JCL Japan

Meet a few of our partners who live and work in Japan.

Hugh Brown - Ibogawa, Hyogo Prefecture

Hugh is from Northern Ireland but has now worked in Japan for some 20 years. After investing time and energy in planting a congregation in the town of Ibogawa, Hugh is now focusing more of his time on prison ministry, particularly in Kobe, where he has been granted unprecedented access to meet with inmates. Following the publication of a book by Hugh in 2001 concerning the moral issues behind violence, he has had increasing opportunities for a wider and more public ministry, including sharing his testimony on local and national TV. He would value prayer for wisdom in balancing his priorities and continued open doors for effective prison ministry.

Peter Jamieson - Nagoya area

We first met Peter at the 2001 JCL Weekend Conference. His warm handshake, friendly smile and outgoing personality made an immediate impression. God gave Peter an increasing burden for Japan and in May 2003, shortly after celebrating his fiftieth birthday, he left his business career, sold his house and headed out to begin teaching at a language school near Nagoya. God used Peter's natural warmth to open the doors to many friendships and opportunities to share the gospel.

"God keeps sending people my way truck drivers, firemen, shop owners, hairdressers, accountants, painters and tradesmen as well as executives from Fujitsu, Toyota and other companies. The unreached people are not in the churches so I make a point of going out and meeting people at the gym, in coffee shops, at the convenience store and at the izakaya (Japanese pub). I also often invite people home for a meal."

Peter, a JCL Network Partner, is now exploring ways he can remain in Japan longer-term but with more time for gospel ministry among his many friends and contacts. It has been a privilege to be in partnership with Peter, from providing the initial opening in Japan through to ongoing mentoring and encouragement.

Dawn Bolton - Kobe

Dawn comes from Hertfordshire. She felt God speaking to her about mission and attended part-time evening Bible lectures while teaching English in Budapest. After a one-year mission course at a UK Bible College God put Japan on her heart and she stepped out on a two-year church-based English teaching assignment as a JCL Mission Partner in a small Japanese town. During a second assignment, this time in Kobe, Dawn felt the Lord laying on her heart a burden for long-term service in Japan. We prayed for the finances for six months' intensive Japanese language study, saw God provide, and soon after that Dawn gave her first Bible message in the Japanese language. From the comfort of the Home Counties to Japanese public speaking in Kobe, Dawn has seen God stretch her faith and vision, and taken her out of her comfort zone, while meeting all her needs. What might He want to do in your life?