Immanuel General Mission
Encyclopedia
The Immanuel General Mission (Immanueru Sogo Dendo Dan) is an indigenous
Japanese holiness
denomination
founded on 21 October 1945 in Tokyo, Japan by David Tsugio Tsutada (born 1906; died July 1971), ""The John Wesley
of Japan."(Sigsworth 237) http://www.methodistmessage.com/jun2004/tsutada.html It is a member of the Japan Evangelical Association
(JEA).
was the second son of Henry Tsutada, a Japanese Methodist dentist of Singapore
. After studying at Anglo-Chinese School
(ACS) in Singapore, Tsutada completed high school in Japan. After graduation he studied law at Cambridge University and also at London. Despite his academic success, Tsutada believed he was called to become a preacher, and so terminated his legal studies and returned to Japan to attend Bible College. Prior to graduation, his college president chose a Christian woman, Nobuko, for him to marry. Tsutada was effective in reaching the poor and marginalised of Tokyo
, resulting in several conversions to Christianity. David and Nobuko had five children: John Makoto, Mary Migiwa, Joshua Tadashi, and twins Grace Midorino and Margaret Makiba.http://www.methodistmessage.com/jun2004/tsutada.html
At the outbreak of World War II, Tsutada refused to erect a Japanese flag in front of his church and bow deeply to the Emperor in the direction of the imperial palace, saying "only God in heaven is divine. We worship Him alone". On 26 June 1942, Tsutada was arrested, along with about 130 others who likewise refused to comply with the regulation. (Keyes 100)After two years, Tsutada was convicted, but released on probation. After the war ended, Tsutada decided to build a church in Tokyo, naming it "Immanuel" because "You, O God, are with us, just as you were in the cell with me."http://www.methodistmessage.com/jun2004/tsutada.html The Immanuel General Mission was organised on 21 October 1945 in Tokyo.http://www.methodistmessage.com/jun2004/tsutada.html
, a city 30 kilometres north of central Tokyo. The college trains young men and women for ministry as pastors in the Immanuel General Mission church of Japan. In 1968, the college moved to Yokohama
, which was then a rural area. Today, the campus is surrounded by new homes and businesses, and Yokohama is considered part of the greater Tokyo area.http://www.methodistmessage.com/jun2004/tsutada.html
Each year, Immanuel ministers to approximately 10 students. Students at Immanuel must have a definite call to ministry before being accepted for training and education. Most students come from the Immanuel General Mission denomination, but many students from other denominations have also prepared for ministry at the school.http://www.wgm.org/NETCOMMUNITY/Page.aspx?pid=2552&srcid=2821
Tsutada died in July 1971. John, his eldest son, took over as President of the Bible Training College (BTC), Pastor of the Tokyo Central Church and the head of the Tsutada family. His eight children went into full-time Christian work as staff members of the Tokyo Central Church, missionaries overseas, and one of them in medical work.http://www.methodistmessage.com/jun2004/tsutada.html
John's brothers and sisters actively supported the Mission and together, continued to serve the Lord in Japan and elsewhere. Mary, a fine scholar, enrolled at the BTC, married her brother's friend Benjamin Saoshiro, but died prematurely, but not before her son, Ken, became a Christian. Benjamin became pastor, teacher, translator of songs and books from English to Japanese and took charge of the missionaries from Immanuel Church.http://www.methodistmessage.com/jun2004/tsutada.html
Joshua, the third sibling, after graduation from Rikkyo University
, studied at BTC, then at Yeotmal Union Biblical Seminary in India where, after graduation, he stayed on as registrar and preached during the weekends for a total of 14 years. Returning to Japan he pastored a church in Kyūshū
, and after his brother John became Chairman of Education, Joshua succeeded him as President of the Bible Training College. He serves also as Chairman of the Evangelical Fellowship of Asia.http://lists.topica.com/lists/wef-world-prayers/read/message.html?sort=a&mid=801252601http://www.methodistmessage.com/jun2004/tsutada.html
Grace and Margaret both studied at BTC and alternated pastoring and looking after their mother. Margaret ultimately went on to do pastoral work not far from Tokyo, and later was sent to begin a church at Beppu. Eventually, her work led her to marrying Benjamin Saoshiro in 1988.http://www.methodistmessage.com/jun2004/tsutada.html
.http://japanlog.wordpress.com/2006/05/http://www.wgm.org/NETCOMMUNITY/Page.aspx?pid=467&srcid=996
http://www.faithstreams.com/topics/members-and-partners/christian-holiness-partnership.html. Additionally, the IGM partners with the Japanese offices of the World Mission department of the Wesleyan Church
and the World Gospel Mission
through the Immanuel Wesleyan Federation, a cooperative mission organisation formed in 1954.
