Fall 2005 Prayer Letter

Thank you for your prayers for and financial support of the ministry of the Japanese American Christian Chapel.

Takamiyama

Takamiyama is a name familiar to those who followed the Japanese sport of sumo in the 1970's. Takamiyama was a Maui-born sumotori - the first American to enter the ranks of Japanese professional sumo.

In the 1980's, "Takamiyama" was a name adopted by a group of young sansei (third-generation, Japanese American) pastors (myself among them) whose physical dimensions, while not at a sumotori level, were not insubstantial. The name Takamiyama was not chosen because of our physiques - well, maybe partly - but because of what we sansei pastors saw in the name itself.

In our unabashedly poor understanding of Japanese, we took the name apart: taka, to mean "high"; mi, meaning "to see"; and yama meaning "mountain." That combination of linguistic license led us to create the idea of "seeing from a high mountain." It was to express our desire to have a mountain-top perspective, a long-range view. We wanted to be people of vision who dreamed big dreams.

Though the group remained together only briefly, most of them are still in ministry today. I have resurrected the name here because I understand that now more than ever, we need people who will have a greater vision for the work of God's kingdom. Too often, the church becomes a place focused on petty details, politics and power games. And when it does so, the vision of the church becomes muddied and inwardly focused. We struggle to fix the unfixable while at the same time, the commission of Jesus Christ to make disciples of all nations remains unfinished.

Here in Camarillo, and perhaps at your own church, there is a need to examine the seemingly inconsequential matters that seem to occupy our time and energy. Are they really worth the effort in comparison to that to which Jesus has called us? Is there a need to again climb to the top of the mountain to get that grander perspective, to recapture that vision for the work of God's kingdom?

Bill Easum, church futurist and author, states that "Church members who see their church as the focus of their mission have missed the entire point of Christianity." We have a way to go in Camarillo. But our dream is to enable each person to understand that they are sent by God to engage our culture and community by incarnationally displaying and proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ and making disciples beginning where they are!

Please pray for us as we move in this direction.

Pastor Emeritus

It is wonderful to have Pastor Takaya and his wife, Miyeko in our congregation. Pastor Roy has been a stalwart leader and administrator for JACC over the years. My welcome reception coincided with the church conferring upon Pastor Takaya the status of Pastor Emeritus. For my part, I'm blessed to have such a wise and godly man in the congregation. He has been there for me to give encouragement and guidance.

Worship Service!
We're just finishing a five-month series on the book of Ephesians. It's a foundational book about our standing in Christ, grace, faith, ministry, relationships and challenges for personal growth. November will begin a four-week series on stewardship. Pray for me as I consider my message themes for the beginning of 2006.

Pluses and Minuses

Our worship service attendance has fluctuated in the last five months as new faces come and stay, while others move on due to schooling, family changes or face health issues. While we have seen eight or nine new people begin attending, we've also seen about seven make transitions elsewhere. I'd like to ask your prayers for consistent attendance as the preaching and leadership of the church is characterized by greater continuity. Pray that there will be growth in numbers as well as an interest in greater commitment to Christ and to the ministry we desire to have within our community and beyond.

New Members
December will see additions to the church family as two have requested baptism and eight have expressed interest in membership and are going through classes with me now.

Answered Prayer: Worship Leader

Remember my first prayer letter? I indicated that we were searching for a worship leader. We're very blessed by Peter's decision to take time away from his home church to fellowship with JACC. Though he lives almost an hour away, he has made the commitment to provide leadership to our young worship team. He works with them, not simply on the music, but helping the team understand the heart of worship. We are blessed to have Peter with us!

"A second congregation?"
Our Tuesday night Bible Study is really an interesting experience. Almost half of those coming out don't attend the church's Sunday services. But it's a group that is eager to learn from the Word and seem to like the approach we take to our studies (interactive and fun). My goal is not to mainstream them, but to provide a place where our lives can intersect.

One of our church members commented the other night, "This is almost like a second congregation!" I had to nod in agreement, and at the same time, thank the Lord for the opportunity he is giving us to minister to them.

Youth Ministry --

The letters "KFC" can stand for that chicken place. But it's the name of our youth ministry. The acronym means "Kids for Christ." The young people recently voted on a name and KFC was the winner! We're meeting twice a month for Bible Study. One Sunday afternoon a month has been set aside for an outreach event.

Miracles
Church member, Aiko, suffered major head trauma after a fall after church in September and was taken to via ambulance to the local ER. The hospital staff informed the family and me that afternoon that she would not survive the night.

But God had other plans. Aiko not only recovered but is now at home convalescing. When I last visited her, she was very clear that church should work hard to reach as many as possible for Christ! Her recovery has been a great encouragement to the church as they have seen God's power!

Leadership Retreat Held September 25th

[pictured: Nichigo Elders]
The Board of Elders held a half-day planning retreat to look preliminarily at goals for 2006. We examined the church's strengths as well as the areas yet needing development.

[pictured: English Elders]

1. Resolve past hurts/conflicts, ask for/extend forgiveness. Find resolution and then move forward.

2. Teaching on the Holy Spirit and training on spiritual gifts

3. Learning to manage our time and personal resources in order that members may express their love and service to the Lord Jesus in vibrant ministry.
4. Train leaders and members to reach out incarnationally to family, friends and community.
5. Stewardship – specifically develop funding strategies to bring pastor to full-time status.

6. Resist every temptation to settle for the status quo.

A lot of things happening for 20 hours a week, yeah?

Your prayer and financial support on behalf of JACC is welcomed.

Please click here to inquire about how you can be involved in this ministry.


About names: Please note that I am not using people's full names out of respect for their privacy and because the internet is what it is. PJ

Photos: All photos (excepting the initial montage) may be enlarged by clicking on the photo itself.