Megumi Cumberland Presbyterian Church

Visit the official site of Japan Presbytery.
Although everything is written in Japanese,
you can enjoy pictures of all the churches
and all the ministers of the presbytery.

Or, why don't you try one of the "auto-translation"
software that you can find free on the internet.
It's gonna be fun.

Location : A tyapical suburban town in the western outskirts of Tokyo Metropolis

Address : 3-355-4 Kamikitadai, Higashiyamato-shi, Tokyo 207-0023 JAPAN
Phone 042-564-0593/ Fax 042-567-2977
(From Overseas +81-42-564-0593/+81-42-567-2977)

Pastor : Rev.Makihiko Arase

Sunday Morning Service: 10:30-11:45
Thursday Evening Vesper: 20:00-21:00
Children's Church (APPLE) 9:45-11:00

There are Bible study groups and seeker's class on weekdays.
Call the church for more information.

Language used in worship: Japanese

<Want to visit us?>

Transportation : 9 minute walk from Sakurakaido Station of Tama Monorail. If you come by way of JR Tachikawa station, you can enjoy 12 minute ride with the vistas of greenery Tama area, Okutama mountains and even Mt.Fuji. Alternative is to walk 15 minutes from Tamagawa Josui Station of Seibu Haijima Line. The downtown terminal of the line is Seibu Shinjuku, a half kilometer north of JR Shinjuku Station. It takes about 40 minute train ride.
See map

Kunitachi Nozomi Cumberland Presbyterian Church began a mission point in Kamikitadai, Higashiyamato in the spring of 1992. The congregation was strongly motivated by the word of Jesus, "Let us go on to the neighboring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also; for that is what I came out to do."

The reason they chose Higashiyamato, which was ten kilometers north of Kunitachi, was that a church member who had moved to the city years ago had a small house there and she was willing to have the church use it as a meeting place. Moreover, there was no church in the southern half of the city, where the house was located.

Pastor Masaharu Asayama of Kunitachi Nozomi wrote a letter to Makihiko (Mack) Arase who was then studying at Memphis Theological Seminary to ask him to engage in the new church development in Higashiyamato.
After a few months of meditating upon God's will, Arase made up his mind to take this exciting job.
From the beginning, the idea of "joint mission" of Kunitachi Nozomi and the new church was cherished as a vision.

On January 3, the new congregation started Sunday worship with seven people and the pastor's family Thanks to the wonderful blessing of God, the Megumi Fellowship showed growth in quantity and quality. By the end of 1995, the people felt the pressing need to find a larger place. The small house often got literally full.

It was not so long before they realized how difficult it was to rent a house for any religion-related group.
After the massive gas attack in Tokyo subways committed by a cult called Aum Shinrikyo frightened the entire nation, landlords were too cautious to rent a house to "religion".

The church folks were discouraged by this difficulty. But God is wonderful. God's plan always surpasses plans of God's people.

(To be continued)