June 2011

WEST COVINA CHRISTIAN CHURCH 1100 E. Cameron Ave. West Covina, CA 9! JUNE 2011

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CONTENTS

Page 1“Running from Jezebel” Pastor Rick Iwanaga Congratulations, Grads!

Page 2June BirthdaysPray for our Members Pray for our Missionaries

Page 3Missions at WCCC God’s People and Work God’s Direction

Page 4“Worship Requires Preparation” Darren Kishimoto

Page 5Jesus Is A Living God Janet Watanabe

Page 6Easter–About New Beginnings Honoring our Women on Mother’s Day Photography by Mayson Kodama

Page 7“Band of Brothers” Honoring our Teachers

Page 8WCCC InformationCalendar

Month of June

Father's Day &

The Messenger

Running from JezebelOne of the most victorious stories in the Bible is that of the Prophet Elijah defea8ng the prophets of Queen Jezebel at Mt. Carmel. AAer he proved her gods, Baal and Asherah, to be powerless, false gods, Elijah executed all the false prophets of Jezebel, which didn't sit well with her. In anger, Jezebel swore, "May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if by this 8me tomorrow I do not make your life like that of one of them." In other words, she put a hit order on Elijah's life and he went running. He was a man on the run for a long 8me, and finally, out of complete exhaus8on, he cried out to God, "I have had enough, Lord! Take my life."

Many of us have a "Jezebel" in our life. That something or someone which causes us to keep "running," be it out of need or fear, or even love. Most young mothers tuck their "Jezebel" in bed each night. Many college students carry their "Jezebel" with them on their hard drive in their laptop. Most working people need only to read about the state of the economy to be reminded of their "Jezebel." As for me, I didn't think I had a "Jezebel," un8l this week. This summer, star8ng June 1st, I'm to take a sabba8cal leave of over two months. I thought, this isn't a good 8me to leave the church. Then God told me otherwise. He reminded me that it isn't my church, but His; that it's His perfect 8ming for us to have Pr. Kory Wenell; and that no maTer how I feel, it's 8me to stop running and step away.

God really does love us, and cares for us like we would love and care for our own child. He led His prophet, Elijah, to rest, to sleep, to eat well in prepara8on for the work that lay ahead. God has my sabba8cal arranged for me with a purpose. Today, I look forward to the 8me away from ministry. I look forward to what He has for me when I return. I also know He has good things for WCCC and Pr. Kory while I'm gone. Lastly, the Lord said to Elijah, "Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by." Hopefully, I'll be there, ready to listen when He does.

Congratulations, Graduates!!!Pa$y Chin, Cal Poly Pomona Kelly Morimune, Cal Poly Pomona

Gaby Tecontero, Los Altos HighVenus Wu, Cal Poly Pomona

May God continue to bless you, as He has us with you!

Pr. Rick


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Pray for our Members•Shirley Barnes Family•Brie Canamar• Iris Chaney• Margaret Ching• Alphonso Chuck• Inez Harris-‐Chuck• Mary Cooper • Alex Ferguson•Debbie Ferguson’s sons•Rev. Bill Hara• Jane Kaneshiro Fujita•CeCe Gonzaves• Eileen Hodge• Judy Ikeda• Ross Iwanaga• Chris Kakimi• Michael Kaneshiro•Caleb Kubo• Janice Kubo• Emi Kuromiya•Charlene Matsui• Michael Mitacek• Hatsue Miyashiro• Herbert Miyashiro

Pray for our Missionaries• Tommy Dyo, Campus Crusade Epic Movement, U.S.

• Mitsuo & Akiko Fujishima, SEND International, Japan

• Charleen Kiyabu, Campus Crusade JESUS FILM PROJECT

• Greg & Nancy Nakamura, ZOE Children’s Min, Thailand

• Mitsu & Karen Nakamura, Campus Crusade Japan

• Lillian Shinoda, OMS Holiness North America, Japan

• Roy & Nancy Toma, Campus Crusade, Okinawa, Japan

• Daryl & Sun Young Wycliffe Aviation, Cameroon, Africa

• Yuri Morimoto• Myrtle Nakamura• Ed & Eileen Nakano• Seiko Nakano• Kiyoko Ogata• Conchita Ohly• Bill Sato• Albert Saito•Paul Saito•Audrey Sakamoto• Seiji Sakamoto• Martha Sentani• Mel Seshiki• Melinda Seshiki• Momoyo Tada• Tom & Rits Tanaka• Clarise Teutsch• Rod Todd• Sally Tsuneishi• James Tsutsui• Keith Washburn• Jonathan Watson’s mom• Henry Yamada• Aiko Yoshida

