In Community:

November 2020 Newsletter

Church As Community

By Pastor Kohei Takeda

“So when are we going to reopen the church?” Whenever I am asked this question, I get super excited. Akiko and I came to FBC a little less than a year ago, but after enjoying three months of meeting and getting to know more about people, out of the blue, every conversation became virtual!  

I miss meeting you all so much. I miss the energy of praising God together in a sanctuary. I miss our unplanned conversations as we bump into each other in the foyer. I can’t wait to gather again. Maybe you are feeling the same. So I totally understand the question. But, part of me also wonders by asking, “how can we reopen the church when we never closed?” 

In these times of isolation, Faith Bible has been much more than a building. Like the Early Church in Acts 2:42-47, the church has been a worshipping community (2:42, 46-47) that always looks upon God, praises, and finds true hope in His promise together. The church has been a sharing community (2:44-46) that shares blessings but also creates a safe place to share struggles, in small groups, Racial Relations discussion, and through the Encouragement Team. The church has been a praying community (2:42) that prays with one another, not only for our needs, but also others’ and the fallen world that is so sadly filled with virus, injustice, hatred, divisions, and hopelessness. Finally, the church has been a missional community (2:47) that sacrificially shares life with unbelievers that we see many people connecting with the small groups and Sunday worship, and some coming to faith. Though the church building is currently closed, the church community has never closed. Rather, in some ways, God is growing the community deeper. 

Do we see that God is at work in our connections and relationships? Though the world looks so depressing, do we see that God has not been silent or passive, but spiritually active in the community of believers? Indeed, we are living in such a difficult and uncertain world. But, we are certain that God is in control of everything and is at work in our community.   

Yes, we are eager to gather together and meet face to face as soon as possible. It’s been a long time since we last shook hands, hugged, and sang together. But, even though the current situation does not allow that, we can build up a deeper community because God is at work. God blesses us not only when we reopen the church building one Sunday, but also when we try to build up community now.  

How can we build up a deeper community of God when everything is going virtually? What does it look like? This is the real question that we want to keep asking ourselves. For some people, this may be respectfully but intentionally trying to build friendship with someone who is not connected with any community, initiated by sending a message of encouragement, making a phone call, or writing a letter. For some people, this may be delivering a meal or sending money to someone who might be most in need. For others, this may be inviting a friend to your online small group, or even starting a new group for others. 

So even when the church cannot gather, we don’t need to passively wait until we get back to “normal.” The church is not “going back to normal,” but is “going deeper” when we meet again. God is now certainly deepening the community of faith. He blesses us by making the most of where we are. So, friends, let us be hopeful. Let us not be passive, but active in trusting the Lord and serving others.   

Many Blessings, 

Kohei Takeda 

コミュニティとしての教会

武田考平牧師

「私たちは、いつ教会をリオープンするの？」この質問を受ける度に、心躍ります。私たちは1年前にFBCに導かれ、3か月ほど直接会って交わり、お互いのことを少しずつ知るようになったことを楽しみました。しかし、突然、全ての会話や交わりがオンラインに変わってしまったのです。

皆さんと直接会えることを、心から待ち遠しく思います。礼拝堂に集まり、共に神様を賛美するエネルギーや臨場感を味わうことが、とても待ち遠しいです。礼拝堂を出たロビーでは、行き交う方々と出会い、色々な話をすることが、とても待ち遠しいです。ですので、先ほどの質問をする気持ちはよく理解できます。しかし、一方で、次のようにお答えしたくもなるのです。「教会をリオープンすると言いますが、教会は一度もクローズしたことはないのではないでしょうか。」

