In Community:

Summer 2024 Newsletter

Hearts to Serve

by Pastor Mike Kurtz

A few weeks ago, Ly tested positive for COVID, and so she shut herself in the bedroom for a few days. During that time, she got bored and decided she was going to read the Bible in a year. A few days ago she was in the book of Exodus, and she commented to me that when it came time to build the tabernacle, everyone contributed. Some people contributed with their skills, others with colorful yarns and linens, leathers, wood, oil and spices, and still others with precious metals and gems. In many ways, she noted how this was a picture of the church.

It got me thinking about fall and the coming new school year. As you are probably aware, the fall tends to be the time when ministries kickoff after the summer break. This is a time when opportunities to serve are at their peak. It really does take a lot of people to keep the ministry going.

But one thing that stood out to me from reading Exodus is this one thought that is repeated over and over again:

Whoever is of a generous heart, let him bring the Lord’s contribution… (Exod. 35:5)

And they came, everyone whose heart stirred him, and everyone whose spirit moved him, and brought the Lord’s contribution… (Exod. 35:21)

So they came, both men and women. All who were of a willing heart… (Exod. 35:22)

All the women whose hearts stirred them to use their skill… (Exod. 35:26)

All the men and women, the people of Israel, whose heart moved them to bring anything for the work that the Lord… (Exod. 35:29)

And Moses called Bezalel and Oholiab and every craftsman in whose mind the Lord had put skill, everyone whose heart stirred him up to come to do the work. (Exod. 36:2)

This idea of a willing and generous heart that is stirred to serve comes up so many times, it’s impossible to ignore. Later on we see the results of such willingness:

“The people bring much more than enough for doing the work that the Lord has commanded us to do.” ⁶ So Moses gave command, and word was proclaimed throughout the camp, “Let no man or woman do anything more for the contribution for the sanctuary.” So the people were restrained from bringing, ⁷ for the material they had was sufficient to do all the work, and more. (Exod. 36:5-7)

The people were so moved to contribute that they gave too much! They were actually told to stop because they had more than enough.

So, I have a confession. When I first started leading ministries, I found it difficult to ask people to do things that would require significant time and sacrifice. I was concerned about the burden, and I felt a little guilty about that.

But then I read an article that made me think differently about this personal dilemma. In that article the author was asked a similar question: Do you ever feel guilty when you challenge volunteers? Do you ever feel guilty about laying heavy ministry burdens on already-busy people?

His answer surprised me. He said something to effect that the people that come to church are wonderful people who work their jobs five to six days a week for hours on end. Many of them when they go home at night, they are not feeling wildly fulfilled from all the joy and meaning they experienced at work. For them, their jobs don’t deliver a lot of purpose to their lives.

The author went on to say that “we have been given the unspeakable privilege of inviting people into what might be the only involvement in their lives that makes them feel like an instrument in the hands of the Almighty, that gives them the thrill of knowing that the Creator God has used them to touch a human life.”

Oftentimes I need to remind myself of that. Many of you might feel that way about your work. And although I believe our work matters to God, the truth is, you may not feel as though you are making a huge contribution to the kingdom in it.

With that in mind, I would like to invite you to be an instrument in the hands of God to touch human lives through the use of your gifts and talents at FBC. I believe many of you have the willing and generous hearts that are described in Exodus 35. We would love to give you an opportunity to contribute wherever you heart is leading you. Perhaps a day will come when we have more than enough help!

Let me be clear, though. I do not invite you out of spirit of duty or obligation. That’s not how God invited the people to contribute to the tabernacle. You are invited as the Spirit leads. If you are feeling a stirring to serve, please let me know!

As the fall approaches and ministries kick off, I am looking forward to what God is going to do in this new year ahead as we see an overflowing of people contributing to the kingdom through the ministry of FBC. -P. Mike

Children’s Ministry

by Kenji Kumai

It is crazy how fast time seems to be going by this summer!  The new school year is right around the corner already!  We are having a Children’s Ministry “New School Year Kick-Off Meeting” on September 1^st.  We will recognize the Sunday School teachers and promote our 9:30am Sunday School program at our worship service on September 1^st as well and kick off the new school year with the first classes starting September 8^th.  This includes Nursery all the way through High School.

