{"id":1048,"date":"2016-06-09T15:38:22","date_gmt":"2016-06-09T06:38:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mccjapan.org\/?page_id=1048"},"modified":"2025-08-02T19:43:20","modified_gmt":"2025-08-02T10:43:20","slug":"aboutus","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.mccjapan.org\/en\/aboutus\/","title":{"rendered":"Our Church"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>History and Goal of Machida Central Church<\/h2>\n<p>Machida Central Church is an evangelical Protestant church located in the center of Machida City, Tokyo. We have shared the gospel of Jesus Christ for the last forty years since our establishment in 1979. Previously called Machida Christian Center, the name has changed to Machida Central Church in Fall 2021 with the dedication of a new church building. Our nickname \u201cMCC\u201d remains the same. We wish you feel God\u2019s love and peace, when you visit us.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"w40 sp-w50 alignright wp-image-732 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mccjapan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/2b80d3230defb3aab17ef3253472eb45-1024x695.jpg\" alt=\"\u30e8\u30eb\u30bf\u3099\u30f3\u5ddd\u6e90\u6d41\" width=\"640\" height=\"434\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mccjapan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/2b80d3230defb3aab17ef3253472eb45-1024x695.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.mccjapan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/2b80d3230defb3aab17ef3253472eb45-300x204.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.mccjapan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/2b80d3230defb3aab17ef3253472eb45-768x521.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.mccjapan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/2b80d3230defb3aab17ef3253472eb45-1536x1043.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.mccjapan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/2b80d3230defb3aab17ef3253472eb45.jpg 1944w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/>Jesus once told a woman who lost hope and did not want to see other people, if she finds the Savior, \u201ca spring of water will well up to eternal life in her.\u201d (Gospel of John, chapter 4). When things go wrong, we tend to think that everything will get better if the problem is gone. However, even if we get the things we want, we feel happy only momentarily, and get frustrated again. Jesus, however, promises that even if we lack anything, the water of God\u2019s life springs up within us. We will have the power to overcome any problems; this is the true Gospel.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"w50 wp-image-878 size-full alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mccjapan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/e01b4eb360077ae942fc024c570cf2ae-1.jpg\" alt=\"\u30b9\u30bf\u30c3\u30d5\u96c6\u5408\u5199\u771f\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mccjapan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/e01b4eb360077ae942fc024c570cf2ae-1.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.mccjapan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/e01b4eb360077ae942fc024c570cf2ae-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.mccjapan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/e01b4eb360077ae942fc024c570cf2ae-1-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>We, MCC, want to be a church where you find this life-giving water that leads to a blessed life together. Everyone is welcome. Please feel free to drop by.<\/p>\n<h2>We have five pillars in our activities<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Blessed Worship<\/li>\n<li>Christian Growth<\/li>\n<li>Warm Community<\/li>\n<li>Positive Involvement with Society<\/li>\n<li>Unity in Christ<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Meet our staff<\/h2>\n<h3>David T. Sugimoto, Senior Pastor<\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"w20 sp-w30 alignleft wp-image-782 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mccjapan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/staff_sugimoto_t.jpg\" alt=\"David T. Sugimoto\" width=\"480\" height=\"640\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mccjapan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/staff_sugimoto_t.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.mccjapan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/staff_sugimoto_t-225x300.jpg 225w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" \/>Pastor David Sugimoto is from Kobe City. He felt the emptiness of life and became a Christinan during his college days. He completed his education at the Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Chicago, IL (M. Div., M.A.), and the University of Sheffield, UK (Ph.D.). He has been a Pastor at the MCC since 1989. Additionally, he teaches Biblical Archaeology at Keio University. He wishes to present the biblical hope to society and individuals facing a major turning point.<br style=\"clear: both;\"><\/p>\n<h3>Reiko Sugimoto, Pastor of Education<\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"w20 sp-w30 alignleft wp-image-787 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mccjapan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/staff_sugimoto_r.jpg\" alt=\"Reiko T. Sugimoto\" width=\"480\" height=\"640\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mccjapan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/staff_sugimoto_r.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.mccjapan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/staff_sugimoto_r-225x300.jpg 225w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" \/>Pastor Reiko Sugimoto is from Tokyo. She became a believer after her experience with a serious illness in high school. After teaching in a high school, she studied Christian education at Wheaton College and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Chicago, IL (Ph.D.). She is responsible for the Kids and Family Ministry at MCC and teaches at the Covenant Seminary and Aoyama Gakuin University. She wants to show the blessings of life with Jesus to the people. Her hobbies include mountain climbing, gardening, tennis, and discorering fantastic sweets.<br style=\"clear: both;\"><\/p>\n<h3>Fumiko K. Asano, Director of International Ministry<\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mccjapan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/E0DD3D4F-1582-4A84-B29E-2CC8141AEE96-scaled.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"w20 sp-w30 wp-image-1349 size-full alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mccjapan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/E0DD3D4F-1582-4A84-B29E-2CC8141AEE96-scaled.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"2560\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mccjapan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/E0DD3D4F-1582-4A84-B29E-2CC8141AEE96-scaled.jpeg 1920w, https:\/\/www.mccjapan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/E0DD3D4F-1582-4A84-B29E-2CC8141AEE96-225x300.jpeg 225w, https:\/\/www.mccjapan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/E0DD3D4F-1582-4A84-B29E-2CC8141AEE96-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/www.mccjapan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/E0DD3D4F-1582-4A84-B29E-2CC8141AEE96-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w, https:\/\/www.mccjapan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/E0DD3D4F-1582-4A84-B29E-2CC8141AEE96-1536x2048.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" \/><\/a>Born in Tokyo. Attended universities and graduate school in the US where she completed a double major in aerospace engineering and corporate law (Ph.D.). Got baptized at Faith Bible Church in Seattle, WA. After returning to Japan as a &#8220;returnee Christian,&#8221; she graduated from Covenant Seminary in Tokyo while working fully as admin staff at MCC. She currently serves as a director of our international ministry. Also, she works full-time at two listed companies.<br \/>\n<br style=\"clear: both;\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"History and Goal of Machida Central Church Machida Central Church is an evangelical Protestant church located in the center of Machida City, Tokyo. We have shared the gospel of Jesus Christ for the last forty years since our establishment in 1979. Previously called Machida Christian Center, the name has changed to Machida Central Church in Fall 2021 with the dedication of a new church building. Our nickname \u201cMCC\u201d remains the same. We wish you feel God\u2019s love and peace, when you visit us. Jesus once told a woman who lost hope and did not want to see other people, if she finds the Savior, \u201ca spring of water will well &#8230;","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":1,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"page-onecolumn.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1048","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mccjapan.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1048","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mccjapan.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mccjapan.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mccjapan.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mccjapan.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1048"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/www.mccjapan.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1048\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1658,"href":"https:\/\/www.mccjapan.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1048\/revisions\/1658"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mccjapan.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1048"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}