Gospel Music and Missions in Japan

The missions movement is continuing to evolve and develop beyond the traditional model pioneered in the 18th century. This video is a great example of a non-traditional approach.

First a bit of history: When the movie “Sister Act” came to Japan, it created a fascination for black gospel music among the Japanese people. Thus black gospel choirs started springing up all over the place. Now people actually pay to be part of such a choir and their friends pay to come watch their performances. In this video, 90% of the people in the choir are non-Christian, paying to be part of such a choir, yet they are singing “Jesus has rescued me.” As you can imagine, many eventually ask “what are we singing?” And then the gospel comes alive.