実際、人と会うことのできない今日、私たちの教会は、建物としてではなく、コミュニティとして存在しています。使徒の働き2章42～47節に記録される初代教会のように、私たちの教会は、礼拝するコミュニティ（2章42、44～46節）です。いつも神様を見上げ、賛美し、神様の真実の約束を共に信じるコミュニティです。また、私たちの教会は、分かち合うコミュニティ（2章44～46節）です。スモールグループでは感謝を分かち合い、また、人種問題について語る会では、辛さや葛藤をも安心して分かち合える場所を提供し、Encouragement Teamを通して励ましを分かち合うコミュニティです。また、私たちの教会は、祈るコミュニティ（2章42節）です。自分の必要だけではなく、他の人の必要のために、共に祈っています。また、ウィルスだけでなく、不正、憎しみ、分裂、絶望が蔓延するこの世界のために、心を痛めて、共に祈っています。最後に、私たちの教会は、宣教するコミュニティです（2章47節）。私たちは、クリスチャンでない方にも犠牲的お仕えしていますが、多くの方がハウスチャーチや礼拝につながり、新たに信仰を持たれる方もいます。「建物としての教会」は閉ざされていたとしても、「コミュニティとしての教会」は閉ざされたことはありません。むしろ、神様は、コミュニティとしての教会を深め、成長させておられます。

人とのつながりや人間関係を通して、神様が働かれていることが分かるでしょうか？この世界は失意に溢れているように見えるかもしれません。しかし、神様は、沈黙を保って消極的でおられるのではなく、霊的に、信仰者のコミュニティではむしろ積極的に働いておられることが分かるでしょうか？私たちは困難で不確かな世界に生かされています。しかし、神様が全てをコントロールされていて、コミュニティの中で働かれていることは確かなことです。

状況が許す限り、一刻も早く、顔と顔を合わせて集いたいと願っています。私たちが、最後に握手したり、ハグしたり、一緒に歌ったりしたのはいつだったでしょうか。しかし、それが叶わない間も、神様が働いておられるがゆえ、私たちは「コミュニティとしての教会」を建て上げることができるのです。神様は、いつか教会をリオープンして集えるようになる日曜日に祝福してくださるだけではなく、私たちが神様のコミュニティを建て上げようとする今、祝福してくださるのです。

しかし、全てがオンラインで行われる最中、私たちはどのように神様のコミュニティを建て上げることができるしょうか？それは、具体的に、何をすることでしょうか？この問いかけは、私たちが継続して自分自身に尋ねなければならない本当の問いです。ある人にとっては、尊重しながらも意図的に、まだどのようなコミュニティにも属していない人と人間関係を築こうとすることかもしれません。それは、励ましのメッセージを送ったり、電話を掛けたり、手紙を書いたりすることから始まります。ある人にとっては、最も必要としている人に食事を届けたり、お金を送ったりすることかもしれません。ある人にとっては、友人をオンラインのスモールグループに招いたり、多くの人が参加できるように、新しいスモールグループを始めたりすることかもしれません。

ですので、教会が集えない間、いつか「通常」に戻るまで、私たちはじっと耐え忍ぶ必要はないのです。実際は、教会は「通常に戻る」のではなく、再び集うときには、「より深いコミュニティ」へ変えられているのです。神様は今、確かに信仰者のコミュニティを深め、成長させてくださっています。ですので、愛する皆さん、神様に大いに期待しましょう。私たちは、受動的ではなく、能動的に主への信仰を表し、隣人に仕えていきたいと願います。

主に在りて、

武田　考平

FBC Race Relations Sessions

By Kelly and Reiko Aramaki

Do you know who Grace Armstrong, Gladys Kaiser and Alice Parker are? These are three Caucasian women who had a heart to reach out to the Japanese-American community after World War II, amidst a lot of hatred and resentment towards the Japanese/Japanese-American community. Contrary to how many Americans viewed the Japanese at the time, Ms. Armstrong, Ms. Kaiser and Ms. Parker instead had a desire to love the Japanese community and share the gospel with them. As they began to minister to the Japanese, they created a church that eventually became Faith Bible Church. As we look back on the history of FBC, we love that the church was started by believers who transcended the racial divide after the war with the Good News of salvation and their desire to be cultural bridge builders.  

