Peace (in Japanese: 平和, heiwa) presents both challenge and opportunity for the churches of Japan. In a country where less than 1% of the population practices Christianity, cultural and workplace expectations often clash with Christian discipleship, a conflict strongly felt by young professionals who are trying to establish their careers.
At the same time, certain long-held Japanese beliefs produce curiosity towards some Christian values. The traditional religion of Shintoism espoused a belief in the importance of harmony between people and nature, concepts that continue to influence Japanese culture to this day. Japan’s generations-long commitment to non-proliferation of nuclear weaponry following the atomic bombings at Hiroshima and Nagasaki also constitutes an important peace witness on the world stage.
Might this unique blend of curiosity and tension provide fertile ground for an expansion of Christian communities with a robust commitment to peacemaking? Such has been a topic of discussion at Nagoya Midori Church (a Brethren in Christ church located in Nagoya, Japan), where heiwa has been an area of recent focus.
Pursuing Peace in Community
Exploration of the peace tradition has been an area of great interest for Brother Mitsuru Ishido (Teaching Staff at Nagoya Midori Church), whose work includes mentoring young leaders in the churches of Japan. Mitsuru, formerly the chair of BIC Japan, has been involved in several peacemaking initiatives both at home and abroad. In keeping with his mentoring role, he has spent the past few years helping to expose more Japanese Christian leaders to the Anabaptist tradition.
In September 2025, Mitsuru, along with Pastors Shintaro Fukushima and Kanato Ito (also from Nagoya Midori Church) and Sungbin Kim of Open Door Church (a BIC congregation in Lexington, Ky.) embarked on a Young Anabaptist Peace Tour, visiting Yellow Creek Mennonite Church (Goshen, IN) and Open Door Church for fellowship and encouragement in peace-oriented church development.
Brother Mitsuru is also one of the co-founders of Onesimus Reconciliation KD, a ministry that promotes reconciliation between Japanese and Korean Christians who have been divided by centuries of cultural conflict. He and fellow co-founders Pastors Sungbin Kim and Wes Bontreger shared the story of this ministry with The Shalom Society! in January 2026.
Proclaiming Peace for Community
Over the past few months Nagoya Midori Church has been hosting a sermon series about the Brethren in Christ Core Values. For their March 8th service the church welcomed me in my capacity as director of the Shalom Society to deliver a sermon on “Pursuing Peace.” This sermon, titled For He, Himself, Is Our Peace (Ephesians 2:11-22) was delivered with translation into Japanese by Brother Mitsuru.
Pastor Fukushima, Youth Pastor at Nagoya Midori Church, also provided a sermon and discussion about the same text for the church’s youth and young adult gathering. He plans to further explore the theme of peacemaking in a regular column that he writes for Kirisuto Shimbun, an online Japanese Christian news publication.
These opportunities are part of a developing relationship between younger members of BIC Japan and BIC U.S., including Onesimus Reconciliation KD and The Shalom Society. Members of Nagoya Midori Church have expressed a desire to build greater bonds of fellowship and mutual sharing with their Anabaptist brethren across the globe. Such connection is especially meaningful in light of the isolation that some Japanese Christians face due to their minority religious status.
As Pastor Fukushima shared at the conclusion of the 2025 Young Anabaptist Peace Tour: “With so few Christians in Japan, I used to think that we were alone. Now, with Christian friends across the globe, I no longer feel alone.”
Please join us in prayer for this community as they develop young leaders, explore peacemaking in their cultural context, and pursue greater connection with other Anabaptist churches.
Information about Nagoya Midori Church, including how to connect with their leadership, can be found on their website (in Japanese).
This article was originally published by The Shalom Society, a peacemaking ministry of the Great Lakes Conference of BIC U.S. Their mission is “to promote the ‘full-orbed’ gospel of Jesus Christ: that we are freed from our sins to pursue holistic ministries of reconciliation, peacemaking, and justice as God’s priestly kingdom people (Rev. 1:5-6).” Learn more at shalomsociety.net.
Matthew R. Peterson is the Director of The Shalom Society, Theologian in Residence with the Great Lakes Conference, and an Associate Pastor at Open Door Church in Lexington, Ky. He holds a Ph.D. in Biblical Studies from Asbury Theological Seminary. He, his wife Stephanie, and their three children are blessed with strong community in the greater Lexington region.
