Sakai International Bible Church

“We walk by faith not by sight”, says the book of Corinthians 2:7. Prayer heals the senses when they are bruised by the onslaughts of time and the transitional forces of human relationships. The gateways of the Kingdom of Heaven are ever open to the importunities of the sinner who is penitent. It is for the purpose of instituting the call of universal fraternity that the Sakai International Bible Church (earlier “Chapel”) was founded in the city of Osaka in the year 1986 under the motivational spirit of Pastor Teiichiro Kuroda. Sakai is a state in the Prefecture of Osaka in Honshu. It is one of the primary industrial hubs of the region.

The primary vision behind the founding of the church was to minister the religious necessities of English-speaking foreigners living in and around Osaka. With the passage of time, the Sunday service began to be attended by many of the Japanese youth, something that was responsible for turning it into a bilingual church. By the end of 1997, the weekly attendance was about 35 people. In 1995, Pastor Kuroda erected a parallel Minster in the nucleus of Osaka City and called it the International Bible Church. During that time, voluntary service was rendered by the members of the SIBC to assist Pastor Kuroda with the new structure.

In September 2001 the SIBC officially became the Sakai International Bible Church from the earlier Sakai International Bible Chapel. This was also the time when the ministry was officially handed over to Michael and Chris Mason, a couple who are serving as missionaries in Japan under the Japanese Evangelical Missionary Society that is based in Los Angeles. In November 2006, the foundation was shifted to the Shin-Nikken Building, which is its existing location.

The end of the church is to make a difference for the Kingdom of God in the area of southern Osaka. As the church is international, i.e. caters to about 40% foreigners, people visit it from a variety of church backgrounds and traditions, thereby diversifying the locale. The average attendee is between the age group of 20 and 40, comprising either foreigners living in Japan, Japanese who have lived abroad, Japanese who are studying English and young international couples. The contemporary outlook of the authorities has preferred the organ over the guitar and the piano. For prayer means more than contributing to the expansion of the church. It is more about drawing near God on a personal level.

Drop in to the corner of the Phoenix Dori or the street with palm trees to Sakai International Bible Church Osaka with AsiaRooms.com.