For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”
Romans 10:11-15 ESV
It was fifteen years ago when we loaded up our suitcases and left Oronogo, MO. We had set our faces to the East and we were on our way to the land of the largest unreached people group in the world at that time–Japan.
Shortly thereafter, in 2009, Mustard Seed held its first outreach event for Christmas and 43 people attended. We felt thankful for the individuals who attended, many of whom had never heard the gospel. While we celebrated that 43 people gathered and heard the good news, we also prayed that God would allow us to continue spreading his message to the remaining 124 million lost people in Japan.
Fast forward to 2022: our network of six churches and one pre-launch team held outreach events in seven Japanese cities and over 1,443 attended those services and heard the gospel!
- Please pray for all of the souls who heard the gospel at Christmas.
- Please pray that there will be even more opportunities to preach the gospel in 2023.
- Please ask God to move those who hear to continue to seek him.
We praise God that he is working in the hearts of individuals throughout Japan. We thank him for building his church and providing for his people.
Thank you, Christ’s Church, for sending us! You’ve sent us so that we can preach the gospel. When the word is preached, lost souls can hear. Those who hear are able to believe. Those who believe are able to call on Him. Those who call on Him will be saved (Romans 10:14-15 stated in reverse order). Thank you for allocating resources towards reaching the lost. Thank you for praying. Thank you for walking alongside our family and our church network as we seek to bring the good news to the lost.
Recent Ministry Update:
Baptisms in Tokyo and Osaka
After the Christmas season, we were able to celebrate baptisms in Osaka and Tokyo. “C,” a Chinese businessman, was baptized in Tokyo. After years of praying for her, “K,” who began seeking God with Megan Philip and Caitlin in Osaka eight years ago, finally chose to follow Christ and was baptized in Osaka last month. Megan traveled from Kyoto to baptize her and Caitlin joined by Zoom. Our new sister, “A” was also baptized in Tokyo and continues to joyfully walk with the Lord.
Musical Resources for the Nation-wide Church
Caitlin recently opened a new chapter of music ministry as the Elementary Music teacher at the Christian Academy of Japan. In the Christmas season, she led worship at the church in Tokyo, conducted a kid’s choir club, directed two musicals for the elementary students at school, and organized a children’s choir for a Christmas concert by Ruah Worship (a Japanese Christian music group). She also recorded children’s vocals and her own vocals for a second New City Catechism album in Japanese. You can listen to the album on Apple Music and Spotify. She and our teammate, Hiroko, wrote one of the songs. You’ll be able to hear Caitlin’s vocals on a few tracks and (if you listen carefully) you might even hear our 9-year-old daughter chiming in with some background vocals! This has been a very fulfilling project, as it is a resource that will help Japanese speakers “write God’s word on their hearts” as they sing the catechism songs.
15 Year Japanniversary
On February 2nd, we celebrated 15 years of life and ministry in Japan. We believe in the need for the gospel in Japan more than we ever have. Having attained permanent residency from the Japanese government last year (not easily done), we celebrated our 15th “Japanniversary” by making a down payment on a house we are building in Tokyo. We are so thankful for your support and we look forward to many more years and (prayerfully) fruit by God’s grace and power.
Upcoming Church Plant in Hiroshima
We tearfully prayed for our friends/teammates as we sent them out from the Tokyo church staff to move to the city of Hiroshima. Though it is most known for the tragedy of war, Hiroshima will soon have a new church to bring God’s light and truth! Please pray for this new church plant! The team there plans to begin meeting for worship in April! Hallelujah!
Jay & Caitlin Greer
The Greers work with Mustard Seed Network to plant churches in unreached areas. In 2011, they planted their first church in Osaka, Japan, and in 2020 they planted a church in Tokyo, the core of the world’s largest urban area by both population (37 million people) and economy ($2 trillion). This church continues to grow and is part of a larger church-planting movement to reach Japan with the hope of Christ.
