Who we are?

Hikari Gospel Church is a church of Jesus Christ. With the support of the local community and by the grace of God, we will be celebrating our 17th anniversary in 2025.

Our church was founded in 2008 by Pastor Medina Yamaguchi. At the time, foreigners were still few, and her efforts to integrate into the Japanese community — including teaching English at public schools and cram schools, volunteering at the Expo, and helping foreigners with the various issues they faced in daily life in Japan — caught people’s attention.

Later, Pastor Yamaguchi graduated from a seminary in Japan. She prayed for a church that would respond to the needs of the community, listening to the concerns of people in international marriages and those struggling with child-rearing. Through evangelism and worship services, the church grew.

After years of searching for a tenant, the landlord leased the building, which had once been the first convenience store in Misato, Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture, to our church in 2010. This marked the beginning of the church’s full-scale activities and language education programs. In 2016, the church relocated to a more convenient location directly across from the Misato bus stop. Today, Hikari Gospel Church is attended by over 100 people, including both Christians and non-Christians, ranging in age from children to adults.

Since its establishment, the church has sought to meet the needs of the local community by offering language and music education programs. In the future, we plan to open a nursery school, provide daycare and home care services, and establish a workshop and a church school (free school) to expand our community activities.

These days, negative news is everywhere: reports of a declining birthrate, an aging population, a high crime rate, natural disasters, and anxiety about the international situation. Although the future is uncertain, the Bible, the eternal bestseller, tells us, “Do not be afraid. When we trust in God, we can live with unshakable faith.”

I think it would be wonderful if Misato, Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture, where we live, became a beautiful, compassionate town where the hearts of its residents are supported by love, enriched, and filled with mutual communication, and became a good model community.

In addition to Sunday services, our church also offers gospel singing, hula dancing, basketball, Japanese language classes, English classes, music classes, volunteer activities, and other activities that anyone can easily participate in. Please come and visit Hikari Gospel International Church. We will welcome you with open arms.

“And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Colossians 3:14

Hikari Gospel Church