Thank you for praying for the Osaka Project. Our Japanese partners are praying, as well. I (Jeff), lead 2 monthly online prayer meetings which meet the third Thursday at 10am and 10pm. I have moved the project into the stage of prayer walking in various areas of the city. I have concentrated on the area around Namba station, which is a very diverse area of the city. There are people from all economic classes, ethnicities and religions. I have been told that most of the churches in the area are Korean and minister mainly to those of Korean descent in the area. One of the steps to starting a new ministry is to connect with the believers already working in the area. I have discovered that, while many people work in the area, few actually live there. Of course, if we were to develop a ministry in an area where no one lives, it would look very different from a ministry in a housing development.
I have also been collaborating with missionaries from other organizations to pool resources and wisdom. We have formed an Osaka Collaboration group consisting of missionaries representing North American Baptist mission and Southern Baptist mission. We meet online for learning, strategizing and praying. This past week, I borrowed 4 young interns from the Southern Baptists to prayer walk with me in the Namba area. It was great to have young guys to pray with, so I treated them to Starbucks afterward. We talked with one policeman while praying in front of a gymnasium that we are considering using for some event. I will continue prayer walking near the hub stations in the city. I will also continue visiting churches in the area to preach and recruit volunteers to assist in evangelism. I will preach at Keihanna August 1 and visit Hirakata Baptist Church August 22 to preach and give a presentation about the Osaka Project.
