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Friday, April 5, 2013

Tohoku Keswick Convention, Sendai, Japan







March 11th marked the two year anniversary of the earthquake and tsunami that struck the region of Sendai, Japan.  Last year I was there and saw much of the remains of the devastion.  Just this past February I was back again, just a few weeks before the second anniversary.  I was driven  by two pastor friends, Timothy and Hirashima, to see parts of Sendai that are still reeling from the affect of the tsunami.  Grief over the massive loss of life is still in the air.  The scar on the landscape remains.  Though most of the debris has been moved, it is still so evident that something horrible happened.

I am grateful to God for the privelege which was mine to preach in the Tohoku Keswick Convention.  This was a time of celebrating our life in Christ.  Once again I enjoyed the beautiful Japanese singing.  I really do love to hear the Japanese Christians sing the great hymns of our faith as well as modern tunes.  Our time of fellowship in the Word of God was rich and rewarding.

If you see this article please take a moment to pray for the people of Japan.  Pray especially that God would encourage and strengthen the saints of God in the Sendai region.

Thursday, April 4, 2013

OSAKA KESWICK 2013 TEAM WORK...FAITHFUL SERVANTS

From an administrative and technical perspective the Japan Keswick Conventions run like a well oiled machine.  Everything is precise, but not in a way that quenches the Spirit. The attention to detail actually is their way of giving their best to the Master...and the Lord is greatly honored.  I have learned so much about respect, reverence, dignity, and presentation from my Christian friends in Japan.  They truly do give their best to the Master.  I salute the faithful Christian servants of God in Japan.
A few of the Osaka Keswick Convention Committee Members and Workers

Dr. Horiuchi and Roger


A GREAT HONOR TO STAND BESIDE DR. STEPHEN MITSUHASHI

One of the great honors I have had in preaching in Japan Keswick Conventions came on the last night of Osaka Keswick Convention 2013 when one of Japan's faithful servants of the Lord Jesus Christ translated my message.  I have high regard and the deepest respect for all who have stood at my side and translated my message for the Japanese ear.  But this was my first time to stand beside of the beloved Dr. Stephen Mitsuhashi.  I was overwhelmed by the experience.  God blessed the message to the hearts of the people.
Roger Willmore and Dr. Stephen Mitsuhashi


Roger, Dr. Mitsuhashi and platform party. 
Obedient response to God's Word

Japan Keswick Sermon Books

Japan Keswick Conventions follow the traditional practice of the English Keswick and produce a book of sermons by the various Keswick speakers in the Japan conventions.  These books of sermons on the Christian Life are useful tools for advancing the "Keswick Message" far and wide. 




 

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Osaka, Japan Keswick Convention 2013

Roger Willmore, senior pastor of Deerfoot Baptist Church in Trussville, Alabama and Reverend Ryo Iwahashi, pastor in Osaka and chairman of Japan International Food for the Hungry preaching in the 2013 Osaka Keswick Christian Life Convention.

Pastor Ryo and I have been friends since 2008.  He has translated for me many times.
He is a great friend, pastor, leader, missonary and translator.

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Japan Keswick Conventions

I was introduced to the ministry of the Keswick Christian Life Convention when I was 16 years old. The Keswick teaching became foundational in my understanding of the Christian life. From the very first I had a deep love for the Keswick ministry and even for the Lake District town in the North of England for which the convention is named...Keswick, England. In 1975 I was privileged to attend the 100th anniversary convention in Keswick, England for the first time. The influence of "Mother Keswick" is seen around the world. For over 27 years there was an annual Keswick Convention, held each year in March, right here in Birmingham, Alabama. During that same period of time there were several conventions in the USA and many Keswick Conventions around the world. I have been blessed to with the privilege of preaching in conventions in the USA,Trinidad & Tobago, India,Haiti and Japan. The Japan Keswick still holds to many of the founding guidelines of the English Keswick. For over fifty years Keswick has played a vital part in the ministry of the evangelica church in Japan. Each year in February there are a series of Keswick Conventions across the country. Typically there will be two or three foreign speakers coming from USA, England, India and Australia, along with Japanese preachers. I was blessed to preach in Japan Keswicks in 2008, 2012 and 2013. Dr. Stephen Olford was a regular preacher in the Japan Keswicks before his death in 2004. I still have clear and fond memories of his reports when he and Mrs. Olford would return to Memphis from a series of Japan Keswick Conventions. He was always greatly impressed by the prayerful attention given to every detail of the convention ministry. I have preached in Japan five times since 2008, and I am always blessed by thier prayer preparation, presentation and emphasis on the proclaimation of God's Word. My objective for this blog is simply to inform those who have an interest in Keswick that Japan has a fifty year history with the Keswick ministry. In 2015 Osaka Keswick will celebrate its 50th anniversary. I also want to take this opportunity to express my own encouragement to the faithful men and women of God associated with Keswick in Japan and encourage them to remain faithful to the Lord Jesus Christ. And also to thank them for their witness to me. I am greatly encouraged by their faithfulness to the Lord. I am posting some Japan Keswick information from my own files. Again, let those who follow Keswick know that Keswick is going strong in Japan. With Love and Respect to my Friends in Japan, Roger D.Willmore