Seventy years later, there is unfortunately still a lot of unrest in our country when it comes to race relations. With George Floyd’s death in late May, large-scale protests started to occur on a weekly basis, not only in Minneapolis, but also here in Seattle and in many other cities nationally and internationally. Facing racism and racial unrest, we couldn’t help but ask these questions: What is the Church’s role in addressing racial injustice? How are we as believers to respond? Less than a week after George Floyd’s death, our church came together virtually to share our thoughts on all that was going on and what we were seeing on the news. We also shared Scripture verses that would be encouraging to one another and then ended our time together in prayer. It was an important time for us to come together as we wrestled with all that was going on in our country and as a next step, we decided to facilitate a series of sessions pertaining to race and faith.  

In August and September, we hosted five sessions on a variety of topics on race and racism that included mass incarceration, the history of the church and racism, protests, systemic racism, the Black Lives Matter movement and law enforcement. We also watched a TED talk by Bryan Stevenson, founder of the Equal Justice Initiative, and also had an opportunity to hear from Pastor Roy Chang, head pastor of Seattle Chinese Alliance Church; Derek Sandbeck, an SPD police officer and FBC brother in Christ; and Glenn McCray, also a brother in Christ who shared his perspective and experience on what it’s like to be a Black man who grew up in South Seattle. All of these sessions hopefully helped people learn more about race issues and how it intersects with their faith.  

After all of these talks, one might ask the same questions as above: What is the Church’s role in addressing racial injustice? How are we as believers to respond? The five sessions we hosted may not have given a definitive answer to these questions, but it is our hope that people came away with the idea that, yes, it is important for the Church to grapple with issues pertaining to racial injustice. We are very thankful that FBC is a church where we are allowed to facilitate these types of hard conversations with our church family. We are reminded of 1 Corinthians 12:24-26 that talks about the Church Body and that “God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.” As such, when Black believers (and the Black community) are hurting and feeling marginalized, how can we not also feel hurt and have concern for them?  

As for how believers should respond, we are aware that everyone’s “next steps” may look different. One person’s next step may be to read a book on racial justice for the first time. Another person’s next step may be to partner with or donate to an organization that helps the Black community. Personally for us, one of our next steps after the sessions was starting a new small group at FBC that focuses on Biblical justice and race and faith issues. If any of you are interested in still joining us, feel free to e-mail Reiko at reikoaramaki5[at]gmail.com. We plan to meet virtually on the 1st and 3rd Saturdays of the month at 10am.  

Finally, besides practical next steps, we also learned about the importance of how believers must respond to sensitive issues like racial injustice. Race relation issues can be very polarizing even in the church. As such, it is essential for us as believers to engage in these conversations with humility, love and grace, all while maintaining unity of the Spirit. We must strive as followers of Christ to have a “Kingdom perspective” when it comes to understanding and addressing race and justice issues. Perhaps, then, we too can have a heart to show God’s love to others who look different from us, just as Ms. Armstrong, Ms. Kaiser and Ms. Parker did many years ago, and ultimately reflect the image of the true Reconciler of all people, tribes and nations who cares for the oppressed and marginalized – Jesus Christ. 

Parenting Small Group

By Laurie Fukuda

Even COVID-19 doesn’t compare! If I had to name my most dynamic, transforming life experiences, I would have to say that parenting comes close to topping the list! Nothing has challenged my intellect, emotions, skills, and spiritual growth more than being a mom of four. With each new baby, I was amazed at how much more love my heart could hold and how much more love I had to give. By God’s design, the Christian home is to be a place of transformation and discipleship. Often the Lord works through these intimate, life-long relationships to lovingly reveal our need for Him and change our hearts to reflect His light and presence in our lives.

In the same way, the tumultuous events of 2020 highlight our dire need for Christ and for godly, life-giving relationships in our homes, in the church, in our communities, and in our nation. With our world turned upside down, it’s easy for parents to gravitate toward “survival mode,” focusing on a child’s physical, academic and emotional needs, but neglecting spiritual needs. When Jesus was tempted under extreme circumstances, he responded, “Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” (Matt. 4:4)  Has it ever occurred to parents that children also need spiritual feeding and comfort from God’s word especially during uncertain times? Even when our children were young and had yet to receive Jesus as Savior, we often shared how much Jesus loves them. They took comfort in hearing that God is all-powerful and greater than any thunderstorm. When anxious, we spoke of God’s promises to always be with us and help us. Sharing God’s word, singing and playing worship music, and praying together are ways that we can ensure that our child’s spirit is being cared for and nourished.

