Pastoral Team
by Pastor Héctor Herrera, Pastor Joseph Park, Jonathan Oh, Ximena Leroux, and JY Lee
Pastor Héctor Herrera
On behalf of the pastoral team, I would like to give a year-in-review of 2024.
It was a year of transition, as we had to say goodbye to both Byron Walker and Pastor Steve Yamaguchi. Byron served for one year - as an intern from Princeton Seminary - and helped us with youth and children’s ministry. Pastor Steve was our pastor, head of staff, for four faithful years. He did so much for the life of Tokyo Union Church, and he meant so much for me personally. We are so thankful for all that he did for us during his time. At the end, we were able to say sayonara to him and give him our blessings.
I also found myself right in the middle of this year filled with changes, transitioning from the position of associate pastor to that of pastor and head of staff at Tokyo Union Church. And with my appointment, I was able to call up a whole new team, the pastoral team that we have today.
We brought in an interim associate pastor, Pastor Joseph Park. We also called another intern from Columbia Theological Seminary, Ximena Leroux, as our pastoral assistant for Youth and Children. And we were able to think of something new, by continuing our history and documenting it by calling JY Lee, as our church historian, and really focusing our future and digital ministry by calling Jonathan Oh. And it was not only an important time of transition but also a meaningful time of collaboration as a team.
We also started the Associate Pastor Search Committee, where we had interviewed around thirty candidates; we are still finalizing our decision with two finalists. The process is expected to wrap up later this year.
The church also celebrated six marriages, eight baptisms, and many people becoming new members of Tokyo Union Church this past year, as we reiterated our identity as a growing community of believers in central Tokyo.
While there were some dynamic changes, there were some things that stayed the same. One of those was our average-in-person worship attendance. For over the last year, we had about 200 people joining us every week in person, and about 100 people watching us online.
There is one thing of note you should know about the people watching us online is that in the last 90 days, there have been 3,300 unique viewers who watched our content, and 789 among them are active returning viewers.
And with our website, we have reached 38,000 unique visitors. Of those, 60% were from mobile phones and 40% were from desktops (PCs). And they came from all 47 prefectures of Japan as well as all six habitable continents across the globe, from 100 countries. Of all these online engagements, 70% were from Japan, 15% from the USA, with ever-growing presence in Asia.
We have not only been a group that is committed to our past, but one that is actively thinking about where we are in the present, as well as leaning in to what God has in store for us in the future.
I am so thankful for all you’ve done to contribute to the life of the church at TUC. This, I hope, was a brief update of all the good things that God has done with the pastoral team.
Pastor Joseph Park
Over the past seven months, I've had the privilege of serving as an interim associate pastor at Tokyo Union Church. It's been an enriching experience filled with meaningful interactions and rewarding moments.
I've supervised our children and youth ministries, partnering closely with Ximena to create engaging, nurturing environments for our young members.
I've actively participated in our Young Adult Group, enjoying our Sunday gatherings and two retreats, which strengthened connections, encouraged spiritual growth, and built a stronger sense of community.
A highlight of my time was leading the baptism class in January, culminating in six adult baptisms in March—truly joyful and memorable events for our entire community.
In worship and preaching, I've deeply valued opportunities to share God's message through liturgy and sermons. It was an honor to share my personal testimony during last year's prayer and healing service.
Pastoral care has been central to my ministry, as I've counseled and prayed with over a dozen individuals, these were the moments that deeply shaped my understanding of pastoral service.
As part of the Spiritual Formation team, I helped plan leadership retreats and events. I'm currently leading the "Art of Lent" devotional, blending spiritual reflection with artistic expression to enrich our Lenten journey.
Behind the scenes, I've managed our church website and weekly updates, ensuring our digital presence reflects our vibrant community life.
Administrative responsibilities and participation in staff and council meetings have deepened my appreciation for the dedication and love each congregant brings. You are the heart sustaining our church's mission and operations.
It's been an honor and blessing to serve alongside you during this interim period. Thank you for welcoming me into your lives and allowing me to contribute to TUC's long and vibrant story.
Ximena Leroux
With joy, I present the report on the activities of Children and Youth Ministries at Tokyo Union Church this year.
Distinctive Aspect of our ministry is evident in the dedication of our Sunday School teachers and nursery workers, the commitment of the parents to instill Christian values in their children, the enthusiasm of the children for participating programs on the fourth floor, and the willing hearts of our youth to volunteer and connect with our Sunday School.
Building on the fantastic work by our previous directors last fall, we continued offering the lessons based on the essential stories of faith from the Old Testament, combining Christian educations with games and crafts to engage the children.
