Fall 2007

Since we last met here, a number of good things have happened at JACC in Camarillo:

Worship
English Department worship service attendance at the church recently peaked at 51. That same Sunday, the Japanese Department had 30 in their services for a combined attendance of over 80. Yes, as a matter of fact, food WAS involved!

We are intentionally combining our quarterly all-church potlucks with an evangelistic outreach. The messages on those Sundays are designed to include a clear message of the good news of Jesus Christ. Our congregation is encouraged in the weeks prior to the event to pray for and invite family members and friends. English speaking worship service attendance has been averaging around 4o.

With growth comes the challenge of how to stretch the boundaries of the living room in which we are currently meeting. Please pray as we negotiate with our landlord about possible remodeling of our worship space. We recognize that attendance still is too low to generate what is needed to get us into a larger facility elsewhere. We hope that remodeling efforts in place will give us what we need to go on to that next step of a seeking another larger facility.

Pray for Fernando Castilho (pictured above) who was recently approved by our board to serve as the chair of the English speaking evangelism ministry. Fernando and I will be meeting over the next two months to outline a plan for 2008. Additionally, Dr Matt Lee has been nominated to serve on the Board of Elders beginning in February 2008.

The JACC board also approved the collaboration between JEMS and the local church. Pray for Matt and me as we will participate in a two-week trip to Brazil in 2008. Matt currently serves in a volunteer capacity as our youth worker. He works as a scientist at Amgen.

Summer 2007 - What's First?

Not “What Now?” The Question is “What’s First?”

The story is told of an eminent scholar named Huxley who had just finished a lecture series in London. After his last engagement, he was in a hurry to catch a train that would take him to his next speaking commitment. He left the hotel and jumped into a hansom cab.

Assuming that the driver had been told his destination by the hotel doorman, Huxley shouted, “Hurry . . . I’m almost late . . . Drive fast!” Then, tired from his day's labors, he settled back and closed his eyes for a few moments of rest.

The horse-drawn hansom rushed through the streets of the city. Before long, Huxley glanced out of the window and frowned as he realized that they were going west along the Thames River, away from the train station. Leaning forward, Huxley shouted up to the driver, “Do you know where you are going?”

Without looking back, the driver yelled, “No sir, I do not know where I am going. But I am going very, very fast!”

* * * * *

This account from the 1800’s could easily describe today’s fast-paced culture. We are often in a rush to get busy without first determining where we are going.

The graphic of the blueprint reminds us that before we undertake anything of importance, we must first establish a set of priorities, values and plans. Without this first step, our work can lose its way.

I invite you to learn about the blueprint for ministry development with JEMS. Please pray that God would have his hand on the reins of our ministry. That we might go where he wants us to go.
Please follow the links at the bottom of this entry. The following pages include pictures of my daughter's graduation and wedding!

– Pastor John

Click - Summer 2007 "Personally Speaking" (Family events)

Click - Summer 2007 - An opportunity to respond
.

Summer 2007 - Setting goals together

If I were to prioritize my goals and challenges for the next six months, I would list them in the following order:

1. Meeting JEMS goals for financial support.
I am not able to begin my ministry until 80% of my monthly support is raised. JEMS has set the bar at $2500-3000/month. As of this writing, my pledged support is at 46%.

Additional one-time gifts have also been received and are included in the above percentage. In the future, these gifts may be applied toward projected travel and field ministry expenses.

2. Re-establishing contact with JEMS-affiliated churches in South America.
The baton has been passed. As the years have gone by, leadership transitions have occurred. Some within local church and denominational leadership have retired. Others have shifted responsibilities to the younger pastors and laypeople. There are new names and new faces with which bridges of collaboration must be developed.

I am in conversation with Rev. Sam Tonomura about the possibilities of a Brazil visit which will serve to reintroduce JEMS and myself to the principals there. Pray that support and schedule permitting, that I might be able to travel in September 2007.

3. What’s the plan?
Just as every coach needs a playbook to win the game, so JEMS needs a vision and plan to work together with the churches and ministries in the US, South America and Japan. Pastors and other leaders have already been in contact with me to ask the question: What are my plans?

That question can only be answered after extensive conversations are held with national churches and leaders.

JEMS will not presume to know what is best for overseas ministries. We will need patience to listen and to craft strategies together with our local and other national leadership.

