Kaoru* learned about the upcoming Bible study at a local church. The elder explained that the course would be good for everyone: experienced Christians, new Christians, non-Christians and Christians who wanted to share the good news with their friends.
Her thoughts turned immediately to Bronwyn, her housemate. Yes, I want to learn how to share the gospel with her, her heart sang. So, Kaoru signed up for the course and dutifully attended it. The course used the book The Stranger on the Road to Emmaus. During the course, one leader read the commentary, while the second leader read the Scripture verses. They also showed video clips that helped explain the Bible’s story. This way, the leaders explained, those attending the course were already practicing the teaching style so the participants could also lead a study on their own.
Kaoru had been in Australia only a short time on a working holiday visa. Searching for a place to rent, she ended up as housemates with Bronwyn, a local. As a believer, Kaoru also sought a local church where she could worship God with other believers. “It’s pretty rare in Japan to be brought up in a Christian home,” she explains, “but I am from a Christian family and I myself have been a Christian for 15 years.”
When she completed the study, Kaoru wondered how she would go about sharing the gospel with Bronwyn. She didn’t think she could read the book aloud—her level of English wasn’t good enough. Moreover, she realized that Bronwyn wasn’t much of a reader. How do I do this? she mused for a while. Kaoru explored the GoodSeed website for ideas and was delighted to find the “Learn about the Bible” course which was essentially The Stranger videobook put online, free for anyone to watch and learn.
She invited Bronwyn to watch the video series together and that’s what they’ve been doing. Kaoru wrote to us: “I would appreciate if you prayed for us, especially for her to believe in Jesus as her Saviour.”
The Joshua Project estimates that only 2.2% of Japanese are professing Christians. As Kaoru shared, believers in Christ are “pretty rare.” Yet here she was, one of the few Christians from her country, living overseas and taking the opportunity to cross culture and language barriers to reach others with the good news about Jesus Christ. Pray for Kaoru and Bronwyn. And may we all be encouraged by Kaoru’s example.
(* All names changed as per GoodSeed policy.)
- Sharing the Gospel at Easter - February 24, 2021
- Preparing for Christmas - November 9, 2020
- Salvation comes to a woman in China - October 23, 2017
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