In music terms, dissonance creates movement or even suspense in a song. It invites tension. That tension is what helps grab our ear’s attention and the interchanging of these notes with pleasant melodious parts is what makes music such a delight. In a similar way, God is using music to grab people’s attention and catalyze Gospel impact in the largely unreached nation of Japan.
TEAM Global Worker, Luke Standridge moved to Japan in 2019 with no clear direction on how he was going to use his passion for composing music while doing ministry. However, after Luke got involved with a local church and began developing deep friendships, the Lord opened unimaginable doors for Luke that in time, coordinating his creative skills with sharing the Word.
“People Need to Come to Japan!”
Growing up as one of ten kids in a family that was heavily involved in ministry and missions, Luke never considered that it would one day be a part of his own journey. In 2016, via a Japanese language learning class in Indiana, Luke and his brother had the opportunity to travel to Japan. Hearing, learning, and using the language in the context of Japanese culture was the goal. While it was Luke’s first international trip – even his first trip on a plane – it was also his first time hearing about the spiritual condition of the Japanese people. “And just through that, God did a huge 180 change on my heart,” says Luke. “More people should come here as global workers. People need to come to Japan!”
The call God was laying on Luke’s heart is echoed when looking at the spiritual landscape of Japan. The nation is home to the second largest unreached people group in the world. It is one of the most difficult places for the Gospel to take hold and grow. Japan is also home to a deep and rich culture that prizes creative arts from pottery to ink to music to anime – a fact that would help Luke find his niche in life and ministry.
God’s Guiding Hand
In the short three-month timespan of that first trip, Luke found that opportunities came naturally to share about life, and people’s curiosity for Christianity grew. “I left Japan knowing I just had to come back,” Luke shares. “Even if I didn’t get back to the same area, I knew Japan was where God wanted me to be.”
The Lord is good all the time and all the time the Lord is good. His plans do not fail. Luke returned to Japan in 2019, and less than a week after arriving, he was put in touch with a renowned composer in Japan. The composer saw some of Luke’s music and invited him to help write the music for a beloved in-country animated show. But God wasn’t finished yet! Fast forward a year, and more connections and opportunities allowed Luke to help with music for Pokémon – a franchise that has brand recognition around the world and was being developed into a TV series in Japan.
Luke recalls how the Lord began using these connections in the production world to open doors for Gospel conversations. One night while having dinner in downtown Tokyo with famous artists and composers from all around the country, Luke was asked about his ministry-focused visa. This was a rare opportunity in a setting with people otherwise uninterested in Christianity. Luke shares, “The whole time I could see God’s hand in guiding the entire thing.”
When Two Worlds Collide
The Lord has orchestrated so many other opportunities, too. To date, Luke has worked on fifteen or more Japanese TV series and movies, with some of the biggest actors in the country and some of the most beloved franchises. He has been asked to produce multiple music albums – just from his living room with a single microphone and very minimal equipment.
Time and circumstances have also produced a “very cool kind of cross-pollination where the Christian community in Japan gets to collaborate on these secular projects as well,” says Luke. This is huge. The avenues that develop when these two worlds collide is vast and effective in a country like Japan.
“I gave up [my pursuit of] music to come back to Japan and to pursue missions or whatever the Lord was going to allow. I gave it up and then God gave it all back in an amazing way,” Luke says. “I wouldn’t call it revival, but it is almost like the future here is a first kind of Christian awakening. It’s exciting!”
The outlook for Creative Art Ministries is bright in Japan. Luke and his family plan to continue serving and hope to raise funds for upgraded equipment and access to appropriate recording spaces to level the playing field across the country. Recording studios in Japan have multiple limitations that make it inaccessible to many who have this God-given talent and a testimony to share through music.
“Because music is so big here and everyone loves it, having a Gospel-centered conversation can take years, but handing an album or CD to an unbelieving neighbor is a very easy thing to do,” says Luke. His work can help churches and other Christian groups to produce those CDs as an outreach tool.
Ministering to the Hearts of Believers
Luke also has a heart to minister to his fellow believers. Christians in Japan can feel very isolated. There is a darkness from the shrines and idols that is heavy. Luke’s goal for the believers he works with is not just for them to get a recording of their music, but also to have a renewed fire in their souls. He desires for them to have a sense of energy and passion to take back and reach their communities for the Lord’s glory.
While Luke and his wife serve in Japan, TEAM is embracing and celebrating the creative activity of God through His people around the world. Celebrate with us but also pray for workers like Luke. Your prayers and support create doorways for the Lord’s hand to move in powerful ways.
“Who can name the many ways a heart might be moved? We were created in God’s image, and thus, creating is part of who we are at the deepest level. I wondered, when we are creating or responding to the creation of others, is this then when we are most like our heavenly Creator?” (The High Calling series, Visual and Creative Arts as Ministry, Theology of Work)
