A brief of our visit to the RP Church in Kobe, Japan
It was in 1991 when my friend Dave Landis teased about Japanese Calvinists. He was referring to those who claim to be Calvinists, but deny Limited Atonement. The Japanese alphabet does not have the equivalent of an “L.”
Thirty-four years later, on 12 January 2025, my wife and I found ourselves in Mukonoso RP, a congregation of the Japanese Reformed Presbyterian Church (or, more precisely, the Japan Presbytery of the RPCNA). I am pleased to report that the congregation comprises members who are genuinely Japanese and truly Calvinistic. And yes, they believe in Limited Atonement!
The Mukonoso congregation is quite unique. I was invited to preach as her pulpit is vacant, and she has several men conversant in English.
Her previous minister, Pastor Hiroyuki Kanamori, has retired and moved to the States. She has two ruling elders, Mr Jung and Mr Ohara, who are providentially the only two active ruling elders amongst the four congregations.
My interpreter, Mr Rory Cerbus, his wife Bethany and three children are from the States. They have moved to Japan to live and work as part of the RPCNA strategy for global outreach. They are fluent in Japanese. Even the children! Perhaps the Lord might call some of us to relocate as they did to strengthen the hands of our brethren in Thailand, Malaysia, China or even Malawi and Mozambique.
After enjoying lunch and afternoon fellowship with the members of Mukonoso, we took a train to Okamoto. They have an evening service there twice a month.
Pastor Kihei Takiura usually takes the pulpit while his father, Pastor Shigeru Takiura, preaches once a month. But that evening, a licensed ministerial student was scheduled to preach. Pastor Kihei interpreted for us at the back. And we were given Romanised Psalters that enabled us to sing along with the congregation, though we could not read or understand Japanese. It was quite a heartening experience, singing familiar Psalms with familiar tunes using words we did not understand.
After the service, I was invited to give a brief introduction of PCC, which the congregation appreciated.
The Okamoto RP has an encouraging history, too. Amelia, Pastor Kihei’s wife, is from America. Her late grandfather was the founding pastor of the congregation! She and her husband met when she took classes at the RPTS. They were married shortly after and have six children, just like Pastor Shigeru.
We were told that many Japanese are not interested in marriage, much less having children. Perhaps biblical Christianity can serve as an incidental solution to the severe demographic challenge of a declining and ageing population! After all, the church of Christ must grow not only by ingrafting but also by olive shoots.
During the week, my wife and I made our way to the Kobe Theological Hall, where the Presbytery was meeting. I was invited to address the Presbytery and to convey our greetings. In typical Japanese fashion, the presbyters showed appreciation for the greetings and introduction with a hearty round of applause. One of the ministers exclaimed, “You are RP, like us!”
We did not stay long as they had a full agenda, but it was good to meet with all the pastors and elders together.
We were also invited to attend the weekday Bible Study and Prayer Meeting of Kasumigaoka RP.
Pastor Yusuke, the minister of the congregation, is a qualified medical doctor. He works one day each week as a doctor to support his ministry as a pastor. He is also fluent in English, having done his PhD in theology in Belfast.
Remarkably, his grandmother was one of the founding members of the congregation! The church building, sitting on the top of a hill, was destroyed by the Kobe earthquake of 1995, but was rebuilt with contributions by church members and support from brethren overseas.
The next sabbath, we found our way to Higashisuma RP where Pastor Sumito Sakai ministers. Higashisuma RP, established in 1960, is the largest of the Japanese RP congregations. She has about eighty members, though only about forty are regularly in attendance for various reasons, especially old age.
As Pastor Sumito could not provide us with an interpreter, he gave us an outline of his message in Japanese, which Pastor Yusuke helpfully translated for us.
He preached on the theme, “Living by the Spirit,” from Galatians 5:15-26. “The life initiated by the Spirit, guided by the Word, and perfected by the Spirit’s grace is the life of hope, which will be consummated on the last day,” he declared in Japanese. We were glad to be able to figure out that “Seirei” (聖霊) means “Holy Spirit” in Japanese!
After the service, we were provided with refreshments and the opportunity to fellowship with some of the members who have some English. They asked if we knew Pastor [Willy] Ng, who visited them a few years back!
Pastor Kihei of Okamoto RP had earlier invited us back to Okamoto for lunch fellowship. So, as planned, we travelled back. They were having membership class and sabbath classes when we arrived.
After lunch, I was again invited to share more details about PCC and our outreach with the congregation. Another applause!
Pastor Kihei then asked whether we had any dreams. I did not understand the question. It seemed to be lost in translation. He clarified, “Dream about the future, both short-term and long-term!” “Ah,” I said. “We don’t have anything specific, just that Christ may be magnified. Maybe for the short-term, that our church plants may become viable congregations, and we can establish a presbytery.” “Our dream,” he says, “is that Christ may be recognised as the Mediatorial King in our nation!” “Of course,” I replied, “we have that dream too, for which reason we pray for the conversion of our fellow citizens, for that is how our nation can be truly Christian.”
But even as I gave that response, it occurred to me that I had not thought of that as an overarching desire because we have become too parochial, too inward-looking. The Japanese church, on the other hand, is acutely aware of how 80% of the population still views the emperor as sacred, and less than 1% of the population professes to be Christian. Unless God Almighty sends a powerful manifestation of His grace, Christianity will remain a tiny minority, and Christ’s kingship will remain despised.
The Q&A was followed by a psalmody session with my wife and me singing in English while the congregation sang in Japanese! We had a blessed time of fellowship all afternoon. It was a sabbath well-spent.
We return to Singapore with hearts filled with thanksgiving for the break from the routine of ministry and for the opportunity to make contact with our brethren in Japan.
We have a better appreciation of why Pastor Willy says that Japan is undisputedly his favourite place on earth. The people are disciplined and respectful. There, Christians who want to be obedient citizens need not feel embarrassed for waiting at red lights even when no cars are in sight—because everyone does that! There, Christian children do not need to be reminded repeatedly that respect and courtesy are virtues, for practically everyone is taught to be respectful and courteous from infancy.
We are also encouraged by the zeal of the RP church in Japan. Numerically, the four congregations add up to about the same size as PCC. Yet, they have a notable presence in Japan despite the hard ground they labour in. Their members are passionate about Christ and the Reformed faith. They operate a bookshop with hundreds of titles in the heart of the city. They run a seminary with about 20-30 students from different denominations, and participate in numerous projects, including translation work that conduce to the furtherance of the kingdom of Christ in Japan.
Let us learn from them. Let us remember them in prayer. And let us visit them when we visit Japan for holidays, as many of us do. Amen.
—JJ Lim