This winter and spring, we are focusing on stories from the Gospels, as well as teaching the children about the two sacraments entrusted to the church by Christ: Communion and Baptism.
We have a small yet faithful group of Sunday school teachers, who dedicate themselves to knowing, teaching, and loving the children in our ministry.
Two excellent, experienced nursery workers care for our toddlers and babies in our community. And we also enjoy participation from the parents who volunteer in the Sunday school.
In addition to the joyful routine of weekly Sunday School this year, our ministry has included special projects and events.
For Easter (last year), the children collaborated and published a bilingual storybook, “Joy,” which was well-received by the congregation. Also, the church staff and members gathered together for the annual Easter Egg Hunt for children.
And since the fall, we’ve gathered the parents together for fellowship and to support family connection. As such, we’ve held “a Rooftop Reflection event” for the parents, taking advantage of the beautiful fall weather on the church balconies.
And we invited the parents and children to two cookie-decorating events. One during Advent, and the other for Valentine’s Day.
To give teens a chance for fellowship and to have fun, we had a late fall outing to Tokyo City Dome.
Outstanding examples of cross-generational engagements include the participation of the young adult group in children’s ministry. Their participation led to the creation of two plays to proclaim the good news for kids, one during Easter and the other during Christmas season.
They also supported the retreat for Confirmation Class of 2024. And many members helped with the annual Easter Egg Hunt. It’s been my privilege to serve our church’s children, students, and teachers. And I am deeply grateful for your support and leadership. Together, we strive to embody the spirit of Matthew 19:14, welcoming children to Jesus, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Thank you.
Jonathan Oh
Hello, my name is Jonathan Oh, and I am the Pastoral Assistant for Digital Ministry at Tokyo Union Church. I’d like to give you a quick update on what’s been going on over the past year within the digital ministry, which is my area of responsibility.
One of the things we’ve been working on is finding a better way to serve our children’s ministry. Kids are really the ones at the center of our focus, and I want to make sure we’re serving them well. One of the biggest projects this year has been developing the TUC KidSAFE system. This system allows parents to pre-register their children and youth, so that we can contact the parents and know where their children are inside the TUC building through our check-in and check-out process. It’s currently in a testing phase, but we hope to expand it over time. This kind of system has been implemented in many churches around the world, and we’ve developed our own in-house version to meet the unique needs of our community.
We’ve also continued to work on the AV system. Over the past two years—especially since the pandemic—we’ve gone through many changes. We’ve now reached a point where our volunteers can work effectively with the equipment, but there are always ways to improve. We repurposed some of our existing equipment to make better use of the resources and funds that have been invested in different areas of the church. We’re currently making further improvements, and while those changes have led to some technical issues, that’s just part of the growing pains. Our hope is that these adjustments will enhance the worship experience—both in person and online.
Much of the work that is behind the scenes includes providing technical support for various ministries throughout TUC. Thankfully, I have been able to provide a lot of advice and support on a number of projects, such as the new project, “TUC presents… with Min Jin Lee,” which will continue in the spring of 2025.
Your prayer and support have been vital in the growth of our digital ministry. And I would kindly ask you to continue to pray for us, as we look for new ways to reach people for Christ through the digital space.
JY Lee
Hello, Tokyo Union Church. It’s been such a joy to serve alongside you as a Pastoral Assistant for Church History this year. I came here in August of 2024. In the fall, I began a history class which meets once every month. I taught a total of four classes, revisiting the church’s first history book, A Church for All Seasons.
In 2025, as I began to write a new church history book, I presented its first chapter in February. And in this month, I will be presenting the second chapter of the new church history book that will take us from 1980 to the present.
I’ve also had the honor of helping with worship during the first six months. I’ve preached several times, and I’ve also led other liturgical parts such as Prayers of the People and Good News for Kids. And one of my favorite parts of helping with worship has been empowering you to be more involved with worship.
I’ve been so thankful to Alison, Jimu, and Andy, for offering the prayers of the people. It’s also been a joy to work with you in the Lenten Devotional, as I received so many contributions from you. It brings me great joy to hear your voices and your thoughts on faith and wisdom.
I am happy to be extending my contract for another year and to stay at Tokyo Union Church until May 2026. After coming back from a summer away from Tokyo, I hope to produce a good history book that will bring joy to you and bring glory to God. As you continue to pray for me and the history book project, I hope to finish the first draft of the book by the end of December this year. Next year will be devoted to editing the draft.
So I need your help and stories, which will make this book possible, and any editorial suggestions are also welcome. Huge thanks to you once again for making my work here such a delight.