The Church in Action in Japan

If you are looking for a recommendation for an organization to donate towards relief in Japan, I recommend CRASH that is listed below.

While the devastation caused by last week's earthquake and tsunami in Japan becomes more and more apparent, Christian relief agencies and church groups in Japan and around the world have begun the hard work of bringing aid to those in need. Here is a small sampling of some of the ways that Christians are attempting to show the love of Christ in very tangible ways.

• The Salvation Army in Japan has three emergency service relief teams operating in areas affected by the earthquake and tsunami. One team is assisting people displaced from areas where there is potential danger because of damage to nuclear power stations.
• A Samaritan's Purse disaster relief team has arrived in Japan and is preparing to provide relief supplies to those affected by the disaster. Japanese church partners have obtained permission and secured trucks to distribute supplies to the areas most in need.
• The N.C. Baptist Men's search and rescue team is in Japan assessing needs and distributing food.
• The United Methodist Committee on Relief and the General Board of Global Ministries are working through relief and church partners in Japan to provide immediate and long-term assistance.
• The group Christian Relief, Assistance, Support and Hope (CRASH) is setting up a base in Sendai, Japan to coordinate relief efforts. "We just confirmed that trucks of goods will start moving there today," said CRASH spokesman, Paul Nethercott on Wednesday.
• The Japan Evangelical Alliance and its member churches and organizations, such as the Salvation Army of Japan, the Japan Alliance Christ Church, World Vision Japan, the Japan Evangelical Church Association, Jesus Christ Church in Japan, are also engaged with relief operations.
• On March 15, the Russian Orthodox Church announced that it started fundraising to help the Orthodox communities in Japan and the earthquake victims.
• The Japan Evangelical Lutheran Church is working on relief operations with its two congregations in Sendai, a city particularly hard-hit, as well as with other denominations. The Anglican-Episcopal Church in Japan has set up relief headquarters at its office in Tokyo.
• The Lutheran Church, Missouri Synod, is giving an initial $200,000 to two Lutheran church bodies in Japan to provide disaster relief — the Japan Lutheran Church and the West Japan Evangelical Lutheran Church.