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Iwa’s resources are like no others because they were designed specifically for a group of people for whom very few resources exist--people of Japanese and Asian ancestry. Postmoderns, who share characteristics that are similar to those of Japanese and Asian ancestry, have also found Iwa’s resources useful. These resources include pamphlets to help a person share the gospel in a culturally sensitive way; booklets, articles, and training materials to help people grow in their relationship with Christ; stories of real-life people and how Christ has become real to them in their daily lives; articles explaining insights on how to reach and minister to people of Japanese and Asian ancestry in effective and culturally sensitive ways; and publications which have recorded Iwa’s discoveries over the years.

Learn about the reasons behind what makes Iwa's resources different here.

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Beyond The Secret Door
by Stan Inouye

This fictitious short story, set in feudal Japan, is one of Iwa’s early attempts to present the gospel to people of Japanese ancestry in a non-threatening, imaginative way.

Closed Set vs. Centered Set Part 1:
A Paradigm Shift In Approaching Evangelism
by Stan Inouye,
Cyril Nishimoto, and
Ellen Fukuyama

This is the first of three articles that came out of an interview with the Iwa staff about the insights on evangelism Iwa would like to share with churches. Here, the staff explains the differences between the closed set approach and the centered set approach to evangelism, and describes how the centered set approach presents a way of seeing and doing evangelism that is completely different from traditional approaches and more consistent with the sensibilities of relational, process-oriented people.

Closed Set vs. Centered Set Part 2:
The Centered Set Approach Seen In Our Life and In Jesus'
by Stan Inouye,
Cyril Nishimoto, and
Ellen Fukyama

This is the second of three articles that came out of an interview with the Iwa staff about the insights on evangelism Iwa would like to share with churches. Here, the staff describes further the relational process that takes place in a centered set approach to evangelism and offers a fresh insight concerning how Jesus’ whole ministry can be considered “evangelism” from the perspective of a centered set approach.

Closed Set vs. Centered Set Part 3:
Implications Of The Centered Set Approach For Churches
by Stan Inouye,
Cyril Nishimoto, and
Ellen Fukuyama

This is the third of three articles that came out of an interview with the Iwa staff about the insights on evangelism Iwa would like to share with churches. Here, the staff talks about how, for churches with a centered set approach, people’s skill sets to do programs and ministries may not change, but their mindsets and motivations for doing them will, and everything they do becomes “evangelism.”

Cultural Barriers to Church  Renewal in the Japanese American Community
by Arlene Inouye

In this article, it is asked, "Where is the renewed sense of the church of the New Testament, the whole-hearted worship, the manifestation of the fullness and power of the Spirit, the unity, the spiritual gifts, the evangelism which is a natural outcome of love overflowing" in the Japanese American community? Addressing this question, the article spotlights several cultural and experiential barriers to church renewal and proposes ways to clear the way for renewal to take place.

A Date With Dad

This unconventional handbook was written from the perspective of God the Father who offers suggestions on how to spend a weekly date—Sabbath—with him. Iwa believes that Sabbath is a key to the evangelism that needs to take place in the Asian American community.

                                                                order here

Finding Father and Becoming Family

This booklet is a tool that presents the Bible story in a relational way–as a family story about God as our Heavenly Father; and human beings as children who broke away from His family; and God’s Son, Jesus, as the one came to bring us back into the family, at infinite cost to Himself and to the Father because of their incredible love for us.

It is not a ‘tract’ to be passed out indiscriminately. But it is a story to be shared with those who already have had some exposure to Christ through Christians, and who want to find out more about the Bible and seek a clearer understanding of what it means to be a Christian. The story also helps deepen and enrich the faith of Christians who have only been exposed to a traditional Western presentation of the Gospel and not to a non-traditional, relational, group-oriented presentation, such as this story is.

                                                                order here

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Fishing With A Bamboo Pole

This practical handbook goes through the stages and steps of how to bring a person to Christ, from the initial introduction to a commitment. Developed out of Iwa’s evangelism training workshop, “Hearing the Gospel with Asian American Ears,” it’s a booklet unlike any other, as it attempts to flesh out what the process of relational evangelism actually looks like.

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Foundations For Asian American Ministry

This seven-unit series represents the cumulative wisdom of Iwa Founder Stan Inouye gained through his over 30 years of equipping leaders to minister more effectively in Japanese- and Asian American churches.  It covers the following topics:  Biblical Foundations for Ethnic Ministry, How to Identify and Identify With the Asian Americans God Wants You to Reach, How to Design More Effective Ministries for the Asian Americans God Wants You to Reach, How Culture Shapes Effective Ministry to Asian Americans, How Being Bicultural Shapes Effective Ministry to Asian Americans, How to Introduce Positive Change in the Asian American Church and Community, and How to Identify and Select Leaders in Your Asian American Church.

