Japanese Website Designer
WEC has ministered among Japanese people for many decades, doing outreach, planting churches and discipling believers but churches are still small and struggle to reach the younger generation.
Our recruitment team are seeking a website designer and social media expert to raise the profile of cross-cultural mission in Japan, and attract Japanese speakers to work both in Japan and beyond.
You have a passion to share your love for Jesus and for his mission to reach the unreached at every opportunity.
You can work remotely, ideally in a similar time zone, but a visit to ministry in Japan to catch WEC's passion and vision would be encouraged, enabling you to capture images and video footage for the site.
Qualities & Gifts Sought
You could be a professional website designer, or someone with significant experience of building a multilingual website.
You are familiar with WordPress or similar platforms customising themes, plugins, and addons etc. Ideally you already speak, read and write Japanese, or are willing to learn.
Working in Japan is not essential, but working online in a similar time zone would be preferred.
Our ref: 485
About Japan
Geography
Japan in the Pacific Ocean comprises five main islands Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, Kyushu, and Okinawa with an archipelago of 14,120 other islands. Tokyo is the nation's capital and largest city.
Japan is one of the most densely populated countries with over 125 million inhabitants. Most of the country's terrain is mountainous, concentrating dense urbanized population on narrow coastlines.
source: Wikipedia
Languages and Religion
There is a total of 26 unreached people groups in Japan including 119 million Japanese Buddhists, 1.15m Okinawan speakers of the Ryukyu Islands observing their traditional Unchina religion, and around 130,000 South Asian Muslims. Other indigenous peoples include the Burakumin, Yaeyama, Mikayo, Ainu and Kikai.
Shintoism is the native religion of Japan. It is rooted in animism (belief that non-living objects have spirits). Its many gods or spirits are known as kami. Buddhism was introduced to Japan in the sixth century. Today, most Japanese claim to be both Shintoist and Buddhist.
Many Japanese are indifferent to and skeptical of established religion. On the outside, they seem to have few needs. However, many have become obsessed with materialistic pleasures, careers, and possessions. Only 0.5% of the country's population are evangelical Christian.
Prayer Points
Ask the Lord to call laborers to go to Japan and share Christ with the Japanese.
Pray that Christian businessmen will have open doors to share the Gospel with the Japanese.
Ask the Holy Spirit to soften the hearts of the Japanese toward Christians so that they will be receptive to the Gospel.
Pray that Japanese Christians will have opportunities to share the love of Jesus with their families and friends.
Pray that Christian radio and television broadcasts will be effective in reaching the Japanese.
Pray that God will raise up teams of intercessors to stand in the gap for these precious people.
Ask the Lord to raise up strong local churches among the Japanese.
source: Japan in Joshua Project
Prayer points from Operation World 25-27 July
Japan faces many crises. Even its leaders called it “a superpower without a moral compass”. Many lack hope or confidence in the future. Young people struggle the most, in particular with problems such as a suicide epidemic (over 30,000/year), mistreatment by peers, and teenage prostitution. High suicide and divorce rates in other age groups confirm the crisis. The constant threats of earthquakes, economic decline, and social isolation leave many people open to spiritual matters. The government alone cannot solve Japan’s social problems. This gives the Church a chance to engage with society. Pray that the Church might become prominent in Japan through ministries of compassion, kindness, and love.
Spiritual powers and principalities in Japan hinder the gospel. The powers associated with idolatry in temples and ancestor worship in homes remain strong. Many Japanese claim no religion, but actually follow some rituals of Buddhism and Shintoism. Even the idea of a Creator God is foreign to the Japanese worldview. Many new religions get started in Japan each year, often based on Buddhism, but also on the occult, the worship of extra-terrestrial aliens, and other strange ideas. Ask God to remove the spirit of delusion!
Japan has the world’s lowest birth rates and highest life expectancies, so the population rapidly ages. The social and economic challenge this creates is enormous. By 2055, half of Japanese will be retired and collect a pension. No other country has faced this before. Pray for more Christian nursing homes and hospices. Japan will need many care workers, and this will create a mission opportunity for believers from other nations.
Japan’s low birth rate results in a small younger generation with their own challenges and issues. Those aged 18-23 are the most open to the gospel, but few actually become active believers. The bonds that once held Japanese society together have lost much of their strength.
Information about WEC ministry in Japan
wec-japan.org