Less than one percent of Japan is Christian.

The country has some of the highest suicide rates in the developed world. A collapsing birth rate. Ancient forests, shrines, and temples that still carry a spiritual weight most Western Christians have never felt firsthand.

And in the middle of all that, there is a Japanese Church that has held on for four hundred years.

We are going to walk with them.

THE STORY YOU HAVE NEVER HEARD

In the 1500s, over 300,000 Japanese people converted to Christ. Missionaries reached the ports. Whole villages gave their lives to Jesus. It was one of the most explosive Christian revivals in Asian history.

Then the persecution began.

In 1597, twenty-six Christians were crucified on a hill in Nagasaki. Then thousands more. Then Christianity was made illegal entirely.

But the Japanese Church did not die.

For two hundred and fifty years, without a single priest, without a Bible, without any contact with Rome, the Kakure Kirishitan (the "Hidden Christians") kept the faith alive. They passed it father to son. Mother to daughter. In whispers. In coded prayers. In handmade rosaries hidden inside Buddhist statues.

When Japan finally reopened in the 1800s and Catholic priests returned, they found tens of thousands of Christians waiting for them at Oura Cathedral in Nagasaki.

Their descendants are still there today.

That is the Church we are going to walk with.

WHO WE ARE

Joseph Charafi is a filmmaker and the co-host of the Ground Zero podcast. Benjamin Richau is a minister, seer, and author of "Where the Heavens Meet Heaven." Together we have spent the last year exploring the intersection of faith, history, and the spiritual realm on the podcast.

We are not missionaries. We are not journalists. We are two ordinary men going to Japan as brothers to the Japanese Church.

WHAT WE ARE MAKING

A single feature-length documentary. 60 to 70 minutes. Cinematic. Prayerful. Honest.

One story. Told well. Not a series. Not padded. A focused film about the Hidden Christians of Nagasaki and what their four-hundred-year witness means for the American Church today.

THE SEVEN DAYS

Day 1: Fly to Tokyo. Meet with local pastors. Establishing shots of the city.

Day 2: Bullet train to Nagasaki.

Days 3 and 4: Full days in Nagasaki. Martyrs' Hill (Nishizaka), where the first 26 were crucified in 1597. Oura Cathedral, where the Hidden Christians revealed themselves to the world in 1865. Urakami Cathedral, near the ground zero of the atomic bomb. The Sotome coastal villages where the Kakure Kirishitan hid their faith for 250 years.

Day 5: Interviews with descendants of the Hidden Christians. Meetings with modern Japanese pastors. Ben walking in prayer at the martyr sites.

Day 6: Return to Tokyo. Final interviews and B-roll.

Day 7: Fly home.

Benjamin is gifted as a seer. He will describe what he sees in the spirit as we walk the ground. Joey is a filmmaker. He will capture it on camera. Together we bring back a story the American Church has never seen this way before.

WHY THIS MATTERS

The American Church is one of the most resourced Christian communities in human history. And in many ways, it is also one of the most lukewarm.

The Japanese Church is 0.5% of the population. And in many ways, it is one of the most alive.

We believe there is something the American Church needs to hear from a Church that has kept the faith through crucifixions, hidden centuries, and atomic bombs. Nagasaki was the most Christian city in Japan when the bomb fell in 1945. The Church there is still standing.

We are going to bring that story back.

WHERE THE MONEY GOES

Every dollar is accounted for. Here is the breakdown:

Travel and lodging (2 people, 7 days) — $7,000

Round-trip flights Vegas to Tokyo, Japan Rail Pass, business hotels in Tokyo and Nagasaki, ground transport, meals.

Production — $2,650

Camera lens rentals and backup, audio gear, storage and backup drives, equipment insurance, and a local Japanese translator for 3 to 4 days.

Post-production — $3,900

Editing the feature cut, music licensing, color grading, sound mixing.

Ministry partnerships — $1,000

Honorariums for Japanese pastors interviewed. Offerings to churches visited.

Contingency reserve — $1,500

Emergency reserve for equipment failure, additional translation, and unexpected asks.

Total — $17,500

Every dollar over goal goes into the film. It buys more shooting days on the ground, sharper post-production, or additional interviews we could not otherwise afford.

HOW YOU CAN GIVE

$25 — The Traveler

Digital thank you from Japan, access to the finished documentary when released, and your name in the end credits.

$100 — The Prayer Partner

Everything above, weekly private video updates from the ground (not public), and a physical postcard mailed from Nagasaki.

$250 — The Missionary

Everything above, digital download of the finished film, and a prayer prayed over you by name at a specific Japanese Christian site, filmed and sent to you personally.

$500 — The Anchor

Everything above, a signed physical copy of Ben's book "Where the Heavens Meet Heaven," and a one-hour private Zoom debrief with Joey and Ben after the trip.

$1,000 — The Sender

Everything above, executive producer credit on the film, a dedicated prayer walk at a location of your choice within reason, and access to the raw footage archives.

$2,500 and above — The Founding Partner

Everything above, top executive producer credit, and a private in-person screening in Las Vegas when we return.

THE TIMELINE

Month 1: Fundraising and Japanese ministry coordination.

Month 2: Final logistics, travel booking, pre-production.

Month 3: 7 days on the ground in Japan.

Months 4 and 5: Post-production, editing, and weekly updates to supporters.

Month 6: Final cut, premiere event in Las Vegas for major donors, and public release.

BEFORE YOU GIVE, PLEASE PRAY

We would rather you pray for this project and give nothing than give and not pray. This is not a tourism trip. This is not content. This is a journey to walk with the Japanese Church and bring their story home.

If God moves you to give, thank you. If God moves you to pray, thank you more. If God moves you to share this with someone who should see it, that is worth more than any amount.

We are not going to save Japan. Japan does not need saving. We are going to sit with our brothers and sisters there, listen, learn, and film what we see.

Thank you for being part of it.

Joey and Ben

Ground Zero Podcast

"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden." — Matthew 5:14