Beginnings at Kominato
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| Kominato Bible Camp, Summer of 1960 (Friezens and Milligans) |
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The Aomori Christian Center started as the Kominato Bible Camp on the shores of Aomori Bay, just outside of Aomori City. The original building and property was damaged in a tsunami in the 1960s and it was subsequently decided to move the camp to its current location in the foothills of Mount Hakkoda, just south of the city, in the village of Moya. The new Moya Camp was in part funded by a bequest made by the parents of a young American man who lost his life in the sinking of Toya-maru, a ferry running between Aomori and Hakodate.
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| New Years Retreat - 1957 (Anton Netland, back row, far right, a TEAM missionary, was the driving force behind the founding of the Aomori Christian Center) |
New Location at Moya
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| Junior Camp at the Aomori Christian Center - 1978 (this is the way Luke remembers the camp from his childhood) |
The 1970s and early '80s were a time of great growth among Aomori's post-war churches. Young people's groups were large and active and Sunday schools were often attended by throngs of neighbourhood children. The Aomori Christian Centre was a place where local churches throughout the prefecture joined together in outreach and evangelism through camps, seminars, and special events. The decline in activity at the ACC in recent years reflects the decline in numbers and energy levels in among most of Aomori's churches. This decline is only partly explained by the declining birth rate.
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| The Board of the Aomori Christian Center in 1984, made up of representatives from OMF and TEAM, together with local pastors and lay leaders |
The opportunities remain great, the needs are greater than ever, but the "harvesters" are few. The camp is currently without any on-site or full time staff. The local pastors who constitute the current camp board live under extreme pressure and carry large work loads, and the camp. TEAM is no longer active in Aomori prefecture, and the OMF team now consists of only two couples. It is hoped, however, that OMF's new TOHOKU 2015 initiative will result in an influx of new missionaries into the area. Please join Luke and Yuko Elliot in praying that they will be allowed to take on responsibility for managing the camp as part of this initiative.
