| Name/ Birthday: |
| |
Mark 4/22/72
Jin 9/3/66
Abigail 9/24/00
Josiah 12/3/03 |
| Contact info: |
| |
Mark and Jin Rood
C/o TJ and KyongA Hayes
Higashi Nakano 293-25
Hachioji-shi Tokyo 192-0351
Japan
tel. 011-81-426-79-2105
|
| Background info: |
| |
Jin’s Family immigrated from Korea
at the age of 8 and was raised in Virginia.
She came to Christ during her college years
through college ministry. Mark was also raised
in Virginia and became a Christian through
a high school youth program. Mark have received
training with The Navigators and did college
ministry full time at Virginia Tech as well
as University of Nebraska at Lincoln for 4
years working primarily within the Greek system.
Jin opened the college ministry for The Navigators
at University of California at Irvine for
5 years, then at Cal State Long Beach for
2 years. During her 9 years in California
she was involved with Newsong from it’s
beginnings. |
| Location: |
| |
We’ve been in Japan for the past 2
years doing language study and are now heading
up to Tokyo to start a college ministry at
the Chuo University. We also hope to church
plant in the area among the graduates and
their families. |
| Length of term: |
| |
We anticipate a 10 years or longer stay. |
| People Group info and
why this group interests you: |
| |
Japanese. The Japanese are a major unreached
people group. Typical of 10/40 window people
groups, the vast majority of the people have
never had a Christian friend, read the bible
or attended Christian meeting even one time.
Population: 126 Million.78% Urban dwellers.
Ethnicity 99% Japanese (most homogeneous in
the world) Religion: 80% Buddhist 70% Shinto
24% New Religions / Cults 14% Non-religious
1% Christian 0.32% Evangelical (obviously
the numbers don’t add up—most
people classify themselves as both Buddhist
and Shinto.) The reason we feel God has led
us to Japan is their spiritual need and our
long term relationships with Japanese. Need:
The progress of the gospel has been slow for
the past 30 years. Cultural pressure to conform
and intense work ethic strangles spiritual
interest. Churches are small and shrinking,
mostly elderly women. The recent economic
slow-down and moral decay among young people
has shown the emptiness of materialism. There
has been a renewal of spiritual interest,
seen in the fast growth of cults. We as part
of the body of Christ want to be on the frontline
offering the true hope of Christ to them.
Relationships: Both Jin and I believe that
by God’s sovereign plan we have been
able to enjoy deep relationships with Japanese
nationals over the past 10 years even when
we were living in the US. I met Takano when
he was 19 and a freshmen in college and I
was 22 and serving a 1 year assignment in
Japan as a short-term missionary. He joined
the B.E.S.T. club and we become instant friends.
Over the past 10 years I have seen God bring
this man to himself and transform him in a
godly individual. We lived and served together
in the U.S. for 3 years and I have seen him
grow in love for God and people in amazing
ways. This year he is planning to become our
first staff to train as a full time worker
here. Another friend, Tomoko, who still isn’t
a believer, Jin met years ago and lived together
in Long beach. We by chance moved to her home
town for language study and as I type this
in the is downstairs helping us pack to move
to Tokyo. Through these friendships God has
gripped our hearts for this people, their
dreams, the wonders of their culture, and
their need for the salvation of Christ. |
| Ministry: |
| |
Our family personally partners with the
Japanese university system. The platform
that we provide to the university environment
is called the B.E.S.T. society. The letters
stand for Bible, English, Sports, Travel:
Bible—initially approached as a
means to intercultural study and source
for philosophical reflection, eventually
bringing the students under the transforming
power of the Holy Spirit.
English—as the language of international
exchange we provide a context and education
in conversational English that allows them
access to the international community.
Sports—through weekly sporting activities
and seasonal sports camps and exchanges
with other clubs students bond with one
another and our staff, providing a relational
network for the gospel to flow more naturally.
Travel—through international travel
students are exposed to differing world
views and culture. Such exposure is a leverage
point for the discussion of ethics, values,
and the biblical world view. In the past
few years the B.E.S.T. society has sponsored
trips to Indonesia, Eastern Europe, Philippines,
Singapore, Malaysia & the United States.
Through the “B.E.S.T.” platform
we are able to develop deep relationships
with students that allow the Gospel to flow
naturally in this culture. As students come
to Christ through the relational form we
wish to develop them in areas such as a
life of personal worship, Christ like character,
ministry involvement, and biblical knowledge.
We also we begin the training of our first
Japanese staff next year. |
| Living Conditions: |
| |
We will be renting a house in the western
area of Tokyo with in minutes of the university
that we are to focus on, Chuo University.
Within 15 minute drive are 4 other major universities
providing a ministry rich environment. |
| Daily Activities: |
| |
Jin loves sushi (Mark will eat it with me),
Mark enjoys reading and studying, We enjoy
good clean movies; sporting activities, and
cards. |
| Prayer request / long
term mission goal: |
| |
Please pray for us that through us the
Lord would raise up a community of believers
who have a passion for the Lord and serving
Him among their people – this is our
goal; Please also pray that our marriage
and parenting would bring glory to God.
|
| Support: |
| |
The Navigators |
| Any additional information
you would like to share with newsong |
| |
We have been deeply blessed by our partnership
with Newsong, and would love to see it deepen
through the years. We would love to partner
more intimately with home groups especially
as they provide the prayer and emotional support
that we so need. In the same way, we would
like to be a catalyst for missions in Newsong,
providing a significant outlet for missionary
contribution into the 10/40 window. |
