Missionary Interview

Note: A minister friend attending seminary sent a request for information from us as missionaries to Japan. I thought some might be interested in reading the answers. The questions are also significant to me. Many of you connect with missionaries on some level. These are questions you should have some knowledge of if you will relate to your own missionary in a meaningful manner.

Research for Missionary to Japan, Dan Corbett
Completed and returned Feb 8, 2010

1. How did you get started? What were your first steps in actually becoming a missionary? When was the first time you ever thought about being a missionary?

I was called by God at a summer church youth camp when I was 15 years old. It was a clear and definite calling. Not done in emotion during a service, but supernatural outside the meeting hall..

2. Why did you choose to go to the place you are now? What was the determining factor? Did you feel called by the place, by the missions board’s immediate needs, or by the needs of a people - group among whom you now work?

We first came to Japan while in the US Army. That gave us a taste of the culture and the desire to share God’s Love with our Japanese friends. Then 10 years later while serving as a local church pastor God made it clear that we were to return to Japan as self-supporting missionaries along with our three children. The mission board at that time wanted us to go to Australia to fill a slot that was open. If they tried to force that we would have refused to go.


3. How did your own background, education, talents, skills, interests, etc. fit into your decision? Into your eventual ministry?

After 40 years of full time ministry, I now strongly believe that God utilizes just about everything in our lives for His Glory at one time or another. I studied two languages in high school and then later on in the US Army I was a Vietnamese linguist. The language experiences helped tremendously. Then little things like the hardships of growing up on a farm helped with physical challenges and hardships on the mission field. The prayer life of my mother probably helped move me in the direction of being a prayer intercessor.

4. Who are the people you work among? Can you describe what makes them unique culturally? What positive things can we in our culture learn from them?

We work among with Japanese. It is hard to explain the uniqueness of this race of people in a small space. Japan was an isolated island nation for centuries which caused their culture to be very homogenous and shut off from outside influences. This also means it is a hard to penetrate society that is very closed to the outside world. Thus Christianity is considered a foreign religion that is outside their comfort circle. There are aspects of unity and community in Japan, that if sanctified, would be good for others to emulate.


5. What are their felt needs? What hopes, fears, struggles, etc. do they have? How did you begin to deal with these issues in a Christian way? What response have they shown to your love for them?

As a primarily Buddhist and Shinto nation, people are bound by idolatry which controls with fear. So the people are generally superstitious and fearful in many areas of life. It is necessary to first present God as the God of Love. There is no love in idolatry. Then we show God’s sovereignty over the devil and all the creation. This helps them move from fear to faith in Jesus Christ. Our love for the Japanese people is best shown and proven through small consistent acts of kindness and that has been well received. There is a need for “power evangelism” to help many get entirely free from idolatry. There is much spiritual warfare here.


6. What barriers did you face in reaching them? How did you penetrate those barriers? What were some of the struggles you personally experienced in doing so?

Language! There are three alphabets. The Japanese Kanji is a derivative of Chinese and there are thousands of complicated characters with many strokes. The society is also difficult to enter. We are called “gaijin” which means outside person. The way of thinking, interpersonal relationships, food, music and etc are all different. At first, much of what we present is rejected on face value before it even has a chance to be fully considered or examined. That can be extremely frustrating when your efforts to help someone are based on genuine love and concern.


7. How do you ‘feel’ toward the people you are serving? How did you grow to love them? Did you have problems with prejudice along the way?

We truly love the Japanese very much. Nearly 40 years of our lives have been dedicated to reaching the people and nation of Japan. That is a life time. One would not make that kind of commitment to people they did not love and care about. Prejudice is something we live with on a daily basis. It comes out in many ways. Sitting on a train with an empty seat beside us. Then the people will select a seat further away almost 100% of the time. Part of that is fear and a lack of confidence that they cannot speak English so it is better to avoid any circumstances that may cause them embarrassment. They don’t realize that the act of avoidance is a form of prejudice. We could write a book on the subject.


8. How could we right here learn to love them? Could you give specific suggestions on what to do?

Firstly, you need to learn more about Japan – the people, history, culture, food and language. Find opportunity to meet and interact with them. Find out about homestays inviting a Japanese High School student to live in with your family. Most of these have very positive results. Plan to visit Japan for a vacation. Use the internet to learn more.


9. How could we become more personally involved with you through meaningful prayer? What should we pray for and why?

Prayer is crucial. It needs to be consistent or even daily. It does not have to be long or protracted. A simple systematic and sincere daily calling out our names, needs and the nation of Japan is a great start. We issue monthly 4 page updates giving the latest news and needs. Personal emails or phone calls can be exchanged where more intimate details and information can be shared.

The cost of living in Japan is among the most expensive in the world. Finances are always a challenge and can be quite discouraging and distracting from the work of the Gospel. We need prayer covering for physical health and emotional well being. There is a need for intercession for the doors of hearts to be opened. There is a need for intercession against spiritual strongholds to be broken and pulled down which hinder people from hearing and receiving the gospel. The churches here are small and weak in many aspects. The pastor’s average age is 60 meaning that a young generation needs to be raised up. The believers still suffer much family and social persecution for their choice to follow Jesus Christ. They are often treated as social outcasts. The list could go on and on…..