The story of how God provided a building for Pearl Vineyard April 5, 2009

Note: I wrote this as a note on Facebook first, so it is a very “digest” version of events.

Once upon a time, a new church plant in Yokohama, Japan, was meeting in a public community center. But the center wouldn’t allow them to say they were a church, so they had to sign up as a “chorus group.” They also couldn’t advertise in the mail, and had many other restrictions. Still, they were grateful, because it was pretty cheap to rent on Sundays, and it gave them a place to start. After about a year, though, they started to feel their church was called to so much more. They wanted a place that could be available all week long, so they could do homeschooling together, and have outreach events, and let the youth come to gather and worship.
So God led them to a building which was way out of their price range, and they started to pray, and pray, and ask for help, and pray some more. 7 months later, they were close to raising the initial payment to get into the building. (In Japan, that is called “key money,” and it is usually 8 -10 month’s worth of rent, just to get in, and you don’t get it back at the end of the lease) However, the last little bit still had not come in, and the pastor and pastoress were puzzling, and also a bit apprehensive about meeting that huge monthly rent every month.
So, even though the door looked like it could potentially open, it was still closed. Then all of a sudden, another door opened in the building right next to the first building. And it required far less money, so they had all the funds necessary, in hand! (Plus enough to buy necessary equipment!) So they knew it was God, because they saw His fingerprint in the way He usually moved in their lives, i.e. “Wait, wait….wait….Go,go,go!”

When the timing of the Lord is right, things usually move very quickly.
From the time they first looked at the building, until papers were signed, money was paid, and keys were in hand was only 4 days, after praying for a building for 7 months! Still the 7 months of praying was not in vain, because at least they were praying for the right area, even if it didn’t end up to be the right building. However, if they had been looking at the right building all along, they probably would have moved too soon, or not been ready at the right time.

2 Corinthians 2:14 (New International Version)
But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him.

First worship service at the new building (April 5)