Matsudo Church of Christ Building Project
The Matsudo Church of Christ has been a part of Matsudo’s Kamihongo community since the 1960s, but in 2019, membership had dwindled and the church was near dying. However, God has done some wonderful things here since that time! The church has grown from 8 in 2021 to over 30 today. Unfortunately, our current building can only safely seat around 35 people, so we are out of space to grow further. Additionally, the building is aging and poses safety to concerns both to our members and our neighbors. After many discussions, it has become clear a new building is needed. On this page, you can find information about our new building project, and how you can help!
Images Of Our Building's Current Condition
Click to see full size
In addition to having limited space, our current building has a host of problems. The building has sunk slightly on the north side, causing a bulge in the support wall, and is at risk of collapsing, especially with the region’s frequent earthquakes. Also, the flooring in the worship hall is weak and is also at risk of collapsing. There are other issues (roof, ceiling, windows, etc.), but these two are the most serious. We considered renovations, but the cost and complexity of the various issues ultimately made it clear that a new building was necessary.
New Building Plan
The new building will provide space for 90-100 people, as opposed to our current building’s 35. It will also be much safer, being less likely to collapse in an earthquake, for example. This building will allow the Matsudo Church of Christ to continue shining God’s light in this community for generations to come!
Our church is located in the Kamihongo community of Matsudo City, a suburb of Tokyo. Our church building is less than 12 miles from Tokyo city center, and Matsudo Station is on a major commuter train line in and out of the city. This makes it a busy and growing town! Matsudo itself is home to 500,000 people, but with surrounding cities like Ichikawa, Kashiwa, and Katsushika, a population of at least 3 million lives within about 30 minutes of our building. Meanwhile, we are the only Church of Christ within at least an hour, and one of only a handful of churches in the city generally. There is a lot of work to do here!
Our vision for the church here includes four key points:
- To be a beacon of God’s Kingdom in this community, testifying to the risen Jesus and his gospel through our words and our works.
- To actively evangelize this region, calling on the many lost souls here to be reconciled to God through Jesus.
- To be a healthy church, capable of standing firm in the gospel and providing for the spiritual needs of our members. This includes having homegrown leaders who are able to continue this process for generations to come.
- To reflect our city’s international demographic by bringing all the nations of this region into one body, unified through citizenship in God’s Kingdom.
Simply put, we want to be a faithful church bringing glory to God in Matsudo and the surrounding cities!
This new building will be a huge boon for our church. Aside from providing a safe and uncramped space in which to grow, it will also allow us to pursue a number of different ministries in our community:
- Community service events
- English classes using the Bible
- Short-term missions opportunities (e.g. Let’s Start Talking)
- Hosting area-wide church events
Due to the problems with our current building, some of these are not possible, while others are significantly impaired due to space and safety constraints.
Our Need:
Our Fundraising Goal: $500,000 USD
Two things to note about this amount:
- The cost of building materials is rising, so this cost is likely to go up the longer it takes to reach our goal.
- This goal is based off of the current dollar-yen exchange rate. Currently each dollar is multiplied by about 1.5x! If that goes down closer to 1:1, the goal will increase by over $250,000. The actual quote in yen is ¥76,800,000.
The sooner we can reach this goal, the better!
Current Budget Status:
GOAL: $500,000 | Current: $35,200
7%
How To Give:
(1) Online Donation
For those who wish to give online, please use the following link: online donation. Under the “fund” drop down menu, choose “missions,” and then choose “Matsudo Church of Christ Building Fund” for the sub fund option.
**Note: The above link is for the La Grange Church of Christ, who is the sponsoring church for the Taylor family, the current missionaries working at the Matsudo Church of Christ.**
(2) Mail-In Check
For those who wish to send a check, please mail your check to the following address, with “Matsudo Church Building Fund” in the note section.
Address:
La Grange Church of Christ
P.O. Box 523
La Grange, TX 78945
Contact Form
If you have any questions, please contact us here. We'll get back to you as soon as possible!