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We are a congregation of the Japan Evangelical Lutheran Church (JELC).
Our Mission
Our Mission
Hongo Lutheran is a church aiming to be a “Sunny Corner of Grace,” a cozy place radiating God’s amazing grace in the community. By this we mean we want to be a warm congregation with a Christ centered fellowship, and we seek to be a community sharing God’s loving grace with others as we practice our Christian faith. You are welcome here!
What We Believe
What We Believe
We believe that the Holy Bible is the only source of the Christian faith. We hold to these Confessions: The Apostles' creed, the Nicene creed, the Athanasian Creed, and Lutheran Confessions include the Augsburg Confession as the statement of our faith.
About the Lutheran Church
About the Lutheran Church
Lutheran Church
Lutheran Church
We believe that we are saved by grace alone through faith in Jesus Christ. Martin Luther protested against the Roman Catholic Church in the 16th century, which promoted the sale of indulgences, claiming that the scripture proclaims the promise of God’s unconditional love and mercy revealed in the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Luther presented the 95 Theses or Disputation on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences in 1517 and the Reformation movement began. The three principles of the Reformation are "Only Scripture (sola scriptura), only grace (sola gratia), and only faith (sola fide)." Eventually, those believers who agreed with Luther's teaching organized the Lutheran church. It became widespread not only in Germany but also in the Northern countries of Europe becoming a national church. Later it spread to the United States, then to Asia, Africa, and Latin America, and today all across the world.
Lutheran Churches in the United States
Lutheran Churches in the United States
Mainly in the 19th century a large number of Lutherans immigrated to America from Germany, Holland, Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Norway. They chiefly settled in Pennsylvania, Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina. In the early days church members held their own services without pastors, but gradually with clergy sent from Germany and other countries, some ethnic Lutheran churches with their own national background, languages, church systems and traditions began to be organized in various areas in the United States.
From one of these American Lutheran Churches with their various historical backgrounds, the first missionaries were sent to Japan in 1892. In 1988 three Lutheran churches in America combined to form the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).
The Japan Evangelical Lutheran Church
The Japan Evangelical Lutheran Church
The first Lutheran Worship service in Japan was held in Saga, located in the northern part of Kyusyu, on Easter Sunday 1893 (April 2) by Dr. Scherer and Dr. Peery, Lutheran missionaries from United States. Five Japanese were baptized in the first year and eleven followed the next year. The Japan Evangelical Lutheran Church (JELC) was established in 1898. There are currently 118 JELC churches in Japan.
From the very outset of its history, the JELC has been deeply involved in social welfare and education issues. Many institutions were established and they proclaim God’s love for all people.
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