In April, we formed the new Children’s Ministry leadership team.  Our goal was to take this ministry responsibility off of Pastor Mike’s plate since he is now our Senior Pastor.  This new team includes two veterans – Dawn Hamasaki and Patty Mayeda, plus Jeanne and I.  We have been meeting and making many changes and adding many new people to this ministry.  Thank you to those who are continuing to serve and to those who are stepping up to join in this ministry.

On June 23, we had a Children’s Ministry Meeting which included all teachers and all helpers for both the 9:30am Sunday School program and the 11:00am Children’s Worship program.  There are over 42 people directly and regularly involved in this ministry.  It truly takes a village to raise up, care for, teach, train, disciple and love our FBC Ohana children!  We thank God for the privilege it is to be able to serve in this way!  These kids are the future of Faith Bible Church and we as a church will do all that we can to make sure we are helping raise them up with God’s love, the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the teachings of His Word.  The nursery and toddler rooms have been remodeled (special thank you to Megan Lee Tsuji and her team as they all worked so hard to get this done!)  We will continue to make improvements to each classroom.

We will be meeting together again on September 1^st and our goal is to come together to build unity and teamwork as we start a new school year.  To make a commitment to serve our children by building relationships with the kids and showing them God’s love.  To learn about teaching and discipling our kids.  We want this ministry to be a Family Ministry where we are reaching out to and encouraging and building relationships with the parents as well.  We will also have training on safety issues and policies to protect our children, by Scott Sasaki.

As our FBC Ohana, please pray for all of the teachers and leaders in this ministry.  Pray for protection from Satan’s attacks and for spiritual growth for each of the teachers so that they can teach effectively and help our children to grow spiritually.

Serving Him together,

Kenji Kumai (for Patty Mayeda, Dawn Hamasaki and Jeanne Kumai)

WOK (WASABI & ROCK Ministries)

by Will Tong (& Amy Li)

Wow, what an honor to write about WOK, one of my favorite ministries at FBC! For those who may not be familiar, WOK is the name of our youth group, a combo of WASABI, our middle school group and ROCK, our high school group. I’m probably biased, but I think we have the best youth group out there, along with some fantastic leaders, and it’s been an absolute blast hanging out with the WOK group this past year. When I was a student, I always felt like the end of the school year was a blur, and as a youth group leader, that feeling was no different. We finished our year of Sunday School strong, going over the books of Daniel and Ruth, as well as hosting several fun fellowship events. We even had several new high schoolers join our group in the spring, and it’s been a blessing to see new faces! We’ve had many highlights since the spring newsletter, so I’ll try my best to capture a couple here.

Moses Lake Retreat

With the generous hospitality of the extended Kumai family, the WOK group had an awesome weekend retreat in a lake house over at Moses Lake in late May. The weather was wonderful and the weekend was very relaxing, which was great for some students in the midst of exam season. We had fun playing sports, kayaking on (and “falling into” cough *Josh* cough) the lake, BBQ-ing, and having a great time of fellowship together! Praise God for a lovely weekend and awesome memories made!

Soul Food

It’s always a joyous time making lunch with our youth! In June, we once again decided to put our food service skills to the test and delivered with some super cute signs and some delicious spaghetti and meatballs. I love seeing the kids in action, and it’s honestly a lot of fun to cook and serve the church together. This time around, we were a well-oiled machine and had the plates at the ready!

End of Year Party: Scavenger Hunt and Graduating Seniors!

To close out the WOK school year, we participated in a longtime tradition (minus the last few years): the senior scavenger hunt and dinner, so graciously planned and hosted by the Kumai’s! Shoutout to Auntie Jeanne for planning a super fun scavenger hunt!

Tim, Amy, and Yukimi

We’ll miss our graduating seniors, Yukimi Kuge and Tim Dong, dearly! Yukimi and Tim have been staples of the ROCK/WOK group for many years. It’s been amazing to see their growth and how they have positively influenced the younger kids to love others and love God.

