We praise the victorious name of Jesus!

It already has been over two weeks since 350 of us brothers and sisters in Christ rang in the year 2017! This conference was truly a time of many wonderful blessings and how awesome we still get to hear testimonies from all over the nation and from Japan.

With the theme “Rise & Go ~in the victorious name of Jesus,” we were blessed to witness and experience all that the Lord had in stored for this conference. Thank you for your prayers! As one of the committee members, I personally believe I had the best seat in the house, receiving and merging myself in the fullness of God’s faithful presence. I am still in awe of how great of an experience it was for me.

On the first night, Pastor Uchikoshi preached a sermon on forgiveness and reminded us of the authority we have been given as Christians. Right from the start, many participants were convicted of their sin and the weight of the cross that Jesus bore for us.

During the next four days, we continued focusing on the truth of being moved “in the victorious name of Jesus.” Every morning, we were given 90 minutes to dive into the Gospel of Luke through a method called “Inductive Bible Study,” which immediately was followed by the morning sessions, where Dr. Yamazaki-Ransom dived even deeper into the same passage from Luke and preached a profound yet simple message. Through the course of four days, he preached on what Jesus taught us through Luke, addressing key points on how to be a believer, a disciple, a neighbor, and a witness. Through this sequence, the deep love and the power of our Lord Jesus Christ was proclaimed.

Since our theme was “Rise & Go,” there was a point where we had to recognize that we fall down. As though to accompany that reality, all speakers preached on Jesus’ love for us demonstrated through the cross, which pierced our hearts. Through the passage of conversation between Peter and Jesus, Setsu Shimizu (JCFN Staff) preached on how Jesus is always with us wherever we go, and He is interceding for us. On the third night, Pastor Gordon Kaneda and Mrs. Mariam Kaneda preached at the men’s and women’s assemblies. Though each session was respectively customized for men and women, both speakers preached on the unchanging identity we are given by Christ no matter what life stage we are in, and that it all comes back to Jesus’ love demonstrated through the cross.

Through Pastor Uchikoshi’s sermons on other nights, we learned that to “rise” is to “love.” Just as Jesus asked Peter, we were reminded that Jesus is also asking us: “Do you love me?” Many participants took the challenge to respond, and many decided to give their lives to Jesus through full-time ministry. On the last day, Pastor Uchikoshi preached with the title “Rise & Go,” and encouraged us we are able to believe, become His disciples, be neighbors of one another just how Jesus became our neighbor, and go out as witnesses of the Lord Jesus in His power as we are weak. With that assurance set in stone, we rang in the new year of 2017!

Us committee members were amazed and humbled by the amount of blessings we received. We enjoyed ourselves in the love of Christ. By His grace and mercy, we had a blast! Just as Dr. Yamazaki-Ransom had said: “To receive salvation is a one time decision, but the decision of commitment and devotion to Christ must be made daily,” and we carve that on our hearts.
”In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

We will face many trials but every time, we can rise up and go in the powerful and victorious name of Jesus.

Thank you so much for your prayers. We pray that you will be able to experience many shapes and forms of “rise & go” in your lives wherever you are placed.

Rise & Go, in the victorious name of Jesus,

Marian Mine
ec Executive Director