As I reflect on the past couple of months, the area which I remain most thankful for is our teamwork as a Tokyo Marunouchi Partnership (TMP) staff team. I genuinely feel that we are all helping each other in so many ways, whether setting up computer applications, producing Excel sheets, preparing Powerpoint presentations, or welcoming each other’s guests.
And there are many different activities going on amongst the three different ministries of Marunouchi Office Groups (MOGs), Samurai Projects (SPs) and Marunouchi Church Tokyo (MCT). As I write, the Samurai are enjoying their last session on the doctrine of Scripture, which has been a 6-week course within the Samurai Projects syllabus taught by a seminary professor. And just a few weeks ago the 12 Samurai had their mission week away to help a church in Hokkaido in the north of Japan. Makito Miyashita (SPs Director) and Misato Omori (SPs assistant) did a fabulous job of organizing this mission week. And the mission week was immediately after a dramatic production of Mark’s Gospel, which Makito and Misato also put on along with our General Admin team (Naomi Tamanuki and Mari Tanaka) for about 300 guests over two nights.
Furthermore, last night, there was a Wednesday evening Marunouchi Church Tokyo (MCT) service in the TMP office, where Hirano-san continues to preach through the Gospel of John for city-workers on their way home. One participant who works in the area, just dropped in off the street a few months ago, after doing an internet search, and since then has become a friend and continues to be encouraged and comforted by Jesus in John’s Gospel. And last week on Wednesday, Hirano helped to host one his new Hobby Clubs, where 7 people including 4 who are not yet Christian came to our office to draw art together, enabling Christians and those not yet Christian to have fun together and get to know each other.
Today there are two Marunouchi Office Groups (MOGs) taking place, one at lunch and one at dinner time, and one will happen at breakfast time tomorrow morning, before work begins. In the three meetings together, there are five friends who are not yet Christian who will be attending and who have been regularly attending for many months now. And one other participant has become a Christian over the past year. And another participant from a different Marunouchi Office Group has also become a Christian over this past year, and I am looking forward to the privilege of baptizing him at the end of this month.
And we have had the privilege of welcoming a new member of staff, Aika Kobayashi, who will join as the Marunouchi Office Groups Assistant. One of her first jobs will be to help with preparations for the Inspire Marunouchi Christmas Party which will happen on Wednesday December 10th, and where we hope for all of the fourteen Marunouchi Office Groups to be able to work together to invite their friends to come and hear about Jesus, through the Christmas message and Life Story at that event. We have booked a room which can hold 120 people, so we are hoping and praying for one quarter to one third of the participants being the not yet Christian friends of Office Groups participants.
And that is not even to mention the work of the General Admin team in the huge task of preparing the budget for 2026, as well as this newsletter, and all manner of ways in which they work to make the whole of the TMP work run more smoothly. We have so much to thank our gracious Lord for, amidst the many trials which this work always throws up. Thank you again for your partnership in the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.