). The seminary’s basic purpose is to train Indian young people for Christian ministry. In 1972, SIBS was reorganized into an indigenous
organization with an Indian governing board. The seminary was restructured again in 1981 to include the Church of the Nazarene
as a partner with World Gospel Mission
. Immanuel General Mission of Japan became a partner in 1984. Most of the seminary’s professors are Indian.http://wgm.org/NETCOMMUNITY/Page.aspx?pid=2568&srcid=1013
Indigenous peoples
Indigenous peoples are ethnic groups that are defined as indigenous according to one of the various definitions of the term, there is no universally accepted definition but most of which carry connotations of being the "original inhabitants" of a territory....
Japanese holiness
Holiness movement
The holiness movement refers to a set of beliefs and practices emerging from the Methodist Christian church in the mid 19th century. The movement is distinguished by its emphasis on John Wesley's doctrine of "Christian perfection" - the belief that it is possible to live free of voluntary sin - and...
denomination
Religious denomination
A religious denomination is a subgroup within a religion that operates under a common name, tradition, and identity.The term describes various Christian denominations...
founded on 21 October 1945 in Tokyo, Japan by David Tsugio Tsutada (born 1906; died July 1971), ""The John Wesley
John Wesley
John Wesley was a Church of England cleric and Christian theologian. Wesley is largely credited, along with his brother Charles Wesley, as founding the Methodist movement which began when he took to open-air preaching in a similar manner to George Whitefield...
of Japan."(Sigsworth 237) http://www.methodistmessage.com/jun2004/tsutada.html It is a member of the Japan Evangelical Association
Japan Evangelical Association
Japan Evangelical Association is a fellowship of member denominations, churches. The JEA is a member of the World Evangelical Alliance .-Member denominations:*Immanuel General Mission*The Salvation Army*Evangelical Free Church of Japan...
(JEA).
History
RONPAUL 2012 RONPAUL 2012 RONPAUL 2012 RONPAUL 2012 RONPAUL 2012 RONPAUL 2012 RONPAUL 2012 RONPAUL 2012 RONPAUL 2012 RONPAUL 2012Origins
David Tsugio TsutadaDavid Tsugio Tsutada
David Tsugio Tsutada , known as "The John Wesley of Japan," was the founder of the Immanuel General Mission , an indigenous Japanese holiness denomination founded on 21 October 1945 in Tokyo, Japan....
was the second son of Henry Tsutada, a Japanese Methodist dentist of Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
. After studying at Anglo-Chinese School
Anglo-Chinese School
The Anglo-Chinese School ; is a family of Methodist schools in Singapore, and Indonesia.The name is usually abbreviated as "ACS", with the junior college as "ACJC", and its students and alumni referred to as "ACSians" , or "ACS boys" .ACS was the first school...
(ACS) in Singapore, Tsutada completed high school in Japan. After graduation he studied law at Cambridge University and also at London. Despite his academic success, Tsutada believed he was called to become a preacher, and so terminated his legal studies and returned to Japan to attend Bible College. Prior to graduation, his college president chose a Christian woman, Nobuko, for him to marry. Tsutada was effective in reaching the poor and marginalised of Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, resulting in several conversions to Christianity. David and Nobuko had five children: John Makoto, Mary Migiwa, Joshua Tadashi, and twins Grace Midorino and Margaret Makiba.http://www.methodistmessage.com/jun2004/tsutada.html
At the outbreak of World War II, Tsutada refused to erect a Japanese flag in front of his church and bow deeply to the Emperor in the direction of the imperial palace, saying "only God in heaven is divine. We worship Him alone". On 26 June 1942, Tsutada was arrested, along with about 130 others who likewise refused to comply with the regulation. (Keyes 100)After two years, Tsutada was convicted, but released on probation. After the war ended, Tsutada decided to build a church in Tokyo, naming it "Immanuel" because "You, O God, are with us, just as you were in the cell with me."http://www.methodistmessage.com/jun2004/tsutada.html The Immanuel General Mission was organised on 21 October 1945 in Tokyo.http://www.methodistmessage.com/jun2004/tsutada.html
Immanuel Bible Training College (1949)
Immanuel Bible Training College in Yokohama, Japan, was founded by David Tsutada in 1949 in UrawaUrawa
is a place name and a family name in Japan.*Urawa as a place name can refer to:** Urawa-ku, Saitama is a ward of Saitama City, Saitama Prefecture, Japan.** Urawa, Saitama was a city and its area is now Urawa, Minami, Nishi and Sakura wards of Saitama City....
