TRANSCRIPT

NATHAN JONES

For the first time, we head to Tokyo and we'll spend time with Yu Sato. Yu recognizes the opportunity to increase an awareness of whole-life stewardship throughout the Japanese church and is doing so through his ministry to provide shared workspace for Christian organizations in a Christian center, which currently provides a home to 40 organizations.

Once again, I'm your host, Nathan Jones, and I want to thank you for joining us on this episode of the Inspiring Stewards podcast.

Yu, thank you for the time. Love to get to know you a bit. Tell me about your background, where you grew up, your family life, that sort of thing.

YU SATO

I'm very glad to be here in this podcast. I’m Yu Sato from Tokyo, Japan. It's a little bit strange, but I was born in the Christian family. There is few Christian families, Christian people in Japan, you know. But my grandparents are Christian and my parents also Christian.

I went to church when I was like child. So yeah, I love Jesus. I love people in the church, and I love God.

But when I was a high school student, my daily life was more busy because of a lot of activity, clubs activities and playing with my friends. And there is a lot of interesting, curious things. So, at that moment, I was thinking like living as Christian is not so fun living as normal people. Normal people in Japan is more interesting, more funny, more free.

But when I was in college, there is some Christian friends talking to me like living as Christian is not only about Sunday, but also it's about Monday to Saturday. That idea is very interesting for me because I never thought my friendship and my money issues and my relationship with girls is not Christianity, but my friends is living out the Christian life. So, that was very inspiring for me.

From that moment, I’m thinking like my whole life is for Jesus. That’s my Christianity background.

NATHAN

Yeah, the whole-life discipleship is a deep and fascinating thing. What, as you came back to Christ, what changed after that in your life?

YU

Everything has changed. It's very interesting but before being like that, I was thinking like if I live out as Christian, I lost a lot of friends. Because in Japan living as Christian is very strange from other people. But this is very interesting. After I was living out as Christian, I got very good best friend. They started trusting me. They started loving to be with me. So, opposite things happened.

NATHAN 

Yeah, God provides in mysterious ways, doesn't He?

YU

I was thinking that living as Christian is a strange thing. But other non-Christian, my friends, don't thinking like that. They really deeply respect me. We are talking about Jesus, about churches. Yeah, that's very interesting.

NATHAN

Let's jump ahead to today. Tell us about the work and ministry that you're involved in now.

YU 

I'm working for the Christian organization. The name is Ochanomizu Christian Center. Ochanomizu is the name of place, name of city in Tokyo. I'm working for the Christian Center.

We have the building and there is 40 Christian organizations as a tenant. So, we rent the rooms for them, making the network with the Christian organizations. And not only our buildings, but there is a lot of connections with Christian organizations and seminaries because in Japan, the Christian people is very few, especially the evangelical Christian is very few. 

So, we need to connect. We need to be known well. So, we have a lot of connections with people and helping each other. So, that is my specific work.

NATHAN

Very fascinating. So, 40 Christian organizations in the building that you manage, do you have any sense of how many Christian organizations there are in Tokyo?

YU

I'm not sure because it's very difficult to define what Christian organization in Japan. Maybe it's same as US or other countries but there is a lot of “Oh, this is Christian or not?” Very fuzzy and very difficult to define. Maybe the Japan government have some statistics, but we are not [big] number, the Christian organizations in Tokyo.

NATHAN

So, you're creating community between those organizations within your building and like you said, in surrounding area too. Give us an example of one or two of the organizations that are in your building.

YU

Yeah, in our building, for example, there is the Lutheran in Japan and some Christian bookstore is in our building and some missionary organizations and we have the Bible Institute.

NATHAN

Yeah, that’s great. Well, this is the Inspiring Stewards podcast, Yu. So, tell us about how the concept of stewardship is playing a role in your life.

YU

That is very inspiring question for me because in Japanese Christian, the concept of Christian stewards is not so common. So, in Japan, the gospel is just a way to go to heaven. So, we are waiting, waiting to die and “so, please, please, I want to go to heaven!” and waiting, waiting. That is the Christian life.

But in the concept of stewardship, it requires us to change our lives, complete lives, like how to use the money, how to use the time, how to spend the time with families, friends, how choose the word I tell to other people.

