Will you join us in praying for the nation of Japan? In a great article on Mission Network News, author Ron Hutchcraft says Christians need to pray.
Hutchcraft encourages us to be "praying for Christians in Japan. With less than 1-percent of the population evangelical Christians, "They are a remnant in that country," Hutchcraft says. He says the need for prayer is great. "[With] the millions of gods of Shintoism -- the feeling that Christianity is a western religion -- all these things have created great barriers, and my prayer now is for the people of God in Japan, that this could be their moment that they could [share their faith] because of their hope." "Remember," Hutchcraft says, "12 men spread this faith around the world. So, this could be the moment for that little handful of believers to become the people who are the carriers of the hope of Christ. Wouldn't it be something if this became the Jesus movement for the people of Japan?" He says Japan isn't the only tsunami we as Christians need to be concerned about. "150,000 people die every day. They are swept into eternity, whether they're ready or not. They die one heart attack over here, one traffic accident over there. That tsunami's going through every day," and we need to have the same urgency to share our faith."
Here are three organizations we encourage you to partner with in our efforts to bring relief in Japan:
1. Convoy of Hope - Convoy of Hope has been listed by many news organization, including CNN and others as one of the top responders in Japan. One simple way you can help is by texting TSUNAMI to 50555 on your mobile phone to donate $10 from your next phone bill to Convoy of Hope's disaster response efforts in Japan.
2. Samaritan’s Purse - CEO Franklin Graham has conducted evangelistic Festivals in both Okinawa (2006) and Osaka (2010), and local Believers connected to BGEA have requested help in the wake of Friday’s disaster. Working with the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA), the Samaritan’s Purse disaster assistance response team arrived in Japan to determine further needs on the ground. They are also spearheading a 747 cargo jet airlift with food, water, blankets, and hygiene supplies, and they will distribute those supplies in concert with local Japanese churches.
3. The Salvation Army in Japan already has three emergency service relief teams at work, one of which is assisting evacuees from areas endangered by possible nuclear radiation. Their first assessment team left from Tokyo on Friday night, immediately after the disasters, and reported that it took 20 hours to reach Sendai (near the epicenter of the earthquake) even though it’s normally a six-hour trip. In addition to their local teams already on the ground, the Salvation Army International Headquarters in London has emergency service personnel in transit to Japan. And along with the tangible humanitarian relief that will flow to Japan through the Salvation Army, the Salvation Army in South Korea has “set aside the next four weeks specifically for prayer and fundraising for Japan.”
