Outreach

---

Here are the five ways in which we are trying to faithfully love others with the love that God has given to us:

Arts

Our Creator God has made us all in God’s image to be creative. It is through the transcendent moments of creativity that we see beautiful glimpses of the Author of our lives. We want to create spaces in our church that foster, treasure, and inspire a love for the arts. As we do so, we hope to connect with the artistic community and beyond in Greater Seattle. We also want to encourage fellow Christians who are artists to develop their craft out of their identity gifted to them by their Creator God. Through things like our Selah Arts gatherings  and Ikebana class we hope to foster positive connections with artists who want to connect their spirituality with the city around them.

• Ikebana classes are held at JBC every Saturday except the second Saturday of the month. Class meets from 10am to 12pm. If you would like more information please contact Dean Ishiki at  dmishiki@gmail.com 

Culture

We believe that God does not work outside of culture but embodies and loves culture of all kinds. We proudly celebrate and treasure our Japanese heritage, but our community continues to grow and diversify over time, so we want to continue to expand our heart for the wonderful variety of cultures present in Greater Seattle. We hope that our church can be a place where we appreciate and explore the riches of our cultural background through events and opportunities of connection.  

Social Justice

Our wonderful connection to the American Baptist Church connects us to a rich heritage of Christians who sought justice for all because the love of Christ compelled them. We honor this legacy today by committing ourselves to be mindful of those who are marginalized and without a voice. Our community hopes to grow daily as a place where everyone is welcome regardless of their background and that we can also advocate for those who are vulnerable to the society at large. Read here about the Alliance of AAPI  American Baptist Churches's statement on anti-racism that JBC stands with.

Our Neighborhood

We are proudly part of the Yesler Terrace neighborhood that has gone through many changes throughout the decades. As our neighborhood continues to change, we want to faithfully and unconditionally love and serve this neighborhood in every season with the love of Christ. We hope to partner with organizations, host programs and partake in initiatives that can generously bless Yesler Terrace. 

We support groups and organizations that help our neighborhood like:

Saturday Special (a beloved monthly gathering of families with members who have special needs, sponsored by JBC)

Bailey-Gatzert Elementary School (our local neighborhood school with a very diverse student population with diverse needs) 

Neighborhood House (empowering families and communities with limited resources in Greater Seattle)

Keiro Northwest (serving health and wellness needs of the elderly in our city) 

Global Missions

We value Christ’s Great Commission to make disciples of all nations because God loves people of all backgrounds.We sponsor missionaries and programs that have a particular heart to share the Good News of God with the people of Japan but we also encourage and support movements that bring the Gospel to all people from all backgrounds.

As an example of some of the missions supported by JBC: 

JEMS (Japanese Evangelical Missionary Society)

Gordon & Leann Hwang (American Baptist International Ministries - Japan): Donate online