Aging Japanese businesses and churches seek successors

Japan (MNN) – A declining, aging population in Japan means both businesses and churches need guidance through the transition of leadership.

Japan (MNN) — Japan’s population dropped last year at a record rate. The population has been in steady decline since 2008. The average age of business owners is over 60, and many do not have anyone to take over their business when they retire.

Takeshi Takazawa with A3 says, “They’re healthy, to a degree, but they know that they cannot continue the same way of doing business for the next 10 years. Then what do you do?

“They are stuck in having trouble developing the succession plan or finding the successors.”

This problem of succession affects Japanese churches as well. Takazawa says, “We have existing about 1000 Bible-believing churches in Japan, and they face exactly same thing in the business.”

A3 guides both businesses and churches through the transition of leadership and provides mentorship for the next generation of leaders.

“We help each congregation, each older pastor. We help through seminars, cohort, helping them to identify the vision and the mission that God has given to a particular congregation beyond the existing senior pastor,” Takazawa says.

Once a transition plan is decided, A3 continues to facilitate communication, offer resources, and invite the Holy Spirit into every step. They see times of transition as invitations for people to draw nearer to God and seek His help. This process requires prayer.

Takazawa says, “I encourage you to pray for Japan, the people in the churches, pastors, leaders, Christians, going through this major change. Intercede for us so that we would go deeper with God through this transition.”

If you are a business leader, consider partnering with A3 to encourage and mentor others in business around the world. Learn more here.

Listen to the broadcast (story starts at 1:37) 

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More Information

• This story by Emily Roth was originally published on 31-Jul-2023 by Mission Network News:
  https://www.mnnonline.org/news/aging-japanese-businesses-and-churches-seek-successors/
• Download the audio file:
  https://a3-media.s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/audio/mnn/4-5min-Jul31-2023.mp3     
• Header image photo by Aditya Rao on Unsplash.

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