Every Nation Church Yokohama
1979: Grace Bible Church in Honolulu Hawaii, a Christian church established in 1950s, sent missionaries to Sapporo Japan and planted “Grace Bible Church Sapporo”.
1981: Our current senior pastor, Pastor Scott Douma, was sent out to Grace Bible Church Sapporo as a missionary from Grace Bible Church Honolulu. There he served as a support pastor for 2 years. When the pastor of Grace Bible Church Sapporo moved back to Hawaii, pastor Scott took over the role of pastor, ministering in the church, raising up leaders, and developing pastors.
1983: A local Japanese pastor was ordained as the new pastor of Grace Bible Church Sapporo. Pastor Scott returned to Hawaii temporarily, but he continued supporting the ministry there by visiting Sapporo from Hawaii.
1984: Pastor Scott was sent again from Grace Bible Church to work with Grace Bible Church affiliate church, Shinjuku Shalom Church, and to attend a fulltime Japanese language school for 2 year.
1986: Pastor Scott and his wife Naomi, planted a new church in Yokohama named “Yokohama Shalom Church” under the ministry covering of Grace Bible Church in Honolulu. When they first started, they rented a public hall with a seating capacity of 15 people in Naka-ku. Over the years, they’ve moved from larger facility to larger facility in Motomachi, Yamashita Park, and the Nihon Odori area. 10 years later in 1996, they changed their church name to “Yokohama Grace Bible Church”.
1999: Grace Bible Church in Honolulu became a member of Every Nation Ministries (formally known as Morning Star Ministries). The Grace Bible Churches in Japan followed and also joined Every Nation. Grace Bible Church Sapporo was the first church in Japan, however Yokohama Grace Bible Church became the main office for Every Nation Churches in Japan. Every Nation Ministries is a family of over 2500 churches located in 76 nations. (More information about Every Nation including our Statement of Faith can be found at www.everynation.org.)
Since 2007: Yokohama Grace Bible Church planted two churches, one in Yokosuka “Yokosuka Grace Bible Church” and the other in Shibuya “Grace Bible Church Tokyo.”
2010: The senior pastor of Grace Bible Church Sapporo resigned, and Pastor Scott became the senior pastor for both the Sapporo and Yokohama churches.
2013: Yokohama Grace Bible Church moved into the Radiant Hall, a spacious and modern hall near Kannai Station.
2015: Yokohama Grace Bible Church changed its name to “Every Nation Church Yokohama” in order to unify the Every Nation churches in Japan. The Yokosuka and Shibuya churches also changed their church names to “Every Nation Church Yokosuka” and “Every Nation Tokyo Shibuya”.
Currently, Every Nation Japan has three other churches besides the four listed above; Takasaki Grace Bible Church, two in Shizuoka, and one more in Tokyo for a total of 7 Every Nation Churches.
2016: Every Nation Church Yokohama celebrated 30th anniversary.
2017: Grace Bible Church Sapporo changed its name to Every Nation Church Sapporo.
Over the years many hundreds have found Jesus and have become His disciples through the ministry of Every Nation Church Yokohama