Pastor Seung-gil Ryu

Missionary from Japan: how to preach in the land of the rising sun

The missionary of the Christian Korean church Manmin in Japan told about his ministry. He told about the hardships of the ministry and preaching the Gospel in Japan, about the problems that missionaries in this country meet and about God’s miracles and His love for the Japanese. In his interview pastor Seung-gil Ryu shared his unique experience of being the missionary in the land of the rising sun.

How did you come to understanding that you are called to be a missionary?

While I was studying in a Presbyterian Abbey school in 1988 my friend with whom we were studying asked me to listen to the senior pastor Reverend Jae Rock Lee’s message. And that same year I came to Manmin church to attend Friday overnight service. I was so touched by his message that night. I was one of those who listened to messages of famous pastors but they did not inspire or touch me. I was very touched because of the senior pastor’s biblical and pure Gospel though. From that day I began to attend the services at Manmin even though I was a student of a Presbyterian Abbey school. And in my heart I understood that Reverend Lee could be my spiritual father and leader and I could commit my life to him. And after that I continuously attended services at Manmin church and also studied at the Manmin bible school. After the graduation from the Manmin Bible college I began ministry here at the Manmin church.

What year was it?

1991 or 1992. I’ve never thought of going to Japan but I thought of going abroad. I prayed a lot and I prepared myself to be a missionary. And in 1993 Manmin church needed a missionary to send to Japan and so I started the mission work there.

Have you been to Japan before that?

Just once. Before official dispatching. In the summer of 1993 I knew a pastor in Tokyo who rented a summer retreat for college students and invited me to be a speaker there. So I visited Japan to deliver the message at the summer camp. When I first visited Japan I thought that Japanese people were very pure and innocent. But I was shocked to see a statue that children and adults would come to, bow down and worship. They would actually worship to that statue. And when I saw that I felt they really need the Gospel. And my heart started burning for those people and when I came back to Korea I understood that Manmin had to send someone as a missionary there. And everything perfectly matched.

So how did you prepare yourself for the missionary trip? What did you do? Have you studied some cultural traditions or customs?

In common sense we have to learn the country’s language, learn about the culture of the country. We have to prepare ourselves to adapt in the country. But the time between my decision to go to Japan as a missionary and the day when I was sent there was very short. So I didn’t have much time to prepare myself. But I had faith and as we know it is the most important thing. With faith you can do anything. And faith means that something comes from nothing. I’ve never actually heard of something being created of nothing until I met Reverend Lee. I had to rebuild my faith.

Did you have enough time to learn Japanese before going there?

No. I didn’t know Japanese at all. I didn’t even know how to say “Good morning”. But I could experience the faith to learn the language. Within six months I could preach in Japanese. After nine months our senior pastor had a crusade in Japan and I was an interpreter for him. And even now when I listen to the recording of myself interpreting the pastor – I think I was very good. I studied Japanese for two hours at night and next morning I would go and evangelise people and share the Gospel. I used what I learned the night before. Sometimes it felt like my tongue was just moving by itself. I believe it was the work of the Holy Spirit. The first day I came I could only say two words: “hallelujah” and “amen” because it is a universal language. But in just nine months I could interpret others.

When you landed in Japan was it scary to be there alone, just by yourself?

From the first day when I stepped into the land of Japan I never felt fear. I felt like I came back home.

In post-soviet people think that Japanese are very perverted in their personal and intimate relationship. Is it true? And if it is true how can you promote Christianity in such environment?

It is quite true. Many people say it is like Japanese Sodom and Gomorra. Sometimes they do things that are just beyond our imagination. Although the entire environment of Japan is clean, high organised, it feels like some kind of higher society. And from the first view it feels like Christianity just cannot settle down in the environment of Japan. Japanese people believe that anything can be god. So they pray to everything. They also think that people themselves can be gods. I think the reason of why they do not accept Christianity into their lives is that they feel that it is the religion of foreign people. Christianity to them has its own color. In the history of the Japanese Christianity Manmin church takes quite a significant place. And the main reason is that Japanese people are always looking for God. And when they meet the true real God they receive true real faith. When I visited one old lady I saw about six statues of gods at her house. And she would pray to them every day. So I decided I will tell her about my God. So I introduced her to the real God. And I gave her the cross. So she put it in the row and it became her seventh god.

