Welcome! We are Kaihin Makuhari Grace (Megumi) Church. Centered in Kaihin Makuhari of Chiba City, we are a multilingual, multicultural community from this area and around the world who come together in the presence of God, our Creator and Savior. We seek to hear His Word the Bible, care for each other, and live out the hope we have in Jesus Christ in our world.
Whoever you are, feel free to reach out to us. We welcome you, as God has welcomed us and invites you.
Praise the Lord, all nations! / Extol him, all peoples!
For great is his steadfast love toward us, / and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever.
Praise the Lord! — Psalm 117 (ESV)
“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” — Jesus Christ, Matthew 11:28-29 (ESV)
More about Us: Who We Are
The Bible is our foundation, and with the specific faith of the Reformed Protestants going back to the sixteenth century (and beyond), we seek to live for the Triune God and to enjoy Him. We particularly are a member of the Presbyterian Church in Japan with ties to the Presbyterian Church in America, and believe the Bible’s truths are most helpfully summarized in the Westminster Confession of Faith and Westminster Larger and Shorter Catechisms.
We seek fellowship in a variety of ways (especially cell groups) and to keep sharing the Gospel–and living in light of its amazing grace.
Our church’s shepherding team (Session) includes Pastors Mark Bocanegra (missionary from the Presbyterian Church in America) and Josiah Momose and Elders Kohta Aoki, Muneyasu Nasu, and Kiyofumi Oba.
Past and Future
We started unofficially in 1999, when Pastor Yoshinobu Hirohashi and his family, standing on Isaiah 43:19’s promise, moved into the Makuhari Baytown neighborhood of Kaihin Makuhari, Chiba to prepare to plant a church. We started officially in May 2001 with the support of elders from other churches, and became independent in 2010. God has been with us caring for us each step of the way.
As for the future, our Vision Statement is that “Kaihin Makuhari Grace Church exists to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever.” We have eight core values expressed in our vision areas in which we seek to grow in this vision specifically: Worship, Prayer, Discipleship, Fellowship, Evangelism, Mercy, Transformation, and Reproducing (new churches).
More about Us: What We Do
At the center of our shared life is corporate (public) worship on Sundays, when we meet with God as His gathered people.
Sundays:
9:00 am Sunday school for children (and caregivers) and youth. Language assistance is available from our multicultural volunteer staff.
10:45 am corporate worship service No dress code; come wearing what you feel suits meeting with the true and merciful God. Children are welcome to worship with their families, as part of the community.
“Can I participate even if I do not understand Japanese?” YES! Our services are normally in Japanese only (sometimes one song mixed with English), but we share English summaries of the sermons ahead of time each week with our English-speaking attendees.
We have Bilingual (Japanese/English) services each Fifth Sunday:
– Praise in English and Japanese
– Leading of worship in a mixture of English and Japanese
– Preaching in English with Japanese interpretation
2nd Sundays: We enjoy monthly fellowship of mainly English conversation in KMI (Kaihin Makuhari International) Fellowship.
4th Sundays: You can enjoy singing praise to God in Japanese and in English on fourth Sundays at sambikai (Praise Gathering).
Weekly to monthly cell groups are one of the important means we use to grow closer to each other and to grow in knowing God. Two groups offer English fellowship, English Bible Study (Tuesday nights on ZOOM) and Vine & Shrub (Wednesday evenings in Funabashi city). Please inquire if you are interested in visiting a cell group, or in talking with someone in English (or Chinese, or Korean!) about our church.
Also, we have seasonal events like a picnic (spring), regional (presbytery-level) kids’ camp, a church retreat (early autumn), and Christmas season events.
Where to Find Us
If is is possible, please contact us before you visit.
We meet at:
Patios 20 (room number undisclosed; please inquire), Utase 3-chome 4, Mihama-ku, Chiba-shi Japan
(Please contact us before visiting for the precise room number.) Please note: In February 2023, we moved one room over from where we had met for many years.
If you visit by bus, you can take the Marine Route bus (1) or (2) from Kaihin Makuhari Station (north side of the station) and get off at “21-bangai” (21番街）.
You may parallel park on the streets around us, but be very careful not to park within 10 meters (33 feet) of any bus stop sign (even across the street from one is a no-parking area) or less than 5 meters (17 feet) from an intersection.