, a city 30 kilometres north of central Tokyo. The college trains young men and women for ministry as pastors in the Immanuel General Mission church of Japan. In 1968, the college moved to Yokohama
Yokohama
is the capital city of Kanagawa Prefecture and the second largest city in Japan by population after Tokyo and most populous municipality of Japan. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of Tokyo, in the Kantō region of the main island of Honshu...
, which was then a rural area. Today, the campus is surrounded by new homes and businesses, and Yokohama is considered part of the greater Tokyo area.http://www.methodistmessage.com/jun2004/tsutada.html
Each year, Immanuel ministers to approximately 10 students. Students at Immanuel must have a definite call to ministry before being accepted for training and education. Most students come from the Immanuel General Mission denomination, but many students from other denominations have also prepared for ministry at the school.http://www.wgm.org/NETCOMMUNITY/Page.aspx?pid=2552&srcid=2821
Death of David Tsutada and Subsequent Developments
The Immanuel General Mission grew steadily. Churches were established throughout Japan, including outreach to university students and graduates as well as farmers. By 1988, this organisation had more than 10,000 members spread all over Japan.http://www.methodistmessage.com/jun2004/tsutada.htmlTsutada died in July 1971. John, his eldest son, took over as President of the Bible Training College (BTC), Pastor of the Tokyo Central Church and the head of the Tsutada family. His eight children went into full-time Christian work as staff members of the Tokyo Central Church, missionaries overseas, and one of them in medical work.http://www.methodistmessage.com/jun2004/tsutada.html
John's brothers and sisters actively supported the Mission and together, continued to serve the Lord in Japan and elsewhere. Mary, a fine scholar, enrolled at the BTC, married her brother's friend Benjamin Saoshiro, but died prematurely, but not before her son, Ken, became a Christian. Benjamin became pastor, teacher, translator of songs and books from English to Japanese and took charge of the missionaries from Immanuel Church.http://www.methodistmessage.com/jun2004/tsutada.html
Joshua, the third sibling, after graduation from Rikkyo University
Rikkyo University
, also known as Saint Paul's University, is a private university, based on Christian precepts, in Ikebukuro, Tokyo. There is a suburban campus in Niiza in nearby Saitama.It is known for its liberal climate symbolized by the motto -History:...
, studied at BTC, then at Yeotmal Union Biblical Seminary in India where, after graduation, he stayed on as registrar and preached during the weekends for a total of 14 years. Returning to Japan he pastored a church in Kyūshū
Kyushu
is the third largest island of Japan and most southwesterly of its four main islands. Its alternate ancient names include , , and . The historical regional name is referred to Kyushu and its surrounding islands....
, and after his brother John became Chairman of Education, Joshua succeeded him as President of the Bible Training College. He serves also as Chairman of the Evangelical Fellowship of Asia.http://lists.topica.com/lists/wef-world-prayers/read/message.html?sort=a&mid=801252601http://www.methodistmessage.com/jun2004/tsutada.html
Grace and Margaret both studied at BTC and alternated pastoring and looking after their mother. Margaret ultimately went on to do pastoral work not far from Tokyo, and later was sent to begin a church at Beppu. Eventually, her work led her to marrying Benjamin Saoshiro in 1988.http://www.methodistmessage.com/jun2004/tsutada.html
Current
The current president of the IGM is Dr. Isaac Teruo Saoshiro, who also pastors the IGM's mother church, Nakameguro in Tokyo, and serves on the Board of the World Gospel MissionWorld Gospel Mission
The World Gospel Mission is an interdenominational Christian holiness missionary agency headquartered in Marion, Indiana, United States. From its inception, WGM has been aligned with the Wesleyan Holiness tradition of Protestantism...
.http://japanlog.wordpress.com/2006/05/http://www.wgm.org/NETCOMMUNITY/Page.aspx?pid=467&srcid=996
Affiliations and Partnerships
The Immanuel General Mission is affiliated with the Christian Holiness PartnershipChristian Holiness Partnership
The Christian Holiness Partnership is an international organization of individuals, organizational and denominational affiliates within the holiness movement. It was founded in 1867 as the National Camp Meeting Association for Christian Holiness, later changing its name to the National Holiness...
http://www.faithstreams.com/topics/members-and-partners/christian-holiness-partnership.html. Additionally, the IGM partners with the Japanese offices of the World Mission department of the Wesleyan Church
Wesleyan Church
"Wesleyan" has been used in the title of a number of historic and current denominations, although the subject of this article is the only denomination to use that specific title...
and the World Gospel Mission
World Gospel Mission
The World Gospel Mission is an interdenominational Christian holiness missionary agency headquartered in Marion, Indiana, United States. From its inception, WGM has been aligned with the Wesleyan Holiness tradition of Protestantism...
through the Immanuel Wesleyan Federation, a cooperative mission organisation formed in 1954.