PRAY WITHOUT CEASING. 4 . . . and under his wings you will 2ind refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. 14 “Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.” 15 “He will call upon me, and I will deliver him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him.” Psalm 91

Many of those listed below have prayed fervently for us. Now, let us pray for them!

Please pray unceasingly for Pastor Rick, Pastor Nakao and Pastor Wenell.

With the person’s permission, please tell Pastor Rick or Pastor Kory if you know of someone in

need of prayer.

And please let us know when prayers for you have been answered!

Brian Ferguson Darren Nakano

David Canamar Ed Nakano

Daniel Fujitaki Mel Seshiki

Allison Ige Kyle Shintaku

June Inouye Kathy Todd

Stephen Koba Gary Uyeda

Lina Lin Colleen Waki

Beth Nakano Helen Wong


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Missions: God’s People and His WorkOur OMS Holiness Conference owes its beginning to the obedience and trust in the Lord of these three men in Japan who were faithful to the promptings of the Holy Spirit: Ernest Kilbourne, Charles Cowman and Juji Nakada. We, who are here in West Covina, are a part of God’s Family because those missionaries obeyed Him. What is WCCC doing to ensure that others have the same chance to be saved? From L.A. Holiness, Lillian Shinoda is the only long-‐term missionary sent by our conference. Former Dean of Women at Tokyo Biblical Seminary [TBS], she remains involved with TBS, coordinating the efforts of TBS, OMS (here) and the Japan Holiness Churches as they begin developing a strategy for planting new churches where they are most needed and likely to flourish. Lillian is also responsible for reaching out to Japan’s youth, sometimes referred to as “Japan’s lost generation.” The very first word we received about the tragic consequences of the devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan was from Lillian (in a message forwarded by Pauline Nishida). She perceived the danger of radiation from Fukushima’s nuclear reactors and asked that we pray that the Lord protect the workers there just as He protected Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego from Nebuchadnezzar’s blazing furnace! Roy and Nancy Toma have deeply touched the lives of the Japanese and, I believe, also the families of U.S. servicemen in Okinawa. The Tomas have always had a burden for the Japanese but, following Roy’s trips to help the victims of Sendai, they decided to uproot their ministry in Okinawa to help in northern Japan, by organizing, hosting and equipping the relief efforts of Japanese and foreign missions teams and, one day, planting new churches in this area that, they report, is becoming more open to the Gospel than ever before. We believe that Royden is unusually well-‐equipped to be a part of God’s plan in Sendai.Mitsu Nakamura, responsible for equipping the staff of Japan Campus Crusade for Christ, has also been translating the book of Jonah (the story of God's willingness to forgive those who repent!) and Josh McDowell’s New Evidence that Demands A Verdict, while also leading Rick Warren “Recovery” groups. In the middle of all of this, he and his wife, Karen, have gone to help the survivors of Sendai.And as well, have Mitsuo and Akiko Fujishima, teacher and employee of Christian Academy of Japan, who have come to see their roles at CAJ as an outreach. Between them, they have made several trips to work along side and give comfort to the tsunami victims. We also support teachers in China, whose mission is to share His love with the people where they live. We saw astonishing evidence of how many hearts they touched in the statements of student after student in the Mideast, where the couple taught before going to China. Is it purely coincidental that the wife’s family lives in the northern part of Japan, a couple hundred miles from Sendai?Then, there’s the work of Daryl Young, the aviator for Wycliffe Bible Translators in Cameroon, Africa, and his wife Sun. 40 percent of the people in Cameroon are Christian; only 20 percent are Muslim. But most of the people living where the Youngs live are Muslims who have never seen or heard God’s Word in their own language.And we have Tommy Dyo, the national director for Campus Crusade’s Epic Program, an outreach to Asian Americans on university campuses throughout the U.S. He is pursuing this outreach because Campus Crusade felt they were failing at it. Epic is winning new believers, among whom will be tomorrow’s leaders in all fields. And at least some will be missionaries abroad. Epic exists at Cal Poly Pomona and one of its members is in China serving at a college campus right now for a whole year!Then, there is Charleen Kiyabu who has been among the key people in Campus Crusade’s JESUS Film Project, a powerful tool for outreach all over the world. Charleen has been focusing on predominantly Muslim countries of the Middle East and northern Africa. And since 2008, she has been equipping women to reach out to other women of the Mideast with Magdalena–Released from Shame. In the male-‐dominated Muslim world, most women have no greater status than they did in Jesus’ time. Magdalena is a part of God’s plan to change that world.Finally, there are the already hundreds of women and children whose lives as prostitutes and victims of child traf-‐ficking have been transformed because of Greg and Nancy Nakamura, who are serving the Lord as missionaries with ZOE Children’s Ministries in Thailand.