This resource will be available for order in the  online store.

Had Your Feet Washed Lately?
by Stan Inouye

This article explores the idea that effective evangelism flows out of personal renewal in our relationship with Jesus Christ. For that renewal to happen, unlike the Apostle Peter, we must allow Jesus to wash our feet—cleanse, serve, revitalize, and “reevangelize” us.

Hearing the Gospel With Asian American Ears
by Stan Inouye

This study explores a key cultural characteristic of Japanese and other Asian people—“omoiyari” (i.e., empathy)--and provides the rationale for developing a new approach to reaching Asian Americans with the gospel that differs from traditional approaches.

Iwa Insight No. 1:
Evangelism to Group-Oriented People
by Sharon Uyeda Fong

If Japanese and other Asian people tend to be group-oriented while people from Western cultures tend to be individual-oriented, what implications are there for evangelism to people of Japanese and Asian ancestry? This monograph explores how evangelism to group-oriented people may look different from the evangelism usually seen in the U.S. and other Western societies.

Iwa Insight No. 2
Getting On  With Evangelism
by Sharon Uyeda Fong

How can Christ be introduced to people of Japanese ancestry in an effective, interpersonal, culturally sensitive way? This monograph presents the Japanese concept of “on” (pronounced like the word, “own”)—roughly translated, “obligation” or “indebtedness”—as a key to understanding how to engage in the kind of evangelism that fits the culture of people of Japanese ancestry.

Iwa Insight No. 3
A Cultural Response to
God's Discipline
by Arlene Inouye

Should God’s discipline be seen only as punishment, or is there a different way it can be viewed, a way that makes more sense to people for whom even disapproving silence can be enough to set  them on the right path? This monograph presents a cultural reinterpretation of the advisement from Proverbs 3:11 that the discipline of the Lord should not be regarded lightly, based on such Japanese cultural considerations as childhood experiences of being raised in a Japanese American family and the concept of shikataganai.

the kaki seed
Winter 1984, Volume 1, Number 1

The True Samurai of God
an article by Stan Inouye

Results of Japanese American Survey From Print-out to Applications
a report by Arlene Inouye

A New Chrysanthemum, a book review by Robert Yonemoto, Jr. of The Japanese Mind: The Goliath Explained by Robert C. Christopher

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the kaki seed
Spring 1984, Volume 1, Number 2

The Prosperous Prodigal
an article by Stan Inouye

In Remembrance of Him
an article by Kenneth Uyeda Fong

Reflections on the Pain of God
an article by Robert Yonemoto, Jr.

“Evangeliving” with the Church at Our House
an article by Jay Jarman with David Shinoda

Kansai Mission Research Center
a ministry highlight by the Iwa staff

the kaki seed
Summer/Fall 1984, Vol. 1, No. 3

 
To Be Known By Him,
an article by Stan Inouye

“Lord, You Know. . .”
a personal illustration by Stan Inouye

Dr. Mas Shares His Memories and Ministry
an interview by Sharon Uyeda Fong

Impressions of Brazil’s Japanese
an article by Paul Mizuki

Jesus Through Japanese Eyes
a book review by Robert Yonemoto, Jr.
of A Life of Jesus by Shusaku Endo

the kaki seed
Winter 1985, Volume 2, Number 1

The Buddha and Christ in Contrast
an article by J. Isamu Yamamoto

Seeking Peace and Finding Christ
a testimony by Masami Sugiyama

Reaching Japanese Around the World
a report by Stan Inouye

A Question of Suffering
a testimony by J. Isamu Yamamoto

the kaki seed
Spring 1985, Volume 2, Number 2

Storytelling in Evangelism
an article by Kenneth Uyeda Fong

The Story of the Weeping Widow
a sermon by Kenneth Uyeda Fong

“Global Japanese for Christ”
a report by Stan Inouye

Sharing the Good News, a collection of testimonies by Arlene Inouye

Shaking the “Saltshaker,” a book review by Sharon Uyeda Fong of Out of the Saltshaker and into the World by Rebecca Manley Pippert

the kaki seed
Summer/Fall 1985, Vol. 2, No. 3

Attempting Japanese Theology
an article by Peter Shimada

“Prosperous Prodigal” Revisited
an article by the Iwa staff

“Dear Ted. . .”
an open letter by the Iwa staff

Capturing the Vision. . .
a report by the Iwa staff

Wrestling With Bartimaeus
an article by David Shinoda

the kaki seed
Spring 1987, Volume 3, Number 1

“Had Your Feet Washed Lately?"
an article by Stan Inouye

Cultural Barriers to Church Renewal in the Japanese American Community
an article by Arlene Inouye

The “Greening” of Evergreen
an interview by the Iwa staff

the kaki seed
Summer/Fall 1987, Vol. 3, No. 2

Witness Through “Withness”
an article by Arlene Inouye

Understanding Sabbath In Our Time
an article by Stan Inouye

Journey to “Yes”
a testimony by Nancy Harada

Response of a “Little Stone,”
a book review by Wayne Ibara of
A Stone Cried Out by Shigeo Shimada

May I Introduce Someone to You Who Changed My Life. . . .
by Cyril Nishimoto

This booklet is the result of an attempt by Iwa Executive Director, Cyril Nishimoto, to create a new and different kind of sharing tool—one that introduces people to a living and very real person, Jesus Christ, rather than to the Plan of Salvation, through stories.

