JCL Annual Conferences 

The JCL annual conference, held each summer, is a great chance to meet people involved in, or interested in, ministry to Japanese in the UK, Japan or elsewhere. Come along to hear what God is doing among Japanese people today, and learn more about sharing your faith with your own Japanese friends and contacts.

Key Speakers

Each year we invite a key speaker from Japan. Our key speakers in 2008 were Shuko and Michiko Tano, who formerly served with Operation Mobilisation in the UK before returning to Japan in 2002 as JCL Mission Partners. Shuko and Michiko have established a growing church and coffee shop ministry in Okinawa and spoke about the challenges of sharing their faith in Japan, as well as the ways in which they have seen God work.  

Workshops & Resources

Focused workshops give the opportunity to look in-depth at subjects such as communicating the gospel in the Japanese cultural context, supporting returnees, Japanese beliefs about death and the spirit world, praying for Japan, and innovative ideas and resources for outreach. A range of Japanese Christian literature and English books on Christianity and Japan are available from our JCL Bookshop conference stand.

Worship & Testimony

In addition, others involved in a wide variety of Japanese ministries share their experiences and we hear from Japanese Christians about their faith and the difference Christ has made in their lives. We join together in worship, prayer and Bible teaching.

Fellowship & Networking

One of the main benefits of the conference is the chance to interact with many different people involved formally or informally in outreach to Japanese and to share ideas, encouragement and make new friends. If you are exploring how you can serve God among the Japanese, new contacts can lead to new opportunities. One previous participant who is now working in Japan said - "The JCL conference ...should come with a warning - I wanted a calm weekend away from university stress and ended up on the other side of the world! God has a sense of humour".

Conference Talks

You can listen to some of the talks from the 2008 conference online by clicking on the links below:

Interview with Shuko and Michiko Tano and Bible talk by Denis Applebee 

Ministry in Okinawa: challenges and accomplishments: talk by Shuko Tano (in Japanese, with interpretation)

A Japanese testimony: Chikae Yamasaki + Bible talk by Shuko Tano

More Information

JCL conferences are for anyone with an interest in Japan and outreach to the Japanese. Around a quarter of those who attend are Japanese. Whilst the main conference language is English one of the workshops is always in Japanese and some of the speakers speak in Japanese with interpretation into English. If you have not been before we'd love to see you at the next one! For more information on JCL conferences please contact us.