Support for Nagoya Church Plant

Grace City Church in Sydney has sent a key young couple, James & Heather Ryburn, to be with Tom & Julie Eaton in Nagoya, Japan. Tom & Julie are planting a church in Nagoya and James & Heather will be supporting the team there for a year or two.

James & Heather left in November 2009 to do a 2 month initial visit and have now just returned to Sydney for a week to get their long term visas for Japan. While they were here we asked them to share a bit of how this all came about.

Q: How did you get to the point of considering moving countries?

J&H: After many years of friendship, Heather and I were married a year ago and sensed God telling us to make ourselves ready and available to ‘Go’. Although we did not know where or when, we started preparing our hearts (and our families!) that when we heard God’s call, we would do just that…Go.

Q: Why do you want to be a part of planting a church?
J&H: We love the local church and like Spurgeon, to us it is the ‘dearest place on earth’. We want people from all over the world to meet God and encounter Jesus’ bride. We believe that Christ centred, Gospel preaching, Cross focused churches full of God, and members who encourage and build each other up with the gifts that God has given them is Gods answer for the world today.

 
Q: Why did you choose to go to Japan?

J&H: We felt God’s strong leading as we began to explore the possibility of serving the church in Nagoya. We had an excitement in our spirits from the first time we considered the possibility and as we began to prayerfully and practically pursue it, God went before us and lead the way. We had many hurdles to overcome in terms of timing, jobs and visas. But as we lay each obstacle at His feet, God took care of every detail in His own perfect timing. Heather and I both have great jobs teaching English to Japanese children and adults respectively and are looking forward to the change in vocation. The team in Nagoya is wonderful and although at times we were unsure if we had anything worthwhile to offer, God reminded us prophetically and biblically that the body is made up of many members, and each member has a role to play. Plus, the food is really good!

Q: What do you think will be difficult in the next few months?
J&H: We have now spent 2 months in Nagoya and although we have returned to Sydney briefly for visa purposes, we already know that the road ahead will not always be smooth. There will be times when we miss family and friends, there will be times when the language barrier will be very frustrating, and there will be times when we question whether we made the right move. But we have gone armed with the promises of God that we have received through prophecy and scripture.

Q: What are you hoping to achieve while you are there?

We hope that over these coming months and years that God continues to use us to help build His church for His glory. We hope we are able to tell many people the good news of Jesus for the first time, encourage the team in Nagoya, add fervor to the children’s ministry and have a hand in building a team of lead worshipers who worship in Spirit and Truth with a J-Pop (Japanese Pop) edge! We also hope to continue to grow in intimacy with God, and to learn to discern His voice more clearly because above all, everything comes back to us knowing and loving God more. 

For more info on GraceCity Church Nagoya go to www.gracecity.jp