We also have one more unofficial graduate, Amy Li, who has selflessly and faithfully served the ROCK group for seven years! If you’ve been attending FBC for some amount of time, you’ve likely met her. Her love for the Lord is reflected through her love for people, especially the youth, and she has mentored countless kids over the years. We’re all so thankful that the Lord has used her to bless so many here at FBC (both youth and adults alike!) and are so excited to pray and support her as she goes to serve the youth at Sacred Road. WOK on, Amy!

Looking Forward to the Fall

We’re really excited for what the Lord has in store for our group this fall, as we’ll kick off Sunday School in September and begin our monthly WOK fellowship events. Our team has a new leader, Katie Li, who will join us for the fall, and we’re super excited to have her on board. Thank you, church family, for your continued prayers and support for our youth!

A Note from Amy

Hey y’all. It’s Amy. Popping on here to say a quick word… It just didn’t feel right to end my time serving as a youth leader without writing up a little something, after all these years of writing for the grapevine. Thank you Mina for always putting up with me when I procrastinated and sent my article late… even this last one. As a farewell gift at the end-of-year party, the leaders organized a way for past students and leaders to write me a note. It is such a precious gift – one that I will treasure forever. This is my way of now thanking you all.

Without being too dramatic, I want to say that it has been one of the greatest honors of my life to serve the young generation at FBC for the last few years. It definitely had its ups and downs, sometimes filled with challenges and heartache, other times, unspeakable joy and tummy-hurting laughter. The kids all kept me young… while also aging me significantly the past seven years. Let’s just say, God is good.

About a year after I first started attending FBC, I heard that the youth ministry was looking for helpers – through the wise and gentle nudging of Josh and Linda Takano (and not-so-subtle nudging from Chris Jo). I remember approaching Auntie Jeanne at the Beacon Hill Back-to-School BBQ, nervously introducing myself for the first time and immediately being welcomed by the biggest bear hug and also meeting Buddy! Well, it turned out that two other young adult friends, El and Stacie also decided to help out. Honestly, we had no idea what we were doing most of the time (and maybe even now, we still have no clue), but that’s what made it so fun. It always left a lot of room for God to come through. Plus, we have always had such amazing support from the church family, elders, pastors, and students’ families.

With that being said, I am so thankful for each person that I had the privilege of serving with over the years. The ministry was made possible by each of them, and personally, I felt so encouraged by their presence and support, that I could keep going at each step. They also made serving so much fun! Alisa Williamson, Stacie Lee, El Iseri, and Chris Jo in the good ol’ days; in the recent years, Drew Fukuda, Sam He, Kelsey Huang, Will Tong, Sarah Xu, and Josh Huang have stepped up; and ever since the very beginning (they’ve always been there… and might always be there lol), Uncle Kenji and Auntie Jeanne Kumai. The real MVP’s.

Of course, I’m thankful to each of the students that have been a part of the youth group too. Each of you (okay… I’ve learned over the years though that they don’t read the grapevine…) holds such a special place in my heart. No doubt, they caused me much grief. But to be a part of their journeys, in a time when they are navigating so many things in life… friendships, identity, faith, hobbies, academics… was a blessing that I did not take for granted. Every time the kids opened up to me and let me into their slice of life, was a sacred moment. It filled my heart to see these young people be curious about their faith and ask many thoughtful questions (late into the night sometimes… and even when it felt like I didn’t have the answers) and love Jesus through word and deed, to see God answer prayers in their life, and ultimately, to see many of them walking faithfully with the Lord in their later years. There are too many memories to count, but I will treasure each single one: every Sunday School, fellowship event, retreat, car ride, couch game (iykyk), leaders meeting, late-night and delirious conversation, graduation, and of course, every time we obnoxiously cheered the kids on at a sporting event or extracurricular activity and embarrassed them.

As much as I am excited about my next chapter, make no mistake. I am sad about leaving. I will miss this so much. But I take great comfort in knowing that I leave this ministry in such capable hands and there’s nothing to worry about with God on their side. I know also that our church family will continue to support them, just as you all have supported me throughout the years. Thank you FBC ohana! Love you all! Amy, out.

CYC (College & Young Career)

by Reeghan Crawford

Hi FBC Ohana from CYC!

