Long-Term Opportunities (more than 3 years; first or later terms)
Join the team of an existing RJTA missionary-led ministry. This category is open to new or experienced missionaries.
Region: North Tohoku, Prefecture: Iwate
Long-Term Opportunities (more than 3 years; first or later terms)
1) Join the team of an existing RJTA missionary-led ministry. This category is open to new or experienced missionaries.
Region: North Tohoku, Prefecture: Iwate
LT-2 Rural Church Planting Team Member/Assistant
(Kita Sanriku Christ Church-KSCC in Iwaizumi/Tanohata/Fudai/Noda. Tsunami and Typhoon-Impacted Areas of North Coastal Iwate). Many seeds were planted through the relief work associated with this church plant, and now as the area has finally recently recovered is a key time to water them, and a subset may not be possible to maintain without extra hands. Much opportunity and open doors exists for the ministry to expand in nature, depth, and breadth but first more team members are needed. In your first term, you’ll study Japanese 5 to 20 hours/week (depending on your level), and simultaneously assist in the church plant in the remaining time. This is a great way to immediately use what you learn in real life and ministry where few speak English. You will learn (by hands-on doing) the ropes of rural church planting, participate in and contribute to a diverse range of activities vs. a narrow specialist role, add to the gift mix diversity via your abilities, and as language level and experience grow, have opportunities to lead specific aspects of the ministry or otherwise take on a growing level of responsibility. The ministry takes place in a four town/village area, with both centralized area or town-wide and also neighborhood-based activities (small/cell groups) and room for future expansion of both types of activities and sublocations. Depending on needs of the overall ministry at the time and your abilities, you may be involved in a mix of most of the following: playing guitar, keyboard, or similar at events, singalongs, and worship services, if able; major role in kid’s ministry in the church and community setting; elderly ministry which is a key part of any rural ministry; perhaps occasional English teaching ministry; occasional preaching; covering various things when pastor/lead church planter is away; leading Bible times at some events and classes; using skills and hobbies like cooking, crafts, outdoorsmanship, sports, or others in outreach; mobile café and church café/drop in center ministry; gradually increasing responsibility for neighborhood small groups; relational, friendship, and event evangelism; indoor and outdoor eventd; Easter and Christmas outreaches; substantial flyer and tract prep and distribution; craft and teatime ministry; mom/tot ministry; if able, teaching use of technology to the elderly; visitation (mainly in pairs, often with the pastor); rural jobs creation if able; short-term team volunteer logistics; involvement in community clubs/groups; seed sowing short-term trips to unchurched areas in the broader region; hospitality; various prep/setup/take down; renovation/minor construction; various background tasks; and if able, some website or other computer-based work.Beautiful natural setting with mountains, valleys, forests, farmland/ranches, rice paddies, rivers, and ocean all around. Great place to raise kids. The church is nondenominational, and cooperates broadly interdenominationally. Due to large elderly population, dress and music are casual and conservative. Roles are not determined or limited based on gender. Suitable fit for a Spirit-led evangelical or mainline non-charismatic or a mildly charismatic person. Either foreigner or Japanese. Must speak either English or Japanese. If you speak Japanese, it is not essential to speak English as it is in many host ministries. You also need not learn Japanese before coming, but must be willing to learn it once here. Opportunity is open to single men, single women, couples, or families. Roles are not based on or limited by gender. Bible school/seminary helpful but not required. Long-term 3-5 years initially, and potentially for much longer. Mid-term of 3 months to up to 3 years also possible. Openings for up to 3 units (unit = single, couple, or family). Option to learn Japanese and church planting here at the same time (recommended), or come serve here after first acquiring Japanese.