Many Japanese people don’t know what the church actually is. Pastor Seung-gil Ryu, the missionary of the Christian Korean church Manmin in Japan

And later she called me and said that something interesting happened. When she prayed to her old gods her prayers never got answered but when she prayed to the cross she received the answer. So she said that Jesus has the greatest power among the gods. So she then came to the church and got saved. Also there are quite a lot of people in Japan who have mental problems and when they come to church they receive healing. They also pray with Reverend Lee by phone or on the Internet and they receive answers to their prayers. Also when they listen to the message their feelings and their heart are being restored. So there is a bit of a revival in the church. Many people come, receive their answers and then go and share it with their families and friends. There are fourteen branches of our church in Japan all around the country. And it is very rare to have such kind of revival in Japan.

What is the average number of people who attend the average Christian church in Japan?

It’s about thirty to forty people. Such church can survive in Japan. But more than half of the churches there have less than that. I believe there are seven thousand churches in Japan and more than half of them have less than thirty people. There about 120 people in Manmin church every Sunday. And it is considered to be a big church.

Do you experience any pressure or resistance from the authorities or the people because of your faith?

I felt that. Many Japanese people don’t know what the church actually is. And it is quite hard for normal people in Japan to come to church. So I asked God how should I preach the Gospel? What I do is I go to a local area and I do what they do – we try to do different things together. I thought; “Usually people come to church but here the church has to come to people.” So I did that. So for example we have a class of making kimchi or a class where we study flowers or learn English. So we have these clubs – there are dancing, singing clubs, Gospel club. And this is the place where we have Christians as well as non-Christians and we get a chance to tell them about our God.

This is such a wise decision. In Russia and Ukraine we are lacking this attitude. Once we had a dinner with the evangelist Reinhard Bonnke and he said: “I have never seen a fisherman who has a boat with a sign: ‘Fish jump here’.”

I think that the reason why it has been hard for Japanese church to see real revival is that they reject coming out. People might come but they do nothing about it.

Does the fact that you are an Asian person make things easier for you in terms of being a missionary in Japan? Would it be harder for a European missionary to serve in Japan?

Japanese like European and American people a lot. If you are European or American you will feel very welcome. But many people say that other Asian people feel less welcome. When I first came I felt that too. But after I learned Japanese God gave me wisdom. When I prayed for them they got healed, they see what happens when I preach my message. And now after seventeen years of ministry they are following me and respect me. I heard of so many Asian missionaries working in Japan and it is hard to have their hearts.

Does Manmin church help you financially because in post-soviet countries missionaries are often sent and said: just go and do whatever you want.

I believe that financial support is as important as the spiritual one. I know that many things came from the Manmin church spiritually as well as physically. Support and help from the main church helped me a lot. Manmin church gives support to the poor countries but here in Japan we survive mostly with our own hands. I heard and learned from my senior pastor. When he opened this church he did everything by faith. When I just started my ministry financially I had nothing. I did everything by faith. So I was never starving. I never experienced difficulties financially. God provided for me all the time. There was a time when I had nothing to eat and to feed my family but a person, who was not even a member of my church came and said: “God sent me.” This person gave me about two hundred dollars. I never thought I would receive this money. I was so thankful to God that I just gave this money to the church. And again this person came and gave me even more and said: “These money are just for you.” And this is just one small experience. Now I need more money to manage my church but God always provides. Along with my workers I work as a volunteer to help the societies. The city government recommended me to open a welfare house. We needed huge amount of money - $600,000 to do that but we didn’t have those money so non-Christians helped us.

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TAGS: Missionary mission Manmin Gospel Interview Seung-gil Ryu Jae Rock Lee Japan

[08/13/2010]

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