That’s an overview of Missions made possible by your generous and faithful giving. But Pastor Rick spoke on May 8 and May 22 of the importance that Missions at WCCC (1) be global, not focused just on Asia. And (2) support the planting of churches that are shepherded, whenever possible, by local pastors, not by western missionaries. We want WCCC to focus more and more on people groups who have not heard the Gospel, and on planting churches to serve congregations who would, otherwise, find it very difficult to find places of worship.

These considerations have led the Missions Team chaired by our deacon, Arleen Koshimizu, to end financial support (of just $75) for Reverend Ernie Kilbourne, to whom we owe much gratitude but who does not need our support

[See Missions, Page 4]


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Missions, From Page 3re8rement. This saving will help us support Jon and Maki Robison, who hope, beginning in 2012, to help plant churches in the communi8es which will be rebuilt in northern Japan.We also want our Missions focus to be global. That’s why we are seriously pursuing the possibility of suppor8ng another missionary in Africa in the very near term and, soon aAer, missionaries in India, Mexico or South America.

Finally, the missions balance of about $11,000 has been steadily decreasing, because a little more is paid out to missionaries each month than is contributed by us. We wish to keep that balance at about $10,000 (five x our monthly commitment to missionaries) for emergency purposes. Please don’t contribute any less to WCCC’s general fund in order to give for Missions; but it would help greatly if giving is consistent from month to month, no matter how modest the amount is. We cherish your contributions that make Missions at WCCC possible, and cherish your prayers even more.

Spotlight on WORSHIP

“Worship Requires Prepara9on”By Darren Kishimoto, WCCC Deacon of Worship

Recently I was listening to the Chris8an radio sta8on and heard one of my favorite pastors speaking on the topic of worship. He gave a series of messages on what worship is, what it means to praise God, when worship is just mechanical, etc. As I listened to the messages over the span of a couple of weeks, one of the key points he made was that worship requires preparation. Now I’ve always understood that to be pertinent for the people on stage – those singing, playing, and speaking up front. Of course, these folks need to plan, prepare, and rehearse what they’re going to do and say. And I’m thankful that our pastors and worship leaders put in the time and effort to do this. But in this case, the pastor wasn’t referring to those up front. He was referring to the average parishioner, those of us sitting out in the congregation on Sunday mornings. His point was that often our individual and corporate worship experience isn’t what it should be because we don’t come prepared on Sunday mornings. As I listened, the thought resonated with me because the things he brought up were all issues in my own life (even as the Worship Deacon) and I assume that others could relate to it as well. Here are three points discussed in terms of being a good worshipper and growing in worship:

1. Come spiritually prepared. Most of us understand that worship is more than an action; it is an attitude of the heart. The spiritual condition of our heart is THE key factor in terms of how we approach and engage in worship on Sunday morning. The more our hearts are open to the things of the Lord, the greater the impact the Holy Spirit can have on our thoughts, our attitudes, and our eventual growth on Sundays. While music and song have the ability to deeply touch us, true worship will not just happen because we show up. Along the same lines, it’s often not the music and songs that determine the quality of our worship experience as much as it is whether we’re in the right spiritual place or not. Do we come into worship with other things on our hearts and minds? Is our focus on seeking God and His word for us when we settle into our seats? Have we been praying and walking with the Lord during the past week? These things are all a part of coming to church spiritually prepared and thus are things for us to strive for.

