Following World War II, Douglas MacArthur called for a different kind of soldier. In 1946, the Japanese had come face to face with their worst fears: everything they had faith in had been destroyed. The Emperor system was undermined when Emperor Hirohito admitted in a nationwide radio broadcast that he was not the Creator God. Not only was this news deeply shocking, but it was compounded by the failure of the state Shinto religion to offer solace to the people of Japan. In his book, Under the Shadow of the Occupation, (1945) author Eiichiro Tokumoto wrote, “There was a complete collapse of faith in Japan in 1945–in our invincible military, in the emperor, in the religion that had become known as ‘state Shinto’.” General MacArthur made the accurate observation that defeat in the war had left a “spiritual vacuum” in Japan and he called for 5,000 missionaries and a million Bibles to fill the void.
In the meantime, God had been working on the heart of a tall, lanky serviceman in the Navy. While sleeping in his bunk one night, Lavern Rodgers could no longer resist. He felt like Jonah–he had been resisting the tug of God’s hand on his heart. God was calling him to do the hardest thing imaginable – overcome his hatred of the enemy and give his life to full-time service as a soldier of the Lord.
Lavern Rodgers was raised by his parents in San Antonio, TX, with his brother Bernie. At age 12, Lavern became a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ at Huisache Avenue Baptist Church in San Antonio, TX.
In 1946, after being honorably discharged from the Navy, Lavern Rodgers entered Bible Baptist Seminary in
Ft. Worth, TX. During his second year of seminary, he was asked to preach at a revival meeting at Corinth Baptist Church in Mississippi. On that evening, two young ladies surrendered for missionary service to Japan. Their names were Evelyn Louise Minshew and Clara Wilhite. He didn’t know it, but at different times during his lifetime, he would marry both of these two dedicated servants of the Lord!
After graduation, Lavern and Evelyn were married, and the following year, on March 31, 1950, the young couple left Houston, TX, at ages 22 and 19, respectively. They departed by ship, and after 33 days of “rocking and rolling” the Rodgers finally arrived at Yokohama, Japan.
Testing of their faith and commitment began even before their arrival in Yokohama. They left the U.S. as missionaries sent out of Huisache Baptist Church through the Worldwide Fundamental Missionary Baptist Fellowship. En route to Japan, the fellowship was divided, and the Baptist Bible Fellowship was born. Since the Rodgers identified with the BBF, they lost their sending church and half of their support. Thankfully, there were those willing to stand in the gap. Grace Baptist Temple in San Antonio, TX, where Lavern’s brother Bernie was pastor, became their sending church.
While most missionaries would have considered quitting, Lavern and Evelyn were undaunted. Within five months of his arrival, using interpreters and any means at his disposal, Lavern Rodgers began mission work in Japan at full tilt. Between 1950 and 1967, Rodgers started churches in Shizuoka, Shimizu, Yokohama, Sakura, and Kyoto. During this time, he worked with fellow missionaries Ike Foster, Olsen Hodges, and Alvin Marsden. Together, these men started the Japan Baptist Bible Fellowship. He established the Japan Baptist Bible College in Chiba, Japan (East of Tokyo), and served as a professor and/or dean for 35 years.
At the beginning of the Rodgers’ ministry, Japan was a war-torn country. Everything was in flux and Lavern, and his fellow missionaries seized the opportunities as they came, one by one. They were faced with a post-war challenge. How do you build a church facility when there are no materials? The answer: old-fashioned recycling. For example, in Shizuoka, the four missionaries purchased the materials they could remove from a former Nikon building. By hand, the four men tore down the building, took the scraps, and built their first church in Shizuoka. Perhaps that is why Rodgers said, “I’m a scrap-lumber missionary; I built churches with what I had.” Even the Bible College in Tokyo began in three Quonset huts that had been purchased from the U.S. military. Rodgers taught the young Japanese Christians an important lesson that can be applied to the spiritual as well as the physical realm. Namely, one must use what the Lord provides.
Their first work in Shizuoka, 150 miles west of Tokyo, was begun in September 1950. After ten years, Rodgers passed the baton of leadership to Norio Adachi. Adachi had initially worked for General MacArthur at general headquarters (GHQ) translating Japanese newspapers into English for the military to stay informed of current events. After he was saved, this talent was used for translating English textbooks into Japanese for use at the Bible College, which was started in 1954.
Jiro Mochizuki was only 15 years old when he came riding up on his bicycle with his buddy and asked “Hallo (hello), are you Amerikajin (American)? Why you come to Japan?” That was a question Rodgers was always thrilled to answer at the start of the Shizuoka church. That day, Lavern Rodgers led Jiro and his friend to the Lord. Later, in 1957, Jiro Mochizuki became the first graduate of the Japan Bible Baptist College and began a fruitful ministry that continued for the next 60 years.
Similarly, another young man, Toshitada Yamamiya, was saved at Shizuoka BBC and became a Bible college student. Yamamiya became Rodgers’ second son in the ministry. During their first few years on the mission field, God blessed Lavern and Evelyn with three children: Jerusha (Jerry), Jonathan, and Belinda. So their children would have access to the Christian school, they moved their work closer to Tokyo. Rodgers moved to Yokohama and started another church and Christian preschool. When Yamamiya graduated from JBBC, he was ready to take the reins of Yokohama Bible Baptist Church, where he served faithfully for 50 years.
