About Us - Wintersburg Presbyterian Church

We at Wintersburg Presbyterian Church strive to be faithful people, dedicated to following God's commandments and His vision for the ministry of the church. We are confident that all things are possible with God, and we seek His guidance as we reach for our highest goals for this ministry. Our vision statement is "Together, build up the body of Christ with love, by seeking, embracing, involving, and building," taken from Ephesians 4:12-16.

History
God has truly blessed our church throughout its history, beginning in 1902, when visionaries of the Westminster Presbyterian and Methodist Evangelical Churches responded obediently to God's calling to minister to young bachelors from Japan who labored in the celery fields of what is now Huntington Beach.

In 1910, the people of the mission recognized the need to further expand the ministry by building a Wintersburg Mission facility on an acre of land in Huntington Beach, which was faithfully donated by Mr. C. M. Furuta. Although they faced difficult economic conditions, other early pioneers of the church made great sacrifices to contribute to this building project.

With God's blessing on the mission work, Wintersburg eventually gained church status and was organized in 1930 as the Japanese Presbyterian Church of Wintersburg.

In 1965, the congregation took a major step of faith when it decided to relocate to its current location on Fairview Street in Garden Grove (now part of Santa Ana). Since 1965 we have expanded our facilities several times to accommodate the needs of our congregation. Today it has grown in attendance to over 500 members and continues to teach the good news of Jesus Christ to mainly English-speaking Asian and Japanese-speaking people in the community.

As the size of our church grows, it gets difficult to truly get to know each other, support one another and encourage each other intimately and deeply. It is revealing to know what the Apostles did at the development of the church. Acts 2:46 says, “Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts.” Many of them opened up their homes for gatherings of the believers.

We have a number of small group Bible studies already in our church and some in church members’ homes. The neighborhood Bible study & fellowship groups are called “growth groups,” and they include four elements in each meeting: worship, teaching, sharing and prayer, and fellowship. They are intended to grow by enhancing personal spiritual maturity, building interpersonal relationships and becoming highly visitor/seeker friendly.

Growth Groups Mission Statement • To facilitate growth in personal spiritual maturity and in constructive interpersonal relationships and in the size of God’s family • Provide support and oversight of small group meetings, held regularly in members’ homes, • Involve Bible study, worship, mutual encouragement, prayer, and fellowship. A typical growth group meeting will consist of: Worship — 10 minutes Bible teaching/study — 30 minutes Sharing of praises & burdens and prayer — 15 minutes Refreshments & casual fellowship — 20 minutes Visitors and new members are always welcome. All groups are currently on a summer break.

(Always advisable to call first to verify the group is not on vacation)

Come to the Small Group Ministry Fair on Sunday, August 30, after service, to sign up for a group. Group representatives will be available to provide information. New groups are being formed.

Current Small Groups

Anaheim/Cypress

Meets on 1st & 3rd Wednesday at 7:30 pm at home of Wayne & Lynda Nakahara Contact: Wayne Nakahara (714)828-6447

Bricks Wednesday Night Group

Meets at church in SH-7-8 Wednesdays at 7:30 pm Contact: Rev. Fred Tanizaki (714) 828-6447

Family Home Group in Huntington Beach

Meets every Friday at 6:00 pm at home of Dr. Mas & Nan Okada Contact: Randy & Jill Rogers (714) 773-5173 This group is currently closed

Fountain Valley

Meets 2nd & 4th Wednesday at 7:00 pm at home of Ted & Gail Ike Contact: Randy Otsuji(714) 740-9400, X103

Friday Night Men's & Women's Group

Meets at church on 2nd & 4th Friday at 7:30 pm Women's Contact: Jeri Lee (949) 654-8522 Men's Contact: Tom Masamitsu (714) 903-7695

Fullerton

Meets on 1st & 3rd Wednesday at 7:30 pm at home of Ron & Rosalie Lowe Contact: Ron Lowe (714) 879-2676

Meets at church every Friday at 7:30 pm Contact: Janice Nakagaki (714) 968-7982 Irvine

Meets 1st & 3rd Wednesday at 7:30 pm at home of Rev. Ted Esaki Contact: Rev. Ted Esaki (714)740-9400

Nichigo Japanese Speaking

Meets at various locations Contact: Ikeda Sensei at (714)740-9400, X 121

North Orange County

Meets on 1st & 3rd Friday at 7:30 pm at home of Jimmy & Judi Shiba Contact: Judi Shiba (562) 430-6175 Please call ahead to confirm

Orange

Meets on 2nd & 4th Tuesday at 6:30 pm at home of Victor & Claire Seki Contact: Yoshi Oida (714) 740-9400

Orange Family Group

Meets every other Friday at 7:30 pm Contact: Pam Powers (714) 282-7435

Seal Beach/Garden Grove

Meets on 2nd & 4th Thursday at 7:00 pm at various locations Contact: Sharon Aoto (562) 598-7483

South County

Meets 2nd & 4th Thursday at 7:30 pm at the home of Jim & Nancy Tanizaki ContactLynn Fujimoto (949)858-1491

Wednesday Night Women's Group

Meets at church every Wednesday, 7:30 pm in Small Conference Room Contact: Nan Okada (714) 962-3134

Yorba Linda Family Group

Meets every other Friday at 7:30 pm at home of Mike & Jodi Tanaka Contact: Mike Tanaka (766-9189)