By Laura Foushee
A few minutes before the worship service was about to begin, one of the deacons approached me in my seat. He told me that a man, a former Buddhist monk, who had been attending worship and Bible study for the last several months told him of his intention to come forward at the end of the service and make his profession of faith. Since our church is still without a pastor, he wondered if I, as an ordained minister, would meet him at the front and pray with him. I was honored to be asked, and quickly begin jotting notes of what I would pray in Japanese. I knew my wording may be awkward, but I wanted to think through it so that the prayer would make some sense to this new believer.
After the service, the chair of deacons and I were chatting and she said, “what do you think about leading his baptism class?” I knew that it would require heavy preparation on my part, and so I simply replied “I don’t know that my Japanese is good enough. Maybe if a deacon sat in with me to be sure I’m explaining things well, we could think about it.” Over the next few weeks, a plan slowly started to form.
We set a time – Wednesday mornings before the weekly Bible study. Two deacons volunteered to meet with us each week. I received curriculum published by the Japan Baptist Convention and began sifting through all the topics – everything from the Trinitarian God, the atonement, centrality of scripture, what it means to be Baptist and how to live a Christian life. I divided the topics into a 10-week schedule and assigned a writing assignment for each week for the baptism candidate. From what I gathered from the deacons, this class was quite structured, but it accomplished two things: allowing appropriate time and consideration for conversation with the candidate about very large topics; and it allowed me the time to prepare for each week in small increments. The writing assignments also allowed me the time to comprehend the candidate’s experience and understanding more fully in case I missed a something in conversation. We started the class soon after so we could prepare for a Christmas baptism on December 24.
Over the course of the 10 weeks, I came to be less anxious about my language skills and simply enjoyed our time together. We shared our journeys of faith and our questions. We talked about his experience with Buddhism, how Christianity is different and how he came to understand that Buddhism was not enough. We encouraged the candidate in his zeal for learning about the Christian faith and knowing God intimately. The candidate encouraged the deacons when he told them that particularly because the church was without a pastor that he formed close connections with church members that may not have developed otherwise.
During our church’s Christmas service on December 24, our new brother shared his testimony before the congregation. He shared of this journey beginning with him hearing God’s voice telling him to find a church last Spring and coming to ours because it was the closest to him. He affirmed his belief in Christ and the resurrection; he shared his affinity for the story of the prodigal son. He talked about the immense sense of loneliness he felt from a young age that has now dissipated after becoming a part of the family of God. At the end of the service, I welcomed him into the waters of baptism.
It was the first baptism in the new church building that was completed in 2018. Five years had gone by without a new believer; the church had withstood a three-year pandemic, long-term pastoral retirement and an unexpected pastoral resignation. It has been a long five years in many ways, but joy abounded as the church realized that hope can burst forth even through a difficult season.
Laura Foushee is a Cooperative Baptist Field Personnel serving alongside her husband, Carson, in partnership with the Japan Baptist Convention (JBC) in Kanazawa, Japan. Click here to learn more about their ministry.