Joel Lau

Reaching Japanese Students with the Gospel

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“We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.”

- John 4:42

ようこそう! Welcome—I'm Joel.

After two years in Japan, join me as I return to Kyoto with Student Impact and Cru to continue in God's redemptive mission as a full-time campus missionary.

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My Vision

Jesus meeting students where they hurt the most, redeeming their broken stories to reach their friends, families and all of Japan with the healing love of Christ.

Our Purpose

I've seen it first hand: mental health crisis, isolation, addiction. Young people in Japan hunger for the freedom and peace only Jesus can give. But in a country where only one in 200 truly follow Christ, how will they find hope?

But God has not given up.

Jesus is meeting our students in the depths of their sin and shame with his redeeming love. More than cancelling debts, his victory is complete, and he is turning broken stories of failure into testimonies of Christ's healing power.

That's our calling. Student Impact, Cru's partner ministry in Japan, believes young people are the key to reaching the entire world for Christ.

Students are open and curious. They thirst for more than the empty promises of career and society. And once they have tasted the living water of the Gospel, students are uniquely equipped to transform their campuses, workplaces and culture.

So it's exciting to serve in a strategic place like Kyoto, Japan's college town, where students make up one-tenth of the population and study at some of the best schools in the nation.

Our Work

Win

Sharing the Gospel by starting conversations, deepening relationships and inviting people into the community of Christ.

Build

Raising young believers in faith, prayer and the Word as we repent of our sins and fall deeper in love with Jesus, together.

Send

Equipping students to proclaim the love of Jesus in their campuses, workplaces and communities.

Student Impact is not a club. We are a campus movement, partnering with student leaders and the local Japanese church to fulfill the Great Commission in the power of the Spirit. As staff and former intern, I will take my place on the front lines and behind the scenes, including:

Sharing about Jesus through culture and language exchanges
Pouring into young believers in small discipleship groups
Leading students to share the gospel on their campuses or overseas.
Coaching new ministry interns as they enter God's mission in Japan after college.

My Story

Highschool graduation

I have always been near Japan. Born and raised in diverse Hawaii, I consumed Japanese food and TV and even took language classes while at Boston University, where I first joined Cru.

I am also Asian-American. My immigrant parents brought me up in the Chinese church and taught me the importance of honoring the Lord and your community through devotion and hard work.

But with honor comes shame. Despite presenting as a high achieving Christian kid — even entering missions — I masked a deep well of sin and self-hatred.

Struggling with weight for most of my life, I hated the way I looked and descended into unhealthy dieting. Hiding a years-long battle with sexual brokenness, I felt like a Christian fraud, unable to open up to friends or God for fear of losing their love.

In my wretchedness, as my facade collapsed around me, I cried out to God for mercy, and he met me with total forgiveness, breaking my shame with his truth. His light.

"But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light," Ephesians 5:13

With my crazy dog a few years ago.

He did not simply delete my shame. Through repentance and healing the Spirit began to rework my broken story, using my darkest parts to reach other broken people, because I understand our only hope is to run back into the arms of Jesus.

That’s why I’m returning to Japan with Epic Movement, Cru’s Asian-American student ministry. In our God-given, multicultural identities, we are bridging the divide between Asia and the Gospel!

Partner with Me, Join in Worship!

It's a big and weighty vision, and Japan is no easy soil. But I go in the power of the Spirit, and I go sent by his Church—you! Before I can return, I am trusting God to provide three main needs: prayer, connections and financial giving.

Would you join me in worshipping our Savior by filling this need? Find out how below!