Hello, my name is Adam! I’m in my mid-twenties and have been attending Lifehouse Tokyo for over a year now. I’d like to share my experience so that anyone looking for a church in Tokyo can have a good idea of what to expect when coming to Lifehouse Tokyo.
First, a little about me. I graduated from Southwestern Assemblies of God University with a B.A. in Church Ministries, so in other words I’m a charismatic Christian with a background in the Assemblies of God, the world’s largest Pentecostal denomination. (Just to clarify I’m NOT a pastor, nor am I in any leadership position at Lifehouse Tokyo.)
I came to Japan by myself after God placed a vision in me for this beautiful country. I wanted to outreach and see the younger generation of Japan come to know Jesus, so I knew the first thing I needed to do after moving to Japan was find a church with the same vision as mine, and the first place I wanted to check out was Lifehouse Tokyo.
I first discovered Lifehouse Tokyo while searching the web. I googled “Japanese Christian testimonies”, or something like that, and many videos came up from Lifehouse Tokyo’s YouTube page. I was amazed! So many videos of young Japanese sharing how they became Christians at Lifehouse Tokyo and had their lives dramatically changed by Jesus!!! Wow!!!
I did some research and learned that Lifehouse Tokyo was a Hillsong Network Church. I wasn’t quite sure what that meant, but I knew Hillsong was a highly reputable, biblically-solid church in Australia, and so that helped me make up my mind to visit Lifehouse Tokyo my first Sunday in the city.
I came, and have been coming ever since! I can say without a doubt that this is the church family I have always longed to be a part of since I became a Christian. There are many reasons as to why this is, so I’ll give each one its own section below.
The Community
Lifehouse Tokyo is a fairly big church, especially by Japan’s standards, but somehow I’ve never felt more part of a family when coming to church. I think it’s because so many people at Lifehouse Tokyo are genuinely filled with the joy and love of God. I was nervous the first day I came, but from the get-go everybody was so warming and welcoming that it wasn’t long before I had many good friends. As long as you come with the willingness and a mindset to make friends, I can guarantee you that you’ll meet some awesome people at Lifehouse Tokyo!
The Services
There are currently 4 services at Lifehouse Tokyo; 11:00, 1:00, 3:30, and 5:30. The 11 and 1 o’clock services are more geared towards families, and when these services are happening downstairs there is a really fun kid’s church going on upstairs for the little ones. The 3:30 service is the most attended service, and the 5:30 service, called Remix, is geared towards teens, college students, and young workers. Every service is bilingual, and starts with worship songs sung in both English and Japanese. The music is fantastic and the worship songs sound amazing in Japanese! I’ve been to many churches where everyone stood still during worship, but what I love at Lifehouse Tokyo is how many people go up to the front and jump and dance, overflowing with praise and joy.
The Messages
My favorite professor in college drilled something into me that I’ll never forget, “If you’re preaching and you don’t mention the gospel, then you’re not preaching you’re just giving a lecture.”
The gospel. Paul said it’s “the power of God unto salvation”, that is to say God saves people whenever the gospel is shared, and at Lifehouse Tokyo the gospel is mentioned in every. single. sermon. I LOVE it!!! The sermons are delivered in a way that’s easy to understand, and they are always relevant, applicable, scriptural, and evangelistic, and at the end there is always an opportunity given for people to accept Jesus.
The Discipleship
I think discipleship is one of Lifehouse Tokyo’s strongest points. The church’s discipleship groups are called Life groups, and they meet for one hour on Sunday and go through a teaching of the Bible together. Being a part of a life group has done wonders for my spiritual growth, and the guys in my life group have become my best friends in Japan. Of course you don’t have to be a part of a life group if you come to Lifehouse Tokyo, but if you want to grow more in your walk with God and be challenged and encouraged by a group of people on the same journey as you, then I highly recommend trying one out.
The Pastors
The pastors at Lifehouse Tokyo are there to serve, that’s the best way I can put it. Senior Pastor Rod Plummer is awesome. I’ve only talked to him briefly maybe once or twice, but anyone watching him preach can tell that he has a genuine pastor’s heart and sincerely cares about the people he’s preaching to. Several of the other pastors at Lifehouse Tokyo are still in their twenties, and that’s something I really, really like about this church – it isn’t afraid to give young people a chance. Because I’m in my mid-twenties I have had much more interaction with these younger pastors, and I can vouch wholeheartedly that on top of their burning passion to see Japanese people come to know Jesus, every time they have challenged or encouraged or advised me, it has been with wisdom grounded and rooted in scripture. Lifehouse Tokyo is truly blessed with a God-lead pastoral staff!
The Vision
What I love more than anything else about Lifehouse Tokyo is its vision to reach this city for Jesus and the events it organizes to see this fulfilled. There are so many outreach opportunities at Tokyo Lifehouse!!! There’s park events for reaching out to families with children, a Language exchange for reaching out to Japanese interested in English, a street outreach where live music is played in downtown Tokyo, college outreaches, and so on. Thanks to these many outreach opportunities that Lifehouse Tokyo provides, you don’t have to be a pastor to make a big difference for Jesus in Japan; you just have to volunteer some of your time!
That’s all I have to say about Lifehouse Tokyo. If you visit or move to Tokyo please come check it out!!!
Love it!! Lifehouse Church in Tokyo has been my home since I moved to Japan in 2002. A great Christian church based on solid biblical teaching and a heart/vision that loves this nation!! Loving God and loving people!!
I have been going to Lifehouse for 3 years. I really agree with this. The three things I like best about Tokyo Lifehouse would be the discipleship, worship, and a growing church filled with new Christians!!
Awesome church! Full of joy and life changing!
Love it!!!! This is so true!
So true. Thanks for this blog Adam
So true! Lifehouse Tokyo truly have a huge vision and passion to reach out to young people! Excited to see how this church is going to be like in a few years.
I totally agree with you!!
I came to this church 2 years and a half ago, and I met God at Lifehouse Tokyo. Jesus saved my soul. I have been a Christian since then. I can’t thank enough to God and this church, Lifehouse Tokyo.
It’s amazing!!! Love our church. So blessed to be part of it!
最高!まじで半端ないチャーチ!
Couldnt have said it better myself! Lifehouse Tokyo taught me how to have a personal relationship with Jesus 7 years ago and I have never looked back!
Thank you for writing this Adam. I also go to Lifehouse and I couldn’t agree with you more as to how incredible this church is.
Wow this story is so encouraging! Lifehouse Church is a great place to be.
Thank you for sharing your experience!
This is such an awesome post Adam. Lifehouse Tokyo is such an incredible church!
It is a big church, but we all know that we are part of the family 🙂 love life group, love serving, and last but not least, i just love seeing so many people’s life has been changing every week!
So powerful.
本当にその通りやと思う!
ライフハウスで得られるもの、学ぶものは本当にたくさんある!この記事最高!!
Yes!!! Well said!!! All so true! I really love how honest and down to earth the messages are. It really helped me find out who Jesus is. I love my life with God now, it’s so full of purpose!! I love the honesty and transparency of Lifehouse church! Each campus is like this! Definitely in Sapporo, too! Love my church!! :)))
Church is awesome! Such a life changing experience!
ne~
Great Site. Very much enjoyed reading.
Really well said, sums up Lifehouse so well. Love it too! Recommend it to anyone looking for a church in Tokyo