So, I need to change everything about my life: how to breathe, how to watch, how to touch. Everything we have to change under the concept of stewardship, right?

So, if people in Japanese churches get the concept of stewardship, I believe that Japanese churches can change everything, everything in churches, everything about ministry.

NATHAN

Are you seeing that shift in thinking and in belief taking effect across Japan?

YU

Not so many but I'm not alone so, there is some people who believe that stewardship is very important in Christian life. So, we have that team. We have colleagues.

We are working for the building management. We don't have so many chances to talk like, “What is stewardship? What is the Christian life?” But we can live out through our work, like managing the money and make the building beautiful.

Our building was very broken in 2015. So, these 10 years, we did a lot of repairment, reforms, and making the rooms, making the buildings beautiful because it's the stewardship, right? It’s stewardship things.

Some people thinking like, “Oh, building is just a building. If we can pray, if we can worship, it's okay.” People thinking like that. But we don't think that! If we're God’s stewards, we need to make a building beautiful, and we need to pray there. We need to worship there because making the building beautiful is one of the ways to worship God. We believe that and we try to living out that.

NATHAN

Which is fascinating to me. I've not actually had the chance to go to Japan. I've been to other countries in the surrounding area. But what I understand about at least maybe this historic Japanese culture is the beauty and the design. And so, I love that you're able to combine the Japanese element there with a Christian concept of stewardship to provide that environment, which is a beautiful thing.

So, Yu, as we're beginning to wrap up here, any other thoughts on how you're seeing God at work? You know, I asked you about if you're seeing that change begin to happen. You said not as much but you are connected with others who are thinking and praying along those lines. How are you seeing God at work, either in your context or in a broader context?

YU

As I mentioned, that Christianity situation, Christian churches, Christian organizations situation in Japan is not so good. There's a lot of brokenness. Not only about the people, the numbers of the people, but it's about some seminary is going to be closed because there are no enough money. And some Christian company will be stop their missions because the lack of management, lack of the governance of board, and lack of accountability. So many brokenness.

But God's work is still going on in Japan, I believe. And the reason why I can believe that is I'm not alone. I have four colleagues and we're sharing our concept and our mission to share the steward concept for the other Christian organizations.

So, we're working for the Christian buildings, but that is not our main goal. Our goal is spread the concept of stewardship in Christian organization.

And last October, I joined the (GTP) Global Gathering in Philippines, Manila and I met a lot of my family, my team working for God, working for these kinds of things, and working for GTP. When I went to Manila and met that people, I was very surprised and I think like, “Oh, I'm not alone!”

In Japan, I think always, “Only we! No one help. No one knows. No one working like this, only we!” But I’ve visited the Philippines, met the GTP people, GTP family. "Oh, we are together!" 

I think in Japan, like I'm doing the special thing and people don't know that! But visiting the Philippines, met the people, “Oh, this is not a special! This is normal. If we read the Bible, this is very simple. This is very normal things to be the good steward.”

Living as a steward is very simple because it's obvious in the Bible, right? So, it's not special. That is Christian! I got it. When I back to Japan, I stopped thinking, “I'm special. I know, people don't know.” No, that's wrong! I can share what the Bible says, what God says, very simple things.

So yeah, I started to reading the GTP materials with my colleagues and making the plan to next visiting. These kinds of happen because God never forget Japan. God is leading us. That is God’s work, I think.

NATHAN

That’s tremendous! Well, Yu, as we're wrapping up any final thoughts on any of this or any other thoughts on your heart for those listening here?

YU

After coming back from Philippines, I got a new dream that is having the Global Gathering in Tokyo in the future because I want to meet worldwide Christian people, worldwide Jesus followers in Tokyo. Not only me, but also other people, like 40 Christian organizations in our building.

I want they see what God is doing all over the world. Not only Japan – Japan can do this or Japan cannot do this – not only watching the situation of Japan, but we need to watch the world.

We need to connect with the worldwide Jesus people. That is my one of the biggest new dream to be together, gathering in Tokyo with GTP people. That is my dream.

NATHAN

Wonderful. Well, Yu thank you again for your time. This has been wonderful.

YU

Thank you!