Japan 2026 Mission Trip Recap
Thank you so much for supporting my mission trip to Japan from March 26 - April 6, 2026 with the Young Adult ministry of Canyon Hills Community Church. I wanted to write this recap of the trip so even if you weren’t able to make it to the trip meeting, you can understand everything that God did through our team on this trip and praise Him for what was accomplished for His Kingdom. All the glory goes to God.
Overview
For about 10 days (+2 days of travel), our team, consisting of about 20 young adults in addition to a few translators and pastors split up into two sub-teams, traveled around the Kanazawa area of Japan and the Noto peninsula. This is a more rural area known for its hot springs and used to be a fairly popular tourist area. However, due to the destruction of earthquakes in previous years, tourism has suffered and many people, especially the elderly in this area were in evacuation or temporary housing. Our sub-teams each traveled to different areas throughout the Noto peninsula, visiting community centers and small churches doing our Easter program, and sometimes doing a VBS program for kids. Much of the attendees were elderly people, and we did our Easter program for as many as 30-40 people and as little as 3. We specifically went during Easter so that we can ask people if they know the Easter story, or why it’s celebrated.
For almost every Japanese person that attended, this was their first time hearing the true Easter story.
Easter Program
Songs
To start off the Easter program, we sang “Amazing Grace” and “Power of the Cross” in Japanese which we had practiced extensively here at home. Some of us on the team spoke a bit of Japanese, but it is a very difficult language to learn so no one was entirely fluent. But we always had a few translators traveling with each sub-team to help out. After singing songs, 2 of us (rotating so everyone got a chance) would share a long version of our testimony in English with a translator translating it to Japanese.
Pantomime
Then came the main evangelistic tool which was the pantomime, a play without words, of the Easter story. This was the most effective way to tell the Easter story without our ability to speak Japanese. It started with The Last Supper, and included Judas’ betrayal, praying in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus’ arrest, the trial before Pilate, Jesus’ torture by the guards and carrying of the cross, the crucifixion, burial, and resurrection. We practiced this at home many times as well, and we performed it in some tight spaces as well. I played the role of Jesus for one of the sub-teams so I was quite involved with all of the scenes. One of the most amazing parts of this trip was seeing the reactions of people to the pantomime when we performed it. At home, we practiced and at times it felt awkward, because we’re not professional actors and we sometimes doubted this as an effective tool. But every time we performed it, people were truly moved and some even teared up once they understood exactly what Jesus did for us, and why.
Sermon
Following the pantomime, a short sermon was preached in English with a translator assisting, explaining the Easter story in more detail. The main theme was “You Matter” which especially resonates with the Japanese people who can feel isolated, especially those living in evacuation or temporary housing. After the sermon, we got the opportunity to talk to some of the people and answer questions or pray with them. Some were already willing to accept Christ as their Savior which was a true blessing. We ran this Easter program at every church and community center we visited, adding in dancing and games when we were at schools for the VBS program.
What God Did
- 44 people accepted Christ
- Hundreds hearing the Easter story for the first time
- Encouraged pastors and existing Christians at the churches we visited
- 220 people joining a cross-church Bible study group chat, for those that don’t live near a church or are interested in learning more about the Bible
Takeaways
Some of the biggest things that resonated with me and that I learned from this trip:
Courteous but Hopeless Culture
The true need for Christ that the Japanese people have. They are such a courteous, friendly, and welcoming people but lack the hope and joy of Christ, turning to worship of idols and ancestry instead.
God Uses Anything
How God can use anything and any circumstance for His purpose and glory. Some of the best conversations and even conversions happened at the end of the day, resting in an onsen (Japanese hot springs) or eating at a restaurant.
Surrendering to God
Surrendering any circumstance you’re in, as nervous or unsure as you are, not even being able to fully speak the language - just giving it all to God, and saying Lord, use this. One of the Easter programs we ended up only having 3 older women attend. But these women left knowing the Easter story and wanting to study the Bible more.
God did amazing things through us on this trip, and I’m so grateful I had the opportunity to go, thanks to your support. Pray for the people of Japan that they may recognize the hopelessness and futility of their ways and turn to the one true God who loves and cares for every single one of us, and through whom we can have true, lasting hope and peace.
I also wanted to let you know that I’ll be going on another mission trip in January to Thailand. Here’s my letter with all the details of the trip, thank you so much for reading and supporting any way you can.
God bless, Sean
