Mobile Baptists from Cottage Hill Baptist Church have woven their senior adult ministries into the Japanese culture. And it all happened right here in Alabama.
Cottage Hill played host to eight Japanese Baptists from Shinkoiwa Baptist Church Sept. 23–Oct. 1.
This event developed from a previously established relationship, according to Ronnie McCarson, minister to adults 55–plus at Cottage Hill.
“Representatives of our church have gone over to Tokyo to teach them how to have an education ministry, and a senior adult ministry,” he said, noting former minister to adults 55–plus Charles Wood was instrumental in the trip to Tokyo.
The Shinkoiwa Church members visiting Mobile included pastor Yoshio Kawaguchi and his wife, Yoshiko Kawaguchi, who is minister of music at Shinkoiwa Baptist Church, and six senior adult members.
“We have one of the largest Baptist churches in Japan,” the pastor said. “The average size of Baptist churches in Japan is about 30 members.”
Yoshiko Kawaguchi explained that “our church is in the eastern part of downtown Tokyo.
“We started a senior adult ministry at our church about three years ago and now we have a senior adult choir,” she said.
She said that about 50 of the 250 church members are senior adults.
Senior adults make up 20 percent of the Shinkoiwa congregation, while the percentage is about 25 percent at Cottage Hill. Out of Cottage Hill’s more than 7,000 membership, 1,700 are senior adults.
While visiting Cottage Hill, the Japanese Baptists helped deliver meals to Mobile senior adults who are homebound, and helped lead the Sept. 29 evening worship service at the church.
The Shinkoiwa members also participated in a senior adult choir rehearsal of “Joy Singers;” a computer lab session for senior adults; a session of “Body Recall,” an exercise program for seniors, and the church’s 24-hour prayer ministry.
McCarson said the Shinkoiwa members may implement similar ministries at their church in Tokyo.
Along with the educational experience, the Japanese Baptists also toured area hotspots and taught Cottage Hill members the Japanese art of origami. Origami is folding light, tissue-like papers into forms such as butterflies, swans and flowers.
Alice Harvill, an assistant in the senior ministries office at Cottage Hill, and others made a scrapbook of the trip for the group and presented it to them before they left on their return trip home.
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