We will work jointly to see what works best to meet the needs and requirements of local churches. The days in which US churches acted like the benevolent big brother are long past. We understand that our role is one of support and service to our brothers and sisters in Christ in South America and Japan.

4. Who will go?
Perhaps the biggest challenge is the same one that existed in Jesus’ day. He wrote in the book of Matthew 9:37-38 – “Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field."

The harvest is still plentiful today and the workers are still few. A part of my role at JEMS will be to encourage men and women to hear and respond to the invitation of Jesus to seize unique opportunities to serve him.

I hope that there will be those who recognize that our intersection with ministry comes when we take a risk to step beyond what we might consider safe and secure.

5. And along with the invitation, the need for training
Culture and ministry are always in flux. For that reason, we need to re-examine our approach to ministry. Much of my time in the next few months (while waiting for support to come in) will be to update our training program for missions ministry.

I’m hoping to seek out other leaders in the area of missions development. Pray for those contacts and conversations to be both beneficial and productive.

Summer 2007 - Personally speaking

This June was a month of blessing for the family as we celebrated Tracey's graduation from Harvard Law School.



Tracey and her fiance, Will, graduating together.

And then, one week later on June 16th it is my great delight to walk Tracey down the aisle.

Lots of emotion, mostly joy in God's hand in bringing the two of them together to share their lives with one another.

Please rejoice with us!

Click for Page 5: Summer 2007 - A chance to respond

Summer 2007 - An opportunity to respond!

How can you be involved?

I would greatly appreciate your prayer and financial support! If you are interested in standing with me to see JEMS take the next steps in its mission enterprise, please consider how you might become involved.

My web skills are a bit limited, but I think this should work. If you will click on this LINK, you should be directed to a support card which can be printed and returned to the JEMS office.

To print the card, simply right click on the card and save the image to your desktop. You should be able to open the file from the desktop and print it.

If that doesn't work, don't let me frustrate you!! Just drop me a note at: johnk [at] jems [dot] org and I will be happy to send you a support card in the mail. =)

Return to Summer 2007 Homepage

Spring 2007

As we age, and God grants us a measure of grown-up wisdom, we discover more than ever that we are products of God’s grace. We are shaped and molded by his hand. Sometimes gently, sometimes firmly. But God remains ever the craftsman committed to creating the image of Jesus Christ in us.

I am grateful that God never gives up on us. Aren't you? It is through the experience of failure and heartache that his grace allows our lives, and my life, to continue to be testimonies of God’s unrelenting commitment to his children.

Without a doubt, God is committed to the restoration of his people. As you have read in this prayer weblog, I was invited to return to pastoral ministry in Ventura County in June 2005. Even as the work continues with the Japanese American Christian Chapel, another opportunity for ministry has presented itself.

Rev. Sam Tonomura and Mr. Stan Date of the Japanese Evangelical Missionary Society (JEMS) recently approached me and asked if I might consider a part-time position with the organization, overseeing the development of missions strategies and the implementation of field ministries. Thus with the affirmation of the JEMS Board of Directors and the support of JACC's Board of Elders, I have agreed to work with JEMS on a ten hour/week basis. This time commitment will be adjusted as needed for training periods and other additional ministries.

Pictured here at the March 2007 Holiness Missions Conference in San Fernando (L-R): Frank Ogura (San Diego), Greg Oda (JEMS South America Sending Board), Rev. Sam Tonomura (kneeling, JEMS Executive Director), Darryl Wong (JEMS Missions Administrator), PJ and Rev Ichibei Honda (Pastor, San Diego Japanese Christian Church).

I ask for your prayers as I begin anew with JEMS. Please pray that God would move hearts to be involved prayerfully and financially in this ministry. Pray as well for interest and opportunities from South American churches to partner with us anew.

To receive information about how you can be involved, please drop an email to:
johnk [at] jems [dot] org - - - - - (Please self-correct the email format)

What Will I Be Doing?

I have submitted a proposal to JEMS that outlines five basic goals for the first year:

1. Orientation and Updating

• Learn current laws regarding visa requirements for tourists, workers

• Determine ministry costs: travel, visa, worker home stay, material expenses, administration, other.

