After arriving in Japan on a Saturday, I hit the ground running at my new church on Sunday. I learned that Sundays at Shukugawa are pretty…how can I say…intense. They’re intense. But I think they’re intense in the best way possible.

But first, let me give you a little background information.

A Typical Sunday at Shukugawa

So our church here in Nishinomiya isn’t exactly like your typical church in the States. In the US, a church service is usually no more than maybe two hours (max) on Sunday with no extra events after the service. Or at the very least not on a standard Sunday. Any other small group Bible studies or church get-togethers are usually speckled throughout the week. SBC (Shukugawa Bible Church) is a bit different.

My church here in Japan is an all-day ordeal. The people here usually have extremely busy schedules throughout the week. Work culture in Japan is intense and leaves little wiggle room for extra-curricular activities. And if your family has children, whatever time you do have is making sure your children get to all of their extra-curricular clubs and activities (and they have A LOT). So, in order for the church members to get a comparable amount of church activity and fellowship, SBC just crams everything in on Sunday.

I learned this on my first Sunday at Shukugawa Bible Church.

At 9:00 am, we have Sunday Chapel Time. This is an hour-long bilingual Bible study that people can attend. It’s led by one of the missionaries and a Japanese church member who translates. This is a great way for our church members (as well as visitors) to have a focused, guided opportunity to study the Bible directly.

Then we have a short break for pastries, coffee, and tea before the service begins at 10:30 am.

I won’t lie: our church’s service is without a doubt the longest service I’ve ever attended in my life. And I used to go to Mass as a child. I believe the service finally ended at 12:30 or 1:00 pm. The structure itself is speckled with intermittent Japanese worship songs and hymns, prayer (so much prayer!), the scripture reading, the sermon (usually quite long), more hymns and prayer, the benediction, and announcements (many, many announcements).

Following the service, we have a church-wide fellowship lunch, which occurs every Sunday. And then we usually have other events going on after lunch. This first Sunday happened to be the church’s annual meeting for the new fiscal year. That began at 3:00 pm and lasted until around 7:30 pm. Thankfully, I was excused from this meeting so I can rest up and try and recover from any jetlag.

It’s a lot to take in. Just imagine me being bombarded with all of this after just arriving the night before. It was intense.

An Extended Church Family

However, because of the intensity and commitment present at SBC, the church has really fostered a close-knit community. Everyone treats each other as family—and not in a superficial sense. The church family feels completely unified. As wonderful and familial as my church in Minnesota is, SBC blows them out of the water.

SBC is an evangelistic church, and the Christian population in Japan is painfully low—a measly 1%. As such, the church frequently welcomes new converts. However, these new Christians often come alone. Their families and spouses have not chosen Jesus as they did. Recognizing this painful reality, my church here really pushes the concept of “a new family in Christ.”

We are directed towards randomized seats for the service, often separated from our friends, spouses, and other family members so those who came alone don’t feel isolated or reminded of their disconnect from their non-Christian family. And everyone makes a diligent effort to be welcoming to all new visitors, treating them like family from day one.

Their love is real, and I felt it my first Sunday there. Everyone seemed genuinely happy and excited to meet me and welcome me into their church family. I was astounded, humbled, and overwhelmed with gratitude and love.

I met the woman who had gifted me a fruit basket, flower arrangement, and welcome note on behalf of the women’s group. I met the college students who were eager in getting to know me, what I liked, and what brought me to Japan. I met many women and older gentlemen who did their best to teach me who’s who in the church, and who would be my best contacts within the church for my interests and my work. And I connected with the many (so many) church kids with my Japanese abilities.

Admittedly, I was a little worried about how well I would connect with the church members as a foreigner, but it would seem that my fears were unfounded. My friend Rei has helped in connecting me with people, and my Japanese abilities have also helped a bit. But I believe God knew I would need a family here in Japan, and He was gracious enough to bless me with one.

I left two wonderful families behind in Minnesota—my actual family and my church family. During college, I learned how to leave my actual family and created a new one in the Twin Cities with my church family and local friends. They became my new daily family. But God’s gifted me another family in my new church and fellow missionaries. They’ve all been so welcoming and loving, and I feel absolutely blessed. God has once again left me in awe. Sundays here at Shukugawa are intense and long. But with the family God has blessed me with here, I don’t think I would have it any other way. Families take commitment, effort, and time to nurture—the Church even more so. We’re all in at Shukugawa Bible Church. And to be honest, I wouldn’t want anything less than “all in” for the body of Christ.