Hope for Japan

We are now just two and a half weeks away from our first preview service. The wheels are moving and things are already happening. Here are just a few recent developments and topics for prayer. 

1. While we have one meeting place in Ikebukuro in July, we just found out that we were declined to use a school that we hoped may be a more regular meeting location. We will continue the pursuit of a weekly rental location. This is a major prayer item.

2. Our launch team continues to grow in diversity. Though a small team, we are already over seven nationalities from three continents. The newest person to join is the brother of a pastor friend who is studying music in Tokyo. We welcome new people, especially gifted musicians 🙂

3. Two different friends have put us in touch with possible exchange college students moving to Tokyo in the Fall. At a retreat church retreat, a man who works in campus ministry at several schools in our church plant area expressed how he hopes to connect us to some college students. We see God going ahead of us and building bridges already.

4. A recent Boston college grad who had hoped to join us just learned that he was placed in northern Japan, Yamagata, to teach English this year. We trust that God will use him there and use this year in Japan to do incredible things in his life and around him. Yet, we are sad that it did not work out for him to be near us. Another recent grad has an interview very soon for a teaching job here in Japan. Pray for our Highrock friend to come to Tokyo and serve with us. 

5. In July, the executive pastor at Highrock Church-Arlington, Eugene Kim, will be joining us for ten days to help train our worship team and work with us in these early stages as a church plant. We are excited not only to gain his insight and vast experience in leading worship and planning services, but also for building bridges between our team and Highrock. 

Thank you for following what God is doing here in Tokyo. This is just the beginning of our adventure as a new church; one surely fraught with unexpected challenges but also unimaginable joys.