• Re-establish contact with local Brazilian community: e.g., travel agencies, sponsors, social service and evangelical organizations

2. Raising awareness and financial support

• Create new South America Missions brochure

• Share opportunities through the JEMS Journal and South America Newsletter

• Update the JEMS South America website

• Seek opportunities to speak (non-Sundays).

3. Recruitment

• Review current process/procedures

• Reconnect with JEMS-affiliated churches

• Work to create a cohesive approach to overseas ministry.

• Strengthen and repopulate the JEMS South America Missions Committee

4. Training of Workers

• Recruit a volunteer training staff
• Review and update training curriculum and training timetable

5. On-field contact

• Reestablish contact with denominational leaders and pastors in SA.
• Determine where needs and ministries may be supported by JEMS.

Please pray with me that these goals would be met given the time and opportunity allotted for JEMS ministry.

Japanese American Christian Chapel (Church) Happenings

We're grateful for God's continued provision of people open to serving the body at JACC.

Worship

_

Peter and Fernando have been faithfully providing worship leadership over the past year and a half. We're so blessed by their willing and steadfast spirits.

Youth Ministry

The Board of Elders also welcomed Dr Matt Lee (pictured with wife, Kayomi) as our youth director in January 2007. Matt is working with our middle school through college age young people.

Pray for upcoming events:

• English Elders Retreat: Saturday, April 14, 2007

• Focus: John 15
• Where are we going?
• Strategies for healthy growth
• Encouraging involvement
• Initiating change
  

Special Events

• Men’s Breakfast – Saturday, March 31
• Potluck Outreach – April 29
• JACL Children's Festival - hosted at JACC - May 5
  
• Junko Worship Concert presentation - May 6
• Picnic Outreach – May 20

Thanks for taking time to hear what's happening with PJ!

Uma Novidade!

Enquanto nós envelhecemos, e o Senhor nos concede uma medida da sabedoria madura, nós descobrimos que mais do que sempre aquele nós somos produtos da graça de Deus. Nós estamos formados e moldados por Sua mão. Às vezes delicadamente, às vezes firmemente. Mas o Senhor continua sempre como artesão cometido a criar a imagem de Jesus Cristo em nós.

Eu sou grato que o Senhor nunca desiste trabalhar em nós, perdoando e limpando. É com a experiência da falha e a mágoa do coração que Sua graça permite a nossas vidas, e a minha vida, continuar a ser testimunhos do compromisso persistente de Deus a suas crianças.

Sem dúvida, o Senhor é cometido à restauração de seus povos. Eu fui convidado retornar ao ministério pastoral no condado de Ventura (Califórnia) em junho 2005. Mesmo enquanto o trabalho continua com a minha igreja (Japanese American Christian Chapel), uma outra oportunidade para o ministério apresentou-se.

Retratado no Congresso das Missões da Igreja Holiness de março 2007 em San Fernando
(E-D): Frank Ogura (IH - San Diego), Greg Oda (JEMS Comissão Ámérica do Sul),
Rev. Sam Tonomura (se ajoelhar, diretor executivo de JEMS),
Darryl Wong (administrador das missões de JEMS),
eu e o Rev Ichibei Honda (pastor, IH - San Diego).

Rev. Sam Tonomura e Sr. Stan Daté da JEMS (Sociedade Missionária Evangélica Japonesa) recentemente aproximou-me e perguntou-o se eu pudesse considerar uma posição de meio expediente com a organização, supervisionando o desenvolvimento de estratégias das missões e a execução de ministérios do campo.

Assim com a confirmação da junta de diretores da JEMS e do apoio e sustentação da diretoria da igreja, vou começar trabalhando com a JEMS numa base de dez horas por semana. Este compromisso do tempo será ajustado como necessitado para períodos de treinamento e outros ministérios adicionais.

Atualização de dia 15 do abril: A carta mandado para os pastores do Rev. Sam Tonomura: Ler aqui.

Eu peço suas orações enquanto eu começo de novo com o JEMS. Ore por favor que o Senhor operaria nos corações da gente aqui nos Estados Unidos a ser envolvidos com oração e financeiras neste ministério. Ore também para o interesse e as oportunidades das igrejas do América do Sul ao sócio em ministério conosco.