LT-3) Rural Church-Based English Teaching/Partial Tentmaking
(Kita Sanriku Christ Church in Iwaizumi Town and Tanohata/Fudai/Noda villages, North Coastal Iwate). As an integrated ministry of the church plant, begin English classes (most church-related, some in preschools and such) to increase contact base. Also, attend church service and key events, study Japanese, and help out the church plant in other ways in remaining time. Intentionally seek to bridge contacts to the church members and ministry team, events, worship service, etc. Will likely teach 1 day/2 weeks in each of up to 4 to 10 locations in the 4 towns/villages, minimizing prep time and maximizing contacts. Teach ages 2 or 3 to 100. Most classes include a Bible time which you will also teach. Also co-host English café nights occasionally.This will be an integrated part of the broader ministry. Help getting started will be provided, and as much as possible, you’ll intentionally seek to bridge contacts made relationally via events and such to the ministry team, church members, and church activities. Native or equivalent English ability needed.Opening for 1 unit. Much of your income will be generated through the English classes, but you will likely need to raise 60-100% support for the initial year and perhaps 20% or so ongoing support for future years to supplement tentmaking income. For those who qualify for working holiday visa, the amount you need to raise may be somewhat less. Though most your time and some of your income will be via English teaching and quality teaching is an important testimony so is essential, the bigger purpose of the English classes must be kept in mind. They are one aspect of the broader integrated ministry, so while you will plan the details of your classes, scheduling, locations, when/whether to include Bible times in the classes (generally will be included), and such are ministry team vs. individual decisions. Also, while your ministry role will be mainly English teaching, as part of the team, you’ll also be asked to be involved in additional things at times. Long-term or Mid-term OK. You’ll also study Japanese; how much depends on duration intended. Roles are not based on or limited by gender. In the case of couples, one can fulfil this role and the other can have another role on the team, or they can each do half the English teaching and each also have other part-time roles on the team. This role is possible for those who may not be here long enough to become fluent or who are not good at language learning. Minimum duration of 10 months to 1 year. Longer is preferred. TESL certificate not needed, though a plus.
LT-4) Rural Japan Church Planting Network—Assistant to the Coordinator.
Location: Iwaizumi/Tanohata/Fudai/Noda Iwate highly preferred, but other locations possible, including overseas. Help enable RJCPN to catch up and scale up or move to the next level and for various projects to proceed more quickly by assisting with a wide variety of administrative needs and projects. Must have a heart for those without gospel access. The person will need to work within defined parameters for each project, but within those will need to be able to work fairly independently. Will be doing several tasks/projects at once, some of which are spread over long periods of time or ongoing intermittent and nature, and various ones may have a lot of start/stop/wait/restarts to them. So patience with the stop/start/continue pattern of varied tasks and the ability to juggle and adapt to non-constant tasks/ever-changing schedule is needed. The ability to keep track of details over time is also important. Involves considerable variety across tasks/projects, yet any given task can be quite repetitive. Much is computer/data/research related. While primarily behind-the-scenes in nature, some phone call and in person interactions are at times also part of the role. Analytical nature, detail orientation, computer literacy at basic level (Word, Excel, internet searches, email, and similar), ability to be consistent in approach to handling details, and ability to work with limited people contact yet able to relate well with tact when people contact is required. Part- or full-time, mid- or long-term, and option to combine with other openings at KSCC in Iwate. Suitable for a friendly introvert wanting to make a real difference in getting the gospel to where it is not yet locally present yet preferring to work behind-the-scenes. Duration options of two months to 5 years, but the longer, the more effective. This is best in person in Iwaizumi, Iwate, but some parts can be done from afar within Japan and a smaller subportin can be done even from overseas. Some Japanese ability a big plus, but not essential. Ability to read Japanese or even Chinese is a plus. Can be full-time or combine part-time with simultaneous language study. One full-time or multiple part-time openings.
2) Come under the RJTA umbrella, but be placed with a non-RJTA local host ministry that RJTA can connect you with. Though we encourage you first to consider serving with an RJTA-related ministry, other possibilities exist if those are not compatible with your sense of calling. Email to arrange a Skype call to discuss additional possibilities that might be a fit.
3) If you already have a specific local team/ministry in Japan with which you wish to serve and are looking for an agency that may be open to that, please contact RJT/RJTA. Most such situations can be accomodated.