2. Come physically prepared. Although this is probably the most basic point, this was something I had never thought too much about. The pastor pointed out that all too often, our worship experience is diminished because we don’t come to worship or church for that matter physically ready. In general, he mentioned that it’s important for us to take care of our minds and bodies, that our bodies are “temples of the Holy Spirit” (I Corinthians 6:19). Such preparation means going to sleep at a good time and getting sufficient rest so that you come to church physically and mentally sharp for what God wants to do that day. It also means having the discipline to get ready and be at church on-‐time so that the stress and anxiety of rushing around does not carry over into worship, prayer, bible study.

3. Recognize that worship is a rela8onship. Sunday morning worship service is an appointed time to meet with our God. It is a time to draw near to Him, to commune with Him; more plainly to speak to Him and have Him speak to us. It is not any different than an appointment with a friend or your boss or your professor. Okay, the one difference is that this is time with the King of Kings. Despite His majesty, in Revelation 3:20, God shows His personal nature and compassion by telling us that He stands at the door and knocks and that if we hear His voice and open the door, He will come in and eat with us. God desires a personal relationship with us and how we engage in worship (i.e., our appointed time together with Him) is a sign of the health and quality of our relationship with Him. To come before the Lord God Almighty in praise and worship . . . Is there any Higher calling? Certainly the Holy Spirit can speak to us wherever we are on Sunday mornings despite our shortcomings and distractions, but our worship time is sure to be richer, more meaningful, and more joyful when we come prepared to meet and receive from our Heavenly Father.


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Jesus is a Living GodDelivered on Easter Sunday, April 24, 2011

By Janet Watanabe

I would like to share a personal experience that happened to me. I have an aunt who is at the Keiro Nursing Home in Los Angeles. Every other Saturday, I have been visi8ng her.It was a beau8ful day about two years ago. I had visited my aunt and was on my way home. Where I need to get on the freeway there are many ramps. The first two are off-‐ramps on the leA, and the last one has an off-‐ramp on the right and an on-‐ramp on the leA.When I stopped at the first signal light, I saw two people siung on the corner. One was wearing a denim jacket and denim jeans. The other was siung next to him with both arms wrapped around both knees. For some reason, I started turning leA at the first ramp. As soon as I turned, they both stood up and started yelling and waving their arms at me. I realized I had made a mistake and entered an off-‐ramp. Luckily, the ramp was wide enough so I could turn the car around. I was hoping no one would hit me. Not a single car came up the ramp.AAer I turned around, I saw the face of the man who was waving at me. He was a tall, thin, white male with brown hair and a beard. He was the one wearing the denim jacket, white t-‐shirt and denim jeans. He looked like a hippie. I waved my arms to say “thank you” to him.Then I decided I needed to go back and thank him again. I made a quick leA turn and headed back. When I got to the corner, nobody was there. I looked up and down the street and saw no one. I wondered who could have disappeared so fast. In my heart, that day, I realized that it could have been Jesus. I was angry at myself and embarrassed to tell anyone. I only told my sister-‐in-‐law what happened because I trusted her.For about two years aAer that, every 8me I passed the corner – nobody would be there. I would thank Jesus for warning me that day.Last month, March 22, 2011, my neighbor told me about the book, Heaven is for Real, by Todd Berpo. This book is about a three-‐year-‐old pastor’s son, Colton, who was misdiagnosed by the doctors and almost died. Colton started telling his parents about his near-‐death experience. His parents started showing him pictures of Jesus and he would say, “No, that’s not Jesus.”One day, his parents showed him a pain8ng by a Russian girl who also had a near-‐death experience. When Colton saw the pain8ng, he said, “Yes, that’s Jesus.” When I saw the pain8ng of Jesus in the book, I recognized the face of the man in the denim jacket and jeans. I had confirma8on that Jesus had interceded in my life.I was bap8zed at WCCC in 2005. I am the only Chris8an in my family. I consider myself a beginner. I can’t find the chapters in the Bible quickly. I can’t quote Bible verses. My prayers are not eloquent. I know many knowledgeable and faithful people in this church. It is incredible that I had an encounter with Jesus.I believe Jesus interceded in my life to give me courage and to support my choice to be a Chris8an. As a result of that experience, I have found peace. I also see the big picture in life situa8ons. For example, my message today is more important than my embarrassment. I have developed a trust in God to handle situa8ons I cannot change. He only gives me as much as I can handle.My message to you this Easter is that Jesus is a Living God. He can intercede in your life when you least expect it. God lives in the Chris8an choices you make. You chose to come to church on Easter Sunday. God guided you here and He is suppor8ng your belief in the resurrec8on of Jesus Christ.God bless you all for coming today. Happy Easter!


