Teh Geok Suan shares some takeaways from the EFC All-Asia Conference held in Japan on 2-4 November 2025
Chee Yan and I love to visit Japan, so we signed up for the conference, held at Mt Fuji’s vicinity. It was a great opportunity to understand the current state of Christianity in Japan.
The theme was “Crossing Bridges through the Cross of Christ.” There were 270 participants from 13 countries. PJEFC sent seven delegates.
There were four key note messages. On the first night, Rev. Tony Yeo (EFC Singapore) gave a call to the church in Asia to be a bridge-building community through the love of Christ.
In addition, there were eight workshops. We attended the workshop “Recovering the first love” – the renewal of churches-at-risk-of-closing-down and the principles behind it. Rev. Ryuji Saito shared his story of rebuilding such churches, which typically have between five and 10 members each. Rev. Saito decisively pared down the non- essential activities, such as weekly flower arrangements, attendance taking and bulletins, etc. and focussed on Word-based sermons and prayers. He physically pastors two small churches simultaneously. On alternate Sundays, he preaches in one church and livestream it to the other. The renewal work requires tenacity lasting more than five years, during which he was able to rejuvenate two small churches to a congregation size of 40 to 50 (a healthy size in Japan).
The most enriching encounter for me personally was meeting with delegates from other countries. In my pre-assigned prayer group, we shared our testimonies and prayed for one another. Their life stories were inspiring. One Japanese sister is 90 years old and still leads three bible study groups. When asked what her secret was, she smilingly replied, “Read the Bible everyday! ”
“Japan is like the iconic Mt Fuji,” observed Rev. Kenji Kitano, President of EFC Japan. “Beautiful, riveting and inspiring when viewed from afar. But as you draw close, it is rocky, barren and forbidding terrain.” What an analogy!
Christians comprise less than 1% of Japan’s population. Pray that the “Land of the Rising Sun” will become the “Land of the Risen Son.”
Pray for Japan.
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🎶 Listen to the EFC All Asia Conference theme song here.
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