There are seven stories from the Bible about the encounters of real-life people with Jesus, and seven stories about Cyril’s own present-day encounters with that same Jesus depicted in each of the Bible stories.

Designed also to encourage Christians to write their own stories and use them as sharing tools for introducing people to Jesus, the booklet ends with an invitation to the reader to begin an intimate relationship with Jesus, or in the alternative, to get to know Him better.

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Miracles in Little Tokyo
by Bill Watanabe

Miracles in Little Tokyo: Seeking the Prosperity of the City is the story of Bill Watanabe, Executive Director of Little Tokyo Service Center (LTSC) and how God led him and LTSC to create services and programs that have revitalized Little Tokyo.  Union Center for the Arts, Casa Heiwa, the Tofu Festival, Asian Americans for Miracle Marrow Matches, the Little Tokyo Recreation Center—Bill has amazing stories of God being involved in these and other projects that have breathed new life into Little Tokyo.

Read some samples of Bill's stories here on the left.

                                                            order here

Miracles in Little Tokyo
Study Guides

Three study guides have been created to make Miracles in Little Tokyo usable by churches.  Instead of Bible study, the study of Bill’s story can be “life study.”  And it can be used as an evangelistic study to introduce seekers to God as Someone who is alive and real, and active in the lives of people and on behalf of whole communities in concrete ways.

The Mirror of God
by Stan Inouye

If God created human beings to be a reflection of God’s image, how can the Church, representing a fallen humanity restored by Jesus Christ, fully reflect the divine image of God? This article reprinted from Christianity Today (Volume 33, No.4) describes how the Church, through Jesus Christ, can repair the mirror of God—humankind’s original one world culture—which was shattered at the Tower of Babel, by honoring and embracing each broken fragment—each racial and ethnic piece.

The Prosperous Prodigal
by Stan Inouye

Back in the early ‘80s, Iwa was talking about the elder brother in Jesus’ story of The Prodigal Son as being a key figure for Japanese- and Asian Americans to focus on when everyone else was making the younger brother the center of attention. This signature piece of Iwa shows the elder brother’s rejection of his father’s love and failure to be motivated by love in return, to be a depiction of the unrecognized sin that people of Japanese ancestry and others from shame-based cultures seem to have toward God.

Seeing the Contagious Christian Course With Asian American Eyes

This booklet provides a review of the Willow Creek Association’s popular evangelism training program, the Contagious Christian Course, with suggestions on how to maximize its effectiveness for Asian Americans and other Asian people. It is not only valuable as an assessment of a particular evangelism training program, but is also valuable as an exposition of Iwa’s philosophy of evangelism.

Sharing A Story of Hope
by Danny Matsuda

This is the story of former Iwa staff member, Danny Matsuda.  Danny shares how a devastating divorce brought him into a relationship with Christ who gave him hope, healing, and a future.

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Sharing Our Faith with Our Japanese Neighbors
by Stan Inouye

This article appeared in the Christian magazine, Radix (Vol. 21 No. 4), in 1993. It delivers the content of Iwa’s study, “Hearing the Gospel With Asian American Ears,” in a conversational form. Exploring a key cultural characteristic of Japanese and other Asian people—“omoiyari” (i.e., empathy)—it provides the rationale for developing a new approach to reaching Asian Americans with the gospel that differs from traditional approaches.

The True Samurai of God
by Stan Inouye

This article explores the Japanese concept of shame as a key to understanding how a meaningful presentation of the gospel to people of Japanese ancestry can be made. Jesus’ sacrifice of his life for us on the cross to purge us of sin and heal our broken relationship with God, is compared to a samurai’s self-sacrificing act of seppuku (ritual suicide or hara-kiri) to erase dishonor and restore harmony to a family or group where shame has disgraced and destroyed.

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Witness Through "Withness"
by Arlene Inouye

If passing out tracts, sharing the Plan of Salvation with strangers, doing door-to-door witnessing, and practicing other traditional methods of spreading the gospel make evangelism seem at odds with a Japanese or Asian cultural upbringing, perhaps different, more culturally consistent methods need to be found to make evangelism seem more doable. This article offers one--“withness”—a relational practice that Jesus himself used that may fit the culture of people of Japanese or Asian ancestry.