Following Japan’s triple disaster in March 2011 (tsunami, earthquake, and nuclear reactor explosion) and eight months of cleanup and many prayers, it’s natural to wonder if relief efforts have made a dent in East Japan. The horrific devastation shocked a country that thought itself prepared for tsunamis and earthquakes. About 20 thousand lives were lost, hundreds of thousands were driven from their wrecked homes, and entire towns became debris fields.

Bonnie Smith’s article in the July 2011 Reformed Presbyterian Witness covered how Reformed believers aided efforts in Japan (see “Responding to Tragedy with Tangible Help”), and the Reformed grapevine hasn’t been slow. But have the resources hit their target?

As chairman of the Reformed Presbyterian Japan Relief Committee, Pastor Katsunori Endo kindly responded to a request for an interview on these topics. The northern region of Japan was hardest hit, so the Japan Relief Committee combined relief efforts with the Orthodox Presbyterian Church (OPC), the Reformed Church in Japan (RCJ), and the Conservative Baptists. Although Japan’s Christian minority has been estimated at 1% of the population, there are a surprising number of Reformed believers within that small segment.

These Reformed relationships were necessary for a responsible administration of relief funds, for restoration of both body and soul by those affected in the disasters. Pastor Endo made it clear that, although it would have been easier to disperse funds solely through well-known channels (such as the Japan Red Cross), allocations of funds wouldn’t have been so clear—or helped many of those with whom there were already “decades-long fraternal relationships.” Pastor Shiratsu of the RCJ’s Ishinomaki Mission Church was in dire need of evacuation, and the church building was flood-damaged to the point of being unusable, so 1 million yen went to the evacuated pastor’s family.

Since there are no RP mission stations or churches in northern Japan, there were no directly visible benefits for the Kobe-based Reformed Presbyterian congregations or their families. However, stronger bonds were forged with other Reformed congregations. RCJ Pastor Shiratsu headed the list, not only as “the most tsunami-affected pastor,” but also as one who went to the same seminary as RP Pastor Shigeru Takiura. Another RCJ minister, Pastor Hiyashi of Watari Mission Church, received 400,000 yen. The OPC in Japan received 300,000 yen; they are purchasing land for a relief center in Yamamoto, near Watari. OPC Rev. Murray Uomoto of the Sendai Megumi Church received 500,000 yen and the invaluable assistance of Megumi Takiura. (Megumi’s story is told in July’s Witness.) Sendai had a million residents and was one of the hardest-hit cities next to Ishinomaki. The relief centers were hard-pressed to distribute adequate food, clothing and kerosene stoves. When the ground was liquidated under the building for the Shin-Urayasu Seiyaku Church, they qualified for aid and received 500,000 yen. This church was built on a foundation of reclaimed land and the garbage of Tokyo rather than on a natural foundation, which made it more susceptible to the earthquake. Fukushima First Baptist’s new church building was similarly damaged, and received 700,000 yen. Their church members were forced to leave their town of Futaba due to nuclear contamination.

Funds “used broadly” were key in more than just physical relief efforts. Parachurch organizations such as World Vision Japan, Food For the Hungry International and Christian Relief Assistance Support and Hope (CRASH) Japan were carefully chosen as beneficiaries and were instrumental in the cleanup process. Food for the Hungry purchased many kerosene stoves, bicycles and blankets with their 4 million yen.

Pastor Endo shared a surprising story. In normal circumstances, the idea of absolute separation of any church activity from the state would be strictly enforced, but Japan’s disasters had been more than the government could handle. The Minami-Sanriku Board of Education asked for help from World Vision Japan, a known Christian organization, for volunteers in distributing meals at public schools. The same was true of an evacuation site run by the city government of Kesen’numa. CRASH Japan has been a key organization in Sendai, one of the hardest-hit cities. They received 3 million yen. Their volunteers work through local congregations and go where the disasters are, supporting themselves for daily living expenses. One such volunteer is Geneva College alum Miss Yuko Shiotsu, of Mukonoso RPC, who shifted her efforts as clerk of the Japan Relief Commission to CRASH to better assist the continuing relief efforts.

