Japan Reformed Presbyterian Exchange

Prayer requests

Long-term

Pray for all congregations, especially for their nurture and growth by the Word and Spirit. Pray for their fellowship with God and their daily testimony. Pray for young members in their professions and in the building of their families. Pray for the health of elderly members and their continued walk with the Lord.
Pray for the maturing of younger core members of the congregations, for opportunities to fellowship, and for unity in theology and church ministry work.
Pray for Kobe Theological Hall (KTH) and the Covenanter Book Room (CBR). Pray for KTH to hold on to their Reformed and Biblical teaching and to be a good influence in the broader church of Japan. Pray for a successor in CBR's ministry and for the development of its vision.
Pray for the salvation of 100 million lost souls in Japan.
Pray for people’s constant fellowship with God, and growth in their relationship with Him. Pray that they will be aware of God’s love daily and filled with peace, joy, and hope in the Lord.

Timely

Spring 2026

Thank God with us for His graciousness toward the Japanese RP churches and His faithful work among and through us this fall and winter. Each congregation was able to have evangelistic opportunities during those seasons and we saw some newcomers hear the Gospel.
Total presbytery membership was 106 at the end of 2025. Pray that more people would come and join our churches this year. Also pray that our evangelism would be consistent and faithful to the Gospel.
Continue to pray for a new pastor for the Mukonoso congregation, as well as new elders for the three other congregations. In order to maintain their session the Higashisuma congregation has been provided with a provisional elder from the Presbytery (Mr. Katsunori Endo) and the current elders of the Kasumigaoka and Okamoto-Keiyaku congregations are both in their 80s.
The Presbytery decided to sell the Kitasuzurandai land at the November 2025 meeting. Please pray for wisdom during the sale of the property.
The Presbytery started a Mission Planting Committee to explore and share information about opportunities and resources. Please pray that God will continue using us for the expansion of the Gospel as well as providing Reformed teaching.
Thank God for the Australian Bridge Team which came and worked among us in December 2025. It was a great help and encouragement for all the congregations in the Japan Presbytery. The Japanese Bridge Team will be sent to Melbourne, Australia in February-March of 2027.
Please pray for the expansion of God's kingdom in nearby East Asian countries such as South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand. There is some interest in the RP church among some groups in these countries and there is one RP mission work already starting in Thailand. East Asian countries share many cultural aspects and thus also share similar barriers to the Gospel. Pray for God's blessing on our fellowship with them and that God would use us to strengthen His church in East Asia.
Thank God with us for the public professions of faith of several youth in our Presbytery. Pray that God will encourage further spiritual growth of these young people. Pray also that other young people will follow after them in making public professions of faith.

Fall 2025

Pray for the salvation of people who visit our churches. We had evangelistic events during the summer, and the Gospel was heard by unbelievers. Pray that God will continually use us to proclaim the Gospel and that we will see His salvation in people’s lives. We praise Him for the baptism of Mr. Nagahisa at Okamoto-Keiyaku church at the end of August.
Pray for the young people in our churches. We are thankful that some of them are preparing for their profession of faith. However some of them are struggling in their faith. The youth group is meeting each month, and the youth camp and other events this summer were planned to encourage the young people. Pastor Hirata is overseeing the youth group and a young man, Ritsu Takiura, is their leader.
Give thanks to God for the RP missions team from North America this past July through August. They were a great encouragement for the churches. Pray for the mission team from Australia this December.
Pray that God will bless the fellowship and study at the Fall Conference on September 23rd. We are going to study about outreach in our local communities.
Pray that God will guide us in seeking the next step for our mission. Japan Presbytery demolished the building used by the Kitasuzurandai mission station last year and is trying to decide what to do about the land now.
We are seeing some men who are possibly interested in coming to Japan and are preparing to be pastors or missionaries. Pray that God will show us His will and provide us what we need to go forward.
Pray that God will provide a pastor and elders for our congregations. Mukonoso church is vacant and inviting candidates, and the other congregations need elders. We are thankful for the ordination of Mr. Rory Cerbus as a new elder in Mukonoso church this past June.
Please continue to pray for ministries such as Kobe Theological Hall (KTH) and the Covenanter Book Room (CBR). As KTH’s 30th year starts in September, pray that God will provide more full time students. Pray that God will raise up new workers with a new vision for the CBR.
Pray for translation and publishing work. Rev. Endo is translating books from Crown and Covenant Publications, and some are ready to be published. There are several other books the Publishing Committee has been working to publish. Pray that God will strengthen them to complete the work in progress.

Spring 2025

Pray for a new elder for the Higashisuma congregation. Pastor Sakai is the only active elder in the session with Pastor Endo helping as a provisional session member. We are thankful that this past spring Higashisuma congregation has appointed two new deacons, Mr. Rintaro Funahashi and Mr. Yamawaki.
Pray for a pastor for the Mukonoso congregation. Pastor Kanamori retired this past March, leaving the Mukonoso pulpit vacant. Praise God for the leadership of the two ruling elders, Mr. Hayato Ohara and Dr. Jaewoon Jung. We are thankful that the building renovations were completed last winter. Nearly 95% of the building is new and the work was done by RP members who are professional carpenters. It was a blessing to be able to hold the Presbytery Youth Camp this summer in the new building.
Pray for Pastor Hirata's work in his church and the denomination. Pastor Hirata is now back in Japan after his time of study in Northern Ireland and is now working among us. He received a Ph.D in Old Testament studies this summer and became a professor at Kobe Theological Hall (KTH) from this fall quarter. Besides being a pastor at the Kasumigaoka congregation, he is also clerk of the Japan Presbytery, provisional moderator of the Mukonoso congregation, and leading the youth group. Pray also for a new elder for the Kasumigaoka congregation.
Pray for young people at the Keiyaku congregation who are preparing to make a profession of faith, and for those who are not yet ready to make that step. Pray for those who were recently married.
Update: Praise God that these young people made their public profession of faith.
Pray for theological students who are under the care of Presbytery in their preparation for future ministry. There are also some young men in the US who have shown interest in the ministry in Japan. Pray that God will send more hands for the spiritual harvest in Japan.

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