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Japan Evangelical Lutheran Church
(Nihon Fukuin Ruteru Kyokai)
HISTORY
The beginnings of the
Japan Evangelical Lutheran
Church
go back to 1893. The first missionaries to Japan were two pastors sent by the
United Synod of the South, a predecessor of the Lutheran Church in America,
which became part of the ELCA. The first worship service in Japan was observed
Easter Sunday 1893 in the city of Saga on the island of Kyushu under the
leadership of newly called missionaries James A. B. Scherer and R. B. Peery. A
Japanese co-worker, Ryohei Yamanuchi, gave invaluable assistance to the new
American missionaries.
Throughout the history of the JELC, education has been emphasized along with
evangelism. The
Kyushu
Gakuin High School was established in
1911 for the training of pastors and education of young men (now co-ed),
followed by Kyushu Jogakuin in 1925 (for girls; now co-ed and renamed
Luther Junior and Senior High
School). These schools are flourishing,
and
Kyushu Lutheran
College was accredited in 1997, with Dr.
Yoshiro Ishida as its first president. Many local congregations have served
their communities through Christian kindergartens.
Social welfare has long been an important part of Japan Evangelical Lutheran
Church. Two institutions, Jiai-en (House of Mercy) in Kumamoto and The Tokyo
Home for the Elderly in Tokyo, have been leading pioneers in the field of social
work in Japan. The Kamagasaki Diaconia Center in the slums of Osaka includes
child care, mutual learning, problem study, and community projects. Today, many
Japanese social workers, as well as pastors, are trained at the
Japan Lutheran College
in Tokyo.
World War II brought great hardship and many changes for the JELC. All
missionaries were forced to leave. The Japanese government ended denominations
and created one United Church. Thus the JELC ceased to exist. However, as soon
as possible after the war, the JELC reinstated itself as a Lutheran church with
faith based on the Augsburg Confession and other Lutheran teachings.
After World War II, U.S. Lutherans were interested in helping and
evangelizing the Japanese, whose country had been devastated by the war. Some
former servicemen were interested in returning to Japan as missionaries. During
the decade of the 1950s, there was a huge influx of American missionaries to
Japan, including people from several ELCA predecessors. Many of these
missionaries had served in China but were expelled because of political changes
in China.
PRESENT SITUATION
The Japan Evangelical Lutheran Church has a relatively small membership of
22,000. The population of Japan is less than 1% Christian, and becoming a
Christian is considered extremely counter-cultural in a country where following
cultural norms is very important. Most congregations have less than fifty
members. Pastors are well trained at the Lutheran Seminary in Tokyo, and most
congregations have their own pastor. The JELC has sent successive missionaries
to serve among Japanese immigrants in Brazil, serving with the
Evangelical Church of the
Lutheran Confession in Brazil, as well
as to the United States among expatriate Japanese.
The JELC is fortunate to have a solid financial base, partly because of the
value of real estate which was purchased earlier in the century for missionary
residences and other mission purposes. The JELC is unique among the ELCA's
overseas partners in that it contributes funds to the ELCA to help pay for
missionary costs.
The relationship between the JELC and the ELCA is expressed in many ways,
through the exchange of personnel and visits as well as formal and historic
ties.
QUICK FACTS
JELC Web Page
http://www.jelc.or.jp
Bishop/President Rev. Masatoshi YAMANOUCHI, president
Location Japan
Headquarter Tokyo
Languages Japanese
Members 22,000
Church Structure 5 Districts: Kyushu District, Western District Tokai
District, Hokkaido District, Eastern District, 137 congregations
Memberships Lutheran World Federation (LWF), since 1952
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