A bright spot during the COVID-19 restrictions has been meeting with several FBC couples on a weekly basis over Zoom to focus on God’s heart for parenting. We’ve only had four sessions so far, but it’s been refreshing to support each other and do life together as God has intended. We feel very blessed to be able to study God’s word in community, pray together and encourage one another.

Last week, our group was especially inspired by the Apostle Paul’s descriptions of godly parents from  I Thessalonians 2:7-12. May these verses inspire you to love and encourage your child spiritually in a God-honoring way.

Mothers:

v.7-9 “ …We were gentle among you, like a mother caring for her little children. We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us. Surely you remember, brother, our toil and hardship; we worked night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone while we preached the gospel of God to you.

Fathers:

v. 11-12  For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory.

Small Group Blessings

by Lisa Coquinco

Hi, FBC families! I’m Lisa Coquinco. Today, I would like to share about “house church”. 

This year 2020 is so hard for everyone. But I really think it’s especially important to trust God in uncertain times. I always feel that when something happens, there is a reason God allows it to happen. I have confidence that I can overcome anything because God’s presence is always with us. Even in this hard quarantine situation, God wants to teach us something. When I think about that God may be teaching us, I can move forward toward those things. I think God’s reasons for why this pandemic happened are different for each person. But for our case it was for more family time. It is precious that Jordan has been able to see Mia’s growth every day. That’s something we should be thankful for. And FBC started livestreaming, so I could share the link with non-believers easily. Even though my friends are in Japan, I can share the link with them. And “house church” is one of those good things too. Even in hard and sad times, there is hope and light in any situation. It is not just hardship. It is a privilege that Christians have. 

“House church” is sharing life with believers and non-believers in an online small group. 

“House church” is the community Pastor Kohei started. I met Japanese moms at FBC events, other churches’ events and a gathering a missionary hosted. I wanted them to know how wonderful God is when Pastor Kohei told us about starting a house church small group. I invited them right away, and most of my friends I invited joined the group. Our group meets once a week, Saturday evenings for about one hour and a half. We feel like it’s really good community. It gives us a good venue to share what we are thankful for, the blessings we experience during the week and our struggles. We also have time to pray together at the end. It is a valuable time for Christians and non-believers. Especially during this time when people can’t see each other easily, it’s a great place to stay connected with people. 

Through “house church”, we can see that God is always with us. A non-believing friend who had not been sharing about herself, as she continued to attend, her facial expression softened. And she started sharing what she was thankful for and the hardship she had been going through. She also started to share her prayer requests. Little by little, God’s power is working in her life. I was thankful to witness that. There are many moms in our house church. We all have struggles raising young children. They told me they look forward to attending the house church, where they can share those feelings. When I hear those comments, I am thankful that God started this house church. And recently one mom’s husband started to join us. That was very encouraging too. 

We have a chat group on Line app, just for the ladies. We share some easy recipes, kids’ activities, and coloring pages. Because of that sharing, not only during the house church time, but also other days, I feel connected with them. 

We would like to ask you to pray. Please pray for and with us. 

We lift up our house church community. We are really happy that non-believers are joining this group, attending every week, and looking forward to spending time together and sharing via zoom. Those things are amazing blessings for us. We would like the church to pray for continued interest and knowledge, wanting to be more interested in learning about God, Christianity, and the Bible. We pray we can meet in person instead of virtual meetings and hope the day we can meet in person and share will come soon. 

by Amy Li

Back to the beginning.​ To tell you the story of the post-grad small groups, we have to start with the OG mama and papa bears, Linda and Josh Takano. Back in 2016, they were the ones who saw a need within the church and responded by opening up their hearts and home to the post-grad community. They may try to underplay it, but truly, it was their obedience to the Lord that brought our group together in the journey between college and… adulthood. I joined the SG in 2017, when I was still new to Seattle, and this community helped me to find my place within the larger church. We walked through similar stages of life, celebrating the victories and praying through the losses, shared countless homemade delicious meals, studied the Bible and how to apply its teachings, and did some ridiculous things together. Through this SG, I saw the blessing of friends that become family.  

