Hope for Japan

Sakawa Covenant Church in Odawara

Newly renovated sanctuary (seats 100 people)

Pastor Katsumata and Wife

On Friday, we spent the day at Sakawa Church with the Katsumatas. This church is about a half hour outside of Yokohama, right along the ocean. Despite being a bit outside where we hope to live and serve, this is a vibrant community with exciting ministries happening.

Coming out of a background of social work, Pastor Katsumata has led the church over the past few years where they are reaching children and families. Throughout the week, various ministries are taking place where kids learn English, playgroups gather, and moms learn about parenting. As Miho prepares to become a mother, this would be a place where she could easily plug into a community of other moms and build up a ministry to these young families. They envision us building up a “youth ministry (In Japan, youth ministry ranges from jr. high to singles in their 30s),” since a junior high is just down the street from the church.