Chronology of Anabaptists in Japan

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Chronology of Anabaptist Efforts in Japan B
Abbreviations: ► BICJ = Brethren in Christ Japan (Nihon Kirisuto Keiteidan) ► MBJ = Japan Mennonite Brethren Conference             (Nihon Menonaito Burezaren Kyodan) ► NM3k = (Nihon Menonaito Kirisuto Kyokai Kyogikai) ► NM2k = (Nihon Menonaito Kirisuto Kyokaikaigi) ► TAFMC = Tokyo Anabapist Fellowship of Mennonite Churches              (Tokyo Chiku Menonaito Kyokai Rengo)
Year	Event
1948	Dr. Takuo Matsumoto (head of the Hiroshima Girl’s College) spoke at Goshen College about experiencing the nuclear bomb. This inspired Becks and Buckwalters to go to Japan.
1949	► Mennonite Central Committee sent two missionaries, Henry and Linda Thielman, to Osaka.
“	► Becks and Buckwalters arrived in Japan and began language study.
“	► North American General Conference Mennonite Church conducted a preliminary survey of Japan.
1950	Mennonite Brethren (MB) Board of Foreign Missions sent Ruth Wiens to Japan and purchased a house for the missionaries.
“	North American General Conference Mennonite Church sent William C. Voth to assess the situation in Japan on his way back to America from China.
1951	► First three MB baptisms took place in Osaka.
“	► Mennonite churches were started in Kushiro and Obihiro by Becks and Buckwalters. Eleven were baptized at Obihiro.
“	► North American General Conference Mennonite Church sent missionaries to begin work in the Miyazaki Prefecture on the island of Honshu, particularly in Kobe and Hiroshima. ► BIC began to explore possibilities in Japan. Peter Willms was with YFC Japan at the time.
1952	A struggling start by GC Mennonite missionaries in Miyazaki prefecture eventually led to a shift in focus to Kyushu.
1953	Brethren in Christ (BIC) missionaries, Peter and Mary Wilms established a church in Hagi, Yamaguchi-ken. They baptized three people the same year.
1954	Kyushu Mennonite Council was established by GC Mennonites.
1956	The Japan Mennonite Christian Church Conference (Nihon Menonaito Kirisuto Kyokai Kyogikai – NM3k) was founded by Becks and Buckwalters.
1958	Japanese Mennonite Brethren Conference (MB) was formed (Nihon Menonaito Burezaren Kyodan).
1960	Nagato BIC church began.
1963	BIC planted a church in Koganei.
1965	► The Eastern Hokkaido Bible School (Doto Seisho Gakuin) was created by NM3k to encourage lay piety.
“	► GC Mennonite Mission joined the Kyushu Mennonite Conference and becomes the Kyushu Mennonite Church Conference.
1970	Shimonoseki church began at Yamanota.
1971	·       Yamaguchi Brethren in Christ Conference was created (Nihon Kirisuto Keiteidan).
“	·       The Japanese Mennonite Brethren Conference assumed full responsibility for the Bible Institute and renamed it Evangelical Bible Seminary.
1975	Kyushu Mennonite Church Conference (started by GC Mennonites) was renamed the Japan Mennonite Christian Church Conference (Nihon Menonaito Kirisuto Kyokaikaigi – NM2k)
1982	Shin-Shimonoseki BIC church began.
1983	·       Yamaguchi and Koganei BIC churches formed a joint conference.
“	·       BIC missionaries began the Midori Evangelical Church in Nagoya.
From Global Anabaptist (gameo.org): “The Mennonite witness to this ancient land is not old. Though modern Protestant missions in Japan was 100 years old in the mid-20th century, the Mennonite participation began only in 1949. After an exploratory trip by J. N. Byler, the MCC sent its first workers, Henry and Lydia Thielman, to Japan in April of 1949. With the help of Ruth and Rhoda Ressler, who arrived later in the same summer, a relief and rehabilitation work was established in the completely devastated Konohana-ku section of the city of Osaka. In December of the same year the Mennonite Board of Missions and Charities (Mennonite Church) sent two missionary families to Japan, the Carl Becks and the Ralph Buckwalters. A year later, in August 1950, the Mennonite Brethren Church sent their first missionary, Miss Ruth Wiens. Later that same winter the General Conference Mennonite Church's first representative, Miss Lenore Friesen, arrived also to begin language study. In the summer of 1953 the Brethren in Christ Church sent their pioneer couple, Peter and Mary Willems, to Japan.”
Created by a Yayoidai BIC church member copyright September 2017