It eventually came time for Josh and Linda to step away from this ministry after three years of faithful leadership. Many of us did not feel ready for the change, but I think we all sensed that it was time. Whether we knew what we were doing or not, we trusted that God was going to grow us in new ways, to deepen our relationships with one another and also, make room for new post-grads. We came together to brainstorm, pray, and plan over a few months about the future of our group. One of the first answers to prayer was when Brian and Tiffany Vergara decided to host one SG. I decided to host the other. And so, it began.   

Biggest blessings.​ We just recently celebrated our “one year SG anniversary” and it is bizarre​ to think that half the time has been spent in quarantine. We recognize God’s grace in giving us each other to lean on during this tumultuous year, and how we have grown closer through it. We’ve met up a few times (pre-COVID) as a larger group, to have a maki-sushi party and dumpling night, and even had the chance to do some yard work at church recently. In a time when it is all too easy to lose sight of God, SG has been a source of edification and accountability. We shared our testimonies with one another earlier this year and saw the Lord move in powerful ways, as we opened up about our lives and some of the trials that God has brought us through. SG is a space where we can come as we are, even in our struggles and brokenness, and in the hardships, to be loved, accepted, prayed for, and encouraged. When I went through a difficult time this summer, feeling lost and unsure of myself, my SG surrounded me in prayer and lifted me up out of the deep mire that I was in. I have seen love in action through this SG (1 John 3:18), and it reminds me of God’s great love for us displayed in the gospel. Truly, there are too many blessings to count.  

What we do. ​In the Gospel Journey SG, we read through different books of the Bible, and dissect and discuss the sacred text, verse by verse, chapter by chapter. The Bible can be hard to understand at times, confusing even, and we all come with different experiences, lenses, and interpretations. But in our SG, we talk honestly about the Scriptures, ask deep theological questions (that often leave us scratching our heads), and reflect on how to live by its words, because we realize the importance of reading and knowing it for ourselves.  

Currently, Brian and Tif’s SG are going through a Bible study book on Jude, by Jackie Hill Perry, after finishing their last book called Compassion & Conviction.  

If you are interested in joining our post-grad SG, please reach out to me! Lastly, I’ll end with one of my favorite quotes about the importance of community in the life of a Christian:  

If it takes a community to know an ordinary human being, how much more necessary would it be to get to know Jesus alongside others… Knowing the Lord is communal and cumulative, we must pray and praise together. That way ‘the more we share the Heavenly Bread between us, the more we shall have’.  

– Tim Keller, Prayer: Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God

If you are interested in joining a small group, click here https://fbcseattle.org/small-group-registration/

CYC (College/Young Career) Update

By Danny Cohen

Hi Faith Bible Family,   

We missed you so much! We are hanging in there and we hope you are too. During the start of quarantine, the CYC ministry was first hit with these specific worries: How will we continue to build community? What happens if schools don’t reopen? Will people even show up? How should we engage with the racial unrest in our nation? 

But…   

Good thing the Holy Spirit isn’t slowed by COVID19. 
Good thing God’s goodness isn’t partial to the circumstances that we face. 
Good thing Jesus abundantly gives hope to those who call upon His name! Amen. 

We are blessed to say that God has been helping our ministry in some key ways:  

1. First, we were able to maintain connection with existing members throughout the summer via Zoom before church.  
2. Secondly, last year’s CYC core team of leaders has responded to God’s call to continue to serve our college young career family.  
3. Lastly, we’ve been provided with amazing new ideas and started to adjust to this new world of ministry amidst a pandemic.  

In my opinion, I feel encouraged as our small flame that we kept from burning out has potential to continue to grow in ways we couldn’t have imagined! We can only thank God for his continual provision during this time and for the outpour of support and prayers our congregation has had over us. Please keep us into your prayers, and please reach out if you’d like to connect with our group for any reason. We are so thankful to be a part of this Faith Bible Family.  

CYC October Scavenger Hunt – Make your best emoji face!