Thank you very much for visiting the website of Furukawa Evangelical Free Church. Many of you reading this page have never been to a church, or have lived a life with no connection to Christianity. However, if you have found your way to this page, you must have some interest in Christianity and the church.
As the saying goes, “Seeing is believing,” and we would like to encourage you to “try it for yourself,” but we understand that many people may feel intimidated by the idea. Therefore, in order to give you some idea of what kind of church Furukawa Evangelical Free Church is, we would like to introduce some of the things that we value most.
1. We value the words of the Bible
There is so much information in this world. We are constantly exposed to information 24 hours a day through television, newspapers, and the Internet. Some of it is useful, some of it is a waste of time, and some of it is harmful. We live our lives sorting through this information according to certain “criteria. These “standards” are constructed based on the life experiences of each of us. Therefore, the “standard” varies from person to person. This is why we feel conflicts and frictions with people around us. Human “standards” are thus relative. Like waves in the ocean, they change depending on the situation and the case. But how do we know if these “standards” are really correct or not, or if they are really sufficient to guide our lives?
For example, what do we do when we want to find out the length of a piece of paper? We use a ruler or tape measure, and the length of a 1-meter ruler is the same everywhere in the world. Because it does not change, we can measure it with confidence. In other words, if we want to obtain an objective judgment, we need to compare ourselves with an absolute standard, not a relative one. And this applies to life as well. Rather than sticking to “my standards,” we need to question them once and for all in a positive way. We need to look at it from a third party’s perspective. I believe that we all need to do this.
The Bible can be said to be the book that points us to the standard for this purpose. For the 3,000 years since it was written, the Bible has provided a reliable standard for mankind. Political forms, literature, philosophy, and even science’s desire to explore the natural world all stemmed from a desire to understand the world God created, as the Bible tells us (the oldest universities in the world, such as Oxford University in England, all began as departments of Bible study). Therefore, it is very meaningful for us to know the words of the Bible and the thoughts and ideas behind them. Above all, the Bible provides us with an “absolute standard” of “how we are perceived in God’s eyes,” whereas we have only a “relative standard. That is what the Bible is for us.
At Furukawa Evangelical Free Church, we place the words of the Bible at the center of our church activities. In worship services and at various events, we always open the Bible to receive encouragement, comfort, and guidance for life from the words of the Bible. Some passages in the Bible seem difficult to understand. This is due to historical and cultural differences that stem from the fact that it is an ancient document. When you understand these differences, you will realize that the words of the Bible have not become obsolete after 3,000 years, but rather they still speak to our hearts in a lively way. We hope that you will take an interest in the Bible as well.
2. We value at-home fellowship
At Furukawa Evangelical Free Church, we have a time of chatting together over tea and refreshments at various occasions such as worship services and meetings. We call this “fellowship”. Every human being has a basic desire to have others know about him or her. And at the same time, we also have the desire to know what has happened in the lives of others. When both of these function in balance, we are able to have peace of mind.
2013年度のイースター祝会のようす
In this age of information technology and the Internet, you may wonder why we need to “gather” at church every Sunday or from time to time. Certainly, if all we want to do is listen to the Bible, it is enough to download the audio data from our smartphones or PCs. But is that really “enough” to heal our hearts? Can our hearts really be satisfied? Rather, is it not possible for the human heart to be healed only by being in contact with other human beings?
Because we believe this, Furukawa Evangelical Free Church values fellowship. Moreover, we believe that it should be free and family-like. We do not want to be formal or show only the good parts of ourselves, but rather we want to have an honest and free conversation.
The public image of “church” varies from “a clean place” or “a place where serious people go” to “a stuffy place. However, once they come to a church, many people seem to have the impression that it is a normal place with normal people. Church is never a place where serious or pure people go. Rather, it is a place that is open to those who feel weak and miserable, those who are disillusioned with themselves, and those who are at a loss.
At Furukawa Evangelical Free Church, we value such fellowship. We would be happy if you would come to our church with a casual feeling of “let’s see what kind of place it is.