Tell the students to give up their small ambitions and come eastward to preach the gospel of Christ. — Francis Xavier

Many people leave college with the goal to “be somebody.” And this usually means getting a good job, making good money, buying a nice house, driving a nice car, attaining some important position, and helping your kids to do the same.

For the Christian, “being somebody” usually means all of that and faithfully going to church on Sundays and Bible study during the week.

But I believe that Jesus is calling for people to be a nobody for him — people who would forsake the “American dream” to be a part of bringing gospel hope to the nations. People who don’t mind if they a…

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As I sift through a mountain of emails, I’ve learned to quickly dismiss forwarded “junk mail,” even if it’s from people I consider friends. At the same time I learn to recognize which email “clicks” might actually reap spiritual blessing. When I get an email from a particular dear friend who works with the Navigators, I pay attention. A few years ago he forwarded an email of a quote passed along by one his friends. The blessing and challenge of that email made such an impact on me that I’ve saved it to this day. The email read:

Years ago, I asked Jim Downing, one of the patriarchs of the Navigator work, “Why is it that so few men finish well?” His response was profound. He said, “They lea…

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The Everyday Tragedy in Japan

Thank you for your prayers and concern for Japan in the aftermath of what has been described as the greatest challenge that Japan has faced since World War II. 

We mourn those who have lost their lives, especially those who died without the Savior.

Staggering loss of life of those in Japan who die without Christ is an everyday reality. The number of deaths from last month's tragedy is very likely to surpass 25,000. To put this in some perspective, every year in Japan more than 30,000 Japanese take their own lives. Everyday is a tragedy in Japan for those without Christ.

A Burden for the Japanese 

Our burden for the Japanese did not start with this eart…

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Spring Break 1990 in Daytona Beach, Florida

I was a freshman at the University of Pennsylvania. 

If it had been one year earlier I would have been at Daytona Beach to join in the partying. As it was, God had intervened mercifully in my life before going to college, and I was there for a beach evangelism project. Christians sure know how to almost have fun.

A bunch of us had driven down from Philadelphia in an old van. The first night I ended up staying alone in an isolated motel room surrounded by drunk bikers partying outside my door. One night a homeless man who seemed to be high on drugs approached our group while we were out walking and said, "I know who you are!  You're here to te…

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This is the third and final part of Michael Oh's article, "The Glory of God's Plan B." Read Part 1 and Part 2.

Our final payment is due on February 28th. We hope to have repairs and renovations completed by next summer. (We do ask for your prayers for God to provide the necessary finances for repairs and renovations. Since May the US dollar has lost about 15% of its value versus the Japanese yen. This has resulted in a loss of close to $200,000 of the value of the raised funds. Please pray for a turnaround of the exchange rate and for the continued generosity of God's people!)

This new home for Christ Bible Seminary will now be in the heart of downtown Nagoya, which is also a central hub…

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This post continues where Michael left off in Part 1.

First of all, God provided advocates. In addition to our faithful core of supporting churches and individuals who have stood by our side for the past seven years, the Lord mobilized ministries to graciously spread the word about our project including blog posts from Desiring God and The Gospel Coalition. I received an email, out of nowhere, from Joshua Harris (whom I've never met) who shared that his mother was Japanese and offered to help in any way.

Thank you to the many of you who joined us in response to these various calls for prayer. It was fascinating to see how God used social media (like twitter, blogs, and Facebook) to spre…

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In August I was enjoying a visit with John Piper (@johnpiper) at the Desiring God offices in Minnesota. It was a chance to get counsel from him about some things that the Lord had been teaching me and to update him on the drama of our then 9-month-long journey to purchase a new ministry campus for CBI Japan.

Before we prayed together he said to me something that I won't soon forget:   

God cares more about how you react if you lose the property than about the property itself.

We had suffered some ups and downs over the past year. The whole journey began with a vision that the Lord gave us about 5 years ago to be in the heart of the city of Nagoya. That vision flowed from a desire to …

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Why You Weren't Born As an Impoverished Child in an Unreached Nation

Have you ever thought about why you were born into your particular circumstances? If you are reading this blog entry you are most likely a Christian whose life has been purchased by the precious blood of Jesus Christ. You are also likely relatively wealthy, at least compared to most people living in the world. If you have the ability to eat three times per day and have shelter over your head, you are better off than many people in the world. If you earn $25,000 per year, you are the richest 10% of the world. You are rich. In fact if you earn $2,200 per year you are the richest 15% of the world. If you reading this you are…

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Tonight for the first time in my life I wept for North Korea.

On the second night of the Third Lausanne Congress taking place in Cape Town, South Africa, an 18 year-old girl from North Korea shared her story.

She was born into a wealthy family, her father an assistant to the North Korean leader, Kim Jong II. Eventually her father’s political fortunes shifted, and after being politically persecuted by the North Korean government, he, his wife, and his daughter escaped to China.

In China a relative brought her family to church where her parents came to know Jesus Christ. A few months later, however, her pregnant mother died from Leukemia. Her father started to study the Bible with missio…

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