Japan Missionaries are Decreasing

This is a note that recently went out from Dan Iverson - the MTW country director for Japan. I'll pass it along here in its entirety.

(FYI - JEMA stands for "Japan Evangelical Missionary Association")

"JAPAN MISSIONARIES DECREASING: Jema annual meeting book says Jema missionary membership has decreased from about 1280 in 2003 to 980 in 2010, about a 24% decrease! “First aid: Stop the bleeding! Start the breathing!” If Japan church was strong, with a growing force of pastors and church planters, that would be a welcome thing for missionary numbers to decrease, as our national partners increase. But that is NOT the case. There are NOT enough pastors to replace the once retiring and dying. Japan is still the second largest unreached people group in the world after main people group of Bangladesh.

“Pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest, to Japan!” Praise God that JPM / MTW is growing in number of missionaries in Japan. May we humbly give thanks, and seek to be an influence for raising more missionary and Japanese Kingdom workers in Japan."