20/04/2026
When my husband and I first arrived in rural Yahaba (Tohoku), we dreamed of planting a church where small communities of believers would spread all over Yahaba. We envisioned believers loving one another, sharing God’s Word, and telling friends and family about Jesus.
Seven years later, as our time here draws to a close, the picture looks very different. We have one believer — young in her faith and hesitant to tell her family she is a Christian.
Church planting unfolds in God's time, not ours.
Over the years, many conversations felt promising, only for interest to quietly fade. People we loved and prayed for opened their hearts to us — but not yet to Jesus.
One mum carried so much: depression, bullying at her child’s school, work stress, and family strain. One day, when I prayed for her, she said she physically felt Jesus embracing her. It brought her to tears. Yet she is not ready to follow him.
The work in Tohoku is slow. Trust takes time. Changing worldviews takes time. Following Jesus can mean becoming the only Christian in your family — that is not a small step.
The time hasn’t been wasted
But the Lord has been deepening my trust in him. The slowness has driven me to pray more and depend more fully on the Lord of the Harvest. My longing for visible fruit remains, yet God has been growing in me a quiet, steady waiting.
Even as our time in Yahaba ends, I believe the prayers prayed while walking these streets have not been wasted. Our sovereign Lord hears. In his timing, he will accomplish his will for Yahaba.
The book of Hebrews speaks of inheriting God’s promises “through faith and patience” (Hebrews 6:12). Abraham saw only a glimpse of what was promised. We, too, may see only a glimpse in Japan — but that does not make the promise less certain.
Serving here is not only about strategy, effort, or gifting. It is about prayer — believing God is working even when we cannot see, and waiting on his timing, though we long for fruit. We work with our hands, but just as much on our knees.
Would you consider joining what God is doing here?
Pray for Japan with faith and patience. And if God nudges you to come, do not assume you will arrive in harvest season. He may be inviting you to help prepare the soil.
By an OMF missionary
Read the blog post here: https://omf.org/church-planting-is-gods-work-in-gods-time/
