Handover

Just over three and a half years ago we returned from Scotland and moved into a house in the Hiragishi area of Sapporo.  In our area there was no church for a population of some 30,000.  So we began from zero what came to be known as Hiragishi Izumi Church.  At the same time, we started this blog to describe the journey, but also to highlight some of the cultural and other aspects of Japanese life that we have interacted with along the way.  The church is still small, but it has grown slowly and surely.  We know and have come into contact with a large number of people in the area.  There have been ups and downs, challenges and blessings.  We did not know how long we would be able to devote to this baby church, but hoped that we would be able to serve here for a number of years.  As it turns out, our role has been simply to get things started and lay a foundation.  We will move on to a new role with OMF Japan from next month so the time has come for us to hand on the leadership of the church to our successors. 

 

It has been a joy to have Richard and Catherine, along with their two young daughters, being part of the team here since earlier in the year.  As of yesterday, Richard became the leader of Izumi Church.  During the service, David shared a little from Deuteronomy (looking at the passage when Moses handed over to Joshua), we thought also about the responsiblity of the folks in the church towards the leader (looking at a couple of verses in the Letter to the Hebrews), then had a time of prayer for Richard and Catherine and their two girls.  It was a special time and in some ways marks a stepping stone in the journey of this young church.  We will still be around in Hiragishi until next March and hope we can continue to reach out to the people we have got to know (and to others we do not yet know) in the hope that some of those people will begin their own journey towards Jesus and be added to Izumi Church.  We look forward to seeing what God will continue to do in this area of Sapporo and have assurance that Jesus is building his church, including this three year old church in Minami Hiragishi.  We will not be able to devote much time to the work of the church here from next month but hope to continue this blog over the coming months to share with you the next chapters in the story of Hiragishi Izumi Church.  In the next post, though, we will share more about our own future.