Our Work
The vision of CBI is ambitious. Unbelievable things have happened in our first few years, and we look forward to more unbelievable things in the years ahead. While we have a small team, we have a great God, and Yumiko and I are happy to play our parts in what He is doing here.
What exactly is it that we do?
Yumiko
Yumiko is active both inside CBI and without. Within she acts as an advisor on language and culture; she helps in translating and writing materials; and she plays piano for ceremonies such as Commencement and Convocation.
But Yumiko’s primary ministry is through music and hospitality. Working with fellow missionaries Tom and Teresa Wilson, Yumiko has found numerous ways to employ her gifts.
She plays piano for worship services at Nisshin Christ Church. This church is being planted by MTW missionaries on the eastern edge of Nagoya, in the city of Nisshin.
She also sings and helps out with with a gospel choir. Whoopi Goldberg’s movie Sister Act made Black Gospel quite popular in Japan, and many missionaries have capitalized on that interest, including the Wilsons. Tom directs the choir, which is part of a national network called the Hallelujah Gospel Family. Most of the choir members are not Christians, but through rehearsals, Bible studies, and friendships, they learn what the songs are celebrating.
Yumiko does less singing with the choir because she does more helping behind the scenes: reception, childcare, and so forth. One of her contributions is bring a home-baked American-style treat to each rehearsal. These treats have become very popular with the choir members, and many will ask about the day’s goodie almost a soon as they arrive.
Yumiko also loves to invite the women in the choir to our house for practice, vocal coaching, or to bake together. These get-togethers open doors for Yumiko to share her faith with them, sharing her testimony, dispelling myths, or providing counsel.
In addition to all of this, she keeps me grounded. She helps me keep life balanced, reminds me that I need to sleep occasionally, and serves up tasty and nutritious food. (Did I mention her baking?)
Craig
I play several roles within Christ Bible Institute.
I serve on CBI’s executive leadership team. The ELT keeps the various ministries of CBI running efficiently. Serving with me on the ELT are Brett Rayl, the Director of CBI and Takashi Nakakuki, who heads up the Heart & Soul ministry. Chad Farmer and Matt Elkins, currently in language school, will be joining the ELT before long. Through the ELT, I am involved to some degree in all of CBI’s various ministries.
My deepest involvement, however, is with Christ Bible Seminary. Until recently I served as the seminary’s academic dean. Currently I serve as its interim president. The plan is for me to continue in this role until a new president can assume it. Our expectation is that Matt Newkirk, who is currently raising support, will eventually replace me. At that point I will resume my previous role as academic dean. In addition to providing overall leadership to the seminary, I contribute in a number of other ways.
I’m responsible for the seminary’s curriculum: developing it, implementing and maintaining it, and refining it. That was a big part of what I did during our last term. Along with that comes the responsibility of scheduling courses and recruiting faculty.
I teach New Testament. This is the meat and potatoes of what I’ve done and continue to do. In a pinch, I’ve been known to contribute to other subjects as well, such as Old Testament, homiletics, and outreach.
I’m responsible for the seminary’s library: building it, cataloging it, and managing it. We’ve reached our goal of a 10,000-volume collection. Now it is a matter of refining and improving that collection and getting it properly organized. We don’t yet have a real librarian, so I’m thankful to friends and a sister who are trained in what used to be called library science and who provide valuable advice.
The best part of the job, of course, is working with students. It’s a high privilege to help prepare a new generation to lead the church of Japan.