By MELANIE PILTINGSRUD
Staff Writer
After eight years of ministry at Ellendale's Vibrant Life Assembly of God, Patrick and Kalyna Stitt and their five children have decided to become missionaries to Japan.
Patrick Stitt, originally from Ireland, moved to England as a teenager with his parents. There his father taught sociology and social policy, and his mother was a health care nurse. Stitt came to the United States in 2004 to go to Bethany Global University.
Kalyna was born in Rochester, Minn., the daughter of a military family, who was used to moving constantly. She, too, felt called to the ministry, and chose the Bethany missionary school where the two met.
Patrick Stitt is grateful for the reception he and his family received at Vibrant Life Assembly of God. “It's been wonderful,” says Stitt. “When I started out, I sucked. I was so bad. I had no clue what I was doing, was just a terrible preacher, a terrible pastor all around, and they just still loved me, and they were just really kind to me. If you go to the Cities and you pastor a church, and you do poorly, you're their employee, so you're going to need to fix that or move on. In rural Minnesota, it's like, 'Yeah, he might suck, but he's our pastor and we love him!' It's the goofy cousin that you just love anyway. But they gave me the grace to grow.”
Despite the good fit at Vibrant Life, Patrick and Kalyna Stitt felt called to the mission field. “God just put a burden on our hearts for people who would never get the chance to hear the Gospel,” says Stitt. He and his family learned that Japan is the second least reached country in the world. Per Stitt, it is the only country where Christianity is legal and yet is still on the decline.
The Stitts reached out to missionaries in Japan and, through them, gained the opportunity to go to Japan to run a church for two weeks. Stitt went there with his oldest son, Jack.
Now, the family plans to move to Osaka, Japan, to plant the first Assembly of God church plant in 30 years.
“There's nothing,” said Stitt of what the family will face once they get to Japan. “There's no building. There's no followers, There's no congregation.
“Our plan is we go over there and we just start relationships,” Stitt continues of how they'll approach their job as missionaries. The family plans first to befriend the people in their new community, inviting them out for a burger or to go hiking, for example. “And occasionally we'll say, 'Hey, we're going to do a Bible study on the book of Romans. Ever read the book of Romans?'” Stitt also plans to combine Japan's love of Western history with his love of the theater to stage historical plays on topics like the Reformation.
Kalyna has a degree in English and at one time taught English as a Second Language classes at NRHEG. Soon, she will be teaching English in Japan.
The Stitts hope to live in a house large enough to accommodate worship services. “Old houses are pretty big [in Japan],” says Stitt. “Their houses are kind of like our cars; they depreciate in value pretty quick, because there are so many earthquakes, and they're every year renewing the standard on how to be an earthquake-proof house.” Which means that, when purchasing a house in Japan, one might be required to do major updates to bring it up to modern requirements. It also means that the Stitts may be able to find a reasonably priced house that is also large enough to accommodate a congregation.
The Stitt children, Jack (14) Finnian (13) Levi (12) Aletheia (8), and Keela (5), currently homeschool and will continue to do so in Japan. “We've always told our kids, 'Anytime you want to go to the public school, just let us know,” says Stitt. “But they just see their friends with so much more homework. They don't want to do it.” Stitt further explains that, because homeschooling is so rare in Japan, they don't have any laws against it.
“It is the exact opposite of America in most ways you could imagine,” says Stitt of the Japanese culture. “Americans are very individualistic. We do [things] because, 'I feel it in my heart. It's what I'm supposed to do. Even if everyone's against me, I'm going to do it, because I'm just the best!' So we really love ourselves, and that's great. It's a wonderful way to be.” Per Stitt, the Japanese are more likely to ask themselves what the community is doing and go with the flow. “They have a phrase: 'The nail that sticks up the highest is the first to get hammered down.'” Whereas Americans value individualism, the Japanese compare the individual to a cherry blossom petal. “One cherry blossom petal in itself is not much to look at, but, if you look at billions of them over a forest, it's the most stunning thing in the world. So they would say, 'You are not important as an individual, but, when you're part of the giant collective, you are particularly beautiful.”
Stitt sees some value in the Japanese view of humanity. “I think a tremendous cause of the anxiety and emotional stress a lot of people are under is this constant need to self-analyze,” says Stitt. “We're actually defined by our relationships; we're defined by who we are as parents or siblings or children or spouses or who we are to God. And I think that's a really important part of an identity that will calm you and relax you. But the constant need for self-analysis […], I think that's very bad for people overall.”
