A Global Ministry:
Stephen Ministry in China and Japan

A Door Opens

Stephen Ministries has been serving individuals and congregations internationally since 1980, but when a pair of unexpected invitations arrived within days of each other, a door opened to new global ministry opportunities.

First, Japan Evangelical Lutheran Church (JELC) in Tokyo got in touch with Dr. Kenneth Haugk, the founder and Executive Director of Stephen Ministries, inviting him to speak to the congregation and commission their first class of Stephen Ministers. Just two days later, an invitation arrived from Thanksgiving English Fellowship (TEF) and Abundant Grace International Fellowship (AGIF) in Shanghai, China, asking Ken’s daughter Amity Haugk, a member of the Program Staff, to lead a Stephen Ministry retreat.

Recognizing God’s hand in the timing of these requests, the team talked with Rev. Kazuhiro Sekino of JELC and Pastor Jason Kim and Fung Ying Kwan of TEF over a number of Skype calls, and the trip expanded to include additional presentations to other groups. After much planning and preparation, Ken and Amity were set to fly to Shanghai and then on to Tokyo.

“We had big hopes for the trip from the very beginning, both for providing quality teaching and for helping grow Stephen Ministry abroad,” said Ken. “But it ended up exceeding our expectations in some amazing ways.”

Shanghai: Ministry as a Global Conversation

The first stop was Shanghai, where the main event was a daylong Stephen Minister retreat. At the retreat, Amity and Ken conducted a number of continuing education sessions, including a new presentation on validation in caring ministry. Ken and Amity took the opportunity to premiere Stephen Ministries’ newest video—featuring Pastor Kim sharing about TEF’s Stephen Ministry.

Dr. Haugk also spoke to a young adult fellowship, where he talked about the pressure people experience to appear strong in the face of suffering. “It grabbed their attention immediately,” said Ken. “It gave voice to a pressure many of them have faced in their own lives, and they gained a whole new perspective on that universal challenge.”

The following Sunday at TEF, Ken and Amity presented to Sunday school groups about the Stephen Series and Stephen Ministries’ new book, Cancer—Now What?, and Ken preached at worship.

Throughout their time in Shanghai, Amity and Ken had a number of in-depth conversations with groups of Stephen Ministers and Stephen Leaders from around the world—China, Korea, the U.S., Germany, Ghana, New Zealand, and elsewhere—as well as pastors and church leaders from local congregations considering starting Stephen Ministry. Amity reflected, “The exchange of ideas from all parts of the world was inspiring. It really hit home that Stephen Ministry can fit in any culture.”

Tokyo: Stephen Ministry in the Heart of Japan

From there, Amity and Ken flew to Tokyo. Their first night in the country, Pastor Sekino and the Stephen Ministry team from Japan Evangelical Lutheran took them out to dinner at a sushi restaurant, where they enjoyed good food, conversation, and fellowship.

The next day, Ken and Amity visited a Lutheran seminary to speak about Stephen Ministry and other caring topics to a group that included students, faculty, and the seminary president. They concluded the evening with dinner and a great conversation with the president and several professors.

Later in the week, Amity had a chance to observe one of JELC’s Stephen Ministry supervision sessions in action, with an interpreter to help her follow the discussion in Japanese. “That was the first time I’d seen supervision in another language!” Amity said. “It was so cool to see how well the Stephen Ministry system works halfway around the world.”

One of the highlights of the trip was catching a performance by Pastor Sekino’s rock band BoxiROCKS—in which the four members perform in clerical collars (Boxi comes from bokushi, meaning pastor).

Ken and Amity’s last weekend in Tokyo involved two big events at JELC. On Saturday, marking the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, Ken gave a lecture to an audience of pastors and laypeople about how the concept of the priesthood of all believers had a dramatic impact on many different aspects of the church. Amity then shared an introduction to Stephen Ministry, explaining how it works and how congregations in Japan could get involved. At worship the next day, Ken preached on how the spirit of Stephen, as described in the book of Acts, lives on in each person’s ministry today. Then, he participated in the commissioning of JELC’s first group of Stephen Ministers.

International Excitement for Cancer—Now What?

Although the trip was originally focused on Stephen Ministry, it became apparent early on that there was also a lot of interest in Cancer—Now What? The book was published during the planning for the trip, and when people in China and Japan saw the book and what it covered, they started asking about possible translations.

As a result, Ken gave a number of presentations about Cancer—Now What? to Stephen Ministry groups, pastors, congregation members, and others. These presentations included content developed for the upcoming workshops on Cancer—Now What?, digging into the unexpected challenges of a cancer diagnosis.

During their travels, Amity and Ken explored a number of possibilities for broadening the reach of the book. They met with domestic publishers about potentially translating Cancer—Now What?, and each of them showed great interest in it.

In Tokyo, Ken and Amity met twice with Dr. Okio Hino, a respected author and pathologist in the field of oncology. Dr. Hino is the founder of a “cancer café” program, where people with cancer and their families gather in monthly support groups to care for each other and talk about their experiences. So far, there are 150 cancer cafés active across Japan. Cancer—Now What? and its mission resonated with Dr. Hino, and he’s looking forward to getting it into the hands of people dealing with cancer throughout the country.

“Care for people dealing with cancer is a need all over the world, and many people we met were cancer survivors or had loved ones diagnosed,” Ken said. “People in China and Japan told us there’s no book like Cancer—Now What? in either country, so it will make a big difference when it’s available there.”

Looking to the Future

The trip may be over, but the relationships it built are going strong. In the months following the trip, new groups from the Chinese and Japanese congregations came to Leader’s Training Courses to grow their Stephen Leader Teams. Meanwhile, people from both countries have already begun helping prepare Cancer—Now What? for translation.

Reflecting on the trip, Amity shared, “It was amazing just meeting all these people, listening to them opening up their hearts and telling us about what Stephen Ministry means to them.”

“We got to see firsthand how Stephen Ministry, and more recently Cancer—Now What?, are loved and needed around the world,” said Ken. “They’re making ministry happen on a global level, and I’m excited to see them continue to grow.”