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Easter – “About new beginnings!”

WCCC’s Adult Choir, Tina Whitley, Director

Preparing Easter Breakfastunder Chris and Ken’s leadership

and Bob Smith providingmuch of the food!

We began the day with His joy

And the beauty of lifeexpressed in many ways

Our Children’s Choir, celebra^ng the most joyous gi_ of all: He Is Risen!

Honoring the Women of our Church on Mother’s Day

In the middle picture, from L to R: Dani Uyeda, Sabrina Bennani, Gabi Uyeda, Colson Kishimoto, Seiwoo Utsunomiya, Emily Imamura, Sarah Chang and Caryn Iwanaga preparing to recite the scripture verses they had chosen to give to each woman in our congregaôn. They gave a pink box with a flower on it holding a piece of candy, with one of the verses wri$en and signed by the child. (Thank you to Emi Iwanaga for the informaôn, and to all the teachers who helped!)


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On May 13–14, about 40 men of the church attended a Men’s Retreat led by Pastor Cory Ishida. Based on clips from the film about the 101st Airborne that showed how very close bonds form between soldiers in combat, we bonded, too, as we learned how much we share a common cause–our spiritual war against Satan and sin, how much we share the blood of Christ because it was shed for all of us , and, as men, how much we share a common struggle. The result? See below!

Below are some pictures taken during our retreat by Mayson Kodama.

First and foremost: hearts of worshipWe had to be nourished physically, too. With Pastor Kory on the le_, and

Pastor Cory Ishida on the right.

Joined by Pr. Ichibei Honda & his people from San Diego Holiness

Thank you, Lord, for the young men present!

Pastor Rick and worship team leading us in “He Is Lord” to close the session

You might say that a miracle happened in every one of our seven groups. We spoke about hurt and sin and worries that we would never have shared without the Holy Spirit’s promp9ng and each other’s loving encouragement. From the shared experience, greater strength and faith. PTL!

Honoring Our Teachers!

A time of celebration led by Emi Iwanaga

Tina & Renae leading our^me of worship

Here, we see many years of dedicaôn, and the exuberance of our young teachers, as well. But we’re blessed by many more who aren’t pictured.


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NONPROFITU.S. POSTAGE

PAIDCOVINA, CAPERMIT NO. 1

DATED MATERIALSAddress Correction

Requested

English Dept. (626) 917-0743Japanese Dept. (626) 917-0652FAX Number (626) 917-0663Church Office E-mail:

[email protected] Website:

www.westcovinacc.com

Messenger Staff: Frances Ching, Irene Hatate, Stan Ishino (Publications), Mayson Kodama (Photographer), Tim Kubo (Graphic Artist), Ikuko Nago,Kathy Saito, Shiori Sakamoto (ed.), Toshiko Sato (Nichigo editor), Kenjiro Takahara, Andrew Todd (WCCC Admin), Susie Watanabe, Mary Yoshida

Monthly Men’s Breakfast 8:00 a.m. at Carrows Restaurant on Azusa by the I-10. Enjoy the fellowship.

Prayer with Pastor Rick in the sanctuary after worship

The Upper Room–a class for men: 9:00 am at WCCCCouples Group: 6:00 pm at the Iwanagas’ home

GAP (Growing As Partners) Group Usually on 4th Sun of first month of the quarter (Jan, Apr, etc.) 5–7:00 pm for dinner at the Iwanagas’

Every 1st Sun

Every 2ndSaturday

March 5Saturday

March 6Sunday

May 13-14Fri-Sat.

June 26-28Sun-Tues.