South India Bible Seminary (1984)
South India Bible Institute (now South India Biblical Seminary) first opened its doors on 16 November 1937 in Madras (now ChennaiChennai
Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...
). The seminary’s basic purpose is to train Indian young people for Christian ministry. In 1972, SIBS was reorganized into an indigenous
Indigenous peoples
Indigenous peoples are ethnic groups that are defined as indigenous according to one of the various definitions of the term, there is no universally accepted definition but most of which carry connotations of being the "original inhabitants" of a territory....
organization with an Indian governing board. The seminary was restructured again in 1981 to include the Church of the Nazarene
Church of the Nazarene
The Church of the Nazarene is an evangelical Christian denomination that emerged from the 19th century Holiness movement in North America with its members colloquially referred to as Nazarenes. It is the largest Wesleyan-holiness denomination in the world. At the end of 2010, the Church of the...
as a partner with World Gospel Mission
World Gospel Mission
The World Gospel Mission is an interdenominational Christian holiness missionary agency headquartered in Marion, Indiana, United States. From its inception, WGM has been aligned with the Wesleyan Holiness tradition of Protestantism...
. Immanuel General Mission of Japan became a partner in 1984. Most of the seminary’s professors are Indian.http://wgm.org/NETCOMMUNITY/Page.aspx?pid=2568&srcid=1013
Sources and Further Reading
- Casiño, T.C. "A Worldview Approach to Designing Missions Strategies Among Asian Cultures."
- Fujimoto, Mitsuru. "The Exclusion Principle as a Black Curtain: An Inquiry from Theological Anthropology" (排他主義という黒幕—神学的人間論からの考察). Translated by Cynthia Dufty. Japan Evangelical Association Theological Commission Pamphlet 6 (May 2006): 37-48.http://www.jtheo.net/Resources/fujimoto.pdf Mitsuru Fujimoto is a professor at Immanuel Bible Training College and a lecturer at Aoyama Gakuin University. He is the pastor of Immanuel Takatsu Christ Church.
- Johnson, Edna Kimery. The House of Tsutada: The Little Man with a Big God. (Family Missionary Series). Wesley Press, 1988.
- Jones, Charles Edwin. The Wesleyan Holiness Movement: A Comprehensive Guide. 2 vols. (ATLA Bibliography Series). Rev. ed. Scarecrow Press, 2005. See page 580.
- Keyes, Lawrence E. The Last Age of Missions: A Study of Third World Missionary Societies. Pasadena, CA: William Carey Library, 1983. See page 100 regarding IGM and David Tsutada.
- Lau, Earnest. "The House of Tsutada." Methodist Message (Singapore) (June 2004). http://www.methodistmessage.com/jun2004/tsutada.html
- Nakada, Bishop Juji. Japan in the Bible. Trans. David T. Tsutada. Oriental Missionary Society, Japan Holiness Church Publishing Department, 1933.
- Saoshiro, Isaac Teruo and Tadashi Noda, eds. Immanuel Wesleyan Federation: Experiment in Mission Partnership. Japan, 2004. Written on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of IWF, a cooperative mission organization made up of Immanuel General Mission, based in Japan, and the Japanese offices of World Gospel MissionWorld Gospel MissionThe World Gospel Mission is an interdenominational Christian holiness missionary agency headquartered in Marion, Indiana, United States. From its inception, WGM has been aligned with the Wesleyan Holiness tradition of Protestantism...
and Wesleyan World Mission. - Sigsworth, John Wilkins. World-changers: Karl Marx and John Wesley. Easingwold Publications, 1982. See page 237 regarding Tsutada. Identifies him as A Japanese Wesleyan Methodist pastor and scholar.
- Trachsel, Laura. Kindled Fires in Asia. Marion, IN: World Gospel Mission, 1960.
- Tsutada, David Tsugio. 20 Years Retrospect of Immanuel General Mission in Japan. [Inmanueru nijū-nenshi: sōsetsu yori no kaisō, 1945-1965]. Tokyo, Japan: Immanuel General Mission in Japan, 1965. Text is in Japanese.
- Tsutada, John M. "Obituary: The Life of Dr. David T. Tsutada." (1971)
- Tsutada, Joshua T. "An Ambassador in Chains." In Christian Suffering in Asia-The Blood of the Martyrs Is the Seed of the Church. Edited by Bong Rin Ro. Evangelical Fellowship of Asia, 1989.http://www.inni-mission.pe.kr/book03.htm
- Tsutada, Tsugio. Tsutada Tsugio zenshū. Immanuel Sōgō Dendōdan. Inochi no Kotobasha, 1988. ISBN 4264009464.
- World Gospel Mission. Personnel, Progress, Prospects of World Gospel Mission. Marion, IN: World Gospel Mission, 1957.