In Community:

March 2021 Newsletter

The Race Set Before Us

By Pastor Craig Swanson

One of the differences between the elementary school our boys attended in Japan and the school I went to here in the US was parental involvement on field days/sports days/“undoukais”.  In my day, parents didn’t even attend; while in Japan, the parents actually participated.  In kindergarten, it was always in the tug-of-war but in grade school, the parent events changed from year to year.  Our final year in Japan, the dads competed in the 4×200 meter relay.  The school track was half-sized, so each runner ran one full lap.  After a quick rock/paper/scissors it was decided that I would run the first leg.  I remembered sprinting the distance in school so I thought I’d try to open up a lead on the first leg and then hope that the rest of the team could run their legs even. For the first half lap, the strategy worked, but then something strange began to happen. I began puffing and panting.  As I rounded the final curve and headed toward the baton exchange, my lungs and legs felt like they were on fire and I could barely run.  The other runners were catching up and by the time I handed the baton off, our lead had disappeared.  I’ll never forget how my body parts, with minimal warning, said “we’re not doing this much longer”.

This image has stuck with me in relation to the announcement I made at the annual meeting regarding the need for the church to begin the search for our replacement.  I feel like I’m heading into the final curve and that I’m slowing down.  The legs aren’t burning yet, but I’m not sure when that might happen.  It’s not just physical fatigue that I’m facing either.  Galatians 6:2 says we are “to carry one another’s burdens”.  The cumulative effect of doing this for over 40 years of vocational ministry is adding to the weight.  In order to be able to pass the baton smoothly, the handoff needs to take place sooner rather than later for the good of FBC and for us.

At the annual meeting, I spoke about going to three-quarter time later this year.  The purpose of this is to conserve energy in order to complete the remaining portion of the race well.  This will not happen until we can plan for a way to not create an additional burden on the staff or other church leaders.  And of course, I’m planning to keep running until there is someone ready to take the baton.

Some have asked what we’re planning to do the next stage in our lives?  To be honest, we haven’t given it much thought.  Our focus now is on what is best for FBC and I know that once the baton has safely been passed, the Lord will show us what He has in store.  We would greatly appreciate your prayers for the church and leadership at this time as we all try to understand exactly how the Lord is leading.  I know that the handoff is the most challenging time of a relay race but by planning in advance, we can do this smoothly and safely.  Hebrews 12:1 tells us to “run with perseverance the race marked out for us”.  It has been a joy and a blessing to run together these many years and I look forward to the course ahead with you all.  Let’s continue to persevere and each finish our races well.

When Are We Going to Reopen?

By Pastor Mike Kurtz

We get that question a lot. It is something we have considered carefully over many months. We even planned to open last fall, but the infection rates spiked giving us cause to pause. Now with the vaccine available, we are making plans to begin a gradual reopening hopefully sooner than later.

Why the delay when churches were allowed to meet all along?

There were several reasons for the delay. As noted already, the spike in infection rates was of serious concern. One of the other main reasons was making sure we had all procedures and personnel in place prior to opening to ensure the safety of everyone in attendance. To make things more complicated, the State requirements changed along the way, and studies were suggesting new needs and non-factors. Because of the scope of the reopening efforts, the Elders also did not want the church staff to carry the additional burden.

Now as the threat of infection continues to drop and with the State requirements having stabilized, we believe we can begin to bring volunteers in and open safely. That, of course, is one of the important pieces: volunteers.

As of this writing, a survey is being created that will ask for volunteers to help with making the reopening efforts safe and successful. Depending on the number of volunteers, we will have a better idea as to how we will reopen (i.e., once/month to every week).

As we prepare to reopen, there are a number of factors to consider. I thought it would be helpful to present our expectations as well as some explanation. Our procedures and decisions reflect the CDC guidelines, but we are also doing things that go beyond those guidelines. We understand that some may feel these restrictions are too tight or too loose. The Reopening Team (consisting of Elders – one of whom is a doctor) feels our policies are safe and follow the State requirements and CDC recommendations. We know that this may pose some inconveniences, but we want to do all we can to help everyone feel safe. We also feel as an Elder team that we should do all we can to stay in compliance with the State mandates for religious services.

