This week we'll look at Kita (北区) and Arakawa (荒川区) wards and how we can pray for them.

Kita means north in Japanese and is the northern most ward in Tokyo. It lies just left of Itabashi and has a long history. Before World War II it was a collection of farming communities. After the war, the region hit an industrial boom in which many chemical plants were established. The chemicals were used in tandem with the paper factories of Itabashi that we mentioned last week. Kita ward has a population of 334,000 and is roughly 13 sq mi. Kita ward has the highest population of elderly in all of Tokyo. 25% of the population is over 65. The effects of Japan's aging society in well documented in Kita ward. Since 1965, the population of the ward has decreased by 12,000 due largely to deaths of the elderly. In Kita ward there are only 15 churches, that's 22,266 people per church.

With this information in mind how can we pray for Kita ward?

• Pray for the salvation of the elderly in Kita ward
• Pray for the churches of Kita ward that they would have boldness to engage the people of Kita ward on mission to share the gospel.
• Pray that young christian families would see the opportunities for mission in the ward and consider moving there.

Arakawa, meaning raging river, has a population of 202,000 people in a space of about 6 sq mi. Arakawa was destroyed in world war II but efforts to rebuild it have made one of the best wards to live in today. Arakawa has the most long term residents of any ward and one of the highest populations of Asian foreigners in Tokyo. It has been voted one of the best places to raise children in Tokyo. With so much going for Arakawa, there are only 14 churches in this ward, that's 14,500 people for every church.

Let's pray for Arakawa

• Pray that the churches of Arakawa would seize opportunities to raise up new leaders from the young generations around them.
• Pray that the churches would be able to connect and reach the foreigners around them and make a global impact for Christ.
• Pray that the churches of Arakawa would continue to step out on mission and boldly proclaim the gospel.