4) If you wish to remain with your current mnistry but either have not been with an agency but would like to be or if your agency or personal circumstances have changed in ways where you need to make a change to stay faithful to what God has called you to or due to altered policy or logistical or geographic realities--provided you are in good standing with your current agency-please contact RJT/RJTA about 'on field join' process. RJT/RJTA works flexibly with diverse circumstances. For example, RJTA missionaries are not limited geographically, budgets are determined flexibly, and tentmaking is allowed. Note, for those in independent ministry, you generally must speak Japanese and have at least 3-5 years ministry experience to join RJT/RJTA as those new to Japanare expected to serve a full term with someone experienced prior to leading a ministry.
5) If you feel led to plant a church or start a new ministry, speak Japanese, and have 3-5 years of ministry experience in Japan, RJT/RJTA may be a good fit for you. You may have a specific ministry or location already in mind. Or you may be exploring your second term options. Most situations can be accomodated, after a review process. But if you don't have a specific ministry in mind, here are some sample possibilities for experienced (second term and beyond) workers:
LT-31) Lead Church Planter, subset of unchurched not-yet-targeted towns and villages in Iwate, Nagano, Kagawa, Akita, Aomori, Miyagi, and perhaps elsewhere with nearby fellowship available.
Must speak Japanese, have been in Japan 3 or more years, have some church planting background, and desire to plant a church in an unchurched town yet also have another experienced rural church planter nearby in the same region for fellowship, perhaps periodic collaboration, and optional mentoring. Email for introductions.
LT-32) Lead Church Planter, 800 larger and 900 smaller unchurched areas in Japan.
See ruraljapanchurch.com for maps of where Japan’s remaining unchurched areas are. Sometimes a subset of newer church plants are not yet all on the maps so always double check the area is unchurched and untargetted before finalizing concrete plans. The maps have a 1-2% out-of-date/error rate. Also, Protestant churches/church plants were included, but Catholic and SDA churches were not included, which in Kyushu/Nagasaki may make a difference but not likely in most other areas. Prior to taking on this role, a new missionary should spend one term helping a rural Japan church plant elsewhere in Japan or else already have long-term ministry experience in Japan. At least 360 such lead rural church planters are needed, perhaps more.
LT-33) Remote Area Itinerant Evangelist.
Certain specific remote portions of Aomori, Akita, Iwate, Shikoku, Hiroshima, and in about half the other prefectures in Japan that are unlikely to ever be targeted for church planting and almost certain to disappear as villages, such as a zone of several contiguous untargeted unchurched remote and very low population villages in Hiroshima and Kochi Prefectures, for example. This itinerant role is not needed in most unchurched rural areas. In fact, in some areas, it could even be counterproductive. Even in areas it is needed, if done in certain ways, it could still do more harm than good. However, there are configurations of contiguous unchurched areas in some but not all prefectures and/or very isolated low population areas that probably cannot otherwise be reached and may benefit from this niche role if done in ways that are not counterproductive. Contact RJTA to consult on where an itinerant evangelist role may be beneficial and tips on ways to approach such w/o unwittingly being counterproductive. Most people would not find this role a good fit for them. This role is best for someone able both to work alone for prolonged periods and also work with others intermittently, with an unusually cooperative spirit and flexibility, yet also a self-starter. Ability to be very independent in some situations and submit and conform readily in others. Parachurch type role, so needs an especially humble mindset in relating to churches in the broader region. The focus is on evangelism in a large number of very small untargeted villages with a goal not of establishing a church plant or other lasting gospel presence for subsequent generations, but simply of bringing meaningful gospel encounters to the current—and likely the last --generation living in these villages. So while cultivating relationships with several churches in the region is part of the role, the main role is to recurrently sow and water seeds to share the gospel gradually over time in a circuit of a certain subset of unchurched untargeted remote small villages, then bridging those gradually seeking/saved to the nearest church (albeit far away) for whatever limited degree of relationship and periodic follow up is practical. Must speak Japanese, and like both door to door and relational evangelism. Willing to live out of a suitcase, rotating around multiple ministry sites over a vast several village area, and with the relational skills to sensitively develop multiple partnerships and to come alongside and respect and avoid undermining ministry already occurring in the region, while reaching out to those in the subset of remote isolated small villages otherwise not engaged nor likely to be. 2-year term or more is best, but shorter periods possible. Locations exist in about half the prefectures in Japan, after an initial1 week to 2 months of training in North Iwate.
