Work with a WEC team to develop creative content for thier pilgrimage ministry called KIBO. This is a great chance to use your artistic skills to advance outreach ministry in Japan!

The applicant is expected to learn some survival/tourist level Japanese prior travel and during their stay if they have no knowledge of Japanese at all.

This position is based in Kyoto, but the applicant will participate in pilgrims walks occasionally, so reasonable fitness is required (able to walk 20km a day on flat roads). Also, we expect that you should enjoy cultural/historical activities.

Preferred/desired skills: Journaling & blog/vlogging, or other social media content types. Interest in spiritual direction is a big plus.

About the KIBO Ministry:

Christianity was first introduced to Japan in 1549 by a Jesuits missionary Francis Xavier. He first tried to meet the emperor but failed, so in his second year, he changed his strategy to meet the local feudal lords and successfully obtained permission to preach; the following year, the first Church was built, and many believed. But the good season only lasted for forty years. The time of persecution came, and the ruler of Japan started to put up notice boards in every village and every corner of the main streets to capture missionaries and believers.

In 1596, during Christmas and new year time, 24 Christians (including missionaries and local believers) were caught and forced to leave Kyoto for Nagasaki, where they would be crucified on a cross. They had to walk all the way from Kyoto to Nagasaki, a distance of approximately 900km, with their ears cut off as a warning to all onlookers en route that they were not to become Christians and that those who were already Christians should give up their faith immediately.

Along the way, two more Christians joined them. And while they were being forced to march towards Nagasaki, they were not discussing how to escape the dire situation. Instead, they encouraged one another to walk faithfully until the very end. The group of 26 martyrs aged from 12 to 64. The youngest boy, his name is Ludovico Ibaraki. On the way, the officer in charge of the execution felt sorry for the young boy and offered to release him if he would deny his faith. But the boy replied, “I cannot exchange the life of the eternal world with the life of this fleeting one.” And he bravely marched on with the others.

When they finally arrived at where they were to be crucified, he asked, “Where is my cross?” People point to the smallest cross with his name written on it, so our young Ludovico ran towards it joyfully and embraced his cross. He kept his faith right to the end!

We launched the KIBO ministry in 2022 with a vision to revitalize the route for bringing the gospel to local communities and mobilizing churches and believers. Unlike the El Camino in Spain, very few people, even among the Japanese Christians, know about the route. We name our ministry KIBO because ki is the word “to pray”, and bo is “to walk”. Putting the two pronunciations together, KIBO gives another meaning: HOPE.

We started a Facebook channel, enroute.kibo, where you can see our progress and some vlogs we made so far. We need support from worldwide Christian communities and our invisible church online, so please like and share the page and spread the news to others. We hope to see more workers joining us in this pilgrimage ministry, as well as church planting, creative ministry, and business.