Yokohama Church’s Dedication Ceremony

Written by Dn. Titus Hayashi

Looking back at the development of the Yokohama Church, we have no other words to express our joy other than being grateful. Beginning on July 28, 2002, we have had family gatherings at the Chinese restaurant “Aroma Garden” operated by Bro. Liu Changfang and Sis. Watanabe in Mitsuzawa-kamichō. Around 20-30 brethren attended. Due to the increasing number of people, the restaurant could not accommodate more attendants. Then, we moved to another “Aroma Garden” location within reach. On April 9, 2005, Eld. Fuming Tse and Eld. SM Shaw established a house of prayer.

Thank God for His guidance! As stated in Acts 2:47, the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved. Due to the increase in the number of people and the prayers and contributions of the brothers and sisters of the Japanese churches, a four-story building in the Western District of Yokohama City was purchased in July 2006, with a total area of ​​299 m2 (90.6 Taiwanese ping). After a few months of renovation, we officially worshipped at this house of prayer on January 1, 2007. The church was then established on April 18, 2015. After nearly 13 years, although the meeting place has been constantly changing, the number of believers had reached 213 when the church was established. With the faith of everyone and the love of the Lord, I deeply feel the works of God in the Yokohama area.

As the number of believers continued to increase, the church began to look for a new place. After more than two years, a new chapel was purchased on September 29, 2017, for a total amount of 204,500,000 yen. The new chapel is located in the Central Plains of Isogo-ku, Yokohama City. The land area is 1205.91m2 (365 Taiwanese Ping), the inner chapel covers an area of ​​487.88m2, and the total area of ​​all three floors is 1412.64m2 (428 Taiwanese ping). The previous owner of the building was an exhibitor of Japanese products and a repair center, the building had not been used for nearly 10 years and required extensive renovation and modification. After discussion at the church council meeting, a New Chapel Renovation Team was established and a general plan for the renovation was formulated. Due to limited funds, more than 80% of the fortifications were designed and constructed by the brothers and sisters. It took about one year and eight months from October 2017 to complete the renovation and purchase of equipment, which cost about 78 million yen. Dedication of the new chapel was held on June 30, 2019, with more than 500 brethren and truth seekers from all over the world. May all glory be unto God’s name.

Thanks to the Lord! As of June 2018, the Yokohama Church had a debt of only about 180 million yen. I urge my brothers and sisters to continue to pray for the Yokohama Church and ask the Lord Jesus Christ to lead the Yokohama Church and the churches in Japan, so that the holy name of the Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified.