ATLANTA – Leaders from the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship have signed a memorandum of understanding with the Japan Baptist Convention, representing an official partnership between the organizations.

The memorandum was signed July 1 on the eve of the CBF General Assembly in Houston, Texas.

“My hope and prayer is that several among our CBF family will sense a calling to ministry in Japan among our Japanese brothers and sisters,” said Rob Nash, the Fellowship’s coordinator of global missions. “This is a significant opportunity to express gifts of teaching and worship leadership in a challenging ministry context.”

In the three-year partnership, the Fellowship and Japan Baptist Convention will coordinate their efforts related to church planting, faith sharing and education ministries.

As part of the partnership, the Fellowship will work with the Convention to facilitate short-term mission engagements for Fellowship Baptists to serve at Convention churches in Japan. The primary ministry of mission personnel will be teaching English in the local churches.

“The Japanese Baptist Convention and CBF view this partnership as a creative and innovative means to share the love of Christ and increase the influence and number of Japanese Baptist churches,” said Harry Rowland, CBF’s director of missional church ministries. “For those willing to minister in a cross cultural environment this partnership provides a wonderful opportunity. The very fact that one speaks English is a missional tool which – with a little training – becomes the entry point for others being introduced to the love of God.”

The Japan Baptist Convention was formed by 12 churches in 1947 and founded on a commitment to church planting and mission work. Today, the Convention consists of more than 270 churches with approximately 34,000 members. The Convention is a financially independent missions sending and equipping organization.
 
To learn about partnership opportunities with the Japan Baptist Convention, contact Chris Boltin at engage@thefellowship.info or (800) 352-8741.

CBF is a fellowship of Baptist Christians and churches who share a passion for the Great Commission and a commitment to Baptist principles of faith and practice. The Fellowship’s mission is to serve Christians and churches as they discover and fulfill their God-given mission.