FACTORS TO CONSIDER

Some of these items are a work-in-process as of this writing. No changes will be made that might compromise safety.

Sanitation

This is one of the most important pieces of safety. Making sure the facilities are sanitized between gatherings will require cleaning all hard contact surfaces including furniture, door handles, and bathrooms. Soft contact areas (e.g., pews) will be fog-disinfected as well. Procedures have been created and new equipment is on order, including foggers and HEPA filter units.

Personal Safety

To ensure the safety of all attendees, volunteers, and staff:

• Registration will be required to maintain traceability and to ensure our numbers are within the State guidelines. Currently, we will permit 40 attendees (not including staff & volunteers). Online registration will be available. For those unable to access the online registration, phone contact will be available.
• Entry into the building will be through the main foyer doors only. In cases of emergency, all doors leading out of the building will be accessible.
• All attendees will have their temperature checked prior to entering the sanctuary. Any individual with a temperature of 100.4 degrees F or more will not be permitted to attend the service in-person.
• Those with any household member that has been diagnosed with COVID-19 or with symptoms of COVID-19 (including a fever above 100.4 degrees F) in the past 14 days will not be permitted to attend the service in-person.
• Those who have air-traveled in the past 14 days will not be permitted to attend the service in-person.
• Use of a facemask/facial covering will be required for all attendees before, during, and after the service.
• All attendees will be required to maintain a minimum of 6 feet of distance between individuals (not including members or your household) at all times while on the premises.
• No singing will be permitted at this time. (The State requirements allow for 15 masked people to sing. We felt it would be difficult to appoint 15 out of the 40 attendees with permission to sing.)
• No mingling will be permitted inside the church after the service.
• There will be no classes initially. Children will be required to remain with their parents at all times and not interact with other children. (Note: It may be difficult to attend online Sunday school classes and attend an in-person worship service on the same day.)

The Worship Service

We will begin our regathering by offering worship services in a livestream format. As such, music and speaking may be pre-recorded, cameras could potentially obstruct some views, and projected elements might differ from a normal in-person service. These are all elements that will change as the pandemic subsides and more people are able to return.

NEXT STEPS

At the moment, the results of the survey will reveal the scope and speed of reopening. The survey should tell us how many of you are interested in returning and how many are willing to serve. Once we have those figures, the details will begin to fill in. We encourage you at this time to FILL OUT THE SURVEY. By the time you read this, you should have received an email with the survey included.

In the meantime, please pray for wisdom. We are excited to see you all face to face (or mask to mask)!

New Year’s Party (Shinnenkai)

By Lisa Coquinco

Hi FBC family,

We had our JLM New Year’s party on January 2nd. Every year, we have a JLM New Year’s party at church, but due to the COVID situation, we had our New Year’s party via zoom this year. There were 30 groups including 13 non-believer families. We did a game for adults and kids, shared what we were thankful for, and also introduced FBC.  Thanks to technology, we could have our New Year’s party even though we had COVID restrictions. It was definitely different than our normal New Year’s party, but still we had a great time together. There was no wall between Christians and non-believers. There was so much laughter and love. I felt God was working in everyone’s heart.

Everyone has challenges because of COVID. We can’t get together and worship God. We can’t see sisters and brothers in Christ in person. It’s definitely hard to do missionary work because we can’t see each other in person and invite non-believers to church. But I changed my perspective in a different/positive way. What could we do because of COVID? I could introduce our online service and house church and invite non-believers who live far from church (even different states or countries), who can’t drive or who have babies, to these kinds of events. It reminded me that God never lets us down. He is always with us. He allowed this to happen, so there are reasons why this happened. “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11 NIV) There is always hope even though we are going through hard times. I’m hoping that more people who don’t know Jesus can join our online service and house church. God will show us how to do missionary work during this time. Please pray that more non-believers who have challenges or feel isolated can join our online service and house church. Thank you.

Miss you all. Looking forward to seeing you all in person.

