Which books and tracts are suitable for my Japanese friend? I have a Japanese friend who I would like to give a book or tract to, what's best? Expand Thank you for your care and concern for your Japanese friend. You may well be the only person they know who is a Christian and so you're in a unique position to be able to share the gospel with them. You've probably noticed that it takes a bit of time to build trust and confidence. Japanese people abroad are particularly interested in the culture of their host country, so do take time to build a strong relationship and gain your friend's trust. The answer to this question is, it depends! Here are some suggestions to consider: a) for someone who is very new to Christianity: You may want to start out with a shorter tract or book which sets the scene. Recall that most Japanese will not have heard the gospel at all and so you may need to start further back that you would when talking to a Western person. The Believe tracts on our bookstore are short and address key topics like "What to live for"; "Salvation from despair"; "Were we made by God or just by chance?", etc. Here's a link to Volume 4 which seeks to answer the last question. A novel by well-known Christian author Ayako Miura such as Shiokari Pass is also accessible and can raise many good questions. She also wrote While there is still Light, which is an excellent short introduction to the Christian faith. If you have time to read John's gospel with your friend, that's a good thing to do. It's also good (but a bit more expensive) to offer a bilingual New Testament. b) for someone who is actively considering deeper engagement and may be interested in getting baptised: We offer Japanese New Testaments and full Bibles. Books by Ayako Miura introducing the New Testament and the Old Testament are also very helpful. We offer a number of bilingual Bible study guides, for example Faith in Action. c) for a Japanese Christian who is looking for good resources to grow in maturity: Assuming your friend already has a Bible then maybe a book like God's Big Picture or the Guidebook to Understanding the Bible Quickly can help someone grasp the wider message and build maturity. Next steps If you haven't already done so, please take a look at our pages on understanding Japanese thinking; what do Japanese people believe?; and sharing the gospel with my Japanese friend. It's also never too early to start thinking about how you could connect your Japanese friend with a church back home, ready for life back in Japan. Please contact us for suggestions about churches which might be suitable - do let us know your friend's location! If you have a question we haven't answered or would like a specific recommendation for someone, please contact us and we would be happy to try to help.
How do you store and process my personal information? How do you use any personal information which I provide? Is it secure? Expand We take your personal data very seriously and only use it for the purposes which you stipulate. For example when you sign up to receive our newsletters we collect your name and email address and only use this to send you our newsletters. Full details of what information we hold, how we process it and other details can be found in our Privacy Policy. If you have any questions or are concerned about any matter, please contact us.
Can I make a gift for a specific JCL Partner? I would like to give in support of a specific JCL Partner, how do I go about doing that? Expand Thank you very much for considering making a gift to Japan Christian Link, with a request for it to be allocated to a specific JCL Partner. JCL maintains Support Funds for each of our Mission Partners and so all we need from you is a note in the box which asks you to leave a comment with your donation stating that you would like us to allocate your gift to that JCL Partner, for example "Please allocate to the Support Fund for ..........." We will act on your instructions and so your gift, plus Gift Aid if applicable, will go to support the JCL Partner you mention.
Do you ship to my country? I'm interested in ordering some resources from your online store, do you ship to my country? Expand Thanks for your enquiry. Generally we can ship anywhere (e.g. the US, Australia, New Zealand, Europe, etc. are all fine). We do not normally ship to Japan as nearly all our literature stocks come from Japan and it is much cheaper (and better for the planet) to purchase these resources locally in Japan. If you have a friend in Japan and want to send some resources to them but cannot navigate purchasing online (it needs reasonable Japanese, as most of these sites are Japanese only) then we would be happy to try to help you, please contact us.
How often will you contact me? If I sign up to your newsletter or other communications, how often will you get in touch? Expand We aim to contact those who receive the JCL Newsletter, the Prayer Calendar and our periodic Praise & Prayer sheets approximately once every three months. If you are a financial supporter and we have a question about your giving we may also contact you in connection with this. Also, if you have indicated an interest in the Japan Weekend Conference then we let you know of opportunities to make a booking. We recognise that most of us are busy so we try to strike an appropriate balance between keeping you informed about matters of interest to you, while not overwhelming your inbox! Please contact us if you would like to hear more or less frequently from us, we would be happy to help. You can always immediately modify your email subscriptions or unsubscribe using the links in the messages we send you.
Can I apply to become a partner of JCL? I'm interested in being considered to become a partner with JCL, how can I do this? Expand Certainly, we would be delighted to hear from you! We are quite selective about those we invite to become JCL partners so please be ready to answer questions about your calling to gospel proclamation work among Japanese people. You should be aware that we ask all partners to raise their own financial support. While we provide administrative support to help with this, all partners need to be able to generate their own support funds. We are particularly interested to hear from anyone who is planning to work with business people or is interested in training others to teach and share the gospel. Language skill is very important too, of course. Please get in touch by filling out our partner enquiry form, giving us a call on +44 1732 455453, emailing us or using our contact us page.
Can I apply to volunteer at JCL? I'm interested in volunteering, how can I do this? Expand Certainly, we would be delighted to hear from you! We are particularly interested to hear from you if you have contact with Japanese people and are interested in sharing the gospel with them. Also please let us know if you have design skills or IT expertise (e.g. social media) and would be willing to assist us. Please get in touch by filling out our volunteer enquiry form, giving us a call on +44 1732 455453, emailing us or using our website's contact us page.