As a Baptist, I have always been drawn to the concept of the priesthood of the believer in church life. In scripture, we learn how Christ equipped everyday women and men to share his message and do great things in his name and are called to do the same today, no matter our role in modern society.
As pastors, Laura and I often take on most of the spiritual leadership of Kanazawa International Baptist Church (KIBC), the English ministry of Kanazawa Baptist Church. We accept this role gladly in helping to make new disciples and to assist in shaping the faith lives of those that have professed Christ as Lord. Over the last year we have sought not just to lead from the microphone, but to serve alongside our ministry, developing teams and leadership for outreach, worship planning, and fellowship to share Christ with our communities.
Japanese culture often dictates five very long work days, if not six, causing the weekends to be short or full of rest alone. This significantly affects the amount of time even church people can commit to church activities, which made it all the more surprising when our team leaders approached us a few months ago requesting to lead a one-day spiritual retreat for KIBC. Our leaders desired more beyond Sunday Church School and worship and we were overjoyed to help them gather resources and assist in all ways possible to make the day a success.
Just a few weeks ago, we held the retreat focusing on spiritual gifts. From 10 in the morning until 3 in the afternoon, we worshipped through song, read scripture about the gifts God gives, heard from others what they considered our spiritual gifts to be, took an inventory to assess our gifts, and talked about how we can use these to serve KIBC and the Global Church. We have heard nothing but positive responses about how encouraging the day was, something that our people need as they live in a society that often does not understand their hearts. Laura and I were ministered to by our leaders from Japan, America, and India as we too were better equipped for the journey ahead.
We pray for more spiritual surprises in the days to come as we come together as “a chosen generation”, “a holy nation”, and “a royal priesthood”.
Carson and Laura Foushee are Cooperative Baptist Field Personnel living in Kanazawa, Japan. Both natives of North Carolina, Carson and Laura met at McAfee School of Theology after graduating from Elon University (Carson) and N.C. State University (Laura). Carson’s passion for global missions and Laura’s passion for the local church have blended together as they serve in Japan through English language education and through Kanazawa Baptist Church as co-pastors of its international congregation.
They can be reached by email at clfoushee@thefellowship.info. Feel free to also to check out their website and the Kanazawa International Baptist Church website.