Blessings,
Lisa Coquinco

Baptism Testimony

By Yuka Akashi

2021.02.02

When I started going to Green River College a little more than two years ago, my friend said, “A Christian couple comes to pick up students and takes us to a church every Sunday. And we can get free breakfast there.” That was how I started going to a church. And I kept going because I liked the people and the community. I participated in a lot of fellowships and Bible studies. I wanted to know what Christians are believing in, so I eagerly studied about God. However, I never thought that I needed God. I thought I was pretty satisfied. If I needed help, I could just call my mom. And I thought I was able to be nice to other people without God’s help. I didn’t see myself being self-centered.

Besides Sunday services, the Christian couple came to our college from Renton every other week to hold a ministry event called F3, which I regularly participated in. One day, one of the verses stuck in my mind. It was Proverbs 3:6 “in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.“ I had been feeling that the Bible is only for Christians; but when I heard this verse, I thought for the first time the Bible could apply to me. I had a lot of times that I had a difficult time choosing one of two or many choices. So the verse made me instantly think, “if I keep praying and follow God, even if I don’t know which way to go, I will probably end up on the best path.”

After a while, I joined a ski retreat from the ISI group in December, 2019. It was my second time to join this annual event. One of the staff members asked me how I am doing spiritually. At that moment, I realized that it had already been a year since I started attending a church but had not made any changes yet. I felt that I should make up my mind to go on one more step or stop going to these Christian events at all. That was the time when I started praying as “God, if you are real, please show me.“ And, things started to change from this point.

After a month, thanks to this retreat trip, I found a host family in Bellevue and moved there. I talked about God almost every day with my host family, and also started going to FBC and bible studies in Japanese. That helped me understand more about the stories that I’d heard many times in English but had not fully made sense or applied to myself. And then COVID-19 started.

On April 10th, on Good Friday before Easter, my host family and I were watching a Good Friday service in English. We did Communion together. And after the service, my host dad asked me how I was feeling. I hadn’t thought about my faith for a while; but I just noticed that I already felt that I wanted to follow God. And within the moment, God told me that there were no more barriers which had kept me away from becoming a Christian. Because of COVID-19, there were no more interactions with other religions, even the one I used to be involved in. It was God’s timing. That was what I felt. And I decided to follow God forever.

Up through today, God has been working on me. He led me here so that I can know him. Regardless, I had been believing that I was choosing my own ways by my own decisions. Now I am sorry about that and going to renew my mind. From now on, even if there’s any troubles or challenges facing me, or even if there are many different ways on a crossroad, I will only believe in God and follow Him.

2年ちょっと前の話です。Green River Collegeに通い始めた時、ある友達が言いました。「キリスト教のご夫婦が毎週教会に連れて行ってくれるよ。朝ご飯食べられるんだって。」それが教会に行くようになった理由です。私はそこの人やコミュニティーが好きで、教会に通うようになりました。たくさんのフェローシップやバイブルスタディーにも参加しました。クリスチャンたちが何を信じているのかを理解したくて、一生懸命神様について学んでいました。しかし、私に神様が必要だとは思いませんでした。自分は満足している。困ったらお母さんに相談できるし、周りの人に優しくもなれる。自分勝手な自分は見えていませんでした。

その夫婦は、日曜日のライドの他に、隔週でF3というミニストリーイベントをカレッジで行っていました。私も定期的に参加していましたが、ある日、ひとつの聖句が心に響きました。箴言3:6です。「あなたの行く道すべてにおいて、主を知れ。主があなたの進む道をまっすぐにされる。」私はずっと、聖書はクリスチャンのためにあるのだと思っていましたが、この時初めて聖書が自分にも語られることがあるのかも知れないと思うようになりました。この頃、よく多くの選択肢からひとつを選ばなければならないことがよくあったため、「もし神様に従えば、迷っても最善の方向へ進めるのかな」と思いました。

