What It’s Like to Plant a Church in Japan
I recently observed rice farmers here in Japan painstakingly sowing thousands of rice seeds by hand in the blazing sun. It’s work that requires immense patience. For these farmers, patience is not laziness or passivity. But it does mean a long wait before the full harvest.
Planting churches requires similar patience. That’s true everywhere, but in Japan it takes an extra dose: Missionaries have been at work here since 1549, and yet less than 1% of the population is Christian.
The church planting network I serve with has been working in Japan for almost two decades. We are now on our 11th church plant. The most striking results did not come quickly. In the first 10 years, four churches were planted. In the second decade, seven churches. From 2009-2012, there were 15 baptisms. In September 2025, there were 15 baptisms.
Gospel workers must wait patiently for the harvest. Here are three reasons why that’s especially true in Japan:
1. THE DIFFICULTY OF THE JAPANESE LANGUAGE
Francis Xavier, the first missionary to Japan, famously quipped that “the Japanese language was created by the Devil to prevent the spread of Christianity.” The US State Department classifies Japanese as a Category IV language, “exceptionally difficult for native English speakers.”
The difficulty goes both ways. Less than 2% of the population speaks English fluently, and 31-41% do not speak English at all. Even fluent speakers are rarely familiar with key biblical and theological vocabulary. Faith comes from hearing (Romans 10:17). But most Japanese will never hear unless it’s in a language they can understand.
2. THE AMOUNT OF GROUNDWORK REQUIRED FOR EVANGELISM
“So are Adam and Eve the main gods in the Christian religion?” a woman asked as we stood by the door after a service. I had just begun explaining the gospel, starting with Genesis. “No, Christians believe in only one God,” I responded. “Fascinating!” she said. “I had no idea there was such a belief.”
There is a stunning lack of awareness of even basic Christian categories in Japan. The staunchest Western atheist still probably knows from movies and history class that the Christian God is loving and that Jesus is from Israel. In Japan, these points frequently evoke amazement.
Tim Keller once remarked that “people tend to become Christians through a process.” His point wasn’t that the new birth isn’t instantaneous, but that legitimate conversions rarely happen the first time someone hears. People need to hear the gospel many times through sermons and conversations. They need to meet many different kinds of Christians. They need a healthy church.
The earliest Christians “devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers” (Acts 2:42). It is in this soil of sound teaching and thick Christian fellowship that God is most often pleased to sprout new converts (Acts 2:47).
3. THE LONG HAUL AND HIDDEN LABOR
Sowing gospel seeds through Word, sacrament, and prayer is quiet and outwardly unimpressive work.
A supporting church once asked a key leader in my missions organization about our greatest need. He said, “faithful gospel workers.” He paused, then continued: “Large churches in the US are better at attracting gifted people. They can offer a more comfortable position. And in Japan, there’s very little affirmation for the work, so it’s hard to attract solid people.” He trailed off, then said something I’ll never forget: “But you’re doing work no one else is doing.”
Nothing compares to the joy of seeing someone hear the gospel for the first time and be amazed by it. Every ministry accolade falls infinitely short of heaven’s joy over one repentant sinner (Luke 15:7).
In Japan, you will not often hear “what a sermon.” The vast majority of the population has no idea what a sermon even is. Instead, you must learn to live and work not for “what a sermon,” but for “what a Savior.”
