About Our Church
Agape アガペ
Mark12:30,31
Agape is Greek word that is God’s unconditional love in the New Testament. The Cross of Jesus Christ is the ultimate expression of God’s unconditional love to Mankind. Through forgiveness of Sin by this Cross, we experience this God’s love Agape day by day and share it with one another; this is first A of AICF. We believe that unless we experience this Agape love, we cannot practice the Great Commandment “Love the Lord and love your neighbor as yourself”
International インターナショナル
Mark16:15
The word of International is a combinational word by two words “inter” as mutual and ”national” as nation and tribe. Jesus gave us Great Commission and said “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.” According to this order we go to preach the good news cross the borders and actively make cooperate relationship with believes over the countries and obey the Great Commission.
Christian クリスチャン
Act.11:26
Christian is “a person in Christ”. We are a community of the persons who have been changed or changing to be new creature in Christ. In Christ who you are, that is the matter for us. It’s not matter for us your worldly status, wealthy of this world, or past career. Person who live in Christ or try to live in Christ, such a person we define “Christian”.
Fellowship フェローシップ
Acts 2:42
Fellowship, we define that “fellow” as a believer is in the same one “ship” of Christ. Like the ark of Noah, we make a voyage in this sinful world till we reach heaven. Fellowship represents “pray each other”, “encourage each other” in Christ’s love. Church is not the building but the fellowship by true believes in Christ. So, as a church, we are being in the fellowship.
So, A.I.C.F. are the church that based on the Cross represents Agape love, going with other nations beyond the border of the countries, keep deep relationship and fellowship in Christ, spread gospel out for God’s glory. This is the meaning of our name.
Our Vision
The vision of AICF was given to Pastor Takeshi 2 years before he returned to Japan to start his ministry while he was studying at a Bible school in 1998.
Calling as God’s army of Love（Ezekiel 37:1-10）
AICF is a church of Christ which is built by the foundation based on the scriptures, Ezekiel 37:1-10. Our vision is for people who is like a dry and dead bone to be gathered by God’s selection, and be restored by His word, and raise with new life by the power of the Holy Spirit, also be changed as an army of God’s love, and with the weapon of peace tell the Asian countries to Israel about the eternal life and the good news of Jesus Christ.
The weak will be changed to be strong by the power of the Holy Spirit and the poor will be rich in Christ. This happens when the people in the world see these marvelous things and come close to God, being guided to the redemption of Jesus Christ. This is the vision that God has for us.
【AICF Values】
Holding such a vision, as one of the many churches created by God in His purpose, we have these characteristics…
A Church that Values to Just Be There
People who gather to AICF are those who cannot exist without the love of God. We do not gather to do something but because we are weak, poor and foolish ones that can only find our place in God’s love. Moreover, we can say that we can “only be” in God’s love. We do not gather together because we can do something or to do something, but we are a church that values to just be in God’s love. We do not find our worth in doing something but admit that we “are precious and honored in His sight”. We admit that He is pleased with us as who we are and that there is worth in us just to be and therefore, we as a church value to “be near”.
Luke 10:38-42
A Church that Accepts and Care for the Reality
Although everyone seeks ideal and tries to live it out, we as a church don’t deny the reality of one that exists, but rather we accept it as it is and try to start from there. Because we are far from the ideal that we hold, when we admit reality, we struggle, fall into despair, deny reality, and try to fit into the ideal we hold to. We must always remember that the Lord accepts us as we are, was with the sinners, ate and walked along them, and changed them into new creations. By remembering this, we must not force others the ideal that we hold and deny their reality. Rather, we must come near them, accept their reality, and be with them just as they are. We seek after these things as a church and care for each one's reality because they are all given by the Lord as part of His plan of hope and future.
Matthew 9:9-13/Jeremiah 29:11
A Church that Cares Equally for Same and Different Nationalities
Both Japanese and foreigners are the same family of God who holds citizenship in heaven. We believe that though we are created as different ones, we should admit that we are God’s unique creation, whether we have disabilities or not. We are to live together admitting and helping each other as ones who are united in Christ.
We believe that it is possible for two who are thought impossible to reconcile in this world can become best friends in Christ and live together by love.
Ephesians 2:11-19
A Church Serious for World Missions
We believe that it is the calling of the church to go and do the great commission. We do not go out because we are able to do it, but because we believe that this church exists to spread the gospel. We have a burden for China and the countries of Southeast Asia which we have brutally hurt throughout the history. We will go out to these countries as an ambassador of peace and an army of God’s love holding the same passion we have to preach the gospel to our own people and spread His gospel into the world.
Matthew 28:18-20
A Church that Regards Praise and Worship as Vital Importance
We believe that the Lord is dwelling in our praise and therefore in good times and hard times, happy times and sad, we will always offer our sacrifice of praise as our spiritual offering to Him. We seek to offer our worship in spirit and in truth, without blemish. We believe that the Lord is pleased in the worship of the broken hearted. We seek that a church will become a holy place of spiritual healing and deliverance. We don’t seek after what sounds good to the ear but desire that true worship is offered up to the Lord endlessly led by the Holy Spirit.
Acts 16:22-34
About Pastor Takeshi
Pastor Takeshi was born in 1964, baptized in 1986 at Ibaraki Christ Gospel Church, dedicated his life fully to the Lord and guided to CFNI in the US in 1996, ordained as a minister, and started working as an intern at an Asian church thereafter graduate CFNI in 1999, and returned to Japan in 2000 to begin AICF.
* For security reasons to work in the mission fields, Pastor Takeshi’s profile is limited opened.