* * * * *

Trabalhando com a JEMS

Eu submeti uma proposta a JEMS com cinco objetivos básicos pelo primeiro ano:

1. Orientação e atualização

* Aprenda as leis atuais ao respeito das exigências do visto para turistas, trabalhadores
* Determina custos do ministério: viagem, visto, “home stay” do obreiro, despesas materiais, administração, outra.
* Re-estabelece o contato com comunidade brasileira aqui nos EUA: por exemplo, agências de turismo, patrocinadores, serviços sociais e organizações evangélicas.

* Tenho que re-aprender a língua portuguesa!!

2. Levantando a consciência e a sustento financeiro

* Críe o folheto novo das missões de Ámérica do Sul
* Compartilhe de oportunidades através do jornal de JEMS e do boletim de notícias de Ámérica do Sul
* Atualize o Web site de JEMS Ámérica do Sul
* Oportunidades da busca de falar (fora de domingo).

3. Recrutamento

* Revisão processos e requirementos atuais.
* Reconecte com as igrejas afiliadas com JEMS
* Trabalhe para criar uma estratégia que funciona em outras países também.
* Críe o comitê das missões de JEMS Ámérica do Sul

4. Treinamento dos trabalhadores

* Recrute uma equipe de funcionários/ treinadores/ professores voluntária do treinamento
* Desenvolve um curso do treinamento

5. Contato com o país do ministério

* Re-estabelece o contato com líderes e os pastores denominacionais na Ámérica do Sul.
* Considere como JEMS poderia servir as igrejas e os ministérios.

Ore, por favor, comigo que estes objetivos estariam encontrados com sabedoria e em boa comunião.

* * *

Minha Familia

Meus filhos (E-D): minha filha, Tracey e o noivo dela, Will; meu filho, Brandon e sua esposa, Alyssa. A foto foi tirado uma semana antes de Páscoa. O casamento de Tracey e Will vai acontecer em junho deste ano.

A formatura de Tracey (junto com o Will) da Harvard Law School vai acontecer também em junho. Brandon formou de UCLA dois anos atrás e agora é seminarista de primeiro ano no seminário Talbot. Alyssa formou de Azusa Pacific University no ano passado e trabalha como enfermeira.

Se quiser escrever uma carta eletrónica: johnk [arroba] jems [ponto] org

Página Principal

Merry Christmas!!

This California Christmas photo was taken on Saturday, December 23rd from the beautiful Channel Islands harbor! Warmest greetings from all of us: Brandon and Alyssa, Tracey and me.

I am the only one not standing on a rock, by the way.

*
With
o every
wish to my o
friends and family o
for a warm and blessed
Christmas and a very joyous, o
o prosperous and awesome new year
!!
!!
!!
!!

In Brief:

This has been quite a year! Surviving a mild heart attack and major quadruple bypass surgery in February. I'm very happy to be on the road to recovery.

In July, Brandon and Alyssa were joined in marriage. They make their home in the OC.

In September she began working in the nursing field. He started seminary studies with a view to working eventually in ministry. He is serving currently as youth pastor at the church they are attending.

Pictured below are Tracey and her fiance, Will. They will be graduating from Harvard Law School this June. That will be followed by a mid-2007 wedding.



The bar exam follows soon afterwards. It will be a busy summer for them!

Thanks so much for your prayers on my behalf over the past twelve months. I have been encouraged in spite of physical and financial challenges. God has been faithful throughout the year.

God bless you and give you a wonderful Christmas and a blessed new year!
PJ

Heading into Fall 2006

Thank you for your prayers on behalf of the ministry in Camarillo, CA.

Believe it or not, I am coming up on seventeen months in Ventura County with the church. And I am getting used to the slower pace. You'll have to ask me what I miss about LA though . . .



One thing about an agricultural community are the unusual road signs.

Ministry and Community News

The 21st century is mobile. Phones, iPods, we ourselves are a people on the move. We recently said goodbye to a young man who helped us with our youth ministry over the summer. Khary is moving on to pursue a PhD on the east coast. On his last Sunday in November, we were able to fulfill his request for baptism by immersion (pictured below).

Interestingly enough, just after this baptism was held, two people independently approached me about their interest in baptism and church membership. How wonderful! Perhaps we will see that happen in 2007.

