Go Ye Fellowship has had missionaries in East Asia since 1935, but we consider ourselves to be under-represented in this area. When you think of the vast numbers of people in China, Mongolia, Korea, Japan, and surrounding countries, you can understand the need for multitudes of workers in this region.

Many of the world's largest cities are in East Asia. The population of the Greater Tokyo area, for instance, is about 27,000,000 . More than 50% of the world's population is now urbanized, and it is estimated that by 2100, the number of rural dwellers may be only 10%; thus the cities are vital for mission strategy.

China, with its population of 1.3 billion, is home to 21% of the world's population. It is also the country with the fastest Christian expansion ever, now guessed to be 10,000 new converts every day. Accurate estimates are hard to obtain because of the numbers of Christians who keep their faith hidden, the hostility of the national government towards some Christian groups, and difficulties in obtaining accurate statistics on house churches.

South Korea could be seen as a success in missions in the last hundred years, and Koreans are carrying the Gospel around the world, especially to other Koreans, but opportunities for cross-cultural ministry still exist in Korea. If you feel God calling you to Korea, do not ignore the call.

Japan is quite different from China or Korea, and a very expensive place to live, but the needs are great. If God calls you there, you can count on Him to meet your needs. There are no accurate figures as to the Christian population, since no statistics on religions are taken nationwide. Between 1 and 2% may reflect the reality. There are significant numbers of people who were "baptized" but do not practice faith at all. Christian influences have affected education and social welfare.

Japanese people feel close to Christian culture without realizing it. For example, in December every year, thousands of people take part in singing Beethoven's Symphony #9 (about the Messiah); many young couples prefer a Christian wedding; gospel music was popular several years ago, etc. Such activities give them knowledge about Christianity; however, the concept of "sin" and consequent need of salvation are far away from most Japanese people's hearts due to the secularized culture and the lack of understanding of an absolute God. That may be the key for a significant growth of Christian population in Japan.

The people of East Asia are primarily Buddhist, but a number of other faiths are represented also.

We are excited about what God is doing in East Asia, especially in China, but there is still much to be done throughout the region.

If you sense God's call to ministry in East Asia, contact us. If you feel God calling you to support ministry in East Asia financially, Go Ye can connect you with a missionary needing support or a project needing funding.

East Asia is an ideal place for a tentmaker ministry. See www.globalopps.org [1]