Okamoto Keiyaku RP Church

Location: Okamoto, Kobe, Japan

Presbytery: Japan

Organization Date: 1975

Membership: 23 communicant; 22 baptized

Pastors: Shigeru Takiura and Kihei Takiura

Web Site: keiyaku.tea-nifty.com (Japanese)

Sowing

Our church has two names, and they show the early history of our church. Keiyaku means “covenant.” This came from the Covenanter Book Room (CBR) in the downtown area of Kobe. Pastor Gene Spear started Bible class on the second floor of the CBR, and eventually the group started gathering for worship in 1957. The other part of the name, Okamoto, comes from the name of a suburb area on the east end of Kobe.

In 1966, they searched for a more fitting place for worship services. They found Okamoto, moved there, and started morning services. After that, God added members by baptism every year and the congregation grew quickly. They built their church building at the present location in 1974.

Watering

In 1977, Shigeru Takiura became the pastor of Keiyaku RPC. He focused on filling the frame Pastor Spear had made: to establish a worship-centered church, train the congregation in Reformed doctrines, and make connections with local people for the purpose of evangelism. He worked on these things for 40 years.

Ministering

We have weekly worship services on Sunday morning, and also prayer meeting on Wednesday. Attendees are slowly led, one by one, by God’s Word to the point of baptism. Currently our two pastors are preaching through Psalms, Romans, and Isaiah, with occasional sermons following the church’s Bible reading schedule.

We have regular worship gatherings at the homes of some of our members. This helps with pastoral care and encouragement for some of our members who travel a distance to come to church every week, and it opens some avenues for evangelism and hopefully a future church-planting opportunity.

Our church has been trying to establish a deeper relationship with the surrounding community. A nursery school run for over 35 years by the church has led many families in the town to know the pastor personally. This relationship is beginning to bear fruit, as former church school and nursery school attendees are now bringing their children to church events.

The neighborhood committee meets at our church building. This and other involvement in the neighborhood have helped our neighbors to have a positive impression of the presence of the church in the community. In 1995, when an earthquake devastated Kobe, our building became a temporary shelter for many who lost their homes. Later it served as the base for Christian volunteer relief teams.

Our ladies’ Bible study has been shifting its focus to evangelism. We recently renovated the church kitchen, and it has been a blessing not only to our fellowship but also to our outreach. We are holding Kitchen Evangelism events in conjunction with a Bible study, in which ladies are invited to come and learn an American recipe. We thank God for bringing a few ladies to hear His Word through that means.

Child evangelism is another big part of our ministry. We regularly have children’s Bible programs and English Bible classes, and plus a vacation Bible school each summer. Christmas time is one of the biggest evangelistic opportunities each year. It is always full of events at our church, and lots of children come to the church with their parents every year.

Prayer

◆ Pray for seekers, including children, who are attending worship services and church events. ◆ Pray that all the church members will mature in hope, faith, and obedience in Christ. ◆ Pray that the church will become a good testimony to our community. ◆ Pray for the future of our young people, including their jobs and families.