Been to Japan more than 60 times. This trip is the most refreshing ever!

The reason is that the fruits of many years of labor are beginning to flourish. The young leaders of a generation ago are seasoned church planters beginning to launch the next generation of churches.

I came here with fear in my heart. I’m at the age where you want to look back and ask, “Was it worth it? Was it really worth it?” The answer to that question would come through the lives of those whom I’ve tried to impact over the years.

If they remain dependent on me, or on our church, then we’ve accomplished little.

Truth is that there are more than 200 small “denominations” approximating a dozen churches each in Japan. Most are the result of one post-war missionary investing a life in evangelizing Japan–but they all stopped growing when the missionary retired or went to heaven.

I came here hungry–very hungry. I needed to see our guys carrying the ball further down the field. And, I did! Everywhere I look leaders are assuming responsibility for reaching the next generation.

We’re not talking about the next generation of young people, though it encompasses them. This is all about the next generation of churches–entire new congregations proclaiming God’s glory!

Seems just about everyone has a prospective young church planter under development. One pastor has six or eight. One church is reaching pockets of people in faraway cities through its internet broadcast of the pastor’s sermon. As a result, that pastor has created “friends” teams who travel with him to various cities to speak with people who literally hold church services where they worship then turn on the internet broadcast to hear him preach. Not content to be “famous,” he’s coaching these groups in an effort to raise up local pastors.

Even the more traditional guys have more joy and hope than I witnessed in the past. I’m totally stoked. Feels very much like the investment our church, its leaders and I have made is actually paying off.

You live your life. You invest yourself in God’s kingdom with the best of your strength. You want it to pay off. In this case it is paying off and paying dividends. I’m so very happy!