Engebretson Praises Japanese Faithfulness to the Gospel

TOYKO, JAPAN (November 23, 2001) - "Today we thank God for our partnership with you, and we thank God for your faithfulness to the gospel, your partnership with us and the gifts you bring to ministry."

With those opening words, Evangelical Covenant Church Executive Vice President Donn Engebretson greeted members of the Japan Covenant Church as they gathered to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Japanese denomination.

Engebretson led a delegation of ECC representatives to join in the celebration (see related story by visiting the special Asian link elsewhere on the Covenant home page).

The Japan Covenant Church was started by Covenant missionaries following the end of World War II, when much of Tokyo lay in ruins. Today the national church includes 25 local congregations.

"We thank God for the foundations of this church and the sacrifice of the Covenant missionaries and the dedication of all who live out their lives in Christ," Engebretson said. He then presented two gifts to the Japan church and its leaders.

The first gift is a large glass globe, which Engebretson described as a symbol of the shared call to reach the world for Jesus Christ. He then presented a large plaque to the president of the Japan Covenant Church, Masami Katsumoto, to commemorate the occasion (see first photo - bottom photo shows Sally Engebretson, her husband and Katsumoto with the large 50th anniversary banner).

In his greeting, Katsumoto praised the love, concern and vision of the Evangelical Covenant Church in sending missionaries to Japan, reflecting the roots of its Swedish mission heritage. He also praised that sense of family that inspired missionaries to invest their lives in reaching Japanese for Christ. Family continued as a dominant theme throughout his remarks.

"As we reflect on our 50 years, we see how the churches have come together as a family," Katsumoto said. "We have our differences, yet we can agree. We place a great deal of importance on the opinion of each congregation; yet, we come together to share our faith. Frankly, that balance is not always easy."

Referencing the celebration scriptural theme taken from Ephesians 4:16, which speaks of the body of Christ, he also spoke of the freedom believers enjoy in Christ. "We are given this freedom. God expects us to work together as a family and not wander as we please. We believe God will truly be happy as we come together in the unity of Christ and operate as a family.

"We share together in our confession of faith in one Lord, one God and therefore are one family," Katsumoto continued. "For that reason God has used the missionaries of the Evangelical Covenant Church of America to come and begin this work, passing that faith on to us."

Katsumoto noted that at present, more than half of Japan's towns and villages have no church. "Pray that God will send those out to share the gospel with them," he urged. "God's desire is that people are brought into the kingdom. Our desire is to work together to that end.

"We have received many blessings from the Evangelical Covenant Church in America, and our desire is to work with them and give back some of the blessings. We believe our purpose is to take our faith, brought to us by the missionaries, to take it to others."

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