| Christ Community Church was founded in 1995 with a desire to see the glory of God spread not only in Ashburn, but among the nations. We wanted to play an active, obedient role in seeing Habakkuk 2:14 fulfilled: "For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea."
To that end, we partnered first with Tony and Marcia Haug laboring in Shimonoseki, Japan, with their three children Tasha (18), Tiffany (16) and Titus (14).
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Shortly
after they were married, Tony and Marcia spent a year in Japan teaching
and waiting on the Lord's direction for long-term ministry. While
there, they visited Shimonoseki and sensed an unmistakable calling to
that city. They soon returned to settle there in 1989. Within weeks,
the Lord brought one God-seeking Japanese woman into their acquaintance
(Mrs. Kanaoka, the mother of Yoko Broaddus). Within her circle of
relationships, she and several other Japanese soon became followers of
Jesus, and the Shimonoseki Christ Bible Church (SCBC) was founded in
the Haug's home in May, 1989.
Since that time, God has moved in
ways that have been nothing short of miraculous. Over 400 Japanese have
bent their knee before a loving, gracious savior. Most have been
baptized, many only after burning their family idols which are
maintained in nearly every Japanese home. Most also represent the first
of their family line to ever follow Jesus! This is truly a fulfillment
of Genesis 12:3: "…and in you (Abraham) all the families of the earth
will be blessed."
After circling a small plot of land each
morning while praying, God provided a way, largely through the very
real financial sacrifice of the Japanese believers, for the land to be
purchased and a church building to be erected. Several years later, a
group of secular bank executives contacted Tony with the desire to sell
a vacant branch building to the church. The property was valued at
roughly $1,500,000. Tony said the church would pay a little over
$500,000 with no payments for the first year and no collateral. The
bank responded, "OK." This building now houses the Shimonoseki
Christian Center where weekly services are held, led by Taka and Aki
Asada, and an English teaching ministry, originated by Brian and Yoko
Broaddus, is thriving.
The Lord has done these things and much more,
but he chose to do them through his willing and pliable servants, the
Haugs. Tony has lived with diabetes since age 9. While home on furlough
in the early 1990s, he was told that his condition had worsened, would
never improve, and that he should remain in the states for experimental
treatment. Tony's response was, "I would rather die in Japan than be
healthy in America." Since that time, his condition has improved,
thanks in part to the new insulin pump technology, and his health has
remained relatively stable (at least his physical health ?). Also, Tony
and Marcia were the first Americans to be granted land rights in
Shimonoseki allowing them to purchase and own a home directly across
the street from the church. They also have permanent residence visas.
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