1) to serve the people of Tamura by teaching English and promoting cross-cultural understanding, and

2) to advance the gospel by being a blessing of love, friendship, and service to the Japanese people.

First, Wakakusa English teachers serve the people of Tamura City by being effective teachers of English. Due to its vast international influence and its frequent usage among Japanese businesses and organizations, English is an indispensable part of the Japanese educational system. By teaching English, Wakakusa English teachers are not only helping Japanese students to succeed in the short run, but are also equipping them with skills that will give them a competitive edge and better enable them to succeed in the long run. Also, by their very presence as foreigners in rural Japan, Wakakusa English teachers bring unique opportunities for international relationship and cross-cultural understanding to people that otherwise have few opportunities for such contact.

But second and most importantly, Wakakusa English teachers seek to be a blessing to and among the Japanese people by living conspicuous Christian lives of love, friendship, and service. As opposed to more “in-your-face” approaches to evangelism that de-emphasize the importance of personal relationships, The Wakakusa English Program seeks to advance the kingdom gently and gradually by gaining the trust and the friendship of the people of Tamura City. In Mr. Maki’s view, many Western missionaries in Japan lack the patience required to build long-standing relationships of mutual trust and respect, and thus, they are sometimes too forward in their attempts to share the gospel. This inadvertently creates tension and nervousness in the hearts of people they interact with, and can place a stumbling block in the way of the gospel. By way of contrast, the work of a Wakakusa English teacher can best be described as cultivating work. Just as soil must be patiently prepared before any seed can be effectively sown, much gentle work must be done in peoples’ hearts before the work of evangelism can begin to take root. Mr. Maki’s hope for the Wakakusa English Program is that, though years of interaction and relationships with genuine, loving Christians, people’s hearts will be open to hearing the good news of Jesus Christ, and Christianity will finally begin to take hold in Japan.

(Source: Personal Interview with Mr. Kōsuke Maki, March 23rd, 2007)