionary Gisela Gaub, along with a young Japanese mother, will be
responsible. Pray for them as they approach and invite other mothers
with small children they see in the town, and gradually develop a
programme. The church will also have a family service on Sunday October
19 followed by a BBQ.

Pray with us for the future of Kyoto Ai No Church; the
missionary-pastors have decided not to return to the field from their
furlough, and so we need to think about what to do next there for the
two members. Please pray also for Seongjae Yu along with Henrietta
Dudgeon who are leading the church in the interim.

In February, I started doing some research into a missionary who was
active in our area before the Second World War. One of the things I
found out was that he had a church in Maibara, the city next to
Nagahama=E2=80=A6 but when I went to look, I found there was no church th=
ere
now. In fact, Maibara is the only city in Japan with a bullet-train-stop
but no church!

Since then I have been working with people from Nagahama church to
'revive' Maibara city. We=E2=80=99re still in the early stages, but are t=
rying
to do this outreach in a specific way.

First, I=E2=80=99m working with a core team of Japanese. Not pastors, but=
 lay
Christians. Some of them live in Maibara and come to Nagahama for
church; some are from outside Maibara. In July we had our first meeting,
and we=E2=80=99ve been thinking about how to evangelise, give testimonies=
, lead
meetings and study the Bible together. Using the community center for
continued meetings has allowed us to get involved in local community
events. At the end of this month, we have been invited to be part of the
community centre's culture-festival.

The focus from the first days has been getting something up and running
that is self-sustaining and easily reproducible. To spur this on is the
reality that I'll be returning to the UK from January until the
following year. So, we=E2=80=99re using materials and ideas from the hous=
e
church movement in our meetings: everyone shares what they believe God
is saying to them as we study the Bible, and everyone prays for people
that they wish to see become Christian. There are no non-active members,
neither is there a need for theologically qualified leadership.
After leading the first three meetings myself, I handed over to the
believers to lead themselves. As well as freeing me up to find ways to
reach out to other sections of the society (as a supplement to the
believers' personal evangelism), it also encourages the Japanese lay
believers to put together their own outreach programmes. Our short-term
missionaries  will continue to support these next year.

I trust God will nurture the Maibara group, but whatever happens, I hope
it will serve as an encouragement and good training to those believers
involved, as well as a positive witness to the city at large! Please
pray for Maibara city, and help us to see God=E2=80=99s kingdom establish=
ed! =09

Simon Cozens