By Laura Foushee, CBF field personnel

“Would you rather have someone do your laundry for a year or cook all your meals for a year?” The classic youth group game, “Would You Rather,” was played in both English and Japanese for the first time by many of our church members last month after a bilingual worship service and “Shrove Sunday” pancake lunch party just before the Lenten season began. 

For over 10 years, Kanazawa Baptist Church has given space and support to an English worship service, called Kanazawa International Baptist Church (KIBC), but over the course of that time, the Japanese worship service and English worship service have always been cordially separate. Though some Japanese members and some internationals have floated between both services, each were held completely in their respective languages. 

In February, we held our first bilingual joint worship service, attempting to conduct the service half in English and half in Japanese. The service was led by a Japanese deacon in Japanese, but I (Laura) preached and officiated communion in English. For each hymn, half of the verses were sung in Japanese and half in English. The words on the screen appeared in both languages, and translations were printed to help worshipers follow elements not in their native language. With the sanctuary nearly full, there was a beautiful energy as we shared in worship together in both languages. 

After the service, we started flipping pancakes and frying up bacon and sausage for our pancake lunch. The table was lined with all the pancake toppings – whipped cream, syrup, nuts, jams, chocolate chips and fresh cut fruit – and the sausage patties from Costco were a huge hit. Carson organized a lottery so that each table had a mix of English and Japanese speakers so that despite the language gap relationships between the two services could begin to be formed. 

For us, that Sunday was a fusion of the two worlds in which live – the Japanese congregation in which we seek to support through pastoral ministry as they move forward without a pastor – and internationals whom we seek to support spiritually and materially as they seek to build lives outside of their home countries and cultures. Seeing the two worlds blended together for a few hours one Sunday not only warmed our hearts but encouraged us to continue narrowing the gap between the two groups. 

But it is not easy. Many of our partner churches in the U.S. host churches of other ethnicities and languages, and they similarly share space cordially but may find difficulty bridging the language and cultural gaps to form deeper connections. Most in our church – both Japanese and English speakers – still desire to have services completely in their respective languages.  

Having a bilingual service takes a different level of preparation, intentionality and willingness from the worshipers to be a little uncomfortable. Our first experience with the bilingual service encourages me to hold both as valuable: the space we create and give each other to worship in the ways and languages that touch our hearts, while also taking the opportunity every now and then to get uncomfortable and try something different in order to form those connections. Our hope is to have a second bilingual service in June on the Sunday we host a mission team from our encourager church, First Baptist Dalton, Ga. I am grateful for the ways in which we can live in the in-between, supporting both groups and encouraging relationship in our diversity but oneness in Christ.