by Yasuki Aoki, Northern Asia-Pacific Division, courtesy Adventist Review

In April 2016, when the Setagaya church became the Setagaya Youth Church in Tokyo, Japan, the youth ministries of the Japan Union Conference church region tried to focus on building relationships and serving the community.

As youth leaders, we believe that when young people reflect the fragrance of the love of Jesus Christ as they interact with people in the community, people will see the church as a less threatening and more attractive place to attend. Our vision is to make the Setagaya Youth Church a community church.

To make our vision a reality, we talked with the Setagaya Social Welfare and Community Service Association to find ways we could help the community. We discovered that the community is in desperate need of young volunteers and also a place where people can freely gather and fellowship. We encouraged our young people to volunteer whenever possible, and at the same time, tried to make our church freely available to the local people on weekdays.

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