Membership
And just as Khary moved on, we were blessed to receive three new friends into the membership of the church on November 19th. Matt and Kayomi recently moved from the San Diego area. Matt comes into membership by transfer. His wife, Kayomi was received by her declaration of faith in Christ through baptism.

Helen recently moved from Phoenix and was received by affirmation of faith. We will also be welcoming George into membership in December. George was unexpectedly hospitalized on the weekend of this membership reception and asked to be received at the next opportunity. We're very excited by the lives God is entrusting to our care.

Worship
We are encouraged that we are making contacts within our community. However that initial contact is not immediately translating into consistent attendance or involvement. I am hoping to work with our leaders and others to better enfold our visitors into the life of the church.

Since I began ministering here, we've been keeping records of the contacts we are making in the community. I have the names of approximately 78 people who have visited the church in the last seventeen months. That's not insubstantial.

Now comes the follow-up. Please pray with me for open hearts as I work with a team of visitors to make further contacts. Of the 78, perhaps 44 are local and have expressed interest in the church. Of the 78, seven have become church members. My prayer is that 2007 will be an action year.

Our worship attendance in November has climbed to an average in the mid-thirties. Our Thanksgiving Potluck Luncheon (which was our outreach event for the quarter) saw almost fifty in worship service with close to fifteen visitors! Pray as we follow up those visitors.

Church Name Change
When I meet some of you in the LA area, the most asked question I've received is "How's the name change going?" Actually, the number 1 question has been, "Are you doing okay?" but name change is a close second.

The recent congregational meetings held separately in English and Japanese revealed no new progress. The English department wishes to move forward with the name change but desires to be sensitive to the concerns of the Japanese speaking. For their part, the Japanese speaking members have no expressed interest in losing the “Japanese” portion of the name.

A special committee will meet in an effort to resolve the stalemate. It is felt that the name change is vital for the growth and future of the English department. One idea that we are exploring is to investigate the concept of a dba ("doing business as") for the English department ministry. That is to say we would retain our corporate name and identity as JACC and then give the English Department a name that reflects where we want to go as a congregation. If anyone has any information for me regarding the idea of using a dba (e.g., legality, financial, non-profit impact, etc.), please contact me.

What Goes Around Comes Around Department
Thanks to Pastor Ted Esaki for encouraging a family to visit our church. As it turns out, the wife was a student at UC Irvine when I was student pastoring a church in Orange County. As part of my ministry back then, I went on campus at the request of some students and conducted a Bible study. I think that we met for one quarter or less. That was - ahem - thirty years ago in 1976. After all these years, circumstances bring her, her husband and two daughters to worship with us in Camarillo. Isn't the Lord amazing?

Financially . . .
Thank you to the many who have expressed their love and support on behalf of my ministry. As regards the financial picture for the coming year, the news is both good and bad. The bad news is that the Pastoral Fund from which I am being paid will be exhausted as of April 2007.

However, the good news is that God has wonderfully provided. The church has been named the beneficiary of a home and property in Oxnard. We thank God for this generous gift which provides a strong financial foundation for the church in the years to come. The determination of how that gift will dovetail with staffing needs has yet to be decided and determined. Please pray that our leadership may move forward with wisdom.

For my part, in addition to the three-quarter salary at church, I have taken a part time job in a local sea urchin harvesting plant. Yes, you read that correctly. I'm sure you never thought you'd read my name together with sea urchins. But I am working sixteen hours a week in the capacity of an office manager.

And though the photo may show otherwise, I don't actually deal directly with the sea urchins. Instead I work on accounts payable, payroll, inventory and daily reports for the Department of Fish and Game. The work is minimal, and so is the pay. But it helps to cover some of my medical expenses.

Learn about the sea urchin industry here. The company I work for is featured in the article.

Health
If you were to do a Google search on the words "anti-aging" perhaps you wouldn't be surprised at the number of responses you would find. I just ran across a CNN article "60s are the New Middle-Age" (click to read).

I am grateful to be in a place where I can write and tell you how blessed I feel to be serving the Lord here. Many have expressed their love and support for me through this health crisis. I'm blessed by your concern and care. It's only been nine months since I was at this point, but I feel very good about the future.

Yes, I'm watching my diet as much as a former consumer of pastrami and chili fries can be. And my medications seemed to have settled down and are not causing too many distractions. There are the challenges of working two jobs, of course, but I am keeping pace.

Please specifically pray for that the stresses of the season and the next two months will be manageable. Every pastor will tell you that this is probably the busiest time of the church calendar. Being a small church doesn't preclude the danger of busyness. Pray that we all might be wise in our use of time and resources.

Wonderful Personal News

My daughter Tracey recently revealed her engagement to boyfriend Will over the Thanksgiving holidays. Tracey and Will are classmates at Harvard Law School and both will be graduating in June of 2007. I've met Will and am very pleased with their decision to move forward in their relationship together. They met at Harvard Christian Fellowship.



You've been so patient through this long letter. Please let me know how you are doing. Drop me a note if you'd care to.

May God bless you richly as we head into the season of Jesus' birth.

Pastor John

Summer's here!

And the beach in Oxnard looks very nice!

It's not fair to post this picture in the midst of such an intense heat wave in California. I hope that you're doing well despite the crazy temperatures.

Health Update

Thank you all for your prayers and support over the last five months. It's been that long since my heart attack and subsequent cardiac bypass surgery. The recovery is moving along - though I suppose not as quickly as I had thought. But God continues to be faithful as I returned to ministry on April 1st. I have been back to a thirty-hour work week for some time now.

Ministry News

Community
In addition to a weekly preaching schedule, the ministry here has included weekly Bible study and visitation. As I get more involved with the community, I am pleased with inroads that are being opened. I was recently invited to serve on a local JACL planning committee and look forward to the opportunity to become acquainted with more folks here.

New Members
Father's Day was a special Sunday as we received three new members into the church and baptized another newcomer to the fellowship.

Our new members are: Louise Hagan (pictured above), Judy Ahn-Kuge (no photo available) and Peter Tomita.


Peter (pictured above, right) retains membership at his home church and is therefore an Associate Member at JACC. He continues to provide leadership for our young worship music team, the youngest being twelve years of age! This is consistent with the first cardinal rule of church planting: involve everyone! (The second cardinal rule of church planting is to count everything that walks through the door on Sunday morning!)

Our newly baptized attender is Khary D'Aguilar, a recent college graduate who now works in the area. Khary, together with a couple of other members, is helping with our youth ministry.

Church Name Selection
We are in the process of selecting and submitting potential names to the congregation for their ratification. Although our intention was to finalize this process by June (06), my health situation delayed progress and discussion. We are hoping to move forward before the end of summer. We can certainly use prayer for grace and strength to accompany this transition.

Training
With our Tuesday night Bible study on summer hiatus, I am offering training workshops in their place. These workshops are intended to be practical lessons in cultivating life and ministry skills. The two-part July workshop dealt with communication. Perhaps the announcement in the Sunday bulletin was a bit too direct: "After someone says hello, are you stuck for an answer?" But most agreed that the workshops were helpful in developing relationship skills.

In August, we return with "Intersections," developed during my time away from professional ministry. The workshop description (from the early 2006 prayer letter)

Pray for this workshop which will be presented on August 8 and 15 at the church.

Preparing for the Wave
We are committed to the growth of JACC. At the same time, I feel a bit unprepared. Sort of like how sleepy Ventura County has been recently inundated with people from LA and Santa Barbara all looking to buy homes here. (Don't ask me how that's coming). Many of our streets are being torn up to install larger sewer and storm drains. Verizon is hiring more installers for the number of new residents coming into the county.

In the same way, JACC is needing to prepare its infrastructure for growth. In the last four months, a good number of hours has been spent with church administration. The developing of policies and guidelines that will assist the church as it begins to grow. Yeah, administration isn't fun, but it's necessary to anticipate the wave that is on its way.

(Click photo to enlarge)

Personal News

I am so pleased and blessed to have been able to attend my son Brandon's wedding day last Saturday, July 22nd. He and Alyssa have been friends since the second grade. She is a wonderful young person. I am sure that you will join me in asking God for his blessing on their marriage relationship.

Introducing you to the ministry of JACC

No. This is not VH1. But let me use this video of our recent church picnic to introduce our church family to you. The picnic was held on Sunday, June 25th.

Special thanks are expressed to Peter Tomita for the photos and videography.

Not able to see the video? Click here for Google video version.

Please keep the ministry of the Japanese American Christian Chapel in your prayers!!

Thank you!
Pastor John