Peter
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Church is the body of Christ where two or three people gather, being led by the
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Holy Spirit. You may have a beautiful building or sanctuary, but it does not matter at all, because it
is only a container.
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When the Lord gave Mitsuko and me the vision of Kohitsuji no Mure for the first
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time, we knew that it meant a new church of God. In the vision, there were countless sheep
outside the fence, wounded and wandering in pain. They were without a shepherd. And the Lord
said, "Go to the sheep outside the fence and save them."
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I wondered, however, how on earth we could go and reach thousands and millions
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of sheep. How could small beings like us, who did not even have a sanctuary nor an organization,
bring so many people to the Lord?
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The Lord then reminded me of my early days in Philadelphia. We could not afford
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a building for our services. So I used to go out and made a lot of contact with various people,
introducing them the living Christ. Later we have had a number of house gatherings, where I
witnessed the Spirit of the Lord bringing many souls to Christ.
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It seemed to me that the Lord had prepared me during those days for an entirely
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new church. When the vision was given to us, I thought this new flock would be shaped according
to the Holy Spirit. Actually, I thought that Kohitsuji no Mure should go forward taking two styles.
The idea was derived from my study on the Early Church. People in the Early Church worshiped
in their houses. They did not have a sanctuary. There must have been many house churches in
different places.
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If a style of house churches was good enough for the Early Church where the
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work of the Holy Spirit was eminent, it should also be good for us. It seemed to me that the Holy
Spirit was leading us to this simple style of house churches. House churches, I came to conclude,
would be most suitable for the delivery of the life of Christ to numerous sheep outside of the fence.
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At the same time, I knew that the Early Church had a central church. According
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to the Acts, it was in Jerusalem in the beginning and later moved to Antioch.
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I believe that the Lord opened my eyes to the new understanding of church
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having two styles which was modeled on the Early Church in the New Testament: numerous house
churches and one central mother church.
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Kohitsuji no Mure praise gatherings rapidly grew in the Kanto district, but we saw
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an explosive increase in the Kansai district, especially in the areas of Ashiya and Kobe near
Nishinomiya where Mitsuko resided. In those days I never imagined that we would need a main
church so fast. Therefore, when I first heard of our need for a sanctuary to worship, I was hesitant.
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In the summer of 1993, when I visited Japan from the States and participated in
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the Kohitsuji no Mure Retreat, I witnessed the vision of Kohitsuji no Mure rapidly spreading in
Japan. When I heard the people in Kansai desperately telling me the need of a sanctuary, I was
convinced that the time for us to have a main church had come.
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Right then we were informed that the third floor of a building in Ashiya was
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available, and the plan for the main church started immediately. Since I had to return to the States
soon, Mitsuko was in charge of everything from taking a lease to remodeling the room. Within less
than three months from the start of this plan, our main church in Ashiya (a half of today's space)
was completed.
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An enormous amount of the construction cost, nearly ten million yen (roughly a
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hundred thousand dollars), was fully paid up in no time. I remember that when we first talked about
it in September, our treasurer told us that we only had 300,000 yen (roughly three thousand dollars).
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When I returned to Japan for the opening service on November 14, 1993, I was
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utterly amazed by the mighty work of the Lord. I hardly heard of any problems which I used to
hear in constructing a church building. There was no one who claimed to have credit for it.
Amazingly, the "house of the Lord" was built by the Lord. We did meet some opposition from
people. Some of them said that they would like to invite Mitsuko in their house churches and pray
for healing as before, and that we should not imitate other churches. However, the Lord gave us
the main church so as to pour His healing to all the people in the world rather than only to a limited
number of people in the Kansai district. Having a sanctuary was not a luxury. It was a step
essential for the kingdom of God to move forward.
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During the opening service, the Lord spoke to us through Mitsuko, "Everything is
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completed in praise." I do not think it was a coincidence that the fundamental confession of our
faith in praise was given to us at the opening service of the main church in Ashiya.
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Of course, we can spread the faith in praise without having a main church. In
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fact, I had declared in our first Retreat that Kohitsuji no Mure was the flock of people who
praise. We thereafter took great care that praise be the center of our services.
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When the main church was established, the Lord furthermore gave us the faith, "
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Everything is completed in praise," and our faith in praise became clearer, revealing itself as the
most beautiful crystal.
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Ever since we began to have our services at the main church, our praise has
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been evolved at a speed incomparable with anything before, and the faith in praise has been
permeated into the people associated with our worship. Our faith in praise of today could not
have been achieved without the main church. The love and healing of Christ began to flow from
Ashiya to other places in Japan and eventually to various parts in the world.
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Indeed, just as the Lord had indicated to us, numerous house churches were
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born, having the main church as the center. Ten years ago, the faith of Kohitsuji no Mure, myself
included, was too young to deliver the will of the Lord to the entire earth. The faith in praise was
not yet permeated among us. During these ten years, however, it was rapidly nurtured, and
especially after our experience of the Revelation praises, our faith made a great leap forward.
We have come to believe that the Lord's desire will be done without fail.
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And when the Lord said, "I will build a new church in the Ashiya shore,"
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we understood that it was not only for ourselves, but also for His praise and love to spread in a
worldwide scale. It was the conviction of not only myself but also many others.
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Those ten years was the precious time for us to grow. It was also the time to
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heal my allergic reactions toward the construction of a church building.
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Although I had experienced no scandals in building a church in my Philadelphia
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days, I had an ambivalent feeling that building a church was an enormous task. It caused the
mixing up of the Spirit with the flesh. So I never wanted to be bothered by having a sanctuary
again. Yet, the Lord healed my wounded memories, and now gave me a yet new vision of a new
church. I am truly grateful. We have not yet purchased the property, but we are rejoicing in the yet
-to-be-given Church of the Wind. Such is the faith of believing without seeing.
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In my Philadelphia days, far before the vision of Kohitsuji no Mure was given,
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a lady had once told me a story before she was baptized:
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"I had a strange dream last night. I went to a Buddhist temple, where people were
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intently listening to a talk by a monk. It was a good story, but I felt I did not belong there. So I
politely excused myself and left the temple. I then entered a large Christian church where I could
see beautiful stained glasses. The large church was packed with people, and they were so nice to
welcome me. The pastor was delivering a magnificent message from a podium, which was far
away from where I stood. And yet I felt it too was not a place for me, and went outside."
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"In a little while, I came to a slope and walked toward the top of the hill. On the
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top, there were many men and women who were singing and praying raising their hands toward
the sky. I instantly knew that I was heading there. I hurried, and the wind blew whistling. Then I
woke up. I have never seen a dream like this before. What do you think of the dream, Pastor?"
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I do not remember how I responded to her. Yet I clearly remember that I said to
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myself, "This dream is not only for her. This is for you, Peter." When Kohitsuji no Mure was
born, I remembered her dream, which seemed like a prophecy.
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I am grateful to the Lord who made me go through all those days and now let me
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witness the realization of a true church here on the earth. I by no means claim that we are the only
one to realize God's vision in our generation. I know the Lord God has called up thousands of His
people to restore the body of Christ in pure worship. Kohitsuji no Mure is one of them, and I am
just grateful that I am witnessing the Church of the Wind now on the horizon and the most
celestial praises covering the whole earth.
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