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 PrintableVersion On Giants' ShouldersBringing new life to JapanFaith for unresponsive areasON GIANTS' SHOULDERS: I am delighted that this book (first published by WEC, 1991) is still available, one of the best ever on missionary work in Japan. It is both a moving autobiography, and an instructive account of effective church planting. This story, told in short unemotional sentences, moves me to tears. My admiration was aroused as I read of a Christian brought up in a deprived family in London's East End. With only four 'O' level passes, he is sent for language aptitude testing and told that he will find Japanese so difficult he will never learn it! Unlike many of us who plateau off once we can make ourselves more or less understood, Patrick, with dogged persistence, completes a Japanese '0' level on his first furlough, starts on an 'A' level and in his second term works on an external London degree, and finishes up with a PhD in Japanese poetry. This achievement (which has to be teased out) is only a modest sub-plot in the larger story of Japanese church planting. In their second (six year!) term, faced with a resistant and unresponsive community, they ask:, 'What can we do, when we think we have done all we can, and see no results?' Desperation sees faith born out of the ashes of despair. From then on, as they pray, they watch the sovereign Lord build a local church, and return home leaving a thriving congregation led by a national pastor. Their third term brings them to the same point: Japanese are polite and friendly, but too busy to become involved. Asked in the barber's shop whether he would coach local primary schoolboys in football every Saturday afternoon, he agrees with reluctance, only to find he gains enhanced credibility, a recognisable niche contributing to society, deeply appreciated by local parents. Church growth takes off! Then he is invited to speak at Parent-Teacher Associations (his Japanese must be really good!), first locally and then as his lectures are appreciated, further and further afield. In Japan's ethical vacuum, the love of both parents can give a secure home to children, even when they are not academically successful. While his public spoken approach has to be muted and oblique, the publication of a book of his lectures available for sale after PTA addresses enables an overt gospel proclamation. The heroes and heroines of this story are the handful of Japanese believers who catch the vision of becoming a local church (my first tears); the struggling home church in Deptford supporting their missionaries with realism; and the McElligott daughters facing, with their parents, the cost of separation for secondary education (more tears). The book is worth reading for the insight it gives into the emotional cost for parents and children alike. In days when exchange rates make missionary support in Japan seem astronomic, this book shows how worthwhile it is for sending churches to invest men, women and money in church planting in Japan. This book is a 'must' for anyone who wants to understand the faith in God needed for evangelism and church planting in unresponsive areas. Michael Griffiths,
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