This summer has been such a blessed time, allowing us to rest and prepare our hearts for the upcoming school year. Despite Sunday School being on a break and many of our CYCers traveling and on summer vacation, we were still able to continue our fellowship and stay connected as a CYC body.

In May, we began Selah as a way to “stop and listen” and spend intentional time with God. Since the first meeting, we have met biweekly, providing a space for our FBC Ohana to worship and praise our God. Currently, Selah is moving through the ACTS prayer structure, with each session focusing on a different aspect of prayer. We hope to CYC you there!

In June, we held our End of Year CYC Luau, where we honored the different stages of life our CYC family members are experiencing—graduates, new parents, and newlyweds. And of course, we had a bit of friendly competition with a Beach & Redemption-themed trivia game (our SS theme for this year!). It was so fun, and we already miss our grads!

July was centered on building community with other churches in the Seattle area! At the beginning of the month, we participated in an Interchurch Volleyball Tournament—some of us played for 6 hours in 85°F heat! For our FBC doctors, don’t worry—I promise we wore LOTS of sunscreen. Towards the end of July, we participated in an Interchurch Picnic and chopped enough onions to feed 120 people! I’m still in awe of the excellent chefs in our CYC family!

August was Au-some!! I am constantly reminded of how blessed we are to have such a fun and community-oriented CYC Ohana, where we want to see each other so much, even outside of church! At the beginning of the month, CYCers got together to cheer on our favorite baseball team, the Mariners. We also had an Interchurch Worship Night at ECC in Redmond, followed by a Thrifting Event after church the next day.

Overall, this summer has been filled with lots of community-building opportunities, and it’s so encouraging to see and experience the joy our Ohana brings to each other. As we head into this upcoming academic year, we are excited to see how relationships continue to flourish and be enhanced through our study of God’s word.

Thanks for reading, and CYC-you at church!

Gospel Journey Sunday School (English Library)

by John & Lisa Tsuji

Do you love to study God’s Word?  Or are you new to it or used to but want to get back into it?  Are you looking to meet new people or find community where you can pray and learn together?  Then the Gospel Journey Sunday School class is for you! It has been meeting for several years now but is always looking to welcome new people.  During the week, we read and study a Bible passage and then meet on Sundays for a time of prayer and discussing the passage together. It’s not only a way to grow in the spiritual disciplines of regular time in God’s Word and prayer during the week and making worshipping God a priority on Sundays, but also a time for community with others who share a love for God and learning from His Word.  This year, we will continue our study of the Old Testament.  We will be starting in I Samuel.  We would love to have you join us at 9:30 each Sunday morning in the English library.  And if you are unable to attend in person, we also have the opportunity to join via Zoom, as well.  We will start meeting again on September 8 and really hope to see you then!

In His love, grace and peace,

John & Lisa

Sunday School By The Kitchen (SSBTK)

by Marty Dong

Greetings from the English Adult Sunday School Fellowship. Also whimsically known as the SSBTK – Sunday School by the Kitchen,  we are an intergenerational group of people who want to learn more about Jesus and to “spur each other on” to love and good deeds.

We had a great 2023-2024 school year studying the covenants between God and his people and dipping into the Gospels. This year will also be a great opportunity to study the Bible, apply lessons to everyday life and have good prayer and fellowship.

If you are looking for an opportunity to sharpen your understanding of God as he unveils himself through the Bible and history, we invite you join us. If you are looking for a place to connect at FBC, we’re a great entry point with little commitment or preparatory effort needed.  Just come with an openness to learn and grow in your faith with other people in a similar place.

We hope you can join us.

Blessings,

Marty Dong for the English Adult Sunday School

School of Promise Mission Trip

by Lauren Mayeda

In mid-July, FBC sent out a group of 18 people on a mission trip to the School of Promise (SOP) in Chiang Mai, Thailand to run a VBS camp. We were also blessed to be joined by FBC missionaries Dave, Akiko, Hikari, and Takumi Bauson during our time there! All in all, the trip was truly amazing! Here are just a few of the highlights of this trip:

VBS

As we began planning for VBS, we quickly discovered that we had a big task ahead of us: how would we incorporate 170 students from grades 1-12 in one cohesive program? Through much planning and prayer, we came up with a game plan that ended up being a success! Our VBS theme was “Agency D3: Discover, Decide, Defend”, where the students learned how to answer questions such as “Is Jesus really God’s son?”,  “Was Jesus’s death real?” and “What do I do with the evidence about Jesus?”. On the last day, some of the Thai teachers shared their testimonies in Thai with the students, in hopes that they would be receptive to hearing the Gospel in their native language. While we may not know how many of the kids are Christian or are close to accepting Christ, we do know that they are shown the love of God daily and are given the chance to hear the good news about Jesus while attending SOP.