LT-34) Opportunities for rural Business-as-Mission at small and large scale in fishing, farming, health care/home care/elder care, and perhaps IT industries, among others.
Must be a self-starter, Japanese speaker, and have an unusual combo of language, legal, business, and industry-specific skills/knowledge. Examples: 1) Rural BAM potential via jobs creation throughout unchurched areas of Japan. Young people need good jobs in their rural home towns or have to move away, so good rural jobs is a felt need in rural areas. Meeting it is a great way to show God’s love and the church’s relevance to the community. Also, more and more rural pastors must become bivocational, and home missionary church planters could increase if more had a way to generate sufficient income part-time to also minister part-time. 2) Japan’s rural areas will soon see a huge influx of foreign workers from counties with many Christians such as the Philippines and Indonesia to fill roles in the fishing, health, farming, elderly care, and similar industries. If they were intentionally largely filled by trained tentmaking missionaries from such places and dispatched together in small groups to plant churches ‘on the side’ in unchurched rural towns/villages they do their secular work in, the impact could be transformational. The potential for such at present is tremendous in Japan and rural Japan, but currently wide-open doors will in time close as secular entities increasingly meet these needs, unless Christians gear up soon to do so. Yet, a very unique skill set and high-level Japanese ability are needed to do this at a large scale. The right skills/people could organize such at a prefectural, regional, or even national level. Though few have this skill set, those who do could seize some historic opportunities in rural Japan that will not be open doors for that much longer. If one has the language, business, specialty, and legal expertise, organizing rural jobs and/or rural partnerships with secular industries on a wide scale, equipping and bringing many Christian tentmakers from Indonesia, Philippines, etc. to unchurched rural areas to fill them, etc., could be done. RJTA and RJCPN could help with some ideas and connections in some aspects, but not with the business/legal knowledge side of things. feel free to consult with RJTA and RJCPN in areas such as connection and training of tentmakers to fill the jobs you could create and connecting with rural secular farm owners, fishermen, agricultural and fishing cooperative local leaders, and such who will need to find ways for those industries to continue in light of increasing shortage of Japanese to fill these roles as older folks retire. 3) On an individual level, one could serve as a bivocational church planter in a rural area if their job can be done from anywhere remotely, such as some IT jobs. 4) some tourism industry rural BAM possibilities also exist. 5) In any case, Japanese ability, driving ability, and some related industry experience likely needed for rural BAM.
6) If you are a first worker in Japan with your group, consider a partnership with your gorup as the sender and RJTA as the receiver and an RJTA-led or other Japan ministry serving as local supervisor. Note to other agencies--mission agency leaders, field directors, direct missionary sending churches, mobilizers, This may be a good fit for the following situations:
A) if your mission agency or church has no workers in rural Japan or surplus workers in urban Japan who could relocate, consider seconding a willing worker as an intern first term to serve with RJTA at the Rural Church Planter Training Center in Iwaizumi Iwate, to then relocate elsewhere second term to plant a church in an unchurched rural area anywhere in Japan with your agency. This can give your church or agency a start or re-start in rural Japan--where all remaining unchurched areas are located. The person can intern for 2-3 years after language school or if your policy allows, better yet, come directly and study part-time while ministering part-time for 4-5 years. Any sending country OK. After a vetting process, RJTA’s partnering church in Iwaizumi can sponsor Japan end of visa if needed.
B) If your church or agency has no presence anywhere in Japan but you wish to send a worker here wtihout them being isolated, consider seconding them to RJTA to functionally be a part of RJTA's Japan field---with your church/agency as the Sending entity and RJTA as the receiving entity. RJTA can serve both Sending and Receiving functions or Receiving Functions only in partnership with another Sender. Inquire for details.
C) If you are either a Japanese church or foreign missionary led ministry in Japan and wish to receive workers that you already know or that RJTA may know in your local ministry but have no partnering agency, contact RJTA to learn more. RJTA can serve as the in country overall umbrella with you as the local supervisor of someone serving on your team and either RJT/RJTA and/or their home country church serving as Sender.