Years later, in 1968, the Rodgers family moved to western Tokyo and started what would become a flagship church of the Japan BBF. Chofu Baptist Temple was born along with the Kohitsuji Youchien (Little Lamb Kindergarten.) The church and school grew, and in 1970, Chofu BT held their first missions conference. At that time, the key to Chofu’s missionary efforts was introduced: faith-promise giving. In 1978, the building that remains today was dedicated. Huge for Japanese standards, Chofu had a weekly attendance of over 200 people.
In 1989, the Lord received Evelyn Rodgers into glory, and in 1990, Lavern Rodgers married the second young lady to come forward at that tent revival in Mississippi many years ago. Clara Marsden’s husband Alvin had also passed away. God orchestrated the events that allowed Lavern and Clara to be married. At that time, Clara’s sending church, Hallmark Baptist Church in Ft. Worth, TX, also became Lavern Rodgers’ second sponsoring church.
The church at Chofu is an amazing story of faith promise missions at home and abroad. During Rodgers’ 30 years at Chofu, five churches were planted in Kofu, Uenohara, Wakaba, Atsugi Naval Air Base, Ohira, Miyota, and Hachioji. In addition, five missionary couples were sent out to Indonesia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Hawaii, and a Restricted Access Nation. In total, over fifty people surrendered to full-time service at Chofu BT. One man could not do this alone, and during his tenure at Chofu, two men became the hands and feet of these new ministries – Yuu Tokoro and Minoru Ishikawa. Tokoro retired from a successful career at NHK Television to become the Assistant Pastor of Chofu and Principal of Little Lamb Kindergarten. According to Rodgers, Tokoro “has been like my right arm for almost 50 years.” Additionally, when Rodgers stepped down as pastor of Chofu to take the responsibility of the camp ministry in Miyota, Ishikawa took the pastorate of Chofu BT.
The campground at Miyota, now called Megumi (Grace) Campground, was purchased in 1998 with funding from the John Rawlings Foundation. The campground was an answer to over 60 years of prayer for a BBFI dedicated campground which ministers “especially to kids and young people, the church of tomorrow.” The campground has been the site for hundreds of people making decisions for salvation, baptism, and full-time service. Recently, the Betenbough Builders of Lubbock, TX, have given $50,000 (U.S.) for the construction of additional sleeping facilities and other improvements.
In 1995, Lavern Rodgers was awarded an honorary Doctor of Divinity (D.D.) from Baptist Bible College in Springfield, MO. Rodgers has also received an honorary Doctorate from Japan Bible Baptist College. This past July, Lavern Rodgers celebrated his 92nd birthday at the JBBF Campgrounds in Miyota, Japan. He is in his 70th year of ministry in Japan. Rodgers said recently, “God has done miracles over and over again. He has led me to open doors for great fruit. I believe the best is yet to come. When we stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ, I hope and pray we will hear Him say, ‘Well done, thou good and faithful servant.’”
Lavern Rodgers’ life verse: “Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days.” Ecclesiastes 11:1
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George King, missionary to Japan
The BBFI recommends that new missionaries work with a veteran missionary during their early years on the field. I am grateful for that advice. Though I already had the experience of starting several churches in the USA, I wisely made two decisions. First, to follow that advice, and second, to ask Lavern Rodgers to allow me to work with him so I could better adapt to ministry in Japan. During my year and a half of language study, I was to learn a lot more than just the language. Paul was honored to study at the feet of Gamaliel. I was honored to study at the feet of one of the greatest missionaries in Japan.
What makes him great? He has a love for the Japanese people that originates in God’s love for them. He and both his current wife and late wife served the Lord in true faithfulness, regardless of cost or sacrifice. Most of all, He always had and continues to have, a vision to do more and reach more for Christ. He has been my worthy mentor and continues to be my close friend.
Rev. Yuu Tokoro, Missions Pastor at Chofu BBC
In 2016, I was asked to speak at the JBBF Global Fellowship Meeting in Seoul, Korea. In front of about 4,000 brethren from various countries, I gave the following testimony. “If missionary Lavern Rodgers had not come to Japan, I would not be here. Thank you, Brother Rodgers, for coming to Japan!”
Fifty-two years ago, Lavern Rodgers started Chofu Baptist Temple. My two children, then ages three and five, rode the Sunday School “Hallelujah” bus which Brother Rodgers drove. They were both saved in that ministry. After that, my wife and finally, I was saved, which was the start of a new Christian home.
Fifty years later, my son and his wife are now missionaries in a RAN country. My daughter, who surrendered to full-time ministry at the funeral of Evelyn Rodgers, currently serves with her husband as a missionary to the Japanese in Hawaii. Pastor Rodgers always taught us, “The light that shines a great distance is very bright up close” and “The best is yet to come!” I want to say to Pastor Rodgers, “Thank you a million times for coming!”
Note: translated from Japanese by Amy Smith