Building Relationships

When FBC last visited SOP back in 2018, the majority of our time was spent with elementary students, as the high school didn’t even exist yet! Now, there is a new high school building attached to a new indoor cafeteria. One of the highlights of this trip was being able to interact with the middle and high school students – getting to know them and talking about their plans and dreams for the future. Our team even had a fun volleyball match against the SOP volleyball teams (and we won!)

Another highlight was spending time with the SOP teachers and staff. Every morning before school, they gather together for a short time of worship and prayer. Oftentimes they sang familiar worship songs in Thai that we could sing along to in English, which was a truly remarkable experience to hear both languages singing together to the same God. We were also able to experience Thai-style prayer, which is when everyone prays out loud at the same time, filling the entire room with prayerful voices. And we have comfort in knowing that our Lord hears every single word!

Home Visits

One day after school, our team split up into 3 smaller groups and visited students’ homes. Some students might have parents, grandparents, or other relatives as their primary caretakers, while some have simply been taken in and “adopted” by other families. We were able to chat with these families (with the help of some bilingual SOP staff members) and we were also to pray with them. One of these visits in particular stood out to me: we visited a student whose home was a small, bamboo house, maybe 20’x20’ in size, open to the outside, and shared by a family of 4. This student’s mom is a full-time caregiver for their other son who has cerebral palsy, so his dad is the main provider for the family. They expressed their gratitude for SOP and for the scholarships they provide for families like theirs, who would not otherwise be able to afford such an excellent education.

Many Thanks To…

We were beyond thankful to have the Bauson family, as well as the amazing Bob and Noby Kennell with us on our trip. From organizing activities, to choosing delicious restaurants, to being our translators when needed, all of them were invaluable and helped our trip to be even more of a memorable experience!

And of course, a HUGE thank you to the entire church family for all of your prayers as well as financial support for our SOP team! Additional thanks to those that sponsor students at SOP (if you’re not a sponsor yet, but are interested in learning more, contact Dawn Hogan) And for those of you who have been wondering and asking when the next SOP trip will be…we’ve been tossing around the idea of sending another team in 2026!

Hailey Crawford, Sammy Dong, Rieko Kato, Rachel & Buddy Kumai, Bob & Noby Kennell, Mike, Ly, Maili Kurtz, Maddie & Sydney Louie, Sue & Laurie Machida, Paul & Lauren Mayeda, Lauren Oda, Will Tong

Sacred Road Summer Mission Trip

by Sammy Dong & Yukimi Kuge

Sammy Dong

What a blessing it was to serve alongside the rest of the FBC team at Sacred Road this year! During our time in White Swan, WA, God revealed his sovereignty and provision in ways that I could not have imagined going into it. I saw the bright light of Jesus through the immense joy evident among the staff and kids and I saw a picture of the body of Christ on display through the various gifts that each member of our team had. At the beginning of our week, we studied the passage of Isaiah 58 and out of it, came a prayer that the ministry would be guided by the Lord and overflow like a spring whose waters never fail. As I reflected on my time on the reservation (rez), the love within the community, the immediate sense of welcome, belonging, and encouragement there, all illustrated to me just how powerfully the Lord was moving in and through the teams, staff, and even, kids on the rez.

