We are thankful for a good beginning for Tokyo Multicultural Church. This church planting project is shaping up to be the most enjoyable of our missionary career.

FACILITY

We are thankful for a Sunday room we can rent for four hours or more every Sunday, right in our apartment complex. Typically in Japan, a rental room cannot be used for “religious” purposes. But after explaining in detail why we wanted to rent the room (Bible teaching, singing, outreach, etc.), our apartment manager assured us that we were more like a “circle” or “group” than a “religion.” So since April he has enthusiastically rented the room to us. We didn’t argue! The cost: only $2 per hour! Even after we move into a long term facility rental nearby, we will probably continue to use this rental room for some aspects of our church program.

PEOPLE

Our core group we began with on April 7 has seen some change with both additions and subtractions. Six of us are regulars, with about that many again who come periodically. Here is a quote from one recent multicultural visitor from Tokyo, not referring to the summer heat:

"I felt very warm and comfortable at TMC!"

Even while we ask the Lord to lead us to people whose hearts the Spirit of God has prepared for the gospel, he is sending us leaders.

Jon Prins, a former missionary colleague returning to Japan as a missionary with the EFC of Canada Mission, will be joining our TMC leadership team as soon as his financial support is raised. He will provide intercultural insight and leadership.

Two interns from Tokyo Christian University, one from the EFC of Macao and the other from the EFC of Germany, will be joining us on Sundays for one year beginning September. As we encourage them in the development of their spiritual gifts, we are looking forward to their contribution in helping us plant TMC.

Yet another former colleague of ours in Japan, serving with ReachGlobal (EFCA), is seeking the Lord's guidance about joining our TMC leadership team. If he comes, his focus will be on developing our Japanese language worship service.

Our small group of TMCers have been joyfully contributing to the financial needs of TMC. We do not collect an offering during our worship services. Instead, contributions are placed in an offering box any time on Sundays. Donations from within Japan can also be made online. We now have enough funds on hand to rent a long term facility.

Our first three Sundays at TMC provide a glimpse of what we mean by "Christ centered, Bible based, disciple making church for all nations." Read More…

COMMISSIONED

Our Tokyo Multicultural Church (TMC) core group of six people (including Dale and Ann) were commissioned during the March 31 Easter Sunday worship service at the English Department of Musashino Chapel Center (MCC).

Pastor Howard Plucar outlined the birth of the idea of TMC about six years ago at MCC, MCC's formal decision to become the primary church partner of TMC three years ago, and now finally the launching of TMC. Several members of the MCC board then blessed the TMC core group by praying for us.

TMC will continue a close relationship with MCC. But we launch our own worship services on April 7.

CORE GROUP

Our TMC core group has met about five times at our apartment in February and March for planning and praying. We are finalizing the last minute details in preparation for launch Sunday. We plan to eventually have several language-specific congregations, but will begin with an English worship service. Ann's children's Bible story during the service will be translated into Japanese. Dale will preach in English through simultaneous interpretation into Japanese, and his sermon notes will be projected in both English and Japanese. Our morning worship will be followed by lunch (bought at nearby stores) and a discussion centered on the morning's Biblical content.

INITIAL FACILITY

The Lord has miraculously supplied a Sunday room rental for TMC, right in the apartment complex where we live. When we rented our apartment in January, we did not dream we could use the meeting room of the apartment complex for launching TMC, and hardly dared to ask for it. But after getting to know the manager of the complex, we did ask him about it. Much to our surprise, he seemed almost eager to rent it to us on Sundays! He has even given us permission to put up posters throughout the complex (250 units)!

In late January we moved from Sendai back to Tokyo in order to launch TOKYO MULTICULTURAL CHURCH, the church planting vision we have nurtured for four years.

So during January Dale focused on renting an apartment in Sumida-ku, teaching his last modular class of the year on Contemporary Theology at Japan Bible Seminary, and as voluntary President of Japan Evangelical Missionary Association leading board meetings and planning sessions in preparation for JEMA's annual consultation and business meetings Feb 25-27. We were able to move out of our Sendai apartment on Jan 28 and into our Tokyo apartment on Jan 30. We will be unpacking cardboard boxes and getting settled in for the next month or so--all the while trying to carry on ministry. Read More…