February 28 – March 9, 2025 DATE CHANGED!
Previously, we posted the dates as January 31 – February 9 but we needed to change the dates as listed above.
We are leading a team of skilled and general laborers (men and women) to work on a project for Yomitan International Church (YIC) in Okinawa which works in partnership with Empowering Japan. This needed work will allow them to better house incoming Youth With A Mission (YWAM) outreach teams to spread the love of Jesus Christ all over the island!
Our team will fly from America to Okinawa on Friday, February 28. We will do some visiting, see some sites, maybe go walk on the beach and go to YIC on Sunday and allow our bodies to get acclimated to another time zone. On Monday we will begin the work and put in a good 40 hour week blessing YIC with some skilled labor. Details on the project will unfold as we get closer to the team assignment. Yes, we want some skilled carpenters, plumbers, electricians, dry hangers and finishers, etc. But we also need some general laborers who can help the process go smoother. We will also need a cook or two. We will most likely fly out on Sunday, March 9 and return on Sunday of the same date to America (we lose a day flying over the international date line).
This will be an awesome team to be part of! Read more below …
Take time to watch this video …
Tom & Ruth Denlinger returned from Okinawa, Japan after a very successful “first trip” in April 2024 where they learned about the ministries of Empowering Japan and Yomitan International Church. Their son, Ryan Denlinger, is the founder and General Director of Empowering Japan.
Tom is the co-founder of LightShine Ministries with Jeff Zimmerman. Jeff is already working with the leadership of Empowering Global on an advisory level.
More information is coming about this new team that is forming for 2025. Send an email to Tom Denlinger: lightshine777@comcast.net to get direct news on this team.
Empowering Japan has a network of local Japan-based ministries that they collaborate with having training conferences, evangelism events, prayer events, and more. They also provide avenues for short-term missionaries to have ministry opportunities in Japan. You can visit their website by clicking on their logo. You can also visit their Facebook page HERE.
The main mission for Empowering Japan is five-fold:
- Connecting local churches, people, and ministries together in relationship and outreach.
- Evangelize and win the lost for the Kingdom of Jesus Christ in Japan.
- Equip, disciple, and train the Body of Christ in Kingdom identity living and expression as a child of God, supernatural gifts and the power of Holy Spirit, and evangelism.
- Mobilizing the church in presentation of the simple Gospel through public outreaches.
- Plug people into ministries to serve their local community.
This ministry is already making disciples in Japan where statistics say that only 1.5% of their population is Christian. They work with Yomitan International Church (photos above). There is great need there to build up ministries like Empowering Japan and provide physical help to give them more tools to make disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ! Here is another video made by Anders Godø who is friends of YIC.
If you are able to join us, please contact Tom Denlinger at: lightshine777@comcast.net and tell him you are interested.
The cost of this trip is $2475.
Our trip cost covers everything you need once you leave your home until you return. The total is determined by analyzing the cost of team assignments from previous years (things like your airline ticket, ground transportation, three meals a day, and many administrative fees that LightShine incurs) and combining that experience with known costs in Japan.
If you want to be part of this team, please complete this Registration Form with a $40 registration fee. This fee covers the cost of a LightShine Japan team shirt and locks you in as a team member. Once you are contacted by your team leader and your place is secured on this team, you can begin raising financial support by sending out support letters to your family and church friends. Simply have them send missionary support to us for your trip costs. Your team leader will help you develop your support letter and include two important dates for your supporters to note. The first financial deadline for half your support ($1,237.50) is due on January 17, 2025. This first deadline is very important to keep because it will enables us to purchase your airline tickets. Once airline tickets are purchased, there is no backing out of the team. The second deadline for your entire amount is January 31, 2025. Please note that these deadlines are strictly enforced. Not keeping them will cause us to ask you to step down from this team and consider another future team. Please take time to review our “Policies” page for more information.
The earlier you register the sooner you can start raising your financial support. We encourage you to get this out of the way early so you can enjoy the experience without any distractions. You will be so glad you did! A side benefit on this trip is seeing God’s beautiful creation including mountains, moose and maybe even the northern lights. This will be a life changing experience for you and will give you a new perspective on helping those who are really in need!
Send an email to Tom Denlinger: lightshine777@comcast.net to get direct news on this team.
Thank you for considering going with us in February 2025!