This week we are praying for Akita prefecture.
People of Akita are known to be loyal to their prefecture, and are deeply influenced by temples and shrines. Traditions and customes are also important and these often keep people from becoming a Christian. Protestant evangelism started in this area in 1888, by two missionary couples from the American Disciples.
<Akita prefecture>
- Population: 1,173,722
- City with only 1 church: 1
- Towns/villages with no church: 49
- Churches/person: 1:19,562
March 22: Pray for the development and growth of the 60 Protestant churches in the prefecture. As you read the statistics for Akita, allow the Lord to give you a prayer burden for the many people represented by these numbers.
March 23: Pray that people will respond to the two weekly radio programs in areas where there are no churches.
March 24: Pray that today someone seeking God will find help at the CLC Akita Book Store. The store provides encouragement for Christians and a witness to non-Christians.
March 25: There are several Catholic schools in the prefecture. Pray that Protestant schools would also be started and be used to spread the gospel. There are eight Protestant kindergartens and five day-care centers with 1,148 children.
March 26: Tenno town with a populatio nof over 20,000 and no church, Kazuno city with 38,000 and only one church should be special prayer targets. Seboku-gun, with its four towns and villages, has only one church for oer 56,000. Yuri-gun with 29,000 has no church, and Yamamoto-gun has only one church for 50,000.
*All information and prayer requests taken from “Operation Japan -Prayer Guide- Third Edition” -Japan Evangelical Missionary Association, 2005. To purchase a copy of “Operation Japan” book or the Interactive CD version, go to: http://www.jema.org/joomla15/index.php?option=com_banners&task=click&bid=10.