しばらく後、2019年12月、私は年間イベントであるISIグループのスキーリトリートへ2回目の参加をしました。そしてスタッフのうちの一人に最近どうなのかと聞かれました。その時私は初めて、教会に行き始めてから1年も経ったこと、そして未だなにも変わっていないことに気がつきました。私は現状が中途半端だと感じ、一歩前に進むか、全くクリスチャン関係のイベントには行かなくするか、どちらかに方向性を定めた方が良いと思いました。これが、わたしがどこかで聞いた祈りをしはじめたきっかけでした。「神様、あなたが本当なら、教えてください」。

そして約１ヶ月後、そのリトリートトリップのおかげで新たなホストファミリーが見つかり、ベルビューへ引っ越すことになりました。毎日神様について話すチャンスができ、またFBCや日本語のバイブルスタディーへ参加するようにもなりました。そのおかげで今まで英語で聞いてなんとなく知っていたストーリーたちが、深く理解できるようになっていきました。そして間もなく、コロナが広がってきました。

4月10日、グッドフライデーの日、私はホストファミリーとグッドフライデー礼拝を英語見ていました。聖餐式も一緒にやりました。そしてホストファザーはわたしの様子を聞きました。しばらく信仰について考えていなかった私でしたが、改めて素直に自分に聞いてみると、すでに神様に従いたいという気持ちがあることがわかりました。そしてその瞬間、神様は私に、クリスチャンになるのを遠ざけていた理由はないことを教えてくださいました。一番の理由だった別の宗教のお手伝いはコロナの影響でなくなっていました。これが神様が与えてくださったタイミングだと思い、その場で神様に従っていくことを決めました。

私が神様を知るまでから今日まで、神様は私に働きかけてくださりました。神様は私が神様に出会えるよう、ここまで導いてくださいました。それにもかかわらず、自分の力で決定し道を選んできたのだと思っていた自分を悔います。私は変わります。これからは、どんな困難があっても、道に迷っても、神様だけを信じ神様に一生従っていきたいです。

Small Group Highlight

by Justin Kumai

Hey Faith Bible Ohana!

If you don’t know me, I’m Justin Kumai (Kenji & Jeanne’s nephew). I have been attending FBC for about five years now, and I am so grateful to be able to be a part of a church that embodies the unity, unconditional love and grace of God so well. I was given the opportunity to share about my experience as a small group leader during this unprecedented and unique time. I hope this encourages you all!

About a year ago, God gave me a strong desire and curiosity to revisit the Old Testament bible stories that we all learned about as kids during Sunday school. You know, like Moses, Joshua and Jericho, Daniel and the lion’s den, and David and Goliath. I feel like Sunday school curriculums choose these stories because they are SO powerful and show God’s wonders, but in a way, they are simplified so kids can understand. So I’ve been thinking, how much MORE can we learn from it?

My small group is called “CBFA” which is short for “Children’s Bible for Adults” (LOL). Our goal is to go through these Bible stories and conduct inductive Bible studies, cultural studies, word studies, and other means to get as much out of the story as we can! It has been almost a year now (48 weeks strong!) and this small group has really been a blessing. Every Saturday night, my small group members come out, faithfully, to dive into the scripture and help each other grow. As a small group leader, it is so encouraging to see these individuals’ hunger for God’s word and as a Christian, it’s truly an honor and blessing to be able to study God’s word, sharpen one another, and be in community with such an awesome group of friends. It has also been amazing to see the growth in the members as well. To see their excitement and growth in understanding of God’s word.

Throughout COVID, God has really been showing His hand in this group as well! He brought one of my clients and his wife to join us, as well as a new believer to our group. It has been a lot of fun bringing in new people and seeing them welcomed and integrated into our little community. God has also led us to cultivate a culture of openness, safety, and understanding in our group. This is so important because as we tackle the OT, there are many hard topics that come up. The Holy Spirit has been leading us through these tough topics and we are able to have very productive and meaningful conversations about them.

As I close, I wanted to thank you all for reading this update and I hope that you find it encouraging, and also motivating to join a small group if you haven’t already 🙂 If you are interested in joining CBFA, you are more than welcome to as well! Please continue to pray for us as we dive deeper into the Old Testament and that God may continue to lead us in spirit and truth and that we may experience the glory and fullness of God’s character and presence in these stories!

Blessings,
Justin Kumai