The second or third stage of relief efforts, said Pastor Endo, is the “care for those who are emotionally, psychologically and spiritually hurt.” Survivors in northern Japan are hampered by more than just cold temperatures; there has been a historical frigidity of response to the gospel. It often takes years for gospel seeds to bear fruit—one RP church member took 40 years to fully respond—so it’s all the more encouraging to see quick results.

One such bright light peeked out during the devastation—the baptism of a new believer related to the restoration of Mr. Abe’s printing house in Kesen’numa. This printing house doubled as the temporary worship center for the Kesen’numa First Bible Baptist Church. The tsunami swallowed the church building and left only the foundation. After the flooding damaged all of his printing and binding machines, Mr. Abe’s place was turned into a storage center for relief efforts. One person became interested in the Bible after receiving aid items from Mr. Abe’s place, responded to a Bible study invitation, and, within a few months, became converted and was baptized.

It’s encouraging that this conversion “took place in the context of the church,” as Pastor Endo described, because it follows the normal means of the gospel call. Parachurch organizations have aided greatly in restoration efforts, but a number of survivors need to be given a lifelong hope for the future via local congregations. “Evangelism is all the more needed in the coastal zone of north Japan, which has been arguably the most unchurched area in the whole of Japan, and the people seem a little more open to the gospel than before.”

Prior to the March 2011 disasters, there was also a lack of opportunity to create relationships with other Reformed congregations, such as the Conservative Baptists. While Pastor Endo was careful to recognize the necessity of retaining a pure understanding of the Bible (“this doesn’t mean we become wishy-washy in terms of theology or conviction”), denominational boundaries were lowered in a mutual striving to help those in need.

Though RP Global Missions can’t take any credit for the blessing of a new believer (relief funds were focused on the restoration of Mr. Abe’s printing equipment), there’s a great need for Christian and Reformed printed materials in Japanese. Pastor Endo recently finished the publishing process of the translation of Dr. Wayne Spear’s Faith of Our Fathers (Crown & Covenant) into Japanese. It’s a great benefit to have a relationship with the owner of a Christian printing press. Christian books and tracts often go where believers can’t travel physically, with results over long periods of time.

That gives impetus to the already urgent call for the Word: “You can say that this is the best time to think seriously about evangelism in East Japan,” Pastor Endo said. Idol worship is already common in Japan, and some necessary funds and food supplies are being offered to deities in hopes of mercy. But great opportunity remains to follow up Christian relief support with a real Christian message of hope. Though discouraging to see resources wasted on deaf and dumb idols, it’s the physical realization of human spirits wasting away under false hope. Realistically, Pastor Endo said, it’s impractical for RP ministers in Kobe to frequently drive 12 hours north away from their congregational commitments, Kobe Theological Hall classes, and the Kobe bookstore, in order to spread the gospel up north. The bookstore also would be a shame to neglect, because of its location in busy downtown Kobe, “which is like Ephesus in Acts” and the reason to engage with Japan’s hardest gospel target—working men. However, the time is ripe, there are relationships developed with OPC, RCJ and Conservative Baptist congregations who might supply venues and occasions for qualified volunteers such as Christian counselors.

Pastor Endo gave repeated and sincere thanks for the “gracious gifts…given for the tsunami disaster.” Some funds remain for distribution, simply because the Japan Relief Commission is aware that gifts ought to be carefully given with wisdom and discernment.

It’s clear that the commission took up their financial distribution tasks seriously, but it would be a shame to have nourished survivors and built up their homes without investing time into their spirits. The fields are ripe for harvest, and there are few workers to labor in the fields. One of Pastor Endo’s prayer requests is for workers to help bring in a spiritual harvest—surely the most important investment of all.