April 23Saturday

Every 4thSunday

Orange Family Night is on SUNDAYS at noon in Room 5. BE A PART OF OUR CHILDREN’S GROWTHIN THE LORD AND enjoy fellowship, music and food! See Kelly Morimune for more info.

Ladies’ Tea Luncheon: 11 am–1 pm “The Many Hats We Women Wear” Bring your favorite hat and tea cup.Enjoy being pampered for two hours! See Diane Kakimi or Patty Higa for more info.

Ladies’ Bible Friendship Breakfasts Three consecutive Saturdays: Mar 19, 26, Apr 2. A study on prayer overbreakfast at the Hamilton Steak House, Radisson, West Covina. DON’T let busyness keep you from the joy of being inthe Lord’s presence. See Emi for info.

West Covina Rotary Club 5K Walk/Run! 8 AM at the Westfield Shopping Center. For ALL ages. Want toform a WCCC Team? Get ready for 2012?? See Pastor Rick for info.

WCCC Men’s Retreat Our guest speaker will be Pastor Cory Ishida, of Evergreen SGV. See Pastor Rick for info.

WCCC Annual Beach Camp Back to Leo Carrillo State Beach in Malibu! Volleyball, swimming, campfires,smores, music . . . and great camp food! Who could ask for more? Get out into God’s nature with your tent, or comefor a day trip! Please let Janet Okamuro,Audrey Sakamoto or Andrew Todd know now if you can comeand for more info.

March 19Sat. 3x

March 12Saturday

C ome Join Us and See God Builid Us Up!Calendar

West Covina Christian Church1100 East Cameron AvenueWest Covina, CA 91790-3891

Senior PastorReverend Rick Iwanaga

Associate Pastor Reverend Kory Wenell

Nichigo PastorReverend Yoshinosuke Nakao

Sunday Morning Ministries at WCCCSunday Morning Prayer 8:45 to 9:15 a.m.Japanese Speaking Service 9:00 to 10:00 a.m.Sunday School Classes 9:15 to 10:15 a.m.English Speaking Service 10:30 to 11:45 a.m.

TextThe WCCC webmaster is ANDREW TODD. Articles for the WCCC website and/or

Messenger are welcome from any ministry or individual within the WCCC family. For the Messenger, please submit articles by the 10th of every month for publication in the following month to Andrew at [email protected]

Every 1st Sun Personal Prayer with Pastor Rick right after worship service

Every 2nd The Upper Room: A class especially for men. 9:00 am at WCCC

Saturday ALSO Couples Group: A special time of nurturing at 6:00 pm at the Iwanagas

Every 4th GAP – Growing as Partners! Usually on the 4th Sunday of the first month of the quarter Sunday (Jan, Apr, etc.) 5–7:00 pm for dinner at the Iwanagas

Every 1st Monthly Men’s Breakfast: 8:00 am at Carrows Restaurant on Azusa by the I-‐10. In addition to the Saturday breakfast and fellowship, always a special topic for men and a speaker (who could be one of us)

June 5 KWP Orange Family Time: At noon in room 5. JOIN OUR CHILDREN and learn how to be a partnerSunday and encouragement to them – at church and at home – as they learn about God’s love for us! This is the last Family Time until September, so don’t miss out! SEE Kelly Morimune for info!

June 12 WCCC Beach Camp Meeting for all going to the sand and surf in Malibu!: SPECIAL MEETING IN Sunday ROOM 5 right after service. For more info, SEE JANET OKAMURO.

June 12 Making gi_s for WCCC’s homebound. If you’d like to help make giAs, JOIN US at 12:30 pm in Room 2.Sunday

SPECIAL NOTE: You may support relief efforts in Japan by wri8ng a check to JEMS with “Japan Relief” on the memo line. Send to JEMS, 948 E. 2nd St, Los Angeles CA 90012. Visit (Andrew’s) WCCC website to donate online.

Messenger Staff: Frances Ching, Stan Ishino (Publications), Mayson Kodama (Photographer), Brianne Canamar (Graphic artist), Joann Higa, Ikuko Nago, Kazuko Ohira, Kathy Saito, Shiori Sakamoto (ed.), Toshiko Sato (Nichigo editor),

Kenjiro Takahara, Andrew Todd (WCCC Admin), Mary Yoshida

Calendar

Documents

June 2011