Within the incredible phenomenon of the appearance of wedding chapels everywhere in this land and the requests for missionaries and pastors to conduct Christian weddings, there is another unique opportunity for evangelism?the conducting of Christian dedication services for the chapels. The attached pages represent my attempt to do this for five different chapels in three Kyushu cities.
As soon as one is asked to assist a chapel soon to open, permission should be requested to conduct a dedication service. I find that permission is granted readily when it is explained that this is an extremely important part of building a genuine church.
The service is designed with unbelievers in mind. Thus there are several places in my script where explanations are given for people who have never been to a church before. At the same time, I have tried to establish a level of formality and dignity that the Japanese expect for such a setting and with which they can feel comfortable, according to their cultural orientation.
The center of the program is the Bible reading. I have selected passages which show who God is, what He says about Himself, how He appeared in our history, and what He declares about His Son, Jesus Christ, concluding with "King of Kings and Lord of Lords?Hallelujah!" (Wow!) This list of Scriptures is printed in the program, and the leader and the audience read the entire list responsively. This takes almost ten minutes! I want the non?Christians not only to hear the Word but also to see it with their own eyes and speak it with their own lips?and then to take it home with them, hopefully to look at it again!
The message is very brief. It is, in a sense, merely a summary of the Scriptures already read?a statement in simple form of the plan of salvation.
I am convinced that effective evangelism in Japan must begin with a clear declaration of the Living God. To declare Him means that we not only speak His name but that we also describe Him?we explain who He is. If we do not do this, any mention of "God" evokes merely the usual "one among many" or "a nice religion" in the minds of the hearers.
This declaration of the Living God is the focus of my dedication service. First, the Bible reading is intended to let Him express Himself in His own words. Together with this, the message, the prayers, and the hymns are all designed to show who He is and what He is like.
It should be declared to the owners and managers of the business that this service is the grand opening of the chapel. They themselves must be present, and the chapel seats are to be filled by their invited guests?dignitaries, business contacts and personal friends. The media should be invited to report on it, and it should be fully filmed and photographed by professionals.
I always invite several dedicated Christians for prayer support and for lending their voices to the responsive reading. I tell the management these are guests of the minister and that seats should be reserved for them. I invite a local pastor to share the pulpit. He and the name of his church are introduced, and he leads the responsive reading. The minister who will be doing the weddings at the chapel is asked to do the dedication prayer. This may be done by reading the prayer included in the minister's program notes, or by offering a more spontaneous prayer, so long as it can be done skillfully. (This freer type of prayer also can contribute to the awareness in the listeners of the nature of God by their hearing the way His people address Him, but it must be well done.)
The three ministers should wear gowns, preferably in a variety of styles and colors.
At some point prior to the service I ask the invited Christians to gather for a special time of prayer. We speak the name of Jesus to cleanse the building from the presence and influence of evil spirits invited through any previous Shinto ceremonies. By the authority of Jesusf name and by the Word of God the contract made with Satan and his demons is canceled, and we ask the Holy Spirit to manifest the glory of the Lord Jesus in this place which has been given the name of "Church" by those who do not yet believe in Him. Discretion needs to be exercised in relation to the time and place for this meeting so as not to disturb people who might still be involved in final preparations for the service.
In regard to the matter of demonic influences, at first hint that you might become involved in the chapel, whether for consulting or for weddings, it should be made clear to the management that no further religious ceremonies of any kind are to be conducted, other than those which are genuinely Christian. At that time you should urge that planning be started for the dedication service.
In regard to the minister's program notes, items in parentheses are not to be read aloud. All text not in parentheses should be voiced, including the words that designate the next part of the program. The choir special song that appears between the message (#7) and the words of dedication (#8) does not appear in the program the guests hold. The organ and choir should proceed here without announcement.
The words to be spoken by the minister are available also in roomaji. To make a program for the minister's personal use, the roomaji text will need to be inserted at the proper places in the Japanese program provided for the guests, perhaps in a fashion similar to the minister's program notes in Japanese which accompany this letter.
I would be happy to supply copies of the music that I have chosen, both the hymns that are listed in the program and the music suggested for the organist, for your duplicating for the organist and choir.
Concerning the entrance of the minister(s), there are two effective musical approaches. First, for a meditative, solemn atmosphere, "Jesus, Joy of Man's Desiring," done by the organ only, is lovely. In this case the choir are already in their places. Or, for a truly exciting atmosphere, an abbreviated arrangement of the "Hallelujah Chorus" is magnificent. In this case, the choir follows the minister(s) up the aisle, singing along with the loud peals of the organ. To do this, the musicians will need to be of semi?professional quality. I credit chapel consultant Masatoshi Kurosaki for this excellent suggestion.
For the special choir number after the message, "Amazing Grace" might be considered, since we would like to call attention to the fact that this popular song is actually a Christian hymn. And, since we want the message of the song to be understood, it should by all means be sung in Japanese (Sanbika Part 2, #167 or Seika #229).
Amazing Grace might also be used for the first congregational hymn, in place of #285. Likewise, #285 could be considered for the special choir number.
Should you find anything in this program that might be helpful to you, please use it freely. And do share with me your insights on the matter of chapel wedding evangelism.
Doyle C. Book Revised November 1998
Scriptures Used in Dedication Service
Shooshi Psalm 24:1-5, 7, 10
Seisho Psalm 23:1-4a
90:1, 2
96:4, 5
103:1-5
139:1, 5, 7, 8, 14, 13, 16
Isaiah 6:1b, 3b
57:15
42:8
46:9b, 10b
55:9
7:14
Matthew 1:23, 21
John 1:14
Matthew 16:16-18
Ephesians 1:3a, 20-23
Philippians 2:9-11
Colossians 1:15-17
Revelation 7:11, 12
4:8b, 11
19:6b, 16b
Kendoo no Ji Psalm 127:1
I Kings 8:23b, 27b-29a
Psalm 136:1-5