Going into this trip, I honestly didn’t feel spiritually or emotionally prepared, but upon arriving at the church, Hope Fellowship, the Lord made His presence evident through our interactions with the staff, kids, and other church teams. It was truly such a blessing from God that our team bonded quickly and worked together so well and got along with everyone else there. For me, one of the big highlights of the trip was Kid’s Club! After spending the first half of our day on a roofing project, we got to spend the second half hanging out with friendly and joyful neighborhood kids. All they wanted were piggyback rides or they would enthusiastically talk about their days or simply just want to sit together on the swings in peaceful silence. I treasured this time with the kids because I got to hear each of their unique stories, not to mention, receive big hugs and big smiles whenever we returned to Kid’s Club each day. Many of the kids have such jubilant attitudes and it was so inspiring to see how loving and excited they were to hang out with us, and really put what it means to have child-like faith into perspective.

Our time serving at Sacred Road was extremely fruitful. I saw glimpses of heaven through the excitement and energy of the kids and the love and encouragement from the staff and other teams. I’m grateful that I got to serve alongside a Spirit-led team and returned home with many names of kids and staff to pray for. Thank you, church, for allowing me this opportunity to serve at Sacred Road and I would definitely recommend others go and experience how powerfully the Lord is working on the Yakama reservation.

Yukimi Kuge

A few months ago, I had the privilege and opportunity to join a group of amazing people and serve as part of the Sacred Road ministry on the Yakama reservation. Being able to take a whole week away from everything in my day-to-day and somewhat messy life… to dedicate time to serving people, seeing God work in so many different ways, and finish every day off by gazing at tons of stars that spread out in the cloudless sky… I can’t fully put into words how wonderful of an experience it was.

Going to White Swan, WA, for the first time, I had the chance to learn a small portion of the culture, history, and traditions of the Yakama people. I fell in love with the people and was struck by just how beautiful they are. On our first full day (Sunday), we went to the Yakama Nation Cultural Center and were guided by one of the Yakama elders and tribal leaders, Wendell Lee Hannigan, and his nephew, Ted. They spoke about the history of their people and even shared personal knowledge on various topics, always stopping to ask for questions. Through them, I learned about the tragic and dark history of non-native peoples coming in and, sadly, (mis)using the name of Jesus to build boarding schools for Indigenous children that would ultimately strip them of their culture. It was sobering to think of how irreparably hurt and scarred they must have been, not just then but also now and into the future. However, one hopeful spot was when Ted began to talk about how some Indigenous people had opened their hearts again and were letting outsiders like us (and people like the Granberry’s, who started Sacred Road Ministries) connect with them again. From this story, I realized that nothing in this world, not even the most terrible thing, can stop God’s love from reaching every person. God is working on the reservation, right now, within the people, and changing their hearts and lives.

While there, we also gradually learned more about their culture. For instance, we learned that people would choose not to say words like “goodbye” when parting ways since it implies permanent separation, and instead, choose to say “see you later” to imply that we might see each other again. It was intriguing to learn about these cultural differences, especially since we live only 3-hours away in Seattle! These things captivated my heart and made me appreciate these people with such a beautiful and rich culture.

On the flip side, though, the brokenness and poverty that these people live in brought me to tears. At Kid’s Club We learned at the beginning of the week how many of these children have an extremely high number of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). The sad reality is that they may live in a home that is not safe, with adults who drink and are abusive, and because of this, they cannot just be kids at home.

In spite of all that the kids go through, I couldn’t help but notice that each of them had glittering eyes, full of hope and joy every day we had Kid’s Club. They would come out on the hottest of days to the neighborhood park where we set up, which did not have that much shade, but it did not stop them from having so much energy and excitement to run around with the brightest smiles. Despite their situations at home, they could be kids here.

I fell in love with these people and wondered… if I feel this love for them, how much more does God love these beautiful people whom He created, whom He knows inside and out, and whom He sent His Son to die for, to save them? Learning about their situation and seeing little pieces of it broke my heart. How much more does God, who cares about them deeply and can see all their pain and suffering, feel heartbroken over this?

God’s enormous love and care for them was apparent in how He is working through the Sacred Road ministry and Hope Fellowship Church, where He is drawing people closer to Him and giving them hope, peace, and rest in Him. I was truly blessed to witness God’s marvelous work and be a small part of it for one week. I really encourage all of you to “Come and See” what it’s all about.

The Sacred Road Sharing (by Josh & Jess) and Recap video (by Josh) in the worship service on July 14th (starting at 38:02)

FBC Calendar (link)