Another feature of the Japanese cultural landscape is risk aversion. “In America, we love risk,” says Stitt. “Risk excites us, so starting a new business, that's really cool. Betting on something that doesn't have a shot – we like that. We love the David and Goliath [scenario], the overcoming odds. Japanese people don't do risk. They don't start businesses or invent things and instead work for one company that is big and established until they die. Many struggle to start relationships and romantic relationships because they're highly risk averse, and a relationship is risk. A new job is risk also. Starting a new business is risk.”
Risk aversion is one of a number of aspects that make Christianity unpopular. “Any big life change is considered risk, so being a Christian is very outside the norm,” says Stitt. “It's a different lifestyle that often goes against certain grains in their culture.” Anything that causes a drastic shift in their social standing represents a risk.
Also, whereas Americans can be highly confrontational, the Japanese avoid confrontation. Stitt explains, “In America we can say, 'You disagree with my position, but you love me as a person.' Not on Facebook, but in real life we do that.” In contrast, the Japanese look at a disagreement as a personal attack.
Confrontation often defines American evangelism, with ministers seemingly condemning congregations for acting in a way contrary to Biblical principles. In Japan, one cannot present Biblical principles by telling people their behavior is wrong. What you can say, per Stitt, is that Jesus calls us to behave a certain way, because he wants to bless us.
The Japanese are familiar with Christianity only as a Western concept. “They've heard of Christianity, and they know the name 'Jesus,' but they don't know anything about it,” says Stitt.
“It is hard to win converts in Japan, no question about it,” says Stitt. “They have assumptions about religion in general that make it difficult for them to accept Christianity. They are Buddhist and Shinto, but they do it out of cultural reasoning. There are very few people who would say they really believe in this, who are really into Shintoism or really learn the stories. That's very rare.” According to Stitt, the Japanese would define themselves as religious atheists. “They like their religion as a form of social cohesion, but not in any way as a decision making factor in their life.”
The Japanese language presents some challenges in presenting Christianity, too. Stitt explains that the Japanese word for 'sin' is 'crime.' To present a Japanese person with the question, 'Are you a sinner?' is to ask them if they are a criminal, rather than asking them if they have done bad things, as suggested by the English word, 'sin.' “One thing you could say is, 'Have you done things you shouldn't have?' which is a really bad way to say it,” says Stitt, summarizing: “They don't have a word for sin.”
Stitt references the book God is not One (2011) by Stephen Prothero, which states that, whereas all religions are very different, every religion has an ultimate goal. Stitt explains, “In Protestant Christianity the ultimate goal is Heaven, but [in] Shintoism and Buddhism in Japan, its ultimate goal is harmony.” According to Stitt, the Japanese are not particularly interested in eternal life because that would mean being old forever. “You would say that God has created harmony in your hearts and in society, and he's going to create his reign in the world. That to them is a reign of healing.
“If people would pray for us, that would be really wonderful,” Stitt continues. “Japan's been struggling lately. Suicide rates have drastically increased. Rates of social anxiety where people are home bound have drastically increased. So there's a lot of young people who are saying, 'We need to do something different. We need something new in our lives.' We really believe Jesus is that answer. We really believe he does bring healing. He gives us hope. He gives us love and salvation.” Stitt's hope is that everyone would pray that the Japanese would hear that message. “Pray for us, and stay in touch,” says Stitt, “and, if you want us to come and chat, let us know. Any Bible study or church that wants to have us come and do a spiel, we're glad to do it.”
The Stitt family have been touring from church to church, raising funds and supporters for their missionary journey. The Stitts plan to keep in contact with the Vibrant Life congregation in Ellendale, as well as all the congregations that support them, via their website, www.stittfamilyinjapan.com where people can keep up to date and donate to their cause. The Stitts also have Instagram and Facebook pages with the same handle. The Stitt family can be reached via social media, or, while they're still in the US, at 651-621-0472.
Meanwhile, the youngest Stitt boy, Levi, is raising money for the mission field by selling goodies he makes himself on Ellendale's business district every Saturday afternoon from 1 - 3 p.m. Stop by and make his day by purchasing a brownie and some fresh-squeezed lemonade.