About Kanto Christian Church

Kanto Christian Church is a spirit-filled church started in 1987 by Pastor Stafford and his wife, Junko. The couple met the Lord through Junko’s illness while living in the States and through a miraculous healing, Junko then bore Naomi and the family was led by the Lord to return to Japan in 1986. The first meeting was held in their living room and shortly after, their second daughter, Priscilla, was born. On Easter Sunday of the following year, 1987, they rented a room on the second floor above a car shop in the Tsurumi ward, Yokohama and had their first official service as a church named Tsurumi Christian Center. One year later, they moved their church to a barn owned by Junko’s father in the Hodogaya ward with a congregation of about 20 people.

In 1992, because of damage to the building by a large typhoon, the church decided to rebuild. Pastor Stafford received a vision from the Lord to build a new building built solely by himself with the help of other Christian volunteers from the building plans to the purchasing of materials and the actual construction work. The following year after receiving the vision, Christian volunteers arrived from America to put up the frame of the building. After the frame was built, the church was re-dedicated and re-named Kanto Christian Church.

In 2003 and 2004, with the help of volunteers from America, Canada and New Zealand, we moved forward with renovation plans. They helped put up new siding and a garage and deck around the outside of the building. The church’s desire and long-standing vision to put up a wooden cross on the outside of the building was fulfilled at this time. We continue to renovate through the work of our own hands, relying on the Lord. Throughout the renovation process of having volunteers from many places come and help, we were blessed with having a wonderful time of fellowship with them and a sharing of the joy in building the Lord’s house. 

Meanwhile, in 1995, we were convicted by the Lord in the area of our children and how we are to pass on our faith to the next generation and so as part of the church, we started Kanto Christian International School. Our school teachers are all parents of the children and are all volunteers. The entire school is run in English. We teach respect, communication and love first of all; and secondly Art, Computer and Music as well as all the mandatory classes (such as English, Science, Math and etc). They learn to live out their faith in this world and the graduates of our school have been successful in the Lord and in the work place. For more details, please see our KCIS page. 

(June 2005)