โHow does a person enter faith?โ Yoichi Suzuki asked.
Yoichi was with Wayne Meyer at a doughnut shop close to the Utsunomiya University campus in Utsunomiya, Japan. It was the beginning of Yoichiโs senior year of college. As he considered graduation and heading toward the workplace, there were many questions on his heart about what he would do with his life. However, one of the biggest questions was about having a relationship with Jesus.

Wayne, who met The Navigators in 1965 and has served in Japan since 1971, shared The Bridge to Life Illustration with Yoichi. This wasnโt the first time Yoichi had seen this illustration. He first met Wayne through the BEST (Bible, English, Sports and Travel) Club on campus at Utsunomiya University his freshman year and even attended weekly Bible studies in Wayneโs home his junior year.
โYoichi and I discussed other things after I talked through The Bridge to Life Illustration,โ Wayne shared. โAs we got up to leave, Yoichi asked me again, โBut how does a person enter faith?โ I thought to myself, I havenโt had someone ask me that twice in the same conversation, and definitely not that directly.โ
Wayne responded to Yoichiโs repeated question, โYoichi, would you like to try?โ
โYes,โ Yoichi responded.
Wayne and Yoichi prayed together in Wayneโs car. Yoichi invited Christ into his life, by admitting his sin and need for a Savior and believing Jesus is Godโs Son who died for him and was resurrected so he might have eternal life.
Yoichiโs faith and trust in Jesus became one of the answers to decades of prayer for Japan.
This story from 20 years ago continues to have an impact on Japan today.
Reaching College Students Through an On-Campus Club
The Navigators campus ministry in Japan started in 1966 following a Navigators one-year worldwide prayer focus for the country. Wayne mentioned that at that time the average of only one out of 100 students responded to invitations to join small group Bible studies. God pursued hearts, but the interest and response to the gospel had yet to surface.
โMost students we met had never read the Bible, never attended church and never had a Christian friend,โ shared Wayne. โThere wasnโt an interest in God and only a small percentage were open to the Bible.โ
In the 1980s, The Navigators staff in Japan created the BEST (Bible, English, Sports and Travel) Club, which opened up more opportunities to build relationships with students, even if they had no initial interest in the Bible.
As The Navigators team passed out brochures for the BEST Club Yoichiโs freshman year, Wayne walked over to Yoichiโs cafeteria table and asked the guys sitting there where they were from.
โIโm from Sendai,โ Yoichi shared.
โI lived in Sendai my first three years in Japan,โ Wayne responded. โWhere did you live in Sendai?โ
Yoichi responded with the location and Wayne realized that he had lived a block away from Yoichiโs parents house, but before Yoichi was born. This common ground led Yoichi to joining the club.
โOften what happens in the BEST Club is that people who have interest in one of the areas besides the Bible join and during that first year they build relationships with Christians, they become more open to the Bible,โ Wayne shared.
While many Japanese have a negative image of the Bible and religious things, Yoichi felt differently. He said he had been exposed to the Bible through the Christians who led this school.
โBefore the BEST Club, I hadnโt heard the gospel. When I was in preschool, I remembered hearing the Christmas story and learning about Jesus being a gentle man. These were the only things I remembered,โ Yoichi shared. โThe club staff were very kind and because I was invited, I joined.โ
Yoichiโs faith journey had ups and downs and even during his sophomore year he decided not to participate in the club for a time. However, as he started his junior year he thought about his future and what he had gleaned from the BEST clubโfriendships, learning about Godโs love and grace, and growing step-by-step.
โI decided to join the club once again as I wondered how I should live my life. I thought, Maybe I can learn from Jesus,โ Yoichi shared.
Lead a Bible Study for the First Time
At the beginning of Yoichiโs junior year, Wayne invited a group of students into his home for Bible study. During that first semester the group lost momentum and Wayne wondered about what to do next.
Before the second semester started, the Lord gave Wayne an idea about how to approach leading the study.
โThere was actually only one believer in the group. However, I told the group that second semester that I would lead this first time and then everyone would take turns leading,โ Wayne shared.
This approach to Bible study changed Wayneโs perspective on John 16:13, โBut when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to comeโ (NIV).
โI used to think that this was just for believers,โ Wayne shared. โNot once over the next three years of leading Bible study this way did anyone get off track. The majority of the time the people leading were not believers yet. Over the next few years, many of these students who took turns leading the Bible study came to Christ. Then they started leading their own Bible studies, inviting others to join them.โ
Yoichi smiled as Wayne shared about these Bible studies. He remembered thinking these studies would be similar to the Japanese education system where Wayne would be the teacher and he would be the student. However, Wayne had a different style of teaching that Yoichi wasnโt used to.
โWhen I asked Wayne questions about the Bible like, โWhat does this verse mean?โ Then he would always ask me back, โWhat do you think Yoichi?โโ Yoichi shared. โAt first I was frustrated because he would always ask me a question back. This helped me think about the Bible and its truth, taking it seriously. I had to consider how I would answer the question first and, overall, helped me remember what I was learning.โ
Yoichi shared how Bible study transitioned for him, moving from attaining knowledge to seeing how Godโs Word changed his heart.
Expand Spiritual Generations in Your Community
Today, Yoichi is with the Japan Navigators as Campus Director at Utsunomiya University, where his discipleship journey began. His family often opens their home to students for small-group Bible study.
Through Yoichiโs time at university, many Navigators staff in Japan impacted his life through their intentionality. Wayne mentions that he is only one small part of Yoichiโs story.
The Navigators BEST Club continues at Utsunomiya University and its student leader recently became a Christian. Even a number of the participants when Yoichi was a student stay connected with The Navigators and continue to meet regularly.
โToday when students ask me questions about the Bible, I respond with a question, โWhat do you think?โโ Yoichi shared. โThatโs a very practical way they can learn. Also, I always pray before meeting with students that the Holy Spirit will lead the conversations and that my words will be seasoned with salt (Colossians 4:6 NIV).โ
Yoichi is praying for and watching for doughnut-shop conversations like the one he had with Wayne, when he asked about entering the Christian faith. Yoichi sees the many invitations God gave him throughout his life, even through Wayne, to learn more about God and His love.
โI want to encourage students to know and memorize Scripture, so it may help them like it does me,โ Yoichi shared. โThat energizes me.โ
This story is so encouraging. The greatness of God in our humble efforts to reach out to the next person. And Iโm very thankful for how this story has turned out. Thankful that a brother is there looking to make an impact in a donut shop. Godspeed!
Fantastic story of the work of Godโs grace through His Spirit, His Word and His faithful labourers.
I started Navigatorsโ style Bible study in Potcefstroom, South Africa. I would like to get more information concerning BEST club.
I found it interesting that the โstudentโ found it helpful when the โteacherโ answered his question with a questionโฆa practice that is normally frowned upon. Following the Spiritโs leading doesnโt always follow practices you have normally used.
THANK YOUโOUR WORLD NEEDS THE NAVIGATORS AND CRU