Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed the quiz last week! If you didn’t see it yet, click the link here: https://lifeinkyoto.home.blog/2020/10/17/japan-quiz-1-how-much-do-you-know/.

As you probably know, I am a Christian. For Christians, Sunday is usually a day of rest. It’s a day to worship God, and we usually go to church (though because of COVID things have changed). It’s always an awesome time to glorify God and to have fellowship with people in the church. This is the same with churches in America and in Japan. But in my experience of going to many churches both in America and in Japan, I can tell you that there are some differences. A lot of the differences have their roots in the culture and customs.

Interested in what the differences are? Then let’s dive in!

1: Fellowship

The first point of difference is fellowship. This really depends on the church, but most of the churches in America are much bigger than Japanese churches. This is because (one) there are more Christians in America and (two) there is probably more space in most American locations than Japanese locations. This results in some changes, one of them being in fellowship.

In big churches, it’s hard for the pastor to personally interact with everyone in the church (obviously!), and many times, people tend to interact only with their friends, with the exception of some small talk with the people that sit close to them.

In small churches, however, (most Japanese churches are small) people get a chance to interact with most of the members, they are able to have more conversation time with the few number of people in the church. This gives a home-like feel to the church for many people.

2: Resources

Speakers. Electric guitars. Rows and rows of pews. TV screens so people can see the service outside the sanctuary. These are things that are often in American churches that I’ve gone to. The more people, the more offering money they receive, and the more they use it to grow the church and make everything more professional.

Often, Japanese churches don’t have things like this. Many of them have folding chairs, no mics, and it often looks quite bland, but this doesn’t change how much they love God!

Really, the amount of resources don’t matter so much because they want to praise His name! It’s really just a small difference, but it’s worth noting, and it is a thing I often notice when I go to churches.

3: People

Remember how I said Japanese churches might have a home-like feel to it. However, a lot of times, American churches can feel more home-like. A big reason is that American church members welcome newcomers and greet other members as if they are family members coming back to the house from a trip. They are very welcoming and enthusiastic.

Though this varies a lot, some Japanese people, as I discussed in another post, are hesitant to talk sometimes, and many are generally more shy to greet others and carry on a conversation (though this definitely varies on the individual!).

~~~~

This isn’t something to compare the churches and say which one is better. In all of these differences, the Holy Spirit is working in each church, regardless of their customs, culture, and style.

Please pray for churches all over the world to grow and the spread the Word further!

Bye, and God bless!!!!