to-door haiku (Gospel distribution). The
people were then invited to the Gospel
meetings that were held nightly in the
crusade tent.
Kemp tells of one such meeting in
Akita City, “A high school student had
attended and said that he had searched
for salvation for more than two years. Under deep conviction, he awoke early one
morning, opened the small Bible that he
had been given, read Psalm 51, and was
deeply moved. He continued to attend
our meetings and finally yielded himself
completely to the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Kemp returned to the States after serving in Japan for two years. He met Jean
while studying at Asbury Theological
Seminary, and they married following her
graduation from Asbury College. After
Kemp completed his seminary degree, he
and Jean headed to Japan to serve in evangelism and church planting for 21 years.
They helped establish several churches in
the Tokyo, Chiba, and Hokkaido areas.
Through their firsthand experiences
in Asia, Kemp and Jean began to sense
a deep concern for all the work of OMS
around the world.
In 1987, Kemp accepted an assignment
at the OMS World Headquarters as director of Recruitment and Campus Ministries.
He later served as the director of the Central
Regional Office of OMS, mobilizing and
assisting local churches and camp meetings to reach their mission goals.
Today, Kemp and Jean are involved
with the World Intercessors team, challenging individuals and churches to be
involved as prayer champions for OMS.
Eternity alone will reveal the fruit of
the Edwards’ ministry. The God who prepared the hearts of the Ethiopian official
(Acts 8), Saul of Tarsus (Acts 9), and the
Roman Centurion (Acts 10) undoubtedly
opened countless thousands of Japanese
hearts through the Edwards’ ministry…
and many thousands more in recent days
through their prayer ministry.
Living a Legacy:
Kemp and Jean Edwards
By Dr. Stan Dyer, Former Executive Director
of OMS Canada and Missionary to Japan
The devastating bombs of WWII had
shattered the cities of Hiroshima and
Nagasaki. The Shinto faith of the nation
also had been shattered. Japan’s deified
emperor could never fail. But he did!
The nation of Japan lay ruined,
broken, and destroyed. Out
of the dust of such carnage
came a call from General
Douglas MacArthur for
thousands of Christian
missionaries to bring
the Gospel of peace to
this war-torn nation.
Newly elected OMS
President (in 1949), Dr.
Eugene Erny, accepted
this call as a challenge for
One Mission Society. With
God-prompted vision, the Mission
initiated a new movement, the Japan
Every Creature Crusade (known today as
Every Community for Christ).
OMS recruited young missionaries to
partner with Japanese teams and visit
every home across the nation.
From Canada, the United States,
and Australia, 18 young men
surrendered to the divine
mandate to take the
Gospel to the people
of Japan. Within 22
months, these
teams had visited some 500,000
homes, and nearly
17,000 men, women,
and young people
had found salvation in
Christ. Kemp Edwards,
from a small town in eastern North Carolina, was one
such crusader who answered God’s
call. A slogan of the late Oswald J. Smith,
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“Untold millions are still untold” had
stirred Kemp’s soul and thrust him into
the waiting Japan harvest.
Soon after arriving in Tokyo, Kemp
was assigned a team of five Japanese
young men. Okamura Sensei had been
an interpreter for at least five other crusaders. He became Kemp’s team leader
and interpreter. Okamura, a godly man
who had been severely tortured during
the war because of his strong faith in
Christ, resolved never to worship Japan’s
emperor and understood the value of intercession.
Kemp’s team was sent to the northern
prefecture of Akita. The team members
carried a small 20-page booklet called,
Anshin no Michi in Japanese or The Way
of Peace, written by a Japanese pastor
to send a strong message of peace to
a war-ravaged Japan. The young men
fanned out into the villages with door-
photos page 18, top: Kemp, bottom row, with a few
Japanese friends bottom: Kemp and Jean Edwards today
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