Who We Are

The ministry of Faith Bible Church is a testimony to God's faithfulness in answer to the prayers of those who have sought to honor and glorify His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

The church grew out of a weekly Sunday School class formed in the early part of 1948. The group was especially burdened to pray concerning an evangelical witness to the Japanese English-speaking population. This vision led to the formation of the Nisei Christian Fellowship in December 1948.

Craig Swanson

Craig joined the FBC staff as Senior Pastor in 2002.  Craig grew up in SW Washington and after finishing his training at Multnomah Bible College, he and his wife, Lois, spent the next nine years in Japan where they helped establish two churches.  After returning to the States in 1989, Craig worked in the Seattle office of a Japanese company building American style houses in Japan.  After a few years, he was led back into pastoral ministry and served for nine years as senior pastor in Sammamish, WA before coming to FBC.

Craig and Lois enjoy sailing, building projects as well as urban and backcountry hiking.  They have two married sons, Kip and Kaj, both working in the mental health field.

(email Craig: click here)

Mike Kurtz

Mike also  joined the FBC staff in 2002 as Associate Pastor. Prior to full time ministry, Mike earned his BS in Mechanical Engineering at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo and thereafter worked as a Manufacturing Engineer for 15 years. In 1989, Mike attended Multnomah Biblical Seminary in Portland, Oregon, which was followed by a move to Seattle where he met his wife, Lyanne, at FBC. He later returned to Multnomah for his MA in Pastoral Studies and thereafter joined the staff. Mike and Lyanne are now proud parents of Maili, an adopted child from China in Dec. 2010.

Mike's primary responsibilities include the Home Group, Music, Adult Christian Education, and College/Young Adult ministries. He enjoys music (almost any kind), baseball, football, college hoops, and traveling.

(email Mike: click here)

Seiya Asanuma

Seiya joined the FBC staff in November 2010 as Associate Pastor of Japanese Language Ministries (JLM). Seiya was born and raised in Japan, where he became a Christian at the age 19. In 1991, he came to the United States to attend Crown College in Minnesota. After earning a BA degree in New Testament, Seiya went on to study at Bethel Theological Seminary in St. Paul where he received his Master of Divinity degree. Seiya and his wife, Tracy, married in August 2004 and have a daughter named Akina.

Although Seiya’s main responsibilities at FBC are with the JLM, he also ministers to the entire congregation such as occasionally speaking at our monthly joint services and special events. He enjoys playing basketball, singing along with his guitar, and spending time with his family on his days off. 

(email Seiya: click here)

REACHING UP, REACHING ACROSS, REACHING OUT

Our mission is simply to make more and better followers of Jesus Christ (Matt. 28:19-20). Our hope is to be used of God to make this a reality for every person God brings into our lives. We strive to accomplish this by guiding and developing people through three lifelong steps:

Faith Bible Church is located just on the fringe of downtown Seattle. We are conveniently located minutes from I-90 and I-5 near the corner of Yesler and 18th Ave. Once a house in the neighborhood, FBC has expanded to four lots and yet blends well with the surrounding community.  

For a map to Faith Bible Church, click here.