Japanese Church in Malaysia Playing a Part in Building Up the Malaysian Communities

20 Nov 2014 by Jason Law CM –

 

The verse in John 17:22-23 came to mind when I visited JCM Agape in Mont Kiara. Japan and Christianity does not normally go along synonymously in our minds. Much of the history of the nation has been shaped by the harshness of the land, leading to the formation of a culture that is highly hierarchical and self-reliant, and in which the concept of unearned grace and individual worth are alien and relinquished to the necessity of hard work and a group-orientation. Based on a lack of understanding, a stereotype has formed in the minds of many about the Japanese as a race of proud people.

Yet the amazing thing about God’s Grace is that it penetrates even into cultures in which we would think it would be difficult to. Already, we are seeing a revival among the Japanese, with many taking up prophetic callings, people such as Pr Peter Tsukahira, Dr Joseph Ozawa, and Dr Yukio Funatsu. What many Malaysians may not know, however, is that there is a Japanese church in Malaysia, and it’s playing a huge role in blessing the local communities here.

 

 

JCM Agape stands for Japanese Church of Malaysia Agape Network. In 1999, Pastor Mayumi Yamazaki started what later grew into JCM, from a humble beginning as a Japanese Ladies Fellowship. The aspiration was to build a spiritual orphanage, where Christians who are spiritually homeless can find a place with God regardless of culture, language, occupation or faith level. Those years were a learning period for Pastor Mayumi in which she learnt more about herself and God’s plans for her life. 

The Lord built her up and gave her a vision to start a Japanese church in Malaysia. Considering that running a church in Japan is already very challenging, what more starting a Japanese church on foreign land, the early years were likely not going to be an easy thing. But the calling from the Lord had given Pastor Mayumi the courage and prompted her to start building up the Japanese church in Malaysia.

 

 

In 2004, the fellowship expanded into a home church, a weekly service in Japanese Language was formed, and men started to join the services. Today, JCM ministers their services bilingually in English and Japanese, and it has grown into the JCM Agape Network (NPO), reaching countries across the region like Cambodia and Japan, and working with several international Christian outreaches and missionaries.

Pastor Mayumi has been in Malaysia for more than 30 years, and is married to a Christian businessman, Colin Cheang. In that time, she has courageously led a church on what must have been unfamiliar grounds, even completing her Masters in a local seminary, the Alpha Omega International College in PJ. Possessing a great love and talent for music, Pastor Yamazaki was instrumental in helping Yamaha when they were first started in Malaysia.

 

 

This gift from God has led Pastor Mayumi to form The Hallelujah Singers, a choir group that comprises members from various churches. ‘There isn’t a requirement for those who want to join the choir. The only requirement is that the members love God,’ Pastor Mayumi shared with our writer, James Hoh when he visited the church back in 2013. “I am very happy that although they are from other churches, they are very faithful members of their own churches. Some of them would like to sing in their own churches but they were not given opportunities.”

 

 

Along with The Hallelujah Singers, JCM organizes annual events in which foreign artists are invited for the purposes of creating a sense of brotherhood and sisterhood not just locally, but also globally, in which gospel artists can be blessed, bonds built up and lessons shared with one another, building up the Kingdom of God and creating a common goal in the Kingdom building through gospel music.

Last October, on the 11th of the month, JCM conducted a charity concert with the primary aim to raise funds in support of ministries to the local blind or poor, and to off-shore ministries they have been supporting. The invited beneficiaries for this year’s concert were the Agape Service for the Blind, Gospel to the Poor, and the Christian Fellowship Center.  

 

 

It was a wonderful medley in which the great traditions of Christian music were highlighted. Among these traditions were the choral music and gospel music. Contemporary elements of music such as ballads, instrumental performances, jazz, and soul accompany traditional ones like hymns and folk songs. Many of the songs performed were original creations by Japanese Christians, written in the vernacular. 

 

 

Jazz guitarist Tom Kanematsu and songstress Hiroco Kanematsu, along with jazz keyboardist Christopher Brooks III, were the performance highlight of the night, with many other performances by other groups such as JCM’s own Hallelujah Singers and the beneficiaries. Brother Colin Cheang shared that such concerts are held annually to create awareness for the many less-advantaged brothers and sisters in Christ, and that we should do whatever we can to assist them not just financially, but also spiritually and emotionally. The concerts also aim to provide an avenue for them to demonstrate their God-given talents.

Ultimately, the message that JCM Agape wants to announce to the local Christian community is that while JCM Agape network is a Japanese-speaking Church founded by Pastor Mayumi Yamazaki, they would also love to work and network with other local churches and non-denominations.

 

 

As part of this effort, JCM has set up many community-building ministries by providing Language, computer, and dance & music classes as well as Bible Studies. In fact, if you would like to pick up the Japanese Language, JCM conducts free classes of the language as a part of their bridge-building effort with the local community.  

 

 

 

For more information about the church, visit their website at http://www.jcmagapenetwork.com or their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/pages/JCM-Agape-Japanese-Church-in-Malaysia/173304479359939?fref=ts

 

NOTE: Some photos kindly contributed by JCM Agape Church. 

 

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