Security tight at World Cup in Japan

TOKYO, Japan — From June 1, the day the first match of the World Cup finals was played in Japan, until the Brazil vs Germany final in Yokohama, the Japan Bible Society (JBS) and other Christian organisations overcame heavy security around the soccer stadiums to distribute some 48,000 copies of the special ‘World Cup edition’ of Luke’s Gospel.

Opportunity

Preparations had started more than two years ago, when organisations including the JBS, Japan Campus Crusade for Christ (JCCC), Sports Outreach Japan, Japan Baptist Mission, Youth with a Mission, and Every Home for Christ united to plan together for Japan’s greatest evangelistic opportunity ever.

A volunteer hands a copy of the specially-produced World Cup edition of Luke’s Gospel in ten languages to a football fan attending the Brazil-Germany final in Yokahama. Japan. Photo: Japan Bible Society (JAN02DJ-1.JPG)

The main outreach tool, a special Gospel of Luke in ten languages, was a joint production between the JBS, their UBS colleagues the Korean Bible Society (KBS) and JCCC.

By the time the finals were about to kick off, 100,000 copies were ready to be distributed free - 50,000 each in Japan and South Korea - around the team camps and to the fans around the soccer stadiums.

In April the JBS hosted a visit by members of the KBS Board and staff, and their meetings looked ahead with assurance to co-operation on spreading the Gospel in the region in the future.

More than 500 helpers came from abroad to assist the local churches in Japan in their World Cup ministry. One church in Yokohama fielded its own distribution team. Calling themselves ‘tanemakies’, which means ‘sowers’, the 20-strong team alone distributed more than 2,500 copies of the Gospel, mainly around the stadiums.

Worries on the part of the government and the Japan World Cup Organising Committee (JAWOC) about football hooliganism, however, meant that security in and around the stadiums was extremely tight.
“The regulations issued by JAWOC prohibited any kind of meeting or speech and the passing out of tracts, promotional leaflets etc,” said Emi Beland of the JBS. “Even private cars were prevented from approaching within a certain distance around the stadiums. At certain stadiums volunteers were asked to stop their distribution but at others the guards overlooked their activities. We must say this was a blessing from God.”

Arabic

From June 4 to 15, a team of Koreans and Israelis distributed the Gospel (which included Arabic text) at five stadiums where teams from Tunisia, Saudi Arabia and other countries with large Muslim popuations were playing.

“At one stadium, five security guards surrounded them and stopped them from distributing,” said Ms Beland. “The team decided to split up and hand the Scripture to Arabs individually.”

The testimonies of the footballers at the front and back of the book - and their being well-known names in the competition - contributed to the wide acceptance of the Scripture, she added.

“Where young people were gathered, the stacks of the Gospel of Luke